Hand Crafts

In the day before Thanksgiving or on the day itself, give guests and friends a special reminder with this felt turkey pin. This is a fun kids' craft that can be done at school or at home.

What you'll need:

How to make it:

1. Cut out a 1" circle for the body of the turkey.
2. Cut out a 1/2" circle for the head of the turkey.
3. Cut out a heart (1 1/2" wide x 1 3/4" tall) for the feathers.
4. Cut a little oval shaped (1/4" wide x 1/2" long) out of red for the gobbler.
5. Cut a tiny gold triangle for the beak (1/4" wide x 1/4" long).
6. Cut out tiny feet (use your imagination) out of gold felt (1/2" wide x 1/4" tall).
7. Cut a square of felt for the back of the turkey to hold the safety pin.
8. Glue round body close to the middle of the heart shaped felt piece.
9. Glue the round head overlapping the top of the round body.
10. Add glue to the top of the wattle on the underneath side.
11. Pull up the bottom part of the head and slip the wattle under it. Press down firmly.
12. Glue twowiggle eyes on the head.
13. Glue the beak near the bottom of the head (see picture).
14. Glue the feet at the bottom of the body.
15. Turn the turkey over. Open the safety pin. Lay the square of felt over the back (non-opening side) of the safety pin. Glue the square in place.
16. Let dry. Wear and enjoy.

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This project is easy to make and uses minimal supplies. Poke the turkey's stick into an upside-down paper cup or hang on the edge of a flower pot.

What you'll need:

How to make it:

1. Paint the jumbo craft sticks: four brown, two yellow, two red and one orange. Leave one unpainted.
2. Cut one-half an egg shape (body) from the goldenrod felt, approximately 2 1/2 x 3 inches.
3. Cut a small elongated triangle from the goldenrod felt for the beak.
4. From red felt, cut an elongated heart shape, about one-inch long.
5. From black felt, cut a simple top hat and a small rectangle for the buckle.
6. From the white felt, cut a small rectangle for the buckle a little bit larger than the black one.
7. Lay the plain jumbo craft stick on the table. This will be your base stick.
8. Starting from the right, glue craft sticks into a fan shape, stacking one on top of the other as you go. Our pattern goes brown, yellow, red, brown, yellow, red, orange, brown.
9. You should have one brown craft stick left over. This is your turkey's body. Glue it straight up and down onto the middle of the fan shape.
10. Glue goldenrod body in place. Next, glue the gobbler (red heart) just above the top of the body.
11. Glue the beak in place just above the gobbler.
12. Glue wiggle eyes above the beak.
13. Glue hat onto top of head, then glue white rectangle on hat and black rectangle onto the white one, creating the buckle.
14. Write "Happy Thanksgiving" on a small piece of paper or construction paper. Glue to miniature craft stick, then glue craft stick to body.
15. Allow to dry completely.

Tips:

• If this is a class project, break it into steps. Paint one day, cut another, glue the next.
• Some craft stores carry packages of colored craft sticks.
• Put a fairly heavy rock in the center of a paper plate. Glue an upside down paper cup to over the top of the rock. When dry, insert the craft stick into the top of the cup for a fun Turkey Greeter holder.
• Alternatively, you can use construction paper for the feathers so that your turkey lays flat. Use the "sign" for each guest's name and use as place holders for dinner!

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This pumpkin turkey Thanksgiving craft involves decorating a pumpkin to look like a turkey, which we can assure you is easier than decorating a Thanksgiving turkey to look like a pumpkin! Kids will need help attaching the decorations.

What you'll need:

• Pumpkin
• Printed pattern
• Crayons, markers, paint, or colored pencils
• Scissors
• Thick craft glue and/or hot glue
• Toothpicks or short skewers for mini version; popsicle sticks or skewers for large version
• Thin cardboard (cereal boxes will work) for the large turkey
• Colored paper, optional

How to make it:

1. Find a place to work, and protect it with a large sheet of paper.
2. Gather all your materials.
3. Read all the directions, there will be choices to make that will determine which materials you need.

Making your Pumpkin Turkey

Step 1 - Print Patterns

Print out pattern. You might want to print it on tan paper to reduce the amount of coloring necessary. You'll need one head/wings pattern, and one extra feathers pattern. If possible, print the pattern on heavy paper.

Print a sample pattern first, to determine which size you'll want for your pumpkin. If you need a size not provided, use the basic shapes as a guideline for making your own.

Small head/wings - small feathers

Medium head/wings - medium feathers

Large head - left wing - right wing - large feathers

Step 2 - Color or Make Construction Paper Pieces

Color the turkey pieces as you wish. Another option is to use the patterns shown as patterns for cutting out construction paper versions of the turkey from brown, tan, orange and yellow construction paper. Be creative in your color choices.

Only color one side of the paper on the head and feathers, as they will be glued together in Step 4.

Step 3 - Cut Out

Cut out all the shapes, if you colored them in, on the computer printout.

If you are making the large turkey, reinforce the pieces by gluing the front of the head, both wings, and half of the tail feathers to thin cardboard. Then cut them out again.

Step 4 - Glue the Halves Together with Sticks in the Center

You will notice you have a front and a back of the head/neck, and a lot of feathers. In order to attach the head and feathers to the pumpkin, they will need a toothpick or popsicle stick attached to them so that you can poke them into the pumpkin. Put a thin layer of glue on the back side of one of the head pieces, and then position the stick so that half extends beyond the neck. Then put the other side of the head on, sandwiching the stick between the layers. Do the same for the feathers, sandwiching the stick between two feathers, with half of it extending beyond the bottom of the feather. (See illustration).

Do NOT glue the wings together, although if you want to make them stronger, you can glue them to a second piece of paper and then cut them out again.

When you are done, you should have one head, five feathers, (nine feathers for the large version) and two wings.

Let the glue dry before going on to the next part.

Step 5 - Attach the Parts to the Pumpkin

An adult will need to help young kids make a small hole through the skin where the head and feathers will go. You can use a sharp knife, scissors, awl or small screwdriver to make the holes—or an extra popsicle stick.

Once the holes are make, push the sticks into the pumpkin for the head and tail feathers. Make the tail feathers stick out in a circular fashion, kind of like a fan.

Glue the wings to the side of the pumpkin. Thumb tacks can be used to temporarily hold the wings in place while the glue dries. Another option is to use hot glue with adult supervision (or the adult doing it for young kids).

You're Done!

Once the glue has dried, remove the thumbtacks from the wings, and enjoy your decoration.

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What a fun project to put together for that festive holiday, Thanksgiving. Help your child make a pair and show off to the whole family!

What you'll need:

• Pair of knit gloves (brown, orange or other fall color)
• Felt (yellow, orange, white, black, goldenrod, tan, red, and brown)
• Washable fabric glue or hot glue
• Scissors
• Plastic wrap

How to make it:

1. Stuff the fingers and palm of each glove with plastic wrap. This will keep the gloves from sticking to themselves during the gluing process.
2. From the goldenrod felt, cut out two oval shapes for the turkey's head, each one about two-inches high and 1 1/2-inches wide.
3. From the red, yellow, brown, and tan felt, cut out three-inch long strips. Cut points at the ends.
4. Cut two small triangles from the orange felt, each one about three-quarters of an inch in size.
5. From the red felt, cut two elongated heart shapes, each one about 1 1/2-inch long.
6. From the white felt, cut two, 1-inch ovals, and from the black felt cut four small ovals (for the eyes).
7. Lay all the pieces out on the gloves first, following our photo as a guide. Once you have everything in place, glue the pieces in the following order:
8. First, glue on the strips in place for the feathers.
9. Next, glue the "head" on, then the red "gobbler" (heart shape).
10. Now glue the white and black pieces on for the eyes.
11. Finish the face with the orange "beak."
12. Allow the glue to dry completely.
13. Remove the plastic wrap from the gloves.

Tips:

• Be sure that you lay all the pieces out first before gluing anything in place. Trim the pieces as necessary (sizes in the instructions are approximate and will depend on the size of your gloves).
• We suggest choosing fall colors for your gloves but you can use any color you like. Knit gloves are inexpensive, often under $1 per pair and can be found at discount department stores, grocery stores, drug stores and even dollar stores.
• You can purchase special fabric glue called "Wash It," which glues fabrics together and will not wash out. Be careful though, if you get it on your clothing it won't wash out of it either!

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If you need a longer-term craft project that involves gradually creating a textured turkey decoration, look no further. Taking your time is key. It makes a perfect Thanksgiving craft for children four years and up.

What you'll need:

• Oak tag paper
• Yellow, red, orange, and brown construction paper
• Glue
• Brown tissue paper cut into one inch squares

How to make it:

THE BODY

1. Trace the outline of a turkey on aak tag paper. Have the children cut it out.
2. Children then take squares of brown tissue paper, crumple, and glue onto turkey. (Draw ovals for eyes beforehand so that children don't put tissue paper there).
3. Set aside to dry.

FEATHERS

1. Outline feathers on oak tag. Depending on size of body decide how many you need. (At least four to use all colors)
2. Next, pre-cut strips of paper the width of the feather and about one inch long.
3. Take about 1/4 of the paper on the top, and fold it down. Glue the remaining part on the feather. So what you have will be the tip of the paper folding down towards you.
4. Do the same thing with another strip of paper. Bend the tip, then glue HALFWAY down the first strip. So you'll have overlapping strips of paper (going down the feather), with the tips folded towards you.
5. After feather is completely covered with strips to the bottom, and glue has dried, you have children cut slits lengthwise into the folds. Then ruffle them a bit to get some texture in it.
6. Use a different color for each feather.
7. Finally, glue finished feathers onto the body. Use a marker to make the eyes, and improvise on the beak and legs. You can use black marker on the eyes and use glitter to outline circle.

Tips:

Although not difficult, this project does require some time to complete. Plan on using it as an all week project. Also plan on doing a little preparation work before you have the kids start the project. It may seem overwhelming, but if done slowly, it's really not. The end result is wonderful though!

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Kids can craft a Thanksgiving ornament that does double duty with this turkey toothpick holder. It makes a fun pass-around for after the feast--even better than doing the dishes.

What you'll need:

• 1 1/2' terracotta pot
• Popsicle stick
• Tacky glue
• Tiny wiggle eyes
• Feathers - brown, orange, black (or make some out of foam or paper)
• Fun foam or construction paper in black, brown, red, orange

How to make it: Before you start

1. Find a place to work, and protect it with a large sheet of paper.
2. Gather all your materials.
3. Read all the directions.

Making your Turkey Toothpick Holder

Turkey Head

1. Draw a turkey head and neck on the brown paper or foam.
2. Make a little pilgrim hat with the black paper or foam.
3. Glue the head/neck to the Popsicle stick, then glue the hat on top.
4. Add wiggle eyes, an orange beak, and red wattle.
5. Attach the head to the pot.
6. Glue the Popsicle stick to the inside of the pot.

Tail

1. Glue some feathers to the back of the pot. You can also use a couple feathers for wings on the side of the pot.

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A pleasant nature walk is all you need to gather supplies for this pinecone turkey figure. Thanksgiving is the perfect time for this craft that's fun for kids to create and makes a great place setting idea.

What you'll need:

• Pinecone
• Acorn or elongated small nut
• Two (10 mm) wiggle eyes
• Low temp glue gun or tacky glue
• Red chenille stem
• Orange chenille stem
• Wire cutters
• Bird feathers
• Slice of dead tree branch or other piece of wood for base (about 1/2 inch thick and three inches across)
• Gold spray paint

How to make it:

1. Lightly spray the pinecone with gold spray paint. Let dry.
2. Cut the orange chenille into two (three inch) pieces.
3. Fold the first orange chenille stem into half, twist about 1/4 inches from end and open up ends to make the feet.
4. Repeat for second orange chenille stem.
5. Stick the orange feet in the turkey a little less than halfway from the largest end. Glue in place (See photo).
6. Glue turkey body (pinecone) with feet down to the piece of wood.
7. Glue the acorn to the smallest end of the pine cone.
8. Glue feathers in the pinecone closest to the largest end (see photo for placement).
9. Glue wiggle eyes on the head (acorn).
10. Cut a tiny piece of red chenille stem to use as the waddle and glue below the eyes.
11. Make extras and use them on your Thanksgiving table!

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