Have hours of creative and imaginative fun with these fabulous little characters

What you need...

• Felt, assorted colours
  Buttons: green, orange, yellow
  Paper, assorted colours
  Chiffon
  Ribbon
  Beads: lilac, pink
  Sequins
  Gems
  Thread: yellow, white
  Googly eyes
  Pen, fine tip, black
  Relief paint, 3-D
  Scissors

instructions

1. Chicken - 1 Cut out two felt rectangles, 5cm x 7cm. Use scissors to make a curve at the top. Create a yellow felt diamond shape for the beak and stitch to the head end with running stitch in white thread.
   
   2 Cut two green felt wings and a pink comb. With running stitch, join the front and back body pieces together incorporating the trimmed pieces, leaving the bottom of the body open.
   
   3 Over stitch pink ribbon around the base of the chicken, sewing in a length of yellow thread for the legs. Tie a green button to the bottom of each limb with a knot. Stitch two lilac beads above the beak for the eyes.

2. Fairy - 1 Make a tube from pink paper to fit generously around a finger. Cut a length of chiffon and glue around the middle, then hide the join with a waistband made from a pale pink strip decorated with gems and 3-D relief paint.
   
   2 Glue pink sleeves to the top of the tube and arms to the sleeves. To make the head, cut a circle from cream paper and glue yellow hair behind the disc. Add more layers of hair behind the head with foam pads. Embellish using a decorated pink crown.
   
   3 Draw facial features with a black pen. Glue the back of the chin to the front of the tube. Adhere wings to the back, and add a wand to the fairy’s hand, as shown. Follow the same method, using different coloured paper, to create the dog puppet.

3. Elephant - 1 Cut out two felt rectangles and curve the edges as before. Use running stitch and bright yellow thread to join these panels, leaving the bottom open.
   
   2 Trim two ears and a trunk from purple felt. Join these to the body of the elephant as shown. Add three lines of running stitch to the trunk to represent wrinkles. Firmly sew two yellow buttons in place as eyes to finish.

4. Clown - 1 Cut the body from red paper. Top with yellow cuffs and collar. Stick blue hands behind the cuffs. Make a cream face with a red paper nose and white eyes. Use a black fine tip pen for facial features.
   
   2 Glue blue hair behind the head and top with an orange hat. Cut two holes at the bottom of the clown to accommodate fingers. Decorate the outfit with spots, flowers and relief paint to finish.

5. Lion - 1 Cut a rectangle of yellow paper, 6cm x 8cm. Glue and join the ends together to create a tube. Make a pair of legs, arms and tail from one piece of paper. Adhere the tube on top to form the body.
   
   2 Make a lion’s head, score across the top of the nose and fold down. Add a tuft of cream to indicate a chin and black paper for the nose. With a black pen, draw holes for whiskers. Define the ears with orange centres and add self-adhesive googly eyes below the ears.
   
   3 Create a mane shape from orange paper. Adhere this to the back of the tube, the ears at the front of the mane and the chin to the front of the tube. Add orange to the end of the tail to finish. Repeat this method, using different coloured paper, to make the crocodile puppet.