Handy Turkey Project

This is by far one of my favorite, inexpensive Thanksgiving crafts, and the best thing about it is that you can make a bunch to hand out to your closest loved ones.  I know the grandparents will both be getting one of these, and I cannot wait to hear the oohs and ahhs!

Plus, it will be so nice to look back on how little your children's hands were and to see how they've grown, and if you're like me, a few tears may be shed as well!  LOL

Below is the saying I used to start my project.  

I simply chose a font that I liked, and printed it in the 

center of a plain white piece of computer paper.  

Then I took brown craft paint, and painted my children's palms and thumbs (one hand at a time of course) and then had them push their hands on either side of the saying.

The next step was to have each child pick out some feathers they wanted to use for their turkey (the feathers can be purchased at your local craft store, or you could always make feathers out of construction paper.  Another cute idea would be to paint each finger a different color, and when your children press their hands down, the fingers will look like the feathers).

Then glue on the feathers and let them dry overnight or at least for a couple of hours (I just used Elmer's glue, but you could use a glue gun to help move the process along a bit faster).  After the feathers are secured and the glue is dry, have your children help glue on a googly eye, and draw turkey legs, a turkey beak and the waddle (that little red thingy that hangs from the turkey's neck).  

Once these steps are completed, tape or paste your finished project 

to a nice autumn colored paper of your choosing.  

In a couple of simple steps, you have a wonderful keepsake to decorate your home year after year!