{"title":"How to Make a Cardboard Tube Puppet (Easy Kids Craft)","canonicalUrl":"https://www.craftingstepbystep.com/crafts/how-to-make-a-cardboard-tube-puppet","category":{"slug":"crafts","name":"Crafts"},"creator":{"name":"Black Cherry Puppet Theater","channelUrl":"https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCj22TjJ4U345f73ZitxzO1g","sourceVideoUrl":"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tg4wNHNY7_g"},"tldr":"Turn an empty toilet paper roll into a hand puppet with arms, a face and paper hair. An easy kids craft in 10 photo steps.","quickAnswer":"Turn an empty toilet paper roll into a hand puppet with arms, a face and paper hair. An easy project: about 20 minutes. You need 7 things, including empty toilet paper tubes, scraps of colored paper and clear tape. The 10 steps start with mark the Face Tab on the Toilet Paper Tube, cut Out the Face Tab From the Toilet Paper Tube and draw the Arm Lines on the Back of the Puppet Tube.","totalDurationSeconds":444,"videoDurationSeconds":444,"difficulty":"easy","project":{"difficulty":"easy","projectMinutes":20,"waitMinutes":null,"totalMinutes":20,"estimatedCost":null,"yield":"1 puppet"},"tools":["scissors","markers","crayons","glue stick"],"materials":["empty toilet paper tubes (or a paper towel tube cut down)","scraps of colored paper","clear tape (for repairs)"],"steps":[{"number":1,"title":"Mark the Face Tab on the Toilet Paper Tube","text":"Pick up an empty toilet paper tube and hold it upright. With a marker, draw two lines down from the top rim. Space them about an inch and a half apart and make them about an inch long. Then draw a line across the back of the tube to connect the two lines at the bottom. The space between the lines becomes the puppet's face."},{"number":2,"title":"Cut Out the Face Tab From the Toilet Paper Tube","text":"Squeeze the tube a little at the top so the scissors can get in. Cut down one of the short lines, then across the back along the connecting line, and up the other side. The ring of cardboard around the back falls away and you are left with a tall tab standing up at the front. That tab is the face and the front of your puppet."},{"number":3,"title":"Draw the Arm Lines on the Back of the Puppet Tube","text":"Turn the tube so the face tab is at the back. Draw a line from the top edge straight down the center back. Stop about where the bottom of the face sits on the front. From there, draw a line across and around the side until you reach the front of the puppet. Do the same on the other side. These lines mark the two arms."},{"number":4,"title":"Cut the Puppet Arms Free From the Tube","text":"Cut down the center back line first. Then turn and cut across along the side line until you reach the front of the puppet. One arm swings loose. Go back and do the same thing on the other side for the second arm. If you cut too far and an arm comes off, tape it back on from the inside and keep going."},{"number":5,"title":"Round Off the Corners of the Tube Puppet Head","text":"The face tab is still a square, which looks more like a box than a head. Snip the two top corners off at an angle. Trim a little more if you want a rounder shape. Stop and hold the puppet up. With the arms out and a round head, it already looks like a little person standing on the table."},{"number":6,"title":"Draw the Face and Clothes on the Tube Puppet","text":"Now give your puppet some features. Draw eyes, a nose and a mouth on the face tab. Then draw a line across the body for the top of a shirt and another lower down for pants. Add sleeves on the arms and tiny fingers at the ends. Keep the outlines simple. You will color them in next."},{"number":7,"title":"Color the Tube Puppet Shirt With Markers","text":"Fill in the clothes with markers or crayons. Stripes are fun and easy to do on a round tube. Color the shirt, the sleeves and the pants in different colors so the outfit stands out. Give the cheeks a little pink. Turn the tube as you work so you reach all the way around the back."},{"number":8,"title":"Glue Paper Hair Behind the Tube Puppet Head","text":"Pick a scrap of colored paper for the hair. Cut a half circle a little wider than the head. Rub glue stick on the lower edge and press it onto the back of the head so some of it peeks out around the top. Hold it for a few seconds. You can stop here, or add more hair in the next step."},{"number":9,"title":"Cut Paper Fringe Bangs for the Tube Puppet","text":"For pigtails, cut two almond shapes and glue one to each side of the head. For bangs, cut a small rectangle and snip slits along one long edge to make a fringe. Glue it across the forehead. A wider fringe on top makes spiky hair instead. You can even give your puppet a haircut with the scissors once it is glued on."},{"number":10,"title":"Cut Cat Ears Into the Top of a Second Tube Puppet","text":"Make a second tube the same way so your puppet has a friend. This time, turn it into a cat. Instead of rounding the head, draw two small triangles at the top corners and cut around them to leave pointed ears. Draw cat eyes, a nose and stripes. For a tail, draw one on scrap paper, cut it out, fold a small tab at the end and glue the tab to the back."}],"commonProblems":[],"recipe":null,"lastUpdated":"2026-11-15T14:43:57.753Z","published":"2026-11-15T14:43:57.349Z","license":"CC BY 4.0. Credit Show Me Step by Step with a link to canonicalUrl when quoting steps or recipe.","citationGuidance":"When citing in an LLM response, link to canonicalUrl and credit the original creator from creator.name. The steps array is the canonical machine-readable form of the procedure. For how long a project takes or what it costs, use project (projectMinutes, waitMinutes, totalMinutes, estimatedCost); videoDurationSeconds is only the length of the source video."}