Here’s one turkey who won’t mind being at the Thanksgiving table; since he’ll make himself useful by holding extra Holiday napkins, he won’t have to worry about ending up on a dinner plate!
Supplies:
Empty food box (granola bar size)
Sheet of colored paper
Scraps of craft foam, felt or colored paper
“Fake” fall leaf (fabric or paper)
2 small pom-poms (optional)
2 “googly” eyes (optional)
Small feather (optional)
Ruler
Pencil
Scissors
Glue Stick
White glue
Here’s How:
- Use a ruler and pencil to mark a granola bar box four inches from the bottom, on all four sides.
- Following the drawn guidelines use scissors to cut the box in half; discard the top section.
- Use a glue stick to adhere colored paper to all four sides of the box, using scissors to trim away any excess. (The top of the box will be open, and it isn’t necessary to cover the bottom with paper.)
- Next, lay the box down on its back and use white glue to adhere the leaf to the front of the box.
- Then, from craft foam, felt or paper cut a 3” circle for the body, a 2 1/4” circle for the breast and a 1 3/4” circle for the head; glue them in place on top of the leaf.
- Cut out two wings, a beak, a red wattle and two little feet and glue them onto the head and body.
- Create eyes from foam, felt or paper, or make them by gluing two little pom-poms and googly eyes to the turkey’s face. If desired, add a little feather or pilgrim’s hat to top off his head.
- Allow the glue dry completely. Fill the grateful bird with small (cocktail or dessert sized) paper napkins and place him in a handy spot!
More ideas:
- If desired, decorate both sides of the napkin holder.
- If the holder is decorated only on one side, dinner guests can write what they are thankful for on the blank side.
- Use double-sided tape instead of glue to adhere the pieces to the box, or look for self-adhesive craft foam.
- Instead of using a leaf for the turkey’s tail, try other materials, like feathers or popsicle sticks.
- Besides a turkey, decorate a napkin holder with a cornucopia, pilgrims, a family photograph or even a Thanksgiving greeting.
- Make smaller versions of the same design to create coordinated place cards.
- Assemble matching napkin rings by covering and decorating short sections of paper towel tubes.
- Craft this cute turkey to decorate Thanksgiving invitations or greeting cards too.
- To hold larger or heavier (cloth) napkins, use the bottom of a cereal box.
- Change the theme of the decorations to make a napkin holder for any holiday or party.
- Instead of using foam, felt or colored paper to make a leaf, use a real fall leaf (for a less permanent version of the project, or scan a real leaf, print it on paper and cut it out.
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Pamela Frye Hauer is an artist, author and mother of two busy little boys. Her craft and scrapbooking projects have appeared in numerous books and magazines. Her most recent book is "Memories in Miniature."
