Basic Theater and Puppet Instructions:

Printing:

My images should show pretty large on the internet unless your browser resizes them to fit the window. If you received your image by email, some email programs will resize them for viewing as well. So in your email program, if you right click the picture and save it will be smaller and it will not print as clearly. To make sure you are getting the original image right click on each paper clip. A list should appear, choose “save as” and save the image to your hard drive. My pictures is usually a good place to save them. The smaller bonus images will need to be copied and pasted onto a sheet the size of an actual collage sheet for these instructions to work. If you start a blank page you can copy and paste it onto the sheet and fill up the sheet as your collection grows.

Use your photo program to open them since they are in a .jpg picture format. Once you have them on the screen in your photo program, hold down the “Ctrl” key and at the same time press the “P” key. This will open your printer settings. Make sure that you choose ... under quality choose “best” and make sure that the “fit to page” box is checked. Then choose the paper type you are using

I print my images on brochure paper or you can use a light weight photo paper also. I always use a laser printer because it has a finish that is like what you would find on a commercial game board and it is resistant to splashes and spills. An added bonus is that the ink will not run when it gets wet so if you use a water base glue, your safe :))

Laminating the imagines to matt board:

For all my facades and puppets I like to laminate them to a light weight matt board. If you do it right, it will be hard to tell it from a die cut image.

You can purchase medium or light weight matt board at your local office supply store or just use the light weight gift boxes you get at the dollar store. Even a cereal box will work.

I used spray glue on the back of the image and on the matt board, sandwiching them together. Make sure to smooth them from the center of the sheet to the edges so you don't have any bubbles or wrinkles. Then cut them out and sand the edges with a emery board. Be sure to use the heavy ones for artificial nails.

Once the edges are sanded smooth, use a marker on the edges of all you pieces. I use a skin tone for the puppets but sometimes for the clothing section of the puppets and for the theaters I would use a color matching it to the main color of the image. They also look great with the edges done with a gold paint pen. Be sure to angle the marker or pen from the back side so you do not accidentally mark the front of the image and only color the cut edges. That way no one will see cut cardboard edges and it gives it a commercial looking finish. On the theater facade, I covered the backside with scrap booking paper also. That way the theater would still look nice from the backside as well.

For most of my theaters I print two copies of the facade and select elements from the second copy. Then I laminate the elements to matt board as described above and glue on to the top of the  full facade giving it a layered pop out. I would choose things like the, pillars, the bottom of the stage, the fascia and so on. This will gave the theater a little dimension but of course they still look great with out this extra layer. Then just embellish as desired. You can add glitter, little scrapbook flowers, brass charms, feathers or what ever fits your piece. The main thing is to have fun and make it your own :)  

For larger puppets and if I am making a diorama display, I use brads on the puppets and make little wire stands. To make the stands I start with about 12 inches of wire and I twist the top like a paper clip then the bottom into a stand like the picture. Then I a flattened paper ring on the back of the puppet for the stand to hold to. This also works for the wire wands. This makes it easy to convert them from display puppets to performers in "the show". For smaller puppets and jumping jacks it is better to use embroidery floss and tie knots threw punched holes. Then you can just jiggle them around for your show. The most important thing is to have fun... making it and preforming the shows as well!

These are a little worse for wear as my grandchildren have used them for play for several years.