Puppet Stand

This was a fun project that my wife has asked me to make for years. I had started another stand that was more complex, but I was also using some cheap leftover materials from another project. With that stand I was successful in getting a simple structure, but I was also trying to use the cam lock devices that come with most bookshelves you can buy in general stores for cheap. Before I was able to finish it, we moved and the wood buckled in the move.

I did actually use leftover material for this project, but this time I spent a little more time and better quality wood to complete it. Above you can see the side-by-side comparison of the front and back. The front side has a chalk board, while the back is a marker board. Because it was leftover wood I did decide to stain it darker since I had some dark stain. I think it would probably look better with a solid color, but I still like the way it turned out.

I made this version smaller and simpler than my first. While I know that my kids will enjoy this while they are young, I doubt that their interest in it will last more than ten years. My eight-year-old has fun with it mostly because he’s an awesome big brother and knows it makes his younger sisters laugh. It is really fun to watch them make up stories and use their imagination to play–even with the few puppets we have.

I still need to add a curtain rod. I’m glad that I didn’t put one on before the kids played with it because I realized that having the curtain more toward the back of the stand allows the puppeteer to sit without being seen themselves. Even if I don’t get a rod on it, just draping a blanket over the top shelf gives more than enough to “set the stage.”