Who else loves decorating beautiful fall leaves? If you haven’t already seen my post on leaf art you can
find it here. In the post I explained some of my favorite techniques for drawing and painting on leaves. From
watercolors to
chalk crayons and
oil pastels, there’s so many beautiful ways to make art out of nature. With all the leaves I made, I wanted to turn them into a festive Thanksgiving craft that could be used as table decor or name cards. Below are the easy steps to make your very own.
Supplies you’ll need to make Thanksgiving cork turkeys:
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Decorated leaves - you can find lots of inspiration
here. Be sure that your leaves are fully pressed.
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Glue - I used E6000 glue because it’s very strong and dries quickly, but it still allows you to adjust placement before drying.
-Corks - I bought mine at my local craft store.
-Yellow felt or colored paper for the beak.
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Eye pins or wire.
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Black ball pins (optional) - I used this pins for the eyes, but if you can’t find them you can use black pen or paint to draw the eyes.
-Wire cutter (optional) - if you use black ball pins for the eyes you’ll need wire cutters to shorten the length.
Directions for making Thanksgiving cork name card table decor:
Step 1: First, I found that it’s easiest to add the ball pins for the eyes. You’ll want to clip the pins to a shorter length before you add them to the cork. If you don’t have ball pins, you can always use a black paint pen or paint for the eyes.
Step 2: Next, add a triangle felt nose. Then you can even add a red wattle cut out of red paper.
Step 3: Glue your
decorated leaf to the back of the cork and be sure to let it dry completely.
Step 4: Using mini stamps or a pen, write names or phrases on small pieces of cardstock. I used special decorative edged scissors to add a fun scalloped edge.
Step 5: Next, tape or glue the cardstock to the end of an eye pin or wire. And finally, push the eye pin into the center of the cork top.
Thanksgiving is the perfect time to craft and this turkey table decor is the perfect to get the entire family involved. If you don’t have any leaves to decorate, make your own out of paper! You can even use the free leaf coloring sheet I made by reducing the size before you print it onto cardstock. Get the
free leaf printable here. We’d love to see what other variations you come up with!
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If you’re on Instagram tag me
@colormadehappy and
@weareooly in your post, and don’t forget #artwithOOLY. We are always looking to share pics of followers who have tried one of our tutorials.