Nov 11, 2022 | DIY Crafts, DIY Holiday Crafts, DIY Projects, Thanksgiving
Teaching kids about brown color mixing is the focus of this fine motor craft. By creating brown paint, they’ll learn how to cut and draw, as well as counting to choose their buttons. This craft also helps children realize they can mix colors by creating orange and purple paints.
Many of the acorns we see around here are brown because they were created by mixing two colors together. We mix colors all the time when making crafts like this acorn fine motor craft— just don’t consider mixing colors to make orange. I want my daughter to explore more ideas with color mixing by creating acorns that incorporate red and green, yellow and purple, or blue and orange. Making it this way took time and trial and error. If I don’t have enough paint, mix two complementary colors together.
Adding extra dimensions to the project by implementing additional buttons helps kids gauge shapes and learn to count. It also provides opportunities for developing dexterity and motor skills through a variety of activities.
You’ll need a plate, colored pencils, a button and glue, brown paint, cardstock in light or dark colors and scissors. Then, gather your materials and prepare to create! Blotting paper towels reduced paint thickness, making finger painting manageable. I also enjoy this method because it makes drying time more manageable.
To paint the acorn, first cut the bottom section off. Then, glue the top onto the bottom so that both pieces can be attached to one another. It needs more length than usual so that it can be connected later when glued together.
Initially, we mixed brown to produce a more neutral color. Our mix ended up too green, so we kept mixing until we achieved the desired result.
Adding more paint will result in a closer brown color. If your child doesn’t want to keep mixing the color and it isn’t brown yet, don’t worry. Just label the color you made “Wow the blue, red and white paint mixed to make light purple, cool! homemade acorns can be purple, olive green or neon yellow.” Kids can also mix acorns to create yellow, olive green or neon purple. Parents should explain to their children that acorns in the real world don’t actually change colors. They can also record a message for children to read out loud that states that special purple acorn will always be one-of-a-kind and special compared to brown acorns. In other words, don’t let artistic expression be constrained by scientific fact.
Use a paintbrush, sponge, bath puff or even bubble wrap to add texture to the nut. We chose to fingerpaint but you can also use brushes.
Blotting paint with a paper towel produces a more pleasing effect than simply wiping the brush. My daughter loves the result and so do I.
For best results, let dry for two days. Alternatively, divide the project into two parts; one part can be dried while the other is revisited after lunch.
Remove the top and bottom halves of the craft. Glue them back together with leftover painted paper to create a flower.
Time to glue on the buttons.
I didn’t design this project, and didn’t instruct my daughter on where to place the buttons. Instead, I handed her the glue and buttons for her to use. Some children may line the acorn cap with buttons, fill it completely with them, or add an initial made of buttons on the bottom. There are many approaches children can take when designing this project.
Press buttons through holes in glue with a satisfying squish. She enjoyed watching the glue harden around the buttons.
Let dry again!
Nov 9, 2022 | DIY Crafts, DIY Holiday Crafts, DIY Projects, Thanksgiving
With just a few easy steps, you can transform any table into a whimsical Thanksgiving celebration. Add some turkey balloons to the celebration as a fun and cute touch.
With their long tails, these little wooden figures make charming decorations. Kids can craft with them or put them up on a wall. And don’t forget to set up a table for the whole family to serve their Thanksgiving feast.
DIY Turkey Balloons – Materials:
– Balloons
– Colored cardstock
– Scissors
– Double stick tape
– Large googly eyes
Step 1. You need to remove all your paper parts. Use a feather as a template to create multiple colored cutouts of the feather shape. For the nose, create a triangle and teardrop shape. For the open pouch on a turkey’s throat, use a triangle for the opening and a teardrop shape for the material surrounding it.
Step 2. To complete your turkey, use double-sided adhesive tape to attach the beak, eyes, feathers, nose and wattles to each balloon. Then inflate the balloons to big and crazy proportions.
Your cute and friendly turkey balloon is ready to play!
What would you like to add to your Thanksgiving table decorations?
Nov 4, 2022 | DIY Crafts, DIY Holiday Crafts, Thanksgiving
Wisconsin’s southeast region experienced a fall turnaround in a matter of days. One day it was summer, and then the next it was winter. Fall is in full effect now; kids are heading back to school and the local candy corn wagon has been replaced by an annual pumpkin wagon. Therefore, gather the whole family and head outside to collect some of those falling leaves. They’ll make great finger puppets!
Red Ted Art also has additional material to gather, such as leaves. Then, learn how to keep it all safe at the same time.
This project uses cardboard tubes, pipe cleaners and leaves that have been recycled for the components. You can find a full list of instructions below, which you’ll need to follow by inserting the arm through the sides of the tube and affixing eyes and a leaf for a head. It’s also advisable to glue on buttons for a more finished look.
Natural:
- card
board tubes
- pebbles or bark
- leaves
- twigs
- wiggle eyes
Synthetic:
- card
board tubes
- buttons
- chenille stem
- construction paper
- silk leaves
- wiggle eyes
Tools:
- scissors
- glue stick
- hot glue gun
- Natural Puppets
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Begin by hot gluing the leaf to the top of the cardboard tube for the head. Next, hot glue the twigs to the sides of the tube for the arms.
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Hot glue pebbles or small pieces of bark to the front of the tube for buttons. Finally, add wiggle eyes to the leaf head.
Synthetic Puppets
-
First use a glue stick to cover the cardboard tube with construction paper.
-
Next, hot glue a silk leaf to the top of the cardboard tube. Glue on buttons and wiggle eyes and add chenille stems for the arms.
Nov 24, 2021 | Corner, DIY Crafts, DIY Holiday Crafts, Thanksgiving
Using a stuffed paper bag to make a Thanksgiving turkey craft is a genius idea to make some low cost decorations.
The kids will have a great time ripping and scrunching up paper, and there is plenty of cutting and gluing to test out their motor skills at the same time in this easy project.
Read on for step by step instructions on how to make your own paper bag turkey decorations. Including photos and videos to help you along.
Prepare Your Craft Area
Your paper bag turkey will be made entirely out of paper. But you will need a handful of other fiddly materials.
Best to prepare a clear area with your materials off to the side. If you have a toddler and they get hold of the string then things could get messy!
Plus it is also safe to keep the scissors out of reach.
Paper Bag Thanksgiving Turkey Craft Video Demonstration
Before we jump into the written instructions the video below will give you a quick demonstration for how your stuffed turkey craft will come together.
Watching this in full before starting will help you understand the full process so you stay on track when guiding your kids.
Why Make A Stuffed Paper Bag Turkey
These are cheap to make, and can be a large decoration depending on the size of your paper bag.
You can make a few of these to scatter around the house as part of your Thanksgiving decorations, and you may even want to make a larger one for a Thanksgiving centerpiece.
More Thanksgiving Crafts
If you are looking for more ideas that your kids can enjoy then check out our full list of Thanksgiving craft ideas.
These are all suitable for toddlers and pre-schoolers. Here is a sample of some of our other projects:
Final Word
You can get very creative with these stuffed paper bag turkeys, and your kids can go crazy with the colors and some googly facial features if they wish.
Most importantly it is a great way to get your kids involved in the Thanksgiving celebrations, and have some ownership in the day.
Nov 19, 2021 | DIY Crafts, DIY Holiday Crafts, Thanksgiving
Here’s an easy DIY Thanksgiving Turkey Pop Up Card that pops right up to wish kids a Happy Thanksgiving Day!
A favorite activity in our home during the holidays is making homemade cards. My daughter enjoys getting creative and sending cards to family and friends. This week we are making pop up turkey cards to send for Thanksgiving to our out of town family.
Materials used:
- Green cardstock
- Construction papers 8 x 11 inches or A4 size – Yellow, Orange, Red, Brown
- Markers – Black & Orange
- Glue stick & glue
- White circle dot stickers
- Scissors
- Washi tape for the card borders
Steps to create the DIY Thanksgiving Turkey Pop Up Card:
Start by folding the letter sized cardstock in half. We used a green card, but you could use any Fall color.
Cut out long rectangle strips from the construction papers. Cut the red 4 inches wide, orange 3 inches wide, and yellow 2 inches wide. We cut along the long edge of the Letter sized papers. Start making equal-sized folds in an accordion-style along the long edge.
Make sure the folds line up correctly when placed on top of each other. Line them up by their width.
To make the turkey body, cut a 5-inch square out of brown paper. Fold in half and trace a design as shown in the pic above. Notice that the lower part of the bird has a diagonal cut that will be folded
Cut out a small orange beak and a red wattle. Stick on white circle stickers and add an eye using markers.
Stick on the eyes, a beak, and a wattle to the turkey body. Fold a small triangle at the bottom of the turkey’s body.
Line the turkey’s body along the center of the card. Stick on one side and fold the card to stick the other end.
Stick the accordion fold paper strips behind the turkey body. First the yellow, then orange and finally the red paper fold. We added some pumpkins and a greeting. and some claws for the turkey.
Tada your turkey popup card is ready.
Nov 17, 2021 | DIY Crafts, DIY Holiday Crafts, Thanksgiving
My homepage is now all turkey! Between the cinnamon rolls/bacon turkey for breakfast on Thanksgiving morning, the chocolate peanut butter cup + pretzel sugar turkey (no doubt it will disappear long before we get close to dinner), and of course the pine cone turkey The crafts we shared include felted pinecone turkey and silky pinecone turkey…I mean, we were eliminated by the turkey!
Today I still have a pine cone turkey to share with you!
these painted pinecone turkeys are super, super cute! the pinecone scales themselves become the colorful turkey feathers. this one really is so simple to make and required just a few simple supplies:
- pinecones. if you’ve got pine trees growing near your house, first of all – you’re lucky! your pinecones are free! secondly, you will undoubtedly have a lot to choose from, so choose the biggest and best for this craft. if you’re like me and have zero access to pinecones falling off the tree, you’re going to have to buy them, so look for big, beautiful, unbroken pinecones. you can find them at craft stores in mesh bags…usually scented, which is just an added bonus!
- paint. my favorite colors to use for anything fall-related are deep orange, red, yellow, and brown. since the pinecones are naturally brown you won’t need any of that paint color, but you should pick up some paint in the other fall colors you like.
- paint brushes (aff link). i started with the little foam brushes pictured below, but truth be told: i didn’t like them. they’re great for other projects, don’t get me wrong! but for this one, it is definitely better to go with a smaller paintbrush.
- pom poms (aff link). you’ll need little – medium size pom poms for the turkey’s face.
- googly eyes (aff link). and you’ll need to have some of these to make him look extra cute.
- scraps of felt. in both orange and red – orange for the beak, and red for the waddle.
- glue (aff link). just a little bit of white glue is needed to assemble the turkey’s face and then adhere it to the pinecone.
So let’s get to how to make these gorgeous painted pinecone turkeys! the first thing you need to do is start painting the pinecone scales. i started with yellow…
…then red…
…and then finished off with orange paint. i left some of the scales natural because i thought their brown color looked so great with the red, yellow, and orange colors. when you’re painting the scales you want to make sure you are spreading each color around and not bunching all the reds in one area, etc. you need to try to disperse each color throughout. also, you will probably find that you need to do 2 coats of paint. after you do the first coat for each color you should then be able to do the second coat almost right away – the paint dries relatively quickly.
now you need to make the turkey faces by gluing on two googly eyes. next, you’ll need to cut out a small triangle from your orange felt, and a waddle from your red felt. i just freehanded the waddle – a rounded shape at the bottom with a thinner pointed shape at the top.
there is a piece of pinecone that sticks out of the very top/front of the pinecone and you’ll need to carefully cut that off, and potentially a few scales as well, in order to nestle the turkey face at the front of the pinecone. add some glue to the back of the pom pom and hold it in place until it dries.
oh, just look how adorable he is!! he is going to look so great on our thanksgiving table! i think being a place card holder would be the perfect job for him!
i hope you enjoy the third installment of our three thanksgiving pinecone turkey crafts! they’ve all been so fun, and my kids just love them!
happy turkey day everyone!
