Turkey Place Setting Tutorial

We are now down for the count and the BIG Turkey day is only a couple days away! I am so excited to dive into all that luscious food and do the back stroke! I can't wait! One of my responsibilities this year is to make the Place settings for the BIG FEAST. I wanted to get my little guy involved in this project and so I went roaming the net to find a cute idea that would be kid friendly and adorable. Never fear, your Culinary Queen did not come up empty handed!! These adorable TURKEY PLACE SETTINGS caught my eye. I can't think of a better way to welcome your guests to the table then these adorable big-footed feathered friends. I couldn't wait to make these, so I went right to work and hopped in the car and headed to my favorite craft store in the whole wide world for supplies: HOBBY LOBBY! They have everything under the sun!! I know of no other store that offers the kind of variety that they do! It truly is my home away from home. After my not so brief visit to my second home(I always get distracted in such a place as Hobby Lobby), I went to work assembling these darling feathered friends with my kidlets. I hadn't planned on sharing this craft but decided that it was just too cute not to share! I think that this would a wonderful craft to keep the kids/guests busy while they are waiting for that delicious turkey dinner!

To make your own Thanksgiving Turkey Place Settings, follow this easy and simple tutorial-

Thanksgiving Turkey Place Setting Tutorial

Supplies:

Tan polymer clay, approximately 1 ounce per foot base. (I used the Premo by Sculpey in Brown)

Butter Knife

Card stock in 6 colors, including light brown, tan, white and

red or whatever card stock you have on hand. (Preferably Fall hues)

Double sided tape or glue dots

Glue and Glue Gun

Googly Eyes

Colored marker or crayons for writing names on name cards

Mini Clothespins

Step One:

For each turkey, mold 1 ounce of clay into 1/2 inch thick fan shape

then use a butter knife to cut V shapes for toes. Make a small hold in the middle of the foot base by pushing floral wire halfway through. Make sure you don't push wire all the way through. Re

move the wire and bake the clay according to the package directions. Mine was in a 275 degree oven for about 15-20 minutes.

Step Two:

Meanwhile, push one end of a 6 inch piece of floral wire through the metal spring of a mini clothes pin (the beak), bend it around the pin and twist it back around the wire. Next use scissors or pinking shears to cut out 3 semi circles in graduated sizes from different colors of card stock. Cut a small light brown oval for the head, a tan beak and a red wattle. You can down load the templates right here.

Step Three:

Stick together all the card stock pieces and glue with your

glue dots or double sided tape. I hot glue gunned my googly eyes and the assembled card stock turkey to the clothes pin for extra hold! You don't want a googly eye falling off into your yams or smashed potatoes and gravy! :D

Step Four:

When your clay foot base is cooled, insert the wire into hole. If it fits to loosely then add a drop of hot glue from your glue gun to make sure that it securely holds.

Step Five:

You're almost there!! Now make personalized name cards for your guests. This is where I am going to get my little guy involved. He is working on his penmanship and this is a perfect way to let him practice! ;) After you are done with your personalized

name cards clip them to the turkey's beak! Hurray!!! Now go and put your feet up and relax and enjoy the Thanksgiving Holiday!

Happy Turkey Day!