Thankful Turkey Activity Boxes

Thanksgiving can be a long day for kids. It’s always exciting and overwhelming at the same time, especially since all the adults are busy prepping for dinner. With this in mind, I always find a way to keep the kids entertained – something that requires a little bit of focus but is still fun.

Thanksgiving is a time in our family when we take a moment to really think about what we’re thankful for. We take the opportunity to write these things down and keep them as memories for the rest of the year. Even the grown ups get involved!

I came up with these paper-craft turkey boxes with my kids. We actually did similar boxes last year, so this year we reopened them to remind ourselves of what we wrote last year! All the kids cut and make their own turkey with colored construction paper. It’s so simple! Then of course we write down all the things we’re thankful for onto slips of paper, and put them into the box. Happy Thanksgiving!

What You Need

• Colored construction paper
• Scissors
• Glue stick
• Craft matchboxes
• Compass
• White-out
• Black pencil
• White pencil

How-To

1. Draw a circle onto colored construction paper and cut it out.
2. For the turkey’s neck, pick a contrasting color and cut a long rectangle with rounded corners. For the nose, cut a small triangle out of construction paper and glue it onto the neck. Then glue the neck and nose onto the circle.
3. Draw the turkey’s eye with whiteout. To make the turkey’s accessories, cut a crown and bow out of paper and then glue them onto your turkey.
4. To make the tail feathers, cut long strips of construction paper with triangles on the ends. Glue each of the feathers onto the back of the turkey.
5. Finally glue the turkey on top of a craft matchbox.

6. And the final step: cut paper slips and write down what you’re thankful for. Put these papers into your box.

Happy crafting!

DIY Wood Block Turkeys

Fall is one of my favorite seasons, but boy does it fly by. After Halloween it’s my daughter’s birthday and then Thanksgiving – it’s non-stop! But it’s a good busy, so I can’t complain. As you might know, I am French so Thanksgiving wasn’t a part of my family’s tradition. But since moving to America seventeen years ago, I’ve been celebrating Thanksgiving. I really enjoy taking the time to be thankful, and I make sure to encourage my kids to be thankful too.

This past weekend, we spent time preparing for Thanksgiving and now the house now is ready! I came up with these colorful turkeys – aren’t they fun? You can use them to decorate all over the house, set them up as a centerpiece, or use them as place cards – just write your guests’ names on them. Or if you need an activity to keep the kids busy, have them make these turkeys! Let’s get crafting!

What You Need

• Wooden cubes (or small boxes)
• Black paint
• Paintbrush
• Construction paper
• Craft feathers
• Scissors
• Tape
• Glue
• Pencil
• White out

How-To

1. Paint the cubes black and let dry.
2. In the mean time, cut triangles out of yellow construction paper and raindrops out of red paper. Set aside.
3. When the cubes are dry, glue down the red raindrop shape and then glue the triangle beak on top to make the turkey faces.
4. Use white out to make the eyes and draw the pupils with pencil.
5. Pick out some colored feathers and glue them onto the back of your cube. Let dry.

Voila! Happy Thanksgiving!!

Forest Puppets Dreamer Pad

Dream on, dreamers! We can’t stop talking about our new line of kids’ craft kits and supplies available at Michaels nationwide – Handmade Charlotte Kids! Today we’re sharing a closer look at the Forest Puppets Dreamer Pad, one of the three dreamer pads in the line – see the other two here and here! Create your own puppet play using all the playful characters included in the activity book.

This dreamer pad even includes activity sheets and SO many beautiful stickers for hours of creative fun. Stage a puppet show featuring lumberjacks, Mr. Fox, a unicorn, and all your wildlife friends – we have a feeling your audience will be begging for an encore. ;) Keep reading for a closer look at everything included in the kit!

Contents

• 50 brads
• 12 straws
• 10 page activity pad
• 1 sheet of glue dots
• 1 storage envelope

How-To

Step 1
Pop the shapes out of the activity book along the perforated lines.

Step 2
Use the brads to attach the limbs onto the bodies of the characters through the pre-punched holes.

Step 3
Apply a glue dot onto the back of the paper puppet and attach a straw. Voila! Continue popping out the paper props and backgrounds and perform a play for your friends!

What story will you tell with these colorful wildlife puppets? Share your photos with us using #HCKidsClub!

Live from Mt. Pom-Pom

Meet the Artist

Japanese artist Misaki Kazwai works with just about every medium possible – paintings, sculptures, wall murals, furniture, toys, books, even writing her own music. Born to an architect father and a mother who liked to sew and make puppets, her psychedelic craft-art is clearly the perfect combination of their influences. We’re hooked!

“The Doggy Dog” (2011, Malmo Konsthall)

“Big Bubble” exhibition (2011, Malmo Konsthall)

“Wet Shiny Surprise” exhibition (2011, LOYAL Gallery)

Children’s furniture, “Love from Mt. Pom Pom” exhibition (2012, CMA NYC)

Be sure to check out Misaki Kawai’s super fun online shop!

DIY Emoji Bubble Necklaces

Do you have a favorite emoji? There are sooo many to choose from, it’s nearly impossible! One of the craft kits available in our new Handmade Charlotte Kids line is this Emoji Me Bubble Necklace – you can turn your favorite emoji into a fun necklace! Each kit includes nine bubble beads, emoji stickers, pom poms, and matching accessories – enough to make three awesome necklaces.

And a secret bonus – you can include a secret note or wish inside your bubble bead! There are some great emoji-themed options in the kit, or make your own custom note to add in too. We love how fun it is to create your own custom accessories – wouldn’t it be cool to throw an emoji-themed necklace craft slumber party? Keep reading for even more photos of these playful necklaces. Everything you need is included in the kit available online and in Michaels stores online. :)

Contents

• 9 bubble beads
• Ribbon
• Stickers
• 12 beads
• Sequins
• 6 buttons
• 6 felt shapes
• 42 pompoms
• Satin cord
• 3 safety clasps
• 9 jump rings
• Paper notes
• Sticky seals
• Instructions

How-To

Step 1
Fill the yellow bubble beads with yellow pompoms. You can even include a secret note inside!

Step 2
Add an emoji face onto the front of the bubble bead using the stickers included in your kit.

Step 3
For the clear bubble beads, fill with the pink and purple pompoms, beads, sequins, felt shapes, and buttons. You can mix and match or sort by color – have fun with it!

Step 4
Close all the bubble beads and use the round sticky seals to keep the bubbles closed.

Step 5
Put a jump ring onto each bubble bead and then thread onto the satin cord. Tie a knot around each jump ring to keep the bead in place.

Step 6
Thread the safety clasp onto each end of the satin cord and tie a knot on each end as shown.

Step 7
Tie the pink ribbon into a bow around the cord and voila: you’ve got a colorful new necklace!

Pick up your own Emoji Me Bubble Necklace right here!! Happy crafting! :)

No-Sew Felt Pumpkin Table Runner

Invite your kids to help with some Thanksgiving decorating this year by making this easy no-sew table runner. It really is as simple as cutting out some felt pieces and gluing them in a row.

Younger children may need a little extra help, but older kids can do this all on their own. And they’ll be so proud when you use this runner on the kids’ table (or even on your coffee table) come Thanksgiving.

Want to ensure that this looks a little less like a “kid craft” and a little more like something you want to display in your home? One of the easiest ways is to choose colors of felt that YOU like. A runner made of pastel pumpkins or all white “ghost” pumpkins might be more your style than bright orange.

And of course, the size is easy to adjust by using as many or as few pumpkins as you want. Make it just the right size for your home!

What You Need

• Pumpkin Table Runner template (download here)
• Wool blend felt (in several pumpkin colors + tan)
• Pins
• Scissors
• Fabric glue

How-To

Step 1
Print the pumpkin templates on regular printer paper and cut them out. Pin the pieces to the felt and cut around them.

Cut several pumpkin shapes from each color of felt and cut out a tan stem for each pumpkin.

Step 2
Glue the stems to the top of the pumpkins with a bit of fabric glue.

Step 3
Arrange the pumpkins in a row so they overlap. Play around with the layout a bit until it looks like you want it to.

Leave them laying flat and start gluing them together where they overlap. Don’t use too much glue or it will squeeze out and get messy!

After the pumpkins have had time to dry, your table runner is ready to set up your Thanksgiving kids’ table!

The simplicity of this runner makes it easy to dress up with a few candles or other basic table decor. It’s also pretty enough to use on a coffee table or other areas that aren’t just designed for kids.

To dress it up a little more, try adding some lines of embroidery stitches to define the ridges of the pumpkin.

To make this project a little easier for young children who are still practicing their scissor skills, have them cut the pumpkins from colored paper instead of felt.

Instead of making a runner, cluster the pumpkins together to make placemats!

And no matter how smooth (or rough) the edges looks or how gluey the seams get, be sure to thank your little crafter for helping with the decorations!

Happy crafting!