Transform a few nuts into adorable turkey place settings for Thanksgiving! This simple craft is easy for kids to make as well.
These cute walnut Thanksgiving turkey place settings use colorful autumn leaves. Although you can use faux leaves from autumn floral picks, you could also use real leaves that you’ve collected (with the kids!), that have been preserved with glycerin.
Here’s a simple video so you can see just how quick and easy it is to put these cute little critters together:
Thanksgiving Turkey Place Settings
You’ll Need:
Walnuts
Hazelnuts
Leaves
Black Marker or Googly Eyes
Glue or Hot Glue Gun
Pipe Cleaners
1. Stand a walnut on the end (pointed end towards the top). If you’re wondering how we got ours to “stand” while we put it together, I put a tiny drop of hot glue on the bottom of the walnut.
2. Glue a hazelnut to the top to create the turkey’s head.
3. Glue Googly-eyes to the hazelnut OR use a black sharpie marker to create eyeballs. If using a black marker, use a toothpick to add a tiny white dot of paint to the eye to give it depth.
Or using paint, as mentioned above:
3. Cut a piece of paper or foam to form a beak. A simple diamond shaped folded in half works well. Attach it to the face with glue.
4. Glue Leaves to the back of the walnut, staggering them slightly to give depth and color. We got these leaves off an autumn floral pick from the dollar store.
5. Cut a pipe cleaner into a 3″ piece and fold it in half, forming the turkey’s legs. To create toes, take a small piece of pipe cleaner and wrap it around each piece of the “V”, creating a “W” shape at the tip of each leg. If you’re crafting with young children, simply create a loop instead, much like tying a shoe.
6. Glue the legs to the bottom of the walnut. This is what gives the Turkey stability and prevents him from toppling over.
7. Cut construction paper into business card size rectangles and add the names of each guest to them to create place settings.
Enjoy!
