Popsicle Stick Thankful Turkey Craft

Because we’ve had so much fun turning our Popsicle sticks in to fun crafts, I started to ponder making a Popsicle stick turkey. I went through many ideas about how to create our Thanksgiving Turkey. In the end, I decided to make the most of being a Popsicle Ambassador and use a lot of sticks. I am so pleased with how well this guy turned out. I hope you have fun making him too.

Gobble Gobble!

Popsicle Stick Thankful Turkey Tutorial

Materials

• Popsicle Sticks (approx 20)
• Dry Foam Half Circle (6×3 inches)
• Paint (we use Crayola Washable Paint for everything because accidents happen)
• 3 Sheets of Brown Construction paper
• Glue
• Googly Eyes
• Pom Poms

Start by painting the Popsicle sticks. Since they become the turkey’s plume we chose red, orange, yellow and brown. Painting Popsicle sticks is my daughter’s favorite part, to make the process easier I recommend a dab of rubber cement glue to adhere them to paper so they don’t slip around. (A trick I discovered while making Popsicle Stick Pumpkin Door Hangers.)

While the Popsicle sticks are drying, tear two sheets of brown construction paper into bits. (To give our turkey a layered effect (like feathers) we mixed two different color brown papers.)

Cover the half circle with layered pieces of paper leaving a inch-wide strip of the foam exposed. Also leave a small space for a Popsicle stick to hold up the turkey’s head. You need to leave the foam exposed because the paper is too thick to push the Popsicle stick through. (Originally I thought to use brown tissue paper, but I could not find any.)

Foam is messy. Little bits come off and get everywhere. To combat the mess, cut a circle of brown construction paper to cover the bottom. It makes a world of difference, trust me. (Tip – make sure you get dry foam, not wet foam or your craft will get crushed.)

When the sticks are dry, push them through the foam in a fan shape to create the turkey’s tale. Then remove the stick and cover the exposed foam making sure to leave the holes exposed.

Cut a turkey head out of the rest of the brown paper. Attach eyes, beak and pom poms to the turkey. Once the turkey body is dry, attach the top of portion of the turkey head to a Popsicle stick and insert into the body. The bottom portion of the head should hang freely. For a more finished look, cover the bottom edge of the turkey’s neck with paper bits so it looks flush with the body.

Remember I called this a Thankful Turkey.

Write the names of your loved ones who will attend your Thanksgiving feast on the front of each stick. Then during Thanksgiving dinner, pass out the sticks and invite each guest to write what they are thankful for on the back of their stick. Insert back into the turkey and you have a centerpiece full of thanks.

Happy Thanksgiving one and all.

This post was created in connection with my appointment as an Ambassador in the Popsicle Blogger Program. Visit www.facebook.com/popsicle to join the conversation.