When my girls were little, they always loved giving me a hand with our Thanksgiving centerpiece. This was literally the perfect Thanksgiving craft for that. When I wrote this back in 2010, my sweet Kira was 4 and the perfect helper (with the perfect hand size) for this Turkey that we took with us to Grandma’s house for the holiday. Grandma not only loved the adorable Turkey, she thought it was extra special because it included cutouts of her sweet granddaughter’s hands.
We weren’t sure what to make that year, but had so much fun at JoAnns going aisle by aisle to get inspired and finally decided on a turkey centerpiece that would include the hand prints of both girls. This would be a great craft if you had a group of kids of different ages and hand sizes. I think the variation in size really adds to the “fluffy” look.
Here’s what you’ll need:
- Styrofoam ball (See picture below for reference. If you select a larger ball, you may. need more felt!)
- Toothpicks (I picked mine up at the dollar store– it’s best to use the plastic decorative toothpicks, they are easier to glue)
- Variety of “Fall-colored” scrap booking paper
- Popsicle sticks
- Hot glue gun + glue
- Googly eyes
- Felt (3 sheets of brown, 1 red, 1 yellow, and 1 black + white if you want to add a hat)
Step 1: Get your supplies and get organized!
Step 2: Create hand stencils for each of your kiddos
Step 3: Start cutting out your “feathers” with the stencils. You’ll need about 20-30.
Step 4: Cut about an inch off the end of two large popsicle sticks to help create the turkey head (save the pieces you cut off):
Step 5: Place the larger part of the 2 sticks in your styrofoam ball as pictured here. This will create the neck of your turkey.
See, it’s starting to look like a turkey…
…okay maybe not, but soon!
Step 6: Fold one sheet of brown felt in half and cut two half-inch slits about an inch apart on one end:
This just shows it unfolded for reference:
Step. 7: Slip the felt over the popsicle sticks.
This will be the front of the turkey:
Step8: Cut another piece of felt in this shape to wrap around the popsicle sticks for the head/face.
Notice that I cut about an inch further to fold over the top of the sticks:
Step 9: Take the pieces you cut of the popsicle sticks (I told you not to throw them away!) and hot glue them in the middle to make the head sturdier and create a place to glue the felt to.
Step 10: Create a scarf with the red felt.This is what it looks like after you cover the head and add the scarf to cover the seam at the base.
Step 11: Stick the hands throughout (We cut them out together and I glued them onto toothpicks)
Step 12: Add your eyes, the beak, wattle, hat and anything else you see fit!
And there you have it, look at my happy little Turkey!
An adorable centerpiece that we know grandma will love for years to come. Did you create a craft or centerpiece this year? We would love to see them and share them with our other HHM readers. Send your photos to shannon [at] happyhourmom [dot] com–from decor to yummy treats, we want to see it all for our follow-up holiday post. I can’t wait to see your goodies!
Original post by SHANNON on NOVEMBER 23, 2010
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