This is a terrific Thanksgiving project! This project is perfect for Brownies and Juniors, and can be easily done in 30-60 minutes. I would be helpful for the leader to complete one before the girls attempt it so it’s easier to help them. As well, the girls may need a model in person to refer to.
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Materials Needed:
Creatology™ Chenille Stem Multipack
Large marker
Highlighter
Plastic paint bottle
Scissors
All purpose glue
Ruler
Directions:
Bend 1 brown chenille in half. Set on work surface. To make head, connect 6 brown chenille by twisting ends together. Wrap around the large round marker overlapping so that the length does not exceed 2 inches. Glue the bent brown chenille into the head piece. Set aside.
Take one brown chenille and wrap around the highlighter without overlapping to make the neck. Slip over the remaining chenille sticking out of head. Glue the top edge into head. Bend the chenille wire holding head/neck assembly into an upside down U shape. Set aside.
The body requires 24 brown chenille stems that are connected and wrapped around the large paint bottle. Slip off bottle and gently squeeze into an oval shape. Pick up head/neck assembly, and glue into the body. Make sure the head is bent over the top of body, as if turkey is looking at you. Set aside.
To make a wing, connect two brown chenille stems. Refer to photo to see shape of wings. They are shaped by hand. The stems touch only at the top of the wings. Glue them together along top to hold shape. Repeat for second wing. Twist wing ends together, so that they are 2 ½ inches apart. Glue wings onto turkey back.
Bend the wire at the top of the back in, to close off opening behind head. Set aside. Cut one yellow chenille in half to make feet. Take one of the halves, and bend it in half. Measure ¾ ” back from bend, and bend the chenille at a 90 degree angle. Twist the ¾” together then separate the strands. Bend one piece up to make a V shape for the second toe. Measure and bend stem back at the ¾” mark. Repeat for third toe.
Repeat step to shape other foot. Bend the leg ends up ½” from end, and glue into body base front edge. Set aside.
Cut a 4″ piece of yellow to form beak. Bend in half, and then half again. Attach to head with glue. See photo for placement. Set in front of you. Cut a 4″ piece of red to form warble. Bend one end to fit over top of beak, allowing 1-¾” to hang down. Bend remaining back up, and twist to secure. Glue onto top of beak. See photo if necessary. Place turkey in front of you.
Roll one end of black chenille into a little ball. Cut stem 1″ from rolled end. Stick stem end into head, and glue into place. Repeat for second eye. Refer to photo if necessary.
You need five stems for each feather: 15 green, 5 red, 5 yellow, 5 purple and 5 orange. Twist 5 of the same color together and make a bend 7″ from one end to form an upside down V. The next bend should be 6″ further. Each time you go up into the feather shape, the next V should be slightly smaller to fit inside the previous one. Repeat until all the feathers are assembled.
Lay 2 green feathers with their twisted ends together forming a horizontal line. Glue the purple and yellow feathers on top of the green ends to form a V shape at the top. Attach the orange and red feathers in like manner so they lay above the 2 green feathers at base. Glue the last green feather slightly above the orange/red ends. Refer to photo if necessary. Glue entire tail onto back base of your turkey.
Safety Tips!
When twisting the chenille stems together to connect, be careful because the ends can be sharp.
This is a fantastic project for any troop of any age. While my directions mention a football design since we’re in the midst of football season, you can customize it for any sport and use any combination of colors to represent either professional local teams or the girls’ school colors. The project is designed to be glued together, but if your girls are older you could easily alter the directions to sew the seams of the stadium pillow instead of glue.
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Materials Needed:
Large white tote bag
Iron on letters in team colors
Tulip Dimensional Fabric Paint – Slick White and Slick Brown
Draw a football with the pencil in center of tote.
Have an adult follow the directions on the letters and iron the letters onto the tote to say “Go Team”.
Pour out a small amount of the brown and white paints onto a paper plate. Use a paintbrush to fill in the football design and let dry. Use white to make side and center lines.
Using white slick paint bottle, draw stitch marks on the ball. Let dry.
Glue sides of tote together, let dry.
Fill opening with pillow form or Poly-fil and glue closed.
Glue ribbon along sides and top of tote.
Safety Tips!
Adults only should handle the iron and iron on the lettering.
This is a fun project for Junior and Cadette scouts who are older than the interest of most craft projects, and old enough to be trusted with a needle. This project takes 1-2 hours to do, depending on how adept the girls are with a needle and thread. Of course, you can split this into two meetings with doing the cutting & prep work in one meeting and the actual assembly of the purses in another. There’s a great video on how to do the blanket stitch mentioned:
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Materials Needed:
Floss #907
Large eye needle
Felt – black, purple, turquoise, gold, & pink
1″ sticky velcro
2 daisy brads
Tacky glue
Straight pins
Fabric die cut machine
Scissors
Directions:
Cut black felt square in half to 6×9″.
Fold up 3¾” and pin in place.
Thread needle with floss & use blanket stitch to stitch up sides.
Fold down flap 1¼”, press with finger to crease.
Center sticky Velcro under flap & attach to purse & flap.
Use Revolution to cut out flowers & leaves from felt.
Attach with tacky glue and daisy brads.
Safety Tips!
Adult supervision is required when girls are using scissors and needles.
This is an all-ages project, suitable for both young girls and still a fun, quick project for older girls. These instructions on aimed more for younger girls, but older girls can easily also do this project with access to more craft supplies to snazzy up their key chains a bit more. This can easily be done in 30 minutes and is very clean, as long as the fabric paint is kept under control by younger girls.
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Materials Needed:
Fabric paint
Split rings
Ribbons – 28″ of one and 4″ of another.
Scissors
Ruler
Pencils
Craft glue.
Directions:
Cut a piece of ribbon 28″ long and two coordinating pieces 2″ long.
Slip the key ring onto the long piece of ribbon. Fold it in half over the key ring and glue the ends together.
Use the small pieces of ribbon to wrap around and glue over the seam of the other ribbons.
Lightly draw the name onto the ribbon.
Use the dimensional fabric paint to personalize and let dry.
I love this project because the things you can do with it go beyond personalizing a room! Kids, especially creative girls, love to put a personal touch on things. With the permission of the parents, this is a great project for girls to help decorate their bedrooms or playrooms. I suggest 7″ letters as they seem to be the most widely available, however you can use whatever size letters you want to make the project more feasible for your troop. Since the wooden letters are the most customized of all the supplies, you can also request that the girl’s supply the letters – they can do their names, or words!
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Materials Needed:
7″ tall wood letters for each name (or word)
Acrylic paint
Silver glitter spray
1 12″x12″ piece of scrapbook paper for each letter
Felt flowers ranging in size
Fine sandpaper
Aleene’s Original Tacky Glue
Glue stick
Pencils
Scissors
Craft knife & cutting mat
Newspapers
Paint brushes
Palette or plastic container
Directions:
Remember, first, to allow the paint to dry between each step.
Lay down the newspapers to protect your work area. Paint edges all around the letters.
Plan out what patterns of paper should be used for each letter. Apply the glue stick to the front of the letter and smooth over the paper, removing any air pockets or wrinkles. Turn the letter paper side down onto the cutting mat. Have an adult use the craft knife to cut away the excess paper around the letters.
You can also use the letters and trace out the shape onto the back side of the paper with a pencil and cut out the letters with scissors, then glue the paper onto the letters.
Use outward strokes to sand the edges of the letters. This will create a slightly distressed look and secures the paper to the letters.
Use tacky glue to attach felt flowers or other embellishments of choice to the letters. For a finishing touch, spray glitter spray over the entire letter.
Safety Tips!
Craft knife should only be used by adults, or with adult supervision for older girls.
Use glitter spray only outside or in a well-ventilated area.
Materials Needed:
Directions:
Safety Tips!
Quick Shopping for This Project
