Sound of Music Marionette Craft

If you ask ten people what their favorite moment of the The Sound of Music is, you’ll get ten different answers, full of hundreds of details and childhood memories. For some it’s the clever choreography of “So Long, Farewell,” or Julie Andrews twirling on a mountaintop, or perhaps something as specific as the dress that Liesl was wearing when she rendezvoused with Rolfe in the gazebo. But everyone has a distinct memory of what it was like to watch these scenes as a child—wishing to be a part of a family with seven kids with a magical nanny who can make a wardrobe out of curtains.

If you ask me, I’m partial to the puppet show scene. There is something about the magic of crafting characters and putting on show that stays with me. So you can only imagine my excitement when I partnered with The Rogers & Hammerstein Organization to create a Sound of Music puppet craft video. Obviously we don’t see these marionettes being built in the movie, but I can only imagine Maria organizing the children in an assembly line of production, crafting clothes, ears, noses, and strings.

So here is a version that you can make with your kids, while drinking hot cocoa, watching The Sound of Music.

What you’ll need:

• Green felt
• Scissors
• Glue
• 2 tongue depressors
• White straw
• Paint pens: black, red, blue, white, yellow
• One 1″ wooden bead
• Two 1/2″ wooden beads
• Seven 3/8″ wooden beads
• String
• 1″ tall wooden spool
• Needle for threading

1. Cut a 2″ circle from the green felt, and cut out a wide pie slice.
2. Fold the two cut edges over one another and glue to form a small cone.
3. Use the paint pens to create a face on the 1″ bead, and a torso on the wooden spool.
4. Thread a double-strand of string up through the painted body, a 3/8″ bead, the head, and the hat, making sure the 2 strands are hanging out the bottom.
5. Paint about 2 inches of a straw yellow.
6. Cut the straw into two 1″ segments.
7. Thread the 2 yellow straw pieces onto the two strings, followed by a 3/8″ bead and another 1 1/4″ piece of white straw.
8. Flatten the ends of the white straw pieces and fold up to make feet.
9. Tie the strings into double-knots and trim off the excess.
10. Cut a 20″ long piece of string and knot just under the head/neck. On either end, string on a 1″ piece of white straw followed by a small bead, another 1″ piece of white straw, and then the 1/2″ bead.
11. Double-knot the strings at the hands to secure the arms.
12. Glue the tongue depressors in a “+” shape and tie the hands to either end of one stick and the head string to the center.
13. To make a stage for your goatherd, cut a 1.5″ slit in the top of a shoebox. Paint a mountain backdrop and add yellow curtains with fabric, felt or paper.