Lions and Tigers and Bears. OH MY!
Do you have the classic Wizard of Oz song stuck in your head now? I know I do! But it's okay, we love the The Wizard of Oz
. It's one of the movies that I am okay with my daughter having a random obsession with. You know what I'm talking about? Kids. They watch a movie and then want to watch it 100 times in the span of 3 days. To go along with her love of the movie, we made the cutest Wizard of Oz footprint puppets!
*As an Amazon associate I earn from qualifying purchases.
After watching The Wizard of Oz movie (get it here), my daughter wanted to do a craft. I suggested a Dorothy and Toto, but she wanted to do a Lion, a Tiger, and a Bear. When she comes up with ideas all on her own, we run with it! We were so excited to make these puppets that we also made a lion, tiger, and bear from paper plates.
We decided that footprints would be the easiest way to create the head and body, then we could add the other parts with a paint brush. We had so much fun creating these animals and in the end decided to turn them into hand puppets. We like doing animals on paper like this footprint teddybear or this handprint tiger, but making these into puppets was different and fun!
How to create The Wizard of Oz Footprint Puppets
Supplies Used:
- White Cardstock
- Washable Kids Paint: Orange, Black, Yellow, Brown,
- Googly Eyes
- Wet Washcloth (or other way to wash child's feet off between colors)
- Paintbrushes
- Scissors
- Popsicle Sticks
- Glue
We started off by laying out one sheet of white cardstock.
I painted her foot in yellow, pressed it on the paper to create the lion. After wiping the yellow paint off her foot, we repeated the process with brown and orange paint.
We let the paint dry for just a few minutes and then painted on the faces, tiger stripes, tiger and bear ears, and the lion mane.
When the paint was completely dry, we glued on the googly eyes to each animal.
I cut the animals out and we glued them onto popsicle sticks.
Tips for making footprint art:
Making art with your child's hand and footprints can be so cute, fun and be something you can cherish for years to come, or give as a gift. I mean, who wouldn't want to receive this easy footprint lion keepsake as a gift from a child? Adorable! It can also be stressful. It can be very hard and frustrating to get your kids feet or hands just right without them moving or sliding. Here's what I've learned from our last couple projects...
Painting The Foot:
My daughter sat on the floor next to me and I painted her foot. Too much paint will make it easier for her foot to slide around on the paper, but not enough will not create the footprint look on the paper.
Holding The Foot Straight & Still:
With one of my hands I grabbed the base of her ankle. I used the other hand to maneuver the top of her foot.
I held it with a pretty firm grip so she couldn't move her foot, even by accident.
I pressed her foot firmly onto the cardstock, pushing my hand down on the top of her foot.
Taking The Foot Away From The Paper:
When it was time to take her foot off, I used the same motion as applying the foot to the paper. One hand on the base of her ankle and one on the top of her foot. Pull straight up. If necessary, press down on the paper to help pull it away from the foot.
See also: Footprint Farm Animal Puppets
If you liked our Wizard of Oz footprint puppets and are looking for another cute movie-inspired craft, check out our Finding Dory craft!
