Puppets in a Jamb

Our Homemade Doorway Puppet Theatre



Saw this idea a couple years ago & shoved it in my 'someday' folder. Slowly but surely I'm taking stuff from that folder and working on them (word of note: slooooowly).
Don't have a lot of space for a wooden puppet theatre/stand? Want something that can easily go up, be taken down and stored ?  Want a theatre that can grow with your child?
Then a doorway puppet theatre is for you!

You can buy them via retail ($50-$90). Or you can make them for under $20, or for FREE if you already have fabric and a tension rod. You can use sheets & curtains too.

There are a lot of DIY doorway puppet theatres out there...here's some visual inspiration.
Oooh



Ahhh- a good tutorial on this tent one too!



Cute on Etsy



So sweet, she actually sells many different themes too (Mommy Made it For Me site)



But this is my inspiration (from Country Living a few years back), below. They have a small tutorial on this one HERE. I just like that it's simple. Not using multiple tension rods, dowel rods or lots of fabric. Best of all, when you look at this picture, you think " Gee, that looks easy enough!"



I went less fancy, less time and skill. I used leftover fabrics and while I sewed most of it, I also used fabric glue where I didn't feel like sewing. I used fabric glue to adhere ribbon trim around the 'stage' opening (it was just easier!):

Fabric glued ribbon trim

My girl enjoying her new puppet theatre

So the Hippo says to the Robot...

I plan to add some Velcro to the inside bottom of the stage corners (or tabs), to eliminate any sagging of the stage (a 5 minute fix). You could also add a pocket & dowel rod to eliminate sagging. After seeing these pics, I realize I could have given it a quick iron out too!

 Total project cost was $0.Total project time was right under 4 hours.

This theatre does the trick and my girl is very happy with it - it's become a common bedtime routine request!