I recently made a set of crafts inspired by one of my family’s favorite movies, The Sound of Music. If you love the film too, these simple projects are a fun way to bring a bit of the story into your home.
Below you’ll find three easy, eco-friendly Sound of Music crafts for kids that use recycled materials you likely have on hand. Each project is designed to be durable enough for play after the crafting is finished, so they work well as toys or props for imaginative play and mini-performances.
Cardboard Guitar
Maria’s guitar is iconic, so it’s the perfect craft to recreate. This cardboard guitar is an upgraded version of the classic tissue-box guitar. You only need a box, a cardboard tube, a bit of scrap cardboard and rubber bands to get started. Markers, paint or stickers let kids personalize the look.
Choose a box size that suits the child: tissue boxes for very small hands, shoe boxes for preschoolers, or small shipping boxes for older kids. Decorating is part of the fun—paint it to resemble Maria’s guitar or let kids invent their own designs with crayons, stamps, or collage materials.
Next up is my favorite project for repeat play:
Lonely Goatherd Marionettes + Theater
The “Lonely Goatherd” puppet scene has become a household favorite. You don’t need a store-bought puppet theater to stage a show—a table, desk or play kitchen can become the stage with a simple scenic background.
Build a scenic backdrop from cardboard or foam core, paint it with sky and mountains, and attach fabric curtains or a scrap-sheet valance with clips. For marionettes, toilet paper rolls are perfect: cut, paint and add paper fringes for fur, cardboard horns, and yarn legs. Use a small length of neutral rope to join head and body, then control the puppet with a popsicle stick “X” to create marionette movement. You can make two goats like the movie or expand the cast with more animals.
The Sound of Music Kids Crafts
Materials
Cardboard Guitar
- 1 Cardboard box (tissue, shoe, shipping or similar)
- Scrap cardboard
- 1 Cardboard tube
- 4 Rubber bands
- Markers or paint
- Scissors
- Hot glue
Lonely Goatherd Marionettes + Theater
- 2 Toilet paper rolls (per puppet)
- Paper in desired colors
- Scrap cardboard (cereal boxes work well)
- Paint and/or markers
- Black rope, yarn or ribbon
- White/neutral rope, yarn or ribbon
- 2 Popsicle sticks
- Scissors
- School glue or hot glue
- Cardboard, paint and sponge for background
Instructions
Cardboard Guitar
- If using a shipping box, remove the flaps.
- Draw a guitar shape on scrap cardboard a few inches larger than your box and cut it out.
- Trace a circle on the top half of the guitar and cut the sound hole out.
- Cut two small strips of cardboard, glue them together, and attach them to the center of the lower guitar body.
- Paint or color the strip, the handle area and around the sound hole a darker shade for contrast.
- Poke four small holes below the glued strip. Cut rubber bands lengthwise into strips if needed.
- Tie a double knot on one end of each rubber band, thread each through a hole and knot on the back side to secure.
- Glue the box to the back of the guitar and attach a cardboard tube to the handle and the top of the box for a sturdy grip.
- Poke four holes through the top handle piece, thread the rubber bands and knot on the outside so they are taut. Trim excess rubber band length as needed. Your guitar is ready to play.
Lonely Goatherd Marionettes + Theater
- For each goat cut two rectangles (one about 6″ x 4″ and one about 6.5″ x 4″) and fringe the 4″ ends. Cut two fringed ear shapes, a fringed tail shape and a fringed beard. Cut two horn shapes from cardboard and cut one toilet paper roll in half for the head.
- Paint the half roll for the head and decorate with a face. Make a paper hat from a rolled half-circle if desired.
- Glue the horns, ears and beard to the head.
- For the body use the whole toilet paper roll: poke four holes in the bottom, cut four short pieces of black yarn, knot one end and thread from the inside out to create legs, then knot the other ends to form feet.
- Glue the larger fringed rectangle over the body, then the smaller one on top. Attach the tail.
- Thread a long piece of neutral yarn through a hole near the top and bottom of the head at an angle, then through two holes on the top of the body (front and back) so head and body are connected.
- Glue two popsicle sticks into an “X” and tie each end of the control rope to opposite ends of the “X” to operate the marionette.
- To make the theater, paint a large piece of cardboard sky-blue, cut and paint mountain shapes in brown and green using a sponge, glue them to the background, and attach the finished backdrop to a table or play area with clips. Curtain fabric makes a nice finishing touch.