We love all handprint, fingerprint, or just about any painting where we don’t use brushes for the whole project. It’s fun to get creative that way, each project can be unique. What better way to make a Thanksgiving craft, than making a Thumbprint Turkey Painting. Super simple, using only a few things you mostly have around the house anyway.
As long as you have an eager to participate child, some finger-paints, 1 fine tip paint brush, white paper, and a googly eye, you will be all set. I love crafts that are simple because lots of times my son will lose interest if we don’t keep a fast pace, and of course he gets to see the results quickly. This Thumbprint Turkey Painting is perfect for those like my son, and for the more creative and patience ones too!
It can get some what messy, so either use a wet paper towel or baby wipes are also good to have handy, for this turkey craft. We opted for a few baby wipes and it did wonders to wipe my sons fingers.
Here’s what you’ll need:
Red, Orange, Yellow, Brown Paint
1 Fine Tip Paintbrush
1 Googly Eye
White Paper
Paper Plate
Baby Wipes (to wipe your thumbs in between steps)
First, we poured the paint colors for our turkey, and the for the feathers onto a paper plate. This way the kids could just dip their thumb easily into the paint color of their choice, without mixing them up. A simple way to keep this craft pretty clean and moving along quickly was using the paper plate with colors all ready to go.
Grab your white paper and either fold in half to make a card, or leave the sheet flat, your choice. Then dip a thumb into the brown paint to create our turkey head and body. The thumbprints should be perpendicular to one another and make the look of a backwards L shape. Wipe your thumb clean.
Begin dipping your thumb into red paint, and apply the first layer of feathers in a horizontal pattern, and continue this step for orange, then yellow for your last layer of feathers. You child can wipe their thumb clean in between colors.
You may want to wait a few minutes for the paint to dry. Once your feathers are dry, use a very fine tip paint brush to paint a triangle for the nose and a red small line directly below for any other accents you want to add, including painting some legs using your orange paint. This was simple, just paint the legs and add feet to your adorable turkey.
Last we added 1 googly eye. My son insisted using the one here, but you may want to use a smaller googly eye for your project. I still love our adorable Thumbprint turkey, but ours just happens to have very large eyes on this project, but I remind myself, and the kids - this is what makes our art unique.
Lastly leave your sheet to dry and if you used a folded piece of 8×11 paper you can have the kids write a festive Thanksgiving note to a family or friend, or even one to each other.
I hope you found our Thumbprint Turkey Painting to be simple enough for kids of all ages to create and simple because you don’t have to break the bank finding products to use, either. I’d love to see how your turkeys come out. Share a photo with us on Instagram or Facebook, I always love seeing what you create with your kiddos.
Thanks for stopping by today and creating with us. Enjoy the rest of your week!
This is so cute! I’m definitely going to try this with Nathan this Thanksgiving!
Danica recently posted…Holidays 2014: Best Time To Be A Kid!
Thanks so much Danica for stopping by. Oh this thumbprint craft is so fun and simple for the kids to create & us parents too! Hope you enjoy the rest of your week.
Heather this is adorable!! My boys love finger painting and I’m sure they will love making these turkeys. Thank you for the great idea!! Pinning!
Sydney @Tastefully Frugal recently posted…Rich & Creamy Crockpot Tomato Basil Soup
Hi Sydney, thank you so much for sharing! I hope your boys have just as much fun creating their thumbprint turkeys. Can you believe it’s only a few weeks away, already!
LOVE LOVE LOVE! Such a simple (you hope at least, lol) and cute idea! My son may be a touch too young to try and get so many thumb/fingerprints out of him, but it’s worth a try
This might be the perfect activity to do with my 5 year old niece on Thanksgiving. Can’t wait to try it out! Your son’s turned out absolutely adorable. Pinned!!
Mel @ Melly Moments
Thank you so much Mel, you’re so sweet! We truly had a blast making this one. It’s simple but it comes out so cute. Perfect for a thanksgiving craft. Thanks so much for sharing, always much appreciated
How adorable! Pinning.
Tiffiny recently posted…Our Visit to the Breakers Mansion in Pictures
Hi Tiffiny, thanks so much for stopping by and sharing! Enjoy the rest of your weekend.
Heather the turkey craft is adorable! Your so creative. I’m pinning it. Thank you for sharing this fantastic craft.
Kim @ This Ole Mom recently posted…Chick-fil-A “Dress Up Your Nuggets” Chicken Parmesan Crescents Semi-Homemade
Thanks so much Kim, we had a blast making this lil guy. Can you believe Thanksgiving is nearly here! Thanks for stopping by
Such a sweet idea for the little ones! Thanks for linking up at Pin-Worthy Wednesday, Pinned!
Roxanne recently posted…Think of Christmas Printable
Hi Roxanne, thanks for hosting another great week, I’m so glad you like our thumbprint turkeys. This time of year is so fun! Thanks for stopping by.
So cute! Pinned to my Thanksgiving board
Kim @ Life is a Lullaby recently posted…5 Tips for Living a Happier Life
Oh so fun! I am going to do this tomorrow!
Oh you’ll have so much fun Meghan. The thumbprint painting is really easy and the turkeys just turn out so cute!
This is so cute. Thank you for linking up at Bloggers Brag weekly pinterest party. I have pinned to Bloggers brags pinterest board.We would love to see you again next monday.
Sahana recently posted…Holiday Gift Guide 2014 for everyone in the family + Gift guide Link Party
Thank you guys so much for hosting, I always enjoy joining the fun at Bloggers Brag. Thanks so much for sharing our Thumbprint Turkeys.