If you're looking for a great turkey craft this Fall, this is it! These adorable pinecone turkeys are great just for fun or to help little ones practice patterns.
Every year, our family collects fall leaves and pinecones to decorate our home. This year, we put some of those pinecones to use to create some fun turkeys.
Ready to make some at your house? This craft is so simple that it can easily be adapted for any age child. Our original turkey was created by my daughter in kindergarten. Let's get started!
Pinecone Turkey Craft
Materials
- 1 large pinecone
- 3 colored pipe cleaners
- Small scrap of red or brown cardstock or construction paper (4" x 2" is a good size to start with)
- Very small scrap of orange cardstock or construction paper
- Pony beads in various colors (8-12 for each "feather")
- Black sharpie marker
- Craft glue or glue gun with hot glue
Instructions
- Cut each pipe cleaner in half.
- String 8-12 beads on each pipe cleaner. (This is a great time for little ones to practice patterns.)
- Cut a shape for the turkey's neck and head from the brown or red paper. It should be shaped like a footprint--with the top slightly larger than the bottom.
- Fold the orange scrap in half and cut a triangle along the fold for the beak. (When unfolded, it should be shaped like a kite.)
- Draw two eyes on the face and "U" shapes on the neck of the turkey.
- Glue on the turkey's beak.
- Bend the pipe cleaners in half (with rounded tops) to create the feathers.
- Tuck the pipe cleaner "feathers" into the pinecone and attach with hot glue or craft glue. (I don't recommend that children use hot glue on their own. Small children should use craft glue or have an adult glue for them with hot glue.)
- Attach the face to the bottom of the pinecone with craft or hot glue.
All done! Easy peasy, right? The kindergarten turkey is below. Pretty good for a five-year-old!
These can be used to decorate your mantle this Fall, or even your Thanksgiving table!
More Thanksgiving Ideas
About the Author
Heidi from One Creative Mommy is a retired teacher and stay-at-home mom who loves to create. Visit her website for creative ideas including gluten-free recipes, crafts, kids' stuff, and more!
Danielle says
I love this and I even have most of the supplies 🙂 because.. There's an art store worth of stuff in my basement.
Heidi Fowler says
Thanks, Danielle. I have an "art store" at my house, too! I'm such a hoarder!
Cassie says
How cute! We are in the middle of making Thanksgiving crafts and I might just have to add this to the list! Thanks for sharing.
Heidi Fowler says
Thanks so much, Cassie. If you add it to the list, I hope you and your kiddos have a great time.
Jessica says
You have some of the cutest activities for kids to do! I could see kids at a table while mom cooks and them busy making turkeys!! VERY CUTE!
Heidi Fowler says
Thanks so much, Jessica. Moms need all the help we can get on Thanksgiving!
Julie @ Run Away Freckles says
Too cute!! I will pin this
Heidi says
Thanks, Julie. I hope you have fun with the craft.
Mama Carmody says
I love the pine cone turkey but I have a more "bloggy" question. What type of program did you use to make the moving picture of the pine cone turkey craft? I always enjoy your posts. Thanks for sharing.
Heidi says
Thanks, Mama Carmody. The moving picture is called a gif. I created mine in Photoshop, but there are many free sites online that you can use to create your own. Before I started doing it myself in Photoshop, I used this tutorial (pinned to my Building a Better Blog board. You'll notice that the pin comes up with a blank image. That's because gif images don't show up on Pinterest. If you create one, be sure to have another image in the post that is not a gif that people can pin. Good luck!
Mama Carmody says
Thanks so much for the information. I am going to look into that.
Heidi says
Oops! So I was totally wrong about the "blank" image. On my board it shows up blank, but when I click on the pin, the gif image appears. Pinterest must have made some changes since I pinned this post. Have fun.