This painted pinecone turkey craft is so easy and adorable. You need craft paint, pine cones, cardstock, a pair of scissors, white glue, and googly eyes. Get the free template download here to make your own turkey centerpiece, placeholders, and napkin rings!
“Why don’t you just paint it?”
Leave it to my daughter to look at things so simply. She was right! I loved that idea, so I painted (rather than feathered) the little pine cone I was working on and I have to tell you- I adore it. This is such an easy craft and it’s very eye-catching.
We did this one all covered in brilliant plumage because what turkey DOESN’T have green feathers, ha! We also tested out seeing if we added some hands if he could be a pine cone placeholder and hold a napkin or a fork. It slid a little bit but was still cute.
You could also alter this idea from paint to glitter pine cones like we did here, and then attach your turkey. I think the possibilities are pretty much endless when you are kid crafting.
If you’re like me and live in an area where pinecones aren’t just lying around everywhere, don’t worry. Someone has bagged them up and sells them on Amazon, so it’s easy peasy. Grab some here (saves you time regardless).
Googly eyes, yellow paper for a beak/hands – psst, the creative stuff
This craft is super easy! Just take out your paint and start painting your pine cone. I did all the red, then orange, then yellow, then green. After the pine cone was set up in the colors I liked, I printed off and cut out a turkey body.
I created my turkey body on my Silhouette machine, but scissors work just fine. If you want to do it on your own, basically all you do is create a snowman – big on the bottom and head on top.
Then I made a triangle beak and just a squiggly thing for the…um…squiggly turkey thing. What is that called? A wattle?
Or you can use my PDF file Turkey Template download to guide you (also doubles perfectly for a Turkey in Disguise sheet if you print it full). Using for this case, just make sure you shrink it down to fit the pine cone size.
After I had a body, I hot glued the turkey on the pine cone. Voila. Turkey is nearly done!
Get Creative With Your Pine Cone Turkey Craft!
The rest is up to you! Ours has googly eyes, a little yellow beak and red glitter tongue, and little yellow feet. We decided to also give him some arms so he could hug a napkin… or a heart. You can see our picture tutorial below if any of my instructions are confusing.
Before you go, you must know that one of my favorite things is owning a Silhouette machine. There are no cartridges and it’s easy to make shapes, buy shapes, or download freebies that do all the work for you.
You do not have to go buy hole punches or hand-cut shapes. Hand cuts are awful for me and look like my 5-year-old found some safety scissors. My Silhouette makes me look WAY more talented than I actually am!
Learn more about the Silhouette at these links on Amazon…TOTALLY WORTH IT. It’s not a purchase I regret at all – ever.
Woodware Craft Collection 44061 Spruce Pine Cones,
yellow paper for a beak/hands – psst, the creative stuff
Barb @ A Life in Balance says
Thank you for posting on Motivation Monday!
Pauline Molinari says
Your turkeys are amazing! Such a fun craft! Thanks so much for linking up to the Monday Funday Party!