We started homeschool co-op this year, and we have absolutely loved it. The kids' teachers have been wonderful, and we are sad that the semester ends this week. I wanted a special way to say, "thank-you", but everything that I found was Christmas related. I guess we don't give "thanks" for our teachers? Just kidding-but I decided that I would come up with something on my own.
Handprint turkeys are nothing new-I remember making them as a kid! But I made these different by layering my kids handprints, and adding a candle in the center. I was a little surprised that my 5 year-old has a hand almost the size of my 8 year-old (well, she will be on Sunday!), but this project will work regardless. You could even do it with just one child, and simply overlap the prints so that the colors will show on the finger "feathers". You could do it with more than two children, and you would have a really fine feathered bird!
Start by cutting out a handprint from the smallest child. You will want to overlap the prints to make sure that the fingers are spaced fairly evenly, and the best way to do that is to have the bigger children lay their hands over the other handprints to cover them.
Jocelyn's hand is completely covering Carson's smaller handprint cut-out, so I knew that it would work when I overlapped the foam pieces. I tried doing their handprints separately, and the fingers turned out all wonky! One child splayed their fingers, while the other kept them closer. It didn't work well, this method turned out much better. Label your handprints if you are doing this with more than one child.
Once you have all your handprint patterns cut out, you are ready to get started. You will need:
-foam craft sheets in your desired colors. I chose orange and brown for the turkey bodies, and then used a tiny bit of red for the "wattles".
-candles, I used "Glade" candles because they don't have any writing or labels on the jars, and they smell good.
-something for eyes. You could use google eyes, but I didn't have any on hands. I used stick on rhinestones, from Michael's dollar spot.
-hot glue gun, or if your children are doing this project (which would be very easy!) use craft glue or glue dots.
Trace your pattern onto the craft foam. I realized after I took this photo that I should have traced Carson's hand first. Because you want the turkey's "head" to be brown, you will want the smallest hand to be brown. Cut out the print. Then trace the larger "hands" onto the rest of your foam in varying colors- I did Josie's in orange.
I free-hand cut a triangle "beak" from orange foam, and a squiggle "wattle" from red. Don't overthink it-you are just going for concept, not perfection! Stack your hands with the brown on top, making sure to place the top thumb close to the edge of the bottom handprint, so that there is no orange (or other colors) showing at the bottom edge of the thumb. That will make it look more like a head.
Then glue your beak and wattle in between the top and bottom layers, and glue both prints together. Stick on an eye in the appropriate spot.
I added a hand written note on the back that said, "Thank you for teaching my 'little turkeys'." I also added a snippet of 1 Chronicles 16:34, "Give thanks to the Lord". You could definitely write on the feathers on the front, I think it would like nice if you used metallic Sharpie, but I didn't have one, and I didn't think ink would show up especially well on the brown. Plus, I kind of liked the simplicity of the plain turkey.
And there you have it, a simple personalized Thanksgiving "thank-you"-because there really isn't a more appropriate time to tell someone you are grateful! This is a really frugal craft, too.
It cost:
$3 for the foam sheets ($0.89 each at Hobby Lobby- although I had the red on hand)
$1 for the rhinestone stickers
$0.75 each for the candles (I purchased them with coupons at Target, but they are only $2.50-$3 regularly, and they frequently offer a $5 giftcard with purchase, so you can get them for around $1.50, or you could purchase something similar at Hobby Lobby or the Dollar Tree!)
I made 5 with my supplies, so the cost for each was about $1.50. I also included a box of scrapbook paper wrapped matches to make it even cuter.
It is super easy, just wrap the box with a strip of scrapbook paper, leaving one of the striking edges exposed when you glue the paper to the box. You should always be careful with matches, but be extra cautious with the paper on the box. I have never had any trouble, but it is easy to remove the paper if you are wary of problems! I attached a button to the top to add a little embellishment. The matches cost an extra $0.20 so you will still be under $2!
These are so simple, but they add a nice touch to what might seem like a run-of-the-mill gift. I actually timed making these, and if you plug in your glue gun first, it takes less than ten minutes from start to finish- frugal and fast? Sign me up! Hopefully it will make the recipient that you are grateful for extra thankful.
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