Me and My Shadow Puppet Theater

 This project was a part of the Crafts with Katie series hosted by The Keyport Public Library

DIY Shadow Puppet Theater 

Follow our step by step guide to building your own shoe box shadow puppet theater. Scroll to the bottom for a video tutorial, or click here for the YouTube link. 

Materials and Supplies

• Puppet template (click here for free template)
• Cardboard box or shoebox
• Tissue paper 
• Straws or wooden dowel
• Ruler
• Tape
• Scissors
• Utility knife 

Music for Crafting

 Here is the perfect song for this DIY project. 

Song: Me and My Shadow 

Artist: Johnny Marvin 

Let's Box it Up! 

Turn your box upside down. Measure and mark one inch from all four sides.

Using your utility knife, cut out the center of the box (the part you just marked).

Take a piece of tissue paper and tape it to the bottom of the box. Trim it so no edges are showing.

Now your theater is starting to take shape.

Optional step: I added clear packing tape to the back, covering the tissue paper. This let me tape non moving backdrops to my shows. The clear tape makes it easy to switch out my "set pieces". 

To make your puppets, print the template and cut out the shadowy pieces. 

Tape the paper puppets to paper straws or wooden dowels. 

Or you can make your own puppets by printing silhouette characters. I made my movie dinosaur themed!  

Show Time! 

For more dino themed inspiration, check out our dino decorations on the #TableSettingIsMyLife Esty page

Full Tutorial Video

Crafts with Katie 

Crafts with Katie is a weekly family crafting series hosted by The Keyport Public Library, with special thanks to the Friends of Keyport Public Library. Every Wednesday at noon stop by the Keyport Library FaceBook page for a new family friendly DIY video. 

The Friends of the Keyport Library is a nonprofit organization  formed to support, promote and advocate for our local library in Keyport, NJ.