These cute turkeys can double as Thanksgiving place cards!

What You Need: Styrofoam ball; brown tempera paint; feathers (with stiff quills; they’re a little more expensive); wooden “spoon” (sold in the craft aisle, or with your ice cream); 2 googly eyes; red cardstock; office brad; paint brush; scissors; glue.
How You Make It: Paint turkey brown. (Note: It takes awhile to dry. Try setting it on a cup and rotating it from time to time.) Glue googly eyes to top of spoon. Cut wattle from red cardstock (we used a heart-shaped punch) and glue below eyes. Poke spoon “head” into ball about one-third of the way. Poke feathers into styrofoam for plume. You can use an office brad to attach the Styrofoam ball to a piece of cardstock; then write a guest’s name on the cardstock. If you’d rather, an adult can cut off the bottom of the ball so the turkey can sit on its own.
Posts Tagged ‘Thanksgiving’
Styrofoam turkey or placecard craft
Tuesday, November 13th, 2007Handprint turkey with feathers
Thursday, November 8th, 2007Here’s a twist on the classic handprint Thanksgiving turkey craft. If you’re wondering why the hand in the example is so big, it’s because 3-year-old Alec didn’t feel like getting paint on his hands so Mom used her own, which gives us a chance to remind you to, as always, “enjoy the process,” because the most important thing at craft time is that preschoolers are having fun.

What You Need: Brown washable tempera paint; glue; feathers; googly eye; scrap of red and yellow cardstock or construction paper; full sheet of light-colored construction paper.
How You Make It: Paint hand using brown paint and press onto paper. Once dry, use glue to add feathers to finger areas. Glue on googly eye. Cut out wattle shape or use a heart-shaped paper punch to make one from red paper and glue on. Cut rectangle legs from yellow construction paper and glue on.
Paper plate turkey
Monday, October 29th, 2007What You Need: Paper plate; assorted feathers; scrap of red construction paper; 2 googly eyes; scissors; glue or tape.

How You Make It: Cut inward from bottom of plate in two places about 2″ apart angled inward but not connecting (adult job). Fold in half and upward to form turkey head. Glue or staple feathers to top of paper plate. Cut out wattle shape from red construction paper and glue on. Glue on googly eyes.
Pinecone turkey
Thursday, October 11th, 2007Here’s a fun Thanksgiving project made with things you can find in nature!

What You Need: Pinecone; 2 acorn tops; 2 googly eyes (optional); scraps of orange and red cardstock or construction paper; 6 to 8 feathers (dyed or natural); scissors; glue.
How You Make It: Use glue to stick feathers in back of upright pinecone. Glue on 2 acorn caps for eyes (they should slide right over the pinecone parts). Add googly eyes. Cut out orange triangle for beak and red wattle shape and glue on.
Clothespin and muffin paper turkey
Tuesday, October 9th, 2007Make a bunch of these cute clothespin turkeys for a holiday party. You can even use them to mark guests’ places at Thanksgiving dinner!

What You Need: Flat clothespin; two small googly eyes; muffin (cupcake) pan paper liner; red, orange and yellow markers; scraps of red and orange cardstock or construction paper; glue; scissors.
How You Make It: Fold muffin paper in half with light side facing out. Color to look like turkey feathers, or however you’d like. Glue two eyes near top of clothespin front. Cut out orange triangle for beak and glue on front of clothespin. Punch out heart from red paper or just cut a wattle shape and glue on. Glue clothespin onto muffin paper.