Hi! I'm Paula. I work at a library, am not a puppeteer, but appreciate the craft and art.

One of my ongoing projects at tge library is teaching crafts out of library / county trash such as discarded books & magazines. Anything potentially useful visits my desk first & I try to upcycle it. We've made jewelry, wreaths, planters, shadow boxes, shelves, bags, toys, wall art, etc.

I currently have three large boxes of spools left from register receipt paper, this pile grows daily. Think basic, plain plastic tubes. They are ugly, and it has been a challenge to come up with a craft worth doing.

I have a prototype for a marionette - two tubes for legs, one for body, one for each arm, bottlecaps for hands and feet, and a plastic egg for the head... But the arms hang awkwardly & there is a gap between the head and the rest of him. It hasn't been formerly diagnosed, but I believe my puppet has Floating Head Syndrome.

I think he just needs a neck, any ideas on what to use? Or if a different "garbage" item would work better for the head? Also wondering if anyone has ideas on what to use for controls. I'm currently using paint sticks, but the program is about reusing. I don't want to use a lot of new wood, so a recycled item would be best.

The classes usually reach young teens-adults (mostly educators looking for ideas for class projects), and I like bringing new and challenging projects to them. I've asked around on several DIY sites & mommy blogs, but no one has fresh ideas, just repeating what they've seen on Pinterest. I'd like professional help on this one. So here I am, on Puppets and Stuff, asking the pros for help.

Hope everyone is having an amazing day!

*EDIT- Adding pics from my Google Drive didn't work, so I added them to the gallery here:  http://puppetsandstuff.com/community/index.php?action=gallery&g2_itemId=34154

Welcome Library Lady to PandS!

I like what you are doing with these tubes.  Not sure I understand your "Floating Head Syndrome". In a marionette it is normal for the head to float a bit.  You have to have some type of "neck" and in your case this is a piece of string I believe.  This linkage is often covered with the costuming so it is not as noticeable.

Quick question, how hard is it for you to cut the plastic tubes.  The reason I ask is that the leg and arm tubes could benefit from an angled cut.  For the knees you cut the back part off at a slight angle. This allows the leg to bend back but leaving a bit of a straight edge at the front keeps it from bending forward.  On the arms if you but the angle in the arm pit it would allow the arm to hang down.

Looks like you are simply stringing twine or thread through the tubes to connect them.  An alternative would be a piece of fabric/leather to connect them. So say for the legs you would have the angled cut at the aback of the knee and then you would glue a strip of fabric the width of the "leg" to join the two. Same idea on arms only the strip of fabric would be on the bottom. Leather would hold up the longest but a heavier felt would also do the job.

Hmmm.... controls. Not sure what would be a good recyclable for this. I have seen folks use twigs from trees but not sure that is right for this. Used pop cycle (sp?) sticks would be a good choice if they where large enough but not sure that would fit the scale or how available they would be to you. I just can't think of a library discard at the moment but I'll give it some thought.

I'll see if I can hunt down some image examples of the cut on the knees. It is a common method used.

Well that didn't take long...   This shows you the cut I was explaining. http://marionette-maker.blogspot.com/2012/08/making-marionette-knee-joints.html He actually uses a small hinge but the fabric or leather would do the same thing. He also inserts it into a slot in legs. That is common but in your case I think gluing to the back should be fine.

For the neck, a piece of soda straw between the body and the head? One straw could make a lot of necks.

I like the straw idea.  I was thinking 2 big knots in string in between the head and the body with a small length of sting in between the knots to act as a joint.  But then I saw how large those holes are in the plastic pipes. I noticed there are smaller holes lining the sides of the tubes.  If you could string thru those smaller holes a string knot joint might give you some moving joints too.  I like Shawn's angled hinged joints best if the tubes can be cut without losing a finger. Maybe placing the round tube in a vise would make a cut safer. Have you given an animal puppet any thought, a snake would be easy?

Thank you so much for your advice! I am still working on this, we're planning on doing this project in August, so I still have some time.
After researching a bit, I see that having a floating head is normal. That is good to know.
I have over 500 of these non recyclable tubes, and a few more are added to the pile every day. They aren't good for much besides holding receipt paper. I haven't been able to cut or drill into them with success. Cutting the plastic shreds it leaving rough edges. Drilling destroys them. Maybe I'm not using the right bits or blades, but I haven't had much luck.
You are right, Snail. There are small holes around the large hole, and I've tried using those, but it sets the spool off-center & it hangs funny. I've upped my game to thick homemade tshirt yarn and tied knots for elbows & knnees which seems to work a little better.
The recycled art classes are 2 hrs, and we can't be noisy or messy. I try to teach a new craft or skill and guests of all ages walk away with a completed project they are proud of. We've made very cool things so far, and I'm determined to get a puppet of some kind out of these spools.
I hadn't thought about a snake... that might be interesting. I'm happy to have any input or suggestions!

Not noisy or messy, that is no fun! I used sand paper on rough cut plastic edges to smooth them out. It also roughs up smooth plastic surface so that hot glue will adhere. I found a picture of a recycled robot with legs made of plastic tubes.  A Robot would be a good fit. They used smaller pieces also, some of those would make it bend better for joints. This would be a good project to clean out the junk drawer from home. Tinsel Tuesday

Greetings