Turkey Crafts

Thanksgiving is just days away!  We’ll be joining the millions of other Thanksgiving travelers as we head down south to visit family.  I haven’t packed a thing yet because we spent the morning making these cute turkey crafts!

Scrap Fabric Turkey

Use left over fabric scraps to make this colorful turkey!

Materials:

• scraps of fabric in various colors
• heavy cardstock or poster board
• scissors
• liquid glue or Mod Podge
• paint brush or cotton swab
• googly eyes

1. Select different colored fabrics for the turkey’s feathers.  Trace the shape of a feather onto the fabric and cut it out.
2. Arrange the feathers in a fan shape on the paper and glue down.  You can use liquid glue or Mod Podge. I used a paint brush to apply the glue.  It spreads it out evenly and makes the feathers look smooth. Also, make sure to use a heavy cardstock or poster board paper.  Regular paper will be too flimsy once the fabric and glue is added. 
3. Cut out the shape of the turkey’s head and body.  You can easily make a pattern for this by drawing a figure eight shape.  Just make the top part of the figure eight larger than the bottom.  Place the pattern onto the fabric, cut it out, and glue it onto the feathers.
4. Glue on googly eyes.
5. Cut out a beak, wattle, and feet from the fabric.  Glue them onto the turkey.

***Writing Extension Idea:  Have your students write a story about how the turkey got such colorful feathers.***

Glue and Oil Pastel Turkey

I combined two different ideas from the wonderful art website, Deep Space Sparkle, to create these bright turkeys.  One was the turkey drawing tutorial and the other was the glue and oil pastel tutorial.

Materials:

• black construction paper
• pencil
• liquid glue
• oil pastels

1. Draw a turkey on the black construction paper with a pencil.
2. Go over the pencil lines with a thin line of glue.  Allow the glue to dry.
3. Color inside the glue lines with oil pastels.  
4. Use a finger or small tissue to smear and blend in the pastels.

I just love how these two turkeys turned out.  We had so much fun making them.  Now it’s time for me to pull out our suitcases and get packing! I hope you and your family have a wonderful Thanksgiving!