DIY Lollipop Turkeys!!

Well, we are just days away from Turkey day, so I am sending you a couple final projects that you can put together with your little ones!  This activity is both fun and SUPER easy-I promise, because I managed to make this happen on a non-preschool day and my 3.5 year old lended a hand.

Now, if you know my boy, you know it is NO small feat finishing a craft with him in the room.  But I think the enticement of potential lollipops sweetened the deal, because he was way too eager to help out with this one!  This makes a great treat to take to school or even to a family dinner where there will be kiddos at the table.  And everything you need is either laying around the house already, or gathered simply by a quick trip to your local dollar store.  Here's how you do it . . .

Supplies You Will Need (Part 1):

~ Assorted decorative paper
~ Glue gun & sticks (you can use regular glue too, if you have the patience:)
~ 2 sizes of floral styrofoam discs (I found mine at the $ Tree)
~ Small styrofoam ball (cut in half-also from the $ Tree)
~ 2 Googly eyes
~ 1 orange bead
~ Red ribbon
~ Craft paint & brushes
* see below for a few more ;)

Directions:

1.) Trace your styrofoam discs onto two different decorative papers (you will be covering the front of each disc).

2.) Cut out both circles and set them aside.

2.) Cover the outside edge of both of your styrofoam discs with craft paint.

3.) Paint your small styrofoam ball as well.

4.) Allow them to dry.

About halfway through, I decided I wanted a base for my lollipop turkey, so that I could dress it up a bit and also add some stability for the little guy on the table.  Here are a few more supplies I added to the activity . . .

~ Kraft wrapping paper
~ Tape
~ Small book
~ Empty masking tape roll
~ Scissors

5.) Wrap the book in kraft or wrapping paper and hot glue the empty masking tape roll to the front.

6.) You can write a 'Happy Thanksgiving' message on the front of your book base - I happened to have some really pretty adhesive letters, so my little guy helped me stick on a fancy message!

7.) Take your decorative paper circles and glue them to the front of the styrofoam discs.

8.) Glue the painted/halved styrofoam ball to the front of the smaller of the discs.

9.) Glue the medium disc to the larger styrofoam disc.  With your glue gun, attach two googly eyes to the front of your 'turkey face'.

10.) Cut a small piece of red ribbon (you can cut out a small triangle on the edge if you want!) and attach it directly under the eyes to make the 'gobbler'.

11.) Adhere the orange bead to the top of the red ribbon gobbler.

12.) With your hot glue, adhere the large styrofoam disc to the top of your empty masking tape roll.  Add in your lollipops along the top edges of your two styrofoam discs to make the turkey 'feathers'.  And that's it!

 A fun little treat that would make any class Thanksgiving feast a gobbling good time - also would be an awesome host/hostess gift if you are headed to a house with a little guy or girl too!!

Tutorial Tuesday: An Appetizer Pumpkin Turkey . . .

Oh my word, can you believe next week is Thanksgiving already?  Time sure has been flying!!  This week over here at Juneberry Lane, we are going to focus on some last minute treats & crafts that will add some real punch to your holiday table, but are quick & budget-friendly too ~ just in case you are feeling the time crunch as much as I am.

Today's Turkey treat makes an excellent snack to bring along with you if you are invited over to a friend's or relative's house this Thanksgiving.  I never am quite sure what to bring, and while a bottle of wine, candle, or bouquet of flowers always works as an excellent host/hostess gift, this extra special edible project is sure to be unforgettable!  What's more, it is quick & simple too!  Take a look . . .

Appetizer Pumpkin Turkeys

Supplies You Will Need:

~ One large, sturdy pumpkin

~ A medium squash

~ Cherry tomatoes

~ Assorted cheese

~ Summer sausage

~ Two carrot slices

~ Two raisins

~ Toothpick

~ Chile Pepper

~ One orange M & M

~ Skewer sticks

~ Glue gun & glue stick

Directions:

1.) Using your hot glue gun, adhere the squash to the front of your pumpkin, standing it up to make the turkey head.

2.) Break your toothpick in half and slide your two carrot slices onto each half.

3.) Place your two raisins on the end of each toothpick half to make the eyes.

4.) Attach the two toothpicks to the front of your squash.  With your hot glue gun, attach the orange M & M underneath the eyes to make the beak.  Slice off the top of your red chile pepper and hot glue it to the front of the turkey face under the nose, to make the gobbler:)

5.) Cut up your assorted cheeses, cherry tomatoes, sausage, and any other snack you would like to add and slide them onto the skewer sticks (see tips below).  Insert the pointed edge of your skewer sticks to the back of your turkey to create a fan of snack 'feathers'!

Helpful Tips:

~ make sure your pumpkin is sturdy enough to hold the weight of your snack sticks, so be sure to choose a heavy, larger pumpkin.  If your pumpkin is too light, your turkey will topple over when the snack sticks are taken off and becomes unbalanced.
~ Insert your skewer sticks ahead of time, and then remove them to add the snacks, making the holes in the pumpkin a little larger to make removing the skewer sticks from the pumpkin and snacking at the party easier.

Isn't this guy great ~ such a clever little appetizer to snack on while you wait for the big bird to hit the table!!

DIY Turkey Snack Tins!

We are just having a ball over here at our house, coming up with fun craft ideas to dress up our holiday table!  This week, we hit up our local $ Tree and found all sorts of odds and ends to keep around for last minute activities to help the little ones stay busy & delight our Thanksgiving guests on the big day too!  

Take a look at how fun & simple these DIY Turkey Snack tins are; you can put them together in minutes and they sure make serving up treats a lot more exciting than your run-of-the-mill bowl!  Just check these out . . .

Supplies You Will Need:

~ Soup can
~ Decorative paper
~ Kraft paper/grocery bag/or Kraft gift bag
~ Glue gun & glue sticks
~ Scissors
~ Double-sided tape
~ Christmas ornament (we used a plastic one from the Dollar Tree)
~ 2 buttons
~ Orange bead (or orange felt)
~ Red ribbon

Directions:

1.) Cover your soup can with decorative paper & affix with double-sided tape.

2.) Cut 3 equal pieces of kraft paper or grocery bag (we used spare kraft gift bags from the Dollar Tree:) into equal squares about 9" x 9.5".

3.) Accordian fold all 3 pieces.

4.) Round the corners.

5.) Fold each of the folded strips of paper in half, adhering them with double-sided tape.

6.) Adhere all three piece together.

7.) Fold your paper pinwheel open, leaving one unattached portion on the bottom.

8.) Cut an oval out of leftover paper and affix it to the front, bottom (above the open portion) of your paper pinwheel.

9.) With your glue gun, attach the scrap circle to the back of the covered soup can.

10.) Cut your decorative paper into equal strips, about 3.5 inches wide and 12 inches long.

11.)  Draw the shape of a turkey feather onto the back of one of the strips.  Stack the paper strips together and cut as many 'feathers' at a time as your scissors can handle.

12.) Arrange your decorative paper feathers into a fan-shape and stick them together with your double-sided tape.

13.) Hot glue the paper feather fan to the back of the paper pinwheel.

14.) Remove the hook clasp on the front of your plastic holiday ornament.

15.) Use the hot glue gun to adhere the ornament to the front of the soup can.

16.) Cut a small piece of ribbon and hot glue it to the front, center of your ornament.

17.) Glue two buttons above the ribbon to make the 'eyes'.

18.) Next, add an orange bead under the button eyes to make the 'nose' (you can cut a small piece of orange felt for a 'nose' if you would rather:)

19.) Fill your soup can with nuts, snacks, jumbo crayons, candy, or whatever your little heart desires and set this little guy out on the table for your Thanksgiving guests to enjoy!

Isn't he just glorious?  Now I know you all are just itching to get to holiday decorating (I can tell from the Pinterest Christmas frenzy!)  But I have a few more Turkey Day crafts & decorations up my sleeve first!  I just love this holiday-all about family, friends, & gratitude; and so many fun possibilities for crafting with the kiddos too!!