CraftSanity on TV: Thanksgiving crafts

Thanksgiving is almost here, so it’s time to get crafting. This year I’m adding a couple new projects to the Thanksgiving mix including the turkey dinner place marker above. But I highly recommend that you try out last year’s squawking turkey noisemaker if you want to liven up your party. (Those noisy turkeys are a CraftSanity favorite.)

Okay, moving on to the new material… I did my “Take Five” craft segment on Tuesday this week and demonstrated how to make bottle cap turkey pincushions that can double as place markers and pumpkins out of 1-inch strips of orange paper.

Here’s how what you need to make the turkeys:

This project is once again building off this great tutorial by Jen Segrest. Jen embroiders her pin cushions while I tend to embellish mine with seed beads to make cupcakes and in this case, a fan of felt feathers to make turkeys.

The first step is to trace the bottom of the plastic bottle cap onto a piece of felt, then cut a rectangular piece to wrap around the side of the cap to form a little cozy. Wrap the felt around the bottle cap and whip stitch it in place from the open side of the cap to the bottom where you will attach the circle piece and continue stitching around.

Next, round off the corners of a 3-inch felt square, gather with a large basting stitch, stuff and stitch closed. Set this stuffed piece aside.

To fashion the turkey head, fold a 1/2 x 3 1/2-inch piece of felt in half and sandwich the beak and waddle between the folded layers. Round off the “head” at the fold.

Slip stitch around the head, securing the beak and waddle in place. Make a French knot on each side to form eyes.

Sandwich the “turkey head” piece between the cap and the side of the felt cozy.

Next place the stuffed ball you stitched earlier on top of the bottle cap and stitch it in place around the open side of the cap. When you get to the head piece, twist it a bit and stitch it to the stuffed ball so it faces out.

Attach a fan of felt feathers to the back of the bird and you’re good to go.

To make this paper pumpkin, cut a piece of 8 1/2 x 11-inch paper into 1-inch strips and punch holes in both ends of each strip. (If you cut strips 8 1/2-inches long, you can make a small pumpkin with one piece of paper. If you cut 11 1/2-inch strips, you will need two pieces of paper to make a bigger pumpkin.)

Secure one end with a brass fastener or brad. Fan out the strips into a circle. Insert a fastener into the top of one strip and fold up the remaining strips, slipping each onto the fastener one at a time. Fold out the ends of the faster when they’re all connected.

Wrap a short piece of green pipe cleaner around the top fastener and curl around a pencil to create a curly stem.

As I mentioned in the TV clip embedded below, my husband’s Aunt offered a great suggestion to have dinner guests write what what they’re thankful for on a strip when they arrive. Then, fold them altogether into a table centerpiece before dinner.

What are your favorite Thankgiving crafts? Please post links to what you’re working on below.