Thanksgiving Turkey Stained Glass Craft

11/19/2021

With the Thanksgiving holidays around the corner, we thought you might enjoy this turkey craft for you to do with your little turkey!

We love this stained glass Thanksgiving turkey that we found at Crafts on Sea. Here’s what you’ll need:

• Paper Plates

• Cellophane or tissue paper

• Sticky back plastic / contact paper

• Googly eyes

• Brown cardstock or construction paper

• Red cardstock or construction paper

• Washi tape / sellotape

• Glue

Here’s how to build your turkey:

Cut the bottom off the paper plate to give it a flat bottom, and then cut out some feather shapes. To do this as safely as possible, Crafts on Sea has the cleverest idea: jab the scissors through a bit of playdough!

Place a piece of sticky back sticky side up on your table. As this stuff is super sticky, Crafts on Sea uses washi tape to hold it down in place. Next, cut the cellophane into pieces and let your kids use it to decorate the sticky back plastic. For a more realistic look, cut out strips of cellophane so they appear more like feathers. They recommend using cellophane rather than tissue paper for this as you get much brighter colors, but tissue paper is effective. Depending on the age of your child, you can also get them to do some cutting too.

Once your little one is happy with their work, place the paper plate on top of the back plastic so that it sticks down and then cut away any excess. Crafts on Sea suggests that if your child has put on so much cellophane that the plate won't stick, just stick it in place with some sellotape.

Cut out a body and beak for your turkey, stick these in place, and add some googly eyes! Hang in the window and let the sun shine through your little turkey’s turkey art!

For a fun Thanksgiving read, we suggest The Very Stuffed Turkey by Katharine Kenah and illustrations by Binny Talib. Here’s the synopsis from Goodreads:

"A Thanksgiving story featuring a large turkey with a big problem...

...he's been invited to EVERYONE'S home for dinner!

With five homes to visit -- Horse's, Pig's, Sheep and Goat's, Cow's, and Mouse's --Turkey knows there'll be a ton of food to eat. But there'll also be friends and their families who can't wait to celebrate the holiday with Turkey! Can this very plump bird make it through every meal without bursting?

A silly, read-aloud story featuring food, friends, and one hilarious turkey!"

Child Development Program is a nursery and preschool in uptown New Orleans for children ages six weeks through pre-k 4.