As we were walking through the craft store the other day, my toddler grabbed a bag of feathers. Since Thanksgiving is just a few weeks away, I thought it would be the perfect time to create some holiday crafts for kids. So, we used those colorful feathers that my son snatched up (and wouldn’t let go of) to make a Cute Cardboard Tube Turkey Craft.
Making a turkey craft out of cardboard is a fun and easy fall craft that is perfect for Thanksgiving. Whether you are a parent, teacher or just love arts and crafts, a cardboard turkey is sure to brighten up your home or classroom for the holiday season.
In this step-by-step guide we will walk through everything you need to know to make an adorable 3D turkey out of cardboard with your kids or students.
Supplies Needed
To make your cardboard turkey craft, you will need:
- Cardboard (cereal boxes or shipping boxes work great)
- Scissors
- Glue (white glue or hot glue gun)
- Paint, markers or crayons for decorating
- Googly eyes
- Red craft foam or construction paper for snood
- Orange foam or felt for beak and feet
- Feathers (real or fake)
- String or popsicle sticks for legs (optional)
Step 1: Cut Out the Body
- Start by drawing a turkey shape onto your cardboard. Feel free to freehand it or use a turkey template.
- Cut out the turkey body shape. For stability, you can use two layers of cardboard glued together.
Step 2: Make the Head
- Draw a circle on another piece of cardboard and cut it out for the turkey’s head.
- Glue or tape the head to the body. Make sure to overlap the neck area slightly.
Step 3: Add Feet and Legs
- Cut out orange felt or foam for the feet. Glue them to the bottom of the body.
- For legs, glue on popsicle sticks or string. Make sure they are long enough to keep the turkey upright.
Step 4: Create the Beak and Snood
- Cut out an orange triangle for the beak and glue it to the head.
- Cut out a red snood (the flap of skin on a turkey’s chin) and glue it to the head just below the beak.
Step 5: Add the Eyes and Wattle
- Glue on googly eyes or draw eyes with marker.
- Under the beak, glue a red wattle (small flap of skin). You can draw it with red marker if you don’t have red paper.
Step 6: Make the Tail
- Cut out a wide fan shape from cardboard for the tail.
- Glue feathers onto the tail. Real or fake feathers will work great.
Step 7: Decorate the Body
- Use markers, paint, glitter, pom poms, paper scraps and other embellishments to decorate the turkey’s body.
- Add wings by gluing feathers onto folded cardboard. Glue the wings on each side.
Step 8: Add String for Hanging (Optional)
- Poke a hole near the top of the body and thread string through it for hanging your turkey as a decoration or ornament.
And that’s it – you now have an adorable cardboard turkey craft for Thanksgiving! The great thing about this project is you can get really creative with the decorations. And it’s easy enough for kids of all ages to help out. Display your cardboard turkey creation proudly at home or let your students show off their turkeys at school.
More Inspiring Turkey Craft Ideas
Looking for more turkey craft inspiration? Here are some awesome ideas from art and craft bloggers
Pom Pom Turkeys
Cover your cardboard turkey with colorful pom poms for a fun, fuzzy effect Use big pom poms for the body and smaller ones for the tail feathers
Melted Crayon Turkey
For toddlers, have them color turkey body shapes with crayons and then melting the crayons between pieces of parchment paper in the oven. Peel off the paper and glue the melted crayon turkey art to cardboard bodies.
Handprint Turkeys
Use handprints or footprints for an adorable turkey. Trace your child’s hand on brown paper, cut it out and add a beak, eyes and legs!
Paper Plate Turkeys
Paper plates make instant turkey bodies! Decorate them with feathers, eyes, beaks and feet. For a 3D effect, glue two paper plates together.
Coffee Filter Turkeys
Color or spray paint coffee filters in fall colors. Layer and scrunch them to make the tail feathers for your turkey craft.
Clothespin Turkeys
Paint clothespins brown and hot glue them together into a turkey body shape. Use a spice jar lid for the head. Add google eyes and pipe cleaner feet.
Turkey Crafts Inspire Creativity and Celebrate Thanksgiving
Crafting cardboard turkeys with your kids or students is a fun way to tap into their creativity, practice fine motor skills and celebrate the Thanksgiving season.
Just be sure to cover your work surface and wear old clothes – things are bound to get a bit messy! But that just adds to the creative process.
The sense of pride kids feel when completing their cardboard turkey craft is a great reward. Displaying their turkey art creations during Thanksgiving is sure to fill them with joy and get them excited for the holiday.
With a little cardboard, some simple supplies and a lot of imagination, you and your kids can create turkey crafts that will make lasting Thanksgiving memories for years to come. Gobble, gobble!
How To Make A Cute Cardboard Tube Turkey Craft:
- Cardboard Tube (Paper Towel or Toilet Paper Roll)
- Scissors
- Brown Puffy Paint (Read the directions below to find out how to make your own puffy paint)
- Paint Brush
- Feathers
- Googly Eyes
- Red and Orange Foam
- Glue
- Cut the cardboard tube to your desired length depending on how tall or short you want your turkeys. We used several paper towel rolls and cut many different sizes so we would have a variety of turkeys.
- Paint the cardboard tube with brown puffy paint. To make your own puffy paint, mix 2 tablespoons of shaving cream and 2 tablespoons of white glue. Add 1 tablespoons of brown tempera paint and mix the ingredients together.
- After the paint dries, glue the feathers onto the back of the cardboard tube.
- Glue the googly eyes onto the front of the cardboard tube.
- Cut out the turkey’s beak and feet from the orange foam and the gobbler from the red foam. Glue the pieces onto the cardboard tube.
This Cute Cardboard Tube Turkey Craft is not only easy for even young children to make, but it is also a fun and festive Thanksgiving decoration to create. My children made several turkeys to put around the dinner table during for our Thanksgiving dinner with all of our family and friends.
How to make a DIY Cardboard Thanksgiving Turkey, inexpensive, tutorial
FAQ
How to make a turkey out of a paper sack?
- Stuff your turkey as you normally would.
- Open one brown paper bag inside another one.
- Butter the inside of the inside bag real well.
- Put the turkey (in bag) into the roasting rack (rack being inside of roasting pan).
- Bake at 325 F.
- THAT IS IT!