Product Description

Tucked away in a plain five-story building in Manhattan is a magical place--The Muppet Workshop, where inspired craftspeople combine a diverse array of skills to bring the Muppet world to life. Now The Workshop, along with Stephanie St. Pierre--who grew up making crafts with her friends the Hensons--presents The Muppets Big Book of Crafts, a collection of 100 great projects plus trade secrets. Filled with full-color photographs and how-to line illustrations, The Muppets Big Book of Crafts is divided into chapters by technique and teaches the basics of drawing, sculpting, sewing, painting, dyeing, woodworking, quilting, puppetry, beading, and more. The results are amazing. A creepy-crawly spider piata filled with baby candy spiders. Elaborate tin can lanterns. A mosaic made of eggshells. Not to mention Groovy Glasses, Suncatcher Bugs, and Awesome Umbrae Scarf, a Wiggly Worm, and Marvelous Maracas. Throughout, tips, advice, and the running commentary of Muppet characters keep the book lively and entertaining.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #75428 in Books
• Published on: 1998-12-13
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 336 pages

From School Library Journal
Grade 2-6-A fun-filled, delightful book. In the foreword, Cheryl Henson, the daughter of Jim Henson, recalls how her parents set up their first puppet workshop in their basement and describes life in this home filled with creative activity. The introduction offers readers suggestions for setting up a work space, provides a list of safety tips, and describes specific techniques such as enlarging a pattern or working with papier-m?ch?. The chapters that follow each deal with one medium or technique. One discusses color and focuses on crafts that use light, such as suncatchers and "stained glass." Others teach about cutting, folding, tearing, and piercing paper; molds and models; carving; printmaking; mixed media (a truly amazing chapter); wood; sewing and weaving basics; dipping and dyeing; masks and disguises; jewelry; puppets; and music makers. Within the chapters, the projects progress from the easy to more difficult. The directions are clear and complete, yet children will feel free to improvise. A sense of joy prevails in the instructions for the wildly funny as well as the more useful activities. Witty illustrations are populated by Muppet characters making Muppet remarks. Full-color photographs of the completed projects are included. This is a book for schools and libraries, for children and teachers, and a gift to be treasured.
Marcia W. Posner, Holocaust Memorial and Educational Center of Nassau County, Glen Cove, NY
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From the Back Cover
Suncatcher Bugs and Popsicle Hands, Groovy Glasses, and more!

Drawing on the creativity and trade secrets of The Muppet Workshop, here is a wide-ranging collection of 100 inspired crafts. Turn brown paper bags and wooden dowels into a kid-size teepee, or rescue tin cans from the recycling bin and make them into your very own robot. There are costumes to sew, masks to cut out and paint, glamorous jewelry to show off. The crafts are organized by technique--each chapter focuses on a different skill, such as drawing, sculpting, quilting, beading--and projects are illustrated with full-color photographs and how-to line drawings. Kermit ads insider tips throughout, and Miss Piggy rates every project's level of difficulty. Complete one or complete them all--you're on your way to becoming an honorary Muppet Craftsperson.

About the Author
Cheryl Henson, daughter of Jim Henson--creator of the Muppets--is a vice president of Jim Henson Productions. She is an ardent advocate of puppetry and is executive producer of the International Festival of Puppet Theater.

Stephanie St. Pierre has written over 60 books for children, including the Dell Yearling biography The Story of Jim Henson: Creator of Muppets. When she's not at her job as publishing executive, she enjoys creating crafts with her kids at their home in New York City.

The Muppet Workshop is the magical place where original Muppet characters are created by a staff of talented designers and builders. The Workshop has created hundreds of Muppet puppets over the last 30 years.