When you’re tired of your toys you can always donate them but why not make an old toy into a better one you want to play with again? Improve it by making it more interactive.
Instead of packing away your old stuffed animals when you’ve outgrown them, there’s a way to make them more exciting. What used to be a floppy teddy that sat on your bed, limp and lifeless, can be a posable, movable, flying toy with a few Freaky updates. You’ll have to perform surgery on the stuffed toy with an adult’s help and put braces in its limbs and attach string. Then you’ll be equipped to do a puppet show where you can show off your souped-up teddy in action.
A few warnings before you begin: Make absolutely sure that you use your own unwanted stuffed animal for this project and not your baby sister’s favorite bunny. This is a fun update for your old toy not a way to make someone cry by destroying things that don’t belong to you. So clear this with your parents and please make sure younger siblings are out of the room when you do this because it could really upset them to see you cutting up your old bear or monkey.
Enlist whichever parent or grandparent in your clan who knows how to sew a bit. Nothing too advanced is required but you’ll need an adult who can thread a needle and manage a simple running stitch to close your stuffed toy back up.
You’ll make your floppy stuffed animal into a stiff-limbed puppet by inserting wood rods into its limp arms and legs. These provide the “bones” of your marionette so you can move the hands and feet, or paws, by pulling on the strings you’ll attach later. The wood pieces will keep the arms and legs straight and easier to for the puppeteer to control.
Fishing line is better than string for this project because fishing line is invisible from a distance so you’ll be able to move the marionette around without your audience being able to see the strings. Clear fishing line is available at most hardware stores but string or yarn will do if it’s all you have at home.
When your marionette is complete you’ll be able to put on a puppet show for your siblings and friends and perhaps convince a pal to tear up his teddy so yours can have another character in its show—or a teddy to fight with in the next marionette display. Because marionettes can be made to dance, fly through the air, walk, and even fight each other it’s a good way to make old toys a lot more exciting.
