Puppet Pets - Marionettes toys made to hand down from generation to generation.
As a mother of five, and a believer in the value of creative play, finding affordable, high quality toys was a challenge. Eighteen years ago, I began designing my marionettes with both kids and parents in mind. They had to be whimsical and easy to operate for the kids, yet durable and easy to untangle for the parents.
Many of our designs are inspired by: “Mom, can you make a …...?”
Thus begins the process with pencil and paper. Handcrafted by my husband and myself in our basement, each puppet begins with a sketch of the animal we want to make. Once the pattern is made and cut out of wood, we begin to give them movement. By adjusting balance, controller placement, as well as rope and string lengths our wooden animals “come to life”. We use solid 1 inch pine boards, solid braided rope, heavy weight fish line, and two coats of non-toxic latex and acrylic paint. We hand tie slipknots on the legs* to keep the untangling time to a minimum.
Beginning in 1996, with 3 animals, Puppet Pets now features 24 different animals. From ladybugs to dinosaurs, penguins to monkeys, each marionette is made with the same care and love that we used when we created them for our own children.
Our marionettes are designed and built to withstand the test of time and children of all ages. It is our sincere hope that our Puppet Pets will bring hours of joy, smiles, laughs, and giggles to your children as they did ours. Pass them down to the next generation and enjoy them all over again.
Thank you for visiting my Etsy shop.
Juanita Belanger
*The butterfly, fish, and monkey do not have the slipknot feature due to design constraints