Upcycled DIY Turkey Centerpiece Craft for Thanksgiving

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Turkeys, turkeys, turkeys – that’s all you hear about at this time of year. Well, you’re about to hear about it again, as I’ve made this awesome upcycled DIY turkey centerpiece craft for you! And I know you’re going to love it.

The “adult” version: I think everyone needs to craft. For children, it helps learn fine motor skills, stimulate creativity, and gives a great boost of confidence once the craft is done. For adults, it’s a great outlet as well. Since I’m an adult, and my child is still too young to color (he eats the crayon…) I’ve done the “adult” version. I used scrap book papers in a variety of prints to suit my needs. I chose one with a large open print to tie things together. I used one in a browner tone to simulate the actual color of a turkey. And of course, the bold red is also a take on the real thing.

Making it with children: Older children who can follow all or most of the steps below without too much help can make it the same way, except with more playful prints, or solid color paper. For younger children, start with white or solid color paper. You can print the shapes for the head and wattle in advance, and have them cut that out. Encourage them to color the small piece red, the center piece orange, and the tail brown. You can use stickers and such to embellish it. They can make the fan tail on their own as well. You will probably need to help with most of the assembly.

DIY Turkey Centerpiece Craft – Supplies Needed:

• A washed and dried tin can, opened using a side-cutting safety can opener
• Scrapbook papers in appropriate color tones (for the adult version)- approximately two 12×12 inch papers, and one smaller one for the wattle
• Colored papers or white paper and things to color, embellish with
• A pen (for adults)
• Scissors
• Glue (I used regular white glue)
• A small piece of duct tape

Making the DIY Turkey Centerpiece Craft:

Start by measuring your can height on the back (plain) side of your paper. Cut it out.

Apply a line of glue on each end of the paper.

Wrap it around your can and hold in place for a few minutes to secure the glue.

Take your “tail” paper. I used most of a 12 inch by 12 inch scrapbook paper. Fold it into a fan.

Glue between each fold of the fan and hold a few minutes to set the glue.

Originally I tried gluing the fan to the back (where your paper wrap overlaps). It didn’t work. A small strip of duct tapes makes it not as pretty, but does the job quickly and easily, and can’t be seen from the front anyway.

Fold over the remaining part of your wrap paper. Using the edge as the bottom part of the neck, draw a shape similar to what I’ve drawn for the turkey’s head. cut it out, cutting through both layers of the head. (For children, you may want to have this shape prepared in advance.)

“Move” the fold over a little bit on each side so that you have about 1/8 of an inch gluing space, as pictured. Apply a line of glue.

Glue it on your can, aligning the top of your fold to the top of your can.

Cut a wattle shape, as pictured, out of a piece of red or red toned paper. I drew the shape on the back first.

Glue it to one side of your head, as pictured above.

Apply glue to the inside edges of one side of you head.

Glue both sides of the head together, sandwiching the wattle.

You now have your completed boho-chic DIY turkey centerpiece! You can fill it with pretty rocks, napkins, treats, or cutlery! Place it on your holiday table, or keep it on your counter for the season.

Make sure you pin it to your craft and holiday boards so that your friends can share your good ideas! Hover over the image below, and click on the red Pinterest icon to pin!

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