I’m always on the lookout for crafts that don’t involve a lot of…well, anything. I want something that is easy to set up, supplies I have around my house and something my kids can do without a lot of supervision! And this, my friends, fits all those qualifications and more!

All you need is some crayons (check!), glue stick (check!), scissors (check!) and assorted envelopes (check!). So far, so good.

Let’s begin with the animal puppet. Take a long envelope, seal it and cut it in half.

With the open side down, snip off the two bottom corners. (Save ‘em! We’ll need them in a minute.)

Now, turn the envelope around, color it pink, glue on those two snipped bottom corners and you have a pig! How cute is that?!

We made mice and frogs with this same idea (just round eyes and ears instead of triangle ears). You could make a whole zoo this way!

Our next puppet is a caterpillar. Or maybe it’s a snake. Or just a crazy little monster. It’s whatever you want it to be! Just take a square invitation envelope, fold it in half and cut off the outside top corner. Then make a “V” cut in the middle.

When you open the envelope up (flap down!), you can stick your hand in, push two fingers out and you have a little puppet with antennas!

Aren’t they cute? The one on the left kinda looks like Lord Voldemort, doesn’t he? Oh, well. My daughter thought he was cute!

So, next time your kids are hanging at your office or you need to write some bills, grab an envelope and start a puppet factory!

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Amanda is a stay-at-home mom of two who blogs at OhAmanda.com and Impress Your Kids. In her former life, Amanda was a Children’s Pastor — overseeing, organizing and developing ministry for kids in nursery through middle school, but now that she is a mom, her “skills” are used up on her kids!