Make a Bird Marionette

Make this fun puppet!

Step 1: Materials

You need:

1 6' feather boa (It pays to get the good kind)
2 6-8" diameter round styrofoam balls
1 3" diameter round wooden ball, (or wooden egg)
4 pieces of 5' long fishing wire
2 dowels, 12-18" long
2 small nails for the feet
1 small nail for the center of the dowels
Felt that matches the feather boa
Google eyes (Large)
Fake eyelashes, or black felt
Orange felt for the beak
Optional feathers for the top of the head
exacto knife, hammer, hot glue gun, scissors, piece of hard plastic

Comments

[amixon]

This was my attempt. Thank you so much for posting this!

[Very Interesting]

I'm so glad you made this and shared it. Very cute bird - keep up the good work! :)

[schlieffenska]

<333 I loooove this type of marionette! (like, not the creepy wooden ones. haha) Major props for this, thank you! ^_^

[Very Interesting]

Thanks!

[softballch1k99]

ok im ttly gonna make this !!!adorable!!!

[Ariadne Cantara]

Wow, just look how cute it is! I am inlove with this little friend!

[jazzinmarch]

 This is PERFECT!  I was just in a puppet store with my son and instead of buying one of the over-priced (though very well-made) marionettes, I told him we could look up online how to make one - I showed him this one, and he loved it - so off to find a colourful boa right now!

Thanks so much for posting this!

[Very Interesting]

Please post a picture when you finish; I love to see what other people come up with. ( I found a bunch of feather boas at the party store too.)

[lmuli3]

how did you attach the legs to the body & I've never heard of a feather boa is it just a material tube with feathers on it

[emma5424]

a feather boa is something you wear around your neck like a scarf, usually is sold 6 feet long in most craft and fabric stores

[iti]

Ooo, I love this project. I was a bit confused too, but I think Very interesting has the answer about the legs. I'm so silly, I thought there would be more to them but it makes perfect sense. The feather strand is just folded in half and pressed and glued to the body, or perhaps cut in half and pressed in and glued a couple inches apart from each other to the body. And the other end of the legs/feather strand goes to the foot, attached with the clear line to the foot. I can hardly wait to start this, I've always wanted one.

[Very Interesting]

The most difficult part is getting the neck from the head to the body. The ball likes to turn, and when you are working with hot glue, it doesn't give much time. I figured out that using 2 doll stands can hold up the 2 balls while you work. I made several of these as a kid just stuffing feathers into the foam, but it was a huge mess, and in the end, using the boa was easier. The bird can also be made out of fake fur.

[lmuli3]

well it's really cute anyways plz make some more instructables

[lmuli3]

& is that your pet possum if so it's gorgeous

[Very Interesting]

You can get a feather boa at most party stores, or craft stores. They may also have them in the toy section for dress-up items. It's just a cord with feathers wrapped in as it's twisted. You attach the legs by either using some hot glue, or pushing a section of it down into the styrofoam ball. It can be a little tricky. I would push a section into the styrofoam before adding the hot glue. Once it's glued, it's done. The picture is of a tree kangaroo (wish I had one.)

[lmuli3]

is the feather boa just a tube with feathers on the outside

[lmuli3]

how do you attach the legs to the body

[Mister_Caipirinha]

Neat. I shot of the final controller would be nice (and/or showing how to move the controller to get the bird to do all those move you do!)

[Very Interesting]

Good point. I recently added more photos with explanations.