Make elephant finger puppets that are animated with three of your fingers—two fingers for the legs and another finger for the head. These puppets are easy to make—just cut, fold and glue. You can make up stories and put on plays with the elephant as the star! For triceratops, lion, rabbit and sheep puppets made in a similar way, checkout the Triceratops Finger Puppets and Three-Finger Puppets craft projects.
Related craft: For more finger puppets, see the Paper Cone Finger Puppets and Toilet Paper Tube Puppets projects.
Choose the puppet that you want to make. The colored pattern has elephant puppets in two shades of gray. Download the pattern and print it on white paper.
Patterns are Adobe PDF files. The Adobe Reader is available for free.
All of Aunt Annie's project patterns are designed to be printed on standard letter-size paper (8.5"x11" or A4). When printing from Adobe Reader, you may need to select Auto-Rotate and Center or Choose paper source by PDF page size to ensure the best fit.
If you printed the black & white pattern, color the puppets any way you like. Elephants are usually gray, but elephant puppets can be any color.
Tip: Color both sides of the elephant's tusks.
Cut out each puppet part on the outside black line. Each elephant puppet has a head, two legs, and two tusks.
Tip: It's easier to cut out the puppet parts if you first cut the pattern into pieces with simple straight cuts, then cut out each part on its black outline.
Each leg will be formed into a tube. One leg will slide onto your index finger. The other goes on your ring finger. The legs need to fit your fingers. Wrap the leg around your finger to see how much overlap is needed, then glue.
Put glue on the back of the leg along one of the short sides. Form a tube and press along the glued edge.
Tip: You may find it easier to use tape. Wrap the leg around your finger and tape it while it is on your finger, but not too tight.
There are four lines that run from the nose to the top of the head. Make a mountain fold on each of these lines.
Bend the head down at the top and fold the ears down.
Tip: You can use tape in place of the glue.
Put glue along the back of one of the folded edges. Form the head shape and press the two bottom edges together.
Glue a tusk to each side of the head near the end. Curl the trunk down.
Tip: You can give the trunk more shape by curling them over a pencil with your fingers.
Tip: Your elephant puppets can have four legs. Just make leg coverings for your thumb and little finger. Now you can have your elephants walk on four legs.
Bring your elephant puppet to life by putting the head on your middle finger. Put one leg covering on your index finger, and put the other leg covering on your ring finger. Now make your puppet walk by moving your fingers.
Tip: If the head won't stay on your finger, stuff some tissue around your finger.
Tip: If you want to hide your hand, put on a glove or drape a cloth over your hand. Try to use colors that match the puppet.
Think of what your elephant puppets will do. Where does your play take place? Write down what the puppets will say and figure out how they will move. Will more than two puppets be on stage at once? Do you need a friend to help? Rehearse your play a few times, and then perform it for family and friends.
That's it! You are ready some
elephant make-believe!
Tip: The colored pattern has elephant puppets in two shades of gray—make one or both.
Tip: For additional finger puppets made in a similar way, checkout the Three-Finger Puppets and Triceratops Finger Puppets craft projects.
Tip: You can make the elephant finger puppets any way you like—fanciful colors or glued-on googly eyes. For these colorful puppets, the puppet pattern's black & white PDF file was opened in Inkscape (a free drawing program) and the colors were added.
