Felt Thankfullness Turkey (no-sew)

*Have a holly, jolly Christmas...* Oh, sorry.  I'm one of those straight-to-Christmas-skip-past-Thanksgiving types.  And I'm married to a man who loves Thanksgiving more than any other holiday.  Out of respect for him, I don't decorate for Christmas before December... but I'll admit, I don't do a lot for Thanksgiving either.  This year I thought I should make a little more effort to celebrate Thanksgiving for my husband but also to use the opportunity to teach my children about being thankful and understanding how blessed they (we) are.

So I came up with this interactive piece of decor that my 4 year old is OBSESSED with.  It's been a definite hit in our home and I bet it will be one in yours too!

Every day we grab a felt feather from the pocket and my son tells me something he is thankful for that day.  Then we write it on the feather and stick it up!  Felt naturally sticks to felt so you can rearrange the feathers every day and re-use this DIY every year (just cut new feathers to write on).  What an adorable reminder of how blessed we are and a fun way to get the kiddos involved!


It's very easy to make and the thing that took the most time was cutting out the letters by hand (which still wasn't very long)  


Here's what you'll need:

- Felt (for the large background piece, purchase "by-the-yard" felt, for the feathers and turkey you can do by-the-yard or the smaller pre-cut sheets)

- Hot Glue Gun

- Scissors

- Googly Eyes

- Sharpie Marker

  


For the turkey, I traced two bowls/containers, one larger than the other, slightly overlapped.  Then I cut it out for his body shape.  Next, just cut a nose and snood (that's what the red dangly thing is called. I just looked it up!) and attach them and two google eyes with hot glue. The turkey itself will not be glued on so that you can pick it up and put feathers under it every day.

For the large piece, just cut a square or rectangle.  Since it is felt you don't need to finish the edges in any way.  I later added a strip across the bottom to hold our extra feathers but if I had thought of this first I could have just made my big piece extra long and folded it up.  Both ways are fine.  If you choose to add a separate piece, hot glue along the 3 edges, leaving the top open.  I also glued two vertical lines to create "pockets" which helps to keep it from sagging open.

Next, cut out your letters and hot glue them on.  MAKE SURE you lay your letters out first (before gluing) or you'll likely run out of room!

Lastly (or whenever you want. Order doesn't really matter a lot) cut out your feathers.  I made 22 feathers to last us up until Thanksgiving day (because after that, it's ALL CHRISTMAS y'all!) but you could also do the entire month of November and cut out 30 feathers instead.

How pretty is that turkey with all those feathers on it?!  I can't wait to see what things my son is "thankful" for.  So far he's come up with:

- "my house"
- "matching outfits" (him and his sister have some matching clothes and so do me and him)
- "applesauce"
- "baby chicks, cows & ducks"
- "my birthday"
- "books"
- "Elizabeth"
- "Highlights Magazine" (which I totally spelled wrong on the feather.  Left out an "H". oops!)

My 4 year old LOVES this and as soon as he wakes up in the morning he runs over and goes "oh, we forgot to do this!"  We've only been awake for 10 minutes but okay buddy.


I love seeing what he comes up with every day.   Some are funny and I wonder where that came from and others are just plain sweet.  Either way, it opens up the conversation about "thankfulness" and helps all of us learn to appreciate all the blessings we really have.

Thanksgiving DIY Hand Print Shirt

With Thanksgiving quickly approaching, I want to share one of my favorite holiday DIY's with you.  I love the idea of preserving my child's sweet little hand print for years to come but it seems that paper crafts get stuck in the memory box never to be seen again.  They are also less likely to hold up over time- that's why I love working with fabric! Although my son can't wear this shirt year after year, I know that for years it will be as perfect as the day he wore it and when he gets older and I have a t-shirt quilt made for him, I get to include this shirt on it.

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{My sweet boy at the tender age of 1}

Here's what you'll need:

- Blank T-shirt (I personally like this brand. They also have a variety of colors and short & long sleeves options)

- Felt (This is a great price for a bundle. You can also buy individual sheets at a craft store)

- Thread (If you don't already sew, buying a  assorted collection like this is much cheaper if you need multiple colors)

- HTV & Silhouette or Iron on Letters

- Scissors and a Needle

- Paper & Pencil

Here's how to make it:
I didn't take step by step photos since I made this a couple years ago but it's so easy you wont need them.

[Step 1] Trace your child's hand on the piece of paper.  Cut around the outside of the design and then cut the "fingers" off (keep them in order so you remember which is which!)

[Step 2] Using the paper hand/fingers that you just cut as a pattern, cut a hand from brown felt and fingers from the colored felt.  This will be the body & feathers of the turkey.

[Step 3] Hand stitch the turkey parts onto your shirt.  This takes a little longer but I like the look of it over machine stitching for this craft.  I recommend using thread that matches the felt for each piece.  I do not recommend using heat-n- bond or fabric glue (non sewing alternatives) with felt.

[Step 4] Using thread, make legs, a beak and an eye.

[Step 5] Using your Silhouette machine, cut out your child's name and the year (or age) out of HTV.  Don't forget to mirror it before you cut when working with HTV!  If you don't have a cutting machine, iron-on letters (link in 'materials') will work just fine!

That's it!
Every time I see this shirt I think back to the first year he was able to enjoy a Thanksgiving feast and how much fun he was to watch! Those little hands have grown but he'll always be my baby and I'm so glad I have this memento to keep forever.

Easy Tips for Fall Decorating

Hello again.  I hope everyone has had a great week since you've been here last.  I have had a CRAZY week and I should probably be working on a hundred other things right now but oh well, right?  If you can't make time to craft then the week really isn't that good is it?

In the spirit of Thanksgiving, I decided to make a Thanksgiving themed craft.  I don't usually decorate for Thanksgiving, so I needed something easy with crisp, clean lines.  You know... nothing too over the top since I'm not used to it!  What I came up with was a lovely printable (it's free, scroll down!) that reminds us to be thankful.

I also wanted to share the fall decoration that my mom made for her front steps.  I love the simpleness of it but find it absolutely stunning.  I think I actually gasped when I first saw it and compliment her on it every time I visit now.

I can sometimes be a little over-the-top on... everything, so I appreciate the opportunity to use simple designs in my decorating.  I think this holds particularly true in the month of Thanksgiving when we recognize how grateful we are for the simple things that we sometimes take for granted.

Simple and to the point.  For an extra touch, I included a little green on there.  I love random splashes of color!

For this printable (it's an 8x10) click here.

For the potted decor, my mom said that she spent around a dollar on the whole thing!

The flower pot was from my wedding, as was the burlap.  The gourds and corn she got on sale for around a dollar.  All you need to do is fill the bottom of the pot with whatever filler you desire (so that everything keeps from sinking to the bottom) and layer it up!

These simple pieces speak volumes when it comes to fall decorating.  Don't be afraid to keep it simple and enjoy!

Happy Crafting,
Kelsie Ann