DIY Pinecone Turkey (+ 21 other pinecone crafts)

Make this easy and fun pinecone turkey craft for your Thanksgiving table. Still have pinecones to spare? Try these other pinecone crafts and decor ideas too!

By Sarah Nichols, Contributing Writer

Pinecones are in abundant supply this time of year. My children love to look for them on the ground when we go for walks around the neighborhood.  When we find some on our little treasure hunt, we collect them and take them home to use for a variety of crafts and to add a touch of rustic decor to our house during the fall and winter seasons. I love that I can use a simple piece of nature to make my house a home! 

Today I’m going to show you how we make a pinecone turkey to grace the table for Thanksgiving dinner. I will also include a round-up of pinecone-themed decor and craft ideas in case you are looking for fun pinecone projects too.

A couple of notes on this craft: 1. You want to choose a pinecone that is opened up so that you have room to wedge the feathers between the scales. 2. This is a fun craft to do with kids, however, the glue gun is hot and must be used with caution by an adult.  You can use tacky glue instead, but you have to hold some of the pieces in place until it dries which can be cumbersome. Kids love to cut out the beak, feet, and feathers though.

How to Make a Pinecone Turkey

Materials:

• 1 pinecone
• 2 googly eyes
• a couple of colorful pages ripped out of a magazine
• some orange or red craft foam (or construction paper)
• a pair of scissors
• a hot glue gun (or tacky glue)

Directions:

1. Cut two feet and a beak out of the orange foam. They can be however big or small you want them to be. I went with 1-inch pieces.

2. Carefully place a drop of hot glue on the top of each piece and insert them into the pinecone.  If you are using tacky glue, you will want to make sure they are really wedged in so they don’t move while the glue is drying.

3. Add glue to the back of the googly eyes and place on the pinecone.  Hold until the glue dries.  The bigger the pinecone, the more you will be able to wedge the eye in between the pieces.

4. Stack the pages of the magazine together and draw several different size feathers.  Cut them out.

5. Fold all the feathers in half.  The crisper you make the edge, the straighter the feathers will lay on the turkey.

6. Place a drop of glue on the top of the feather and wedge it into the different layers of the pinecone.  Do at least three different layers high and spread them around the whole back half of the pinecone.

7. Use them to add a touch of whimsy to any fall decor.

But that’s not all you can do with pinecones.  Check out these 21 other wonderful craft ideas:

Pinecone Roundup

• Pinecone Garland
• Pinecone Sensory Box
• Pinecone Christmas Trees
• Pinecone Roses
• Pinecone Embellished Light Fixture
• Pinecone Door Arrangement
• Pinecone Wreaths
• Pinecone Bird Feeders
• Pinecone Ornaments
• Pinecone Place Cards
• Pinecone Christmas Trees – Table Decoration
• Pinecone Owls
• Pinecone Lamp Finial
• Pinecone Fire Starters
• Pinecone Angel
• How to Clean and Dry Pinecones for Crafts
• Pinecone Letter Art
• DIY Cinnamon Scented Pinecones
• Pinecone Hedgehog

Do you collect pinecones?  What do you like to do with them?

SaveSave

SaveSave