Today I’m sharing a simple and cute seahorse puppet made from paper rolls. They make a fun DIY toy and will inspire imaginative play in children.

There is something magical about seahorses. It’s easy to imagine these delicate creatures being friends with mermaids and they certainly have their place in myths and stories. When I decided to create a seahorse craft I read up on them and discovered a few fascinating real facts which I thought you might find interesting too.

Fascinating seahorse facts

• Seahorses are masters of disguise and are able to camouflage themselves to blend in with almost any background. 
• The seahorse has a snout like a vacuum cleaner which it uses to suck up it’s food (plankton and tiny fish).
• When a seahorse finds a partner they stick with them for life. Every morning before dawn they engage in a ‘courtship dance’ together, which can last for hours.
• They have a reverse pregnancy! The male seahorse will be the one to have babies after the female deposits her eggs into his pouch.
• A male seahorse can have up to 2000 babies at one time, but each baby seahorse is on it’s own at birth and has only a 1 in 1000 chance of surviving into adulthood.
• Sadly, many of the 32 known seahorse species are under threat, mostly from humans. The medicine trade, the pet trade and deep sea trawling are all major factors threatening their existence.

How to make a seahorse puppet

It’s easy to make a seahorse puppet! This craft uses paper rolls with a cut and fold technique, and you will need a few other basic craft supplies too. Watch the short video or keep scrolling for photographs and written instructions.

You will need:

• a painted paper towel roll (one per seahorse)
• a wooden dowel rod or a long, straight stick
• googly eyes
• paint (I’ve used acrylic guache)
• tacky craft glue
• a hot glue gun
• a craft knife
• this seahorse template

How to:

1. Flatten your paper roll.
2. Print and cut out the template and trace it onto your roll. The straight edges need to be lined up against the folds.
3. Cut out the shapes you have traced, there will be a head, body and fin.
4. Cut a small slit in the back just above the tail to slot the fin in. Unfold the fin piece and cut one half of it so it is small enough to fit into the slot, and then slot it in and glue into place with tacky craft glue.
5. Glue the head on at an angle with tacky craft glue.
6. Decorate with painted patterns and googly eyes.
7. Use a hot glue gun to attach the dowel rod to the inside of the seahorse.

…and now you’re ready to play!

These guys are off to visit the mermaids!

More fun paper roll animals you can make:

• create a simple paper roll swan
• these paper roll fish are SO fun and easy
• make a cute paper roll grasshopper
• these frilled neck lizards turned out so well!

See loads more ideas on our cardboard tubes board on Pinterest.

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