By Sarah Dexter
How to make: Cereal-Box Turkeys
You will need:
- Cereal box (or other cardboard material)
- Glue (stick or craft)
- Scissors
- Pen/Pencil
- Circular objects of various sizes (can, quarter, jar, paper-towel roll) . The more objects you have to trace, the more options you have when constructing the turkey.
If you don’t have some of these supplies around the house, try checking out The I.D.E.A Store. They have a large variety of crafting supplies, and every purchase helps support the local K-12 education foundation (the Champaign Urbana Schools Foundation).
1. Trace and cut
Take your cardboard piece(s) and trace around the circular objects. Try to trace and cut 4-6 different-sized circles per turkey. These are the pieces you’re going to use to create your turkey!
2. Designing
Set out your circles and experiment with the front and backside of the cereal boxes. See what colors and patterns you like best together. You will use 4-6 circles depending on the design of your turkey.
3. Constructing
Take the largest circle and cut off the bottom third to create a straight edge. Along the curve, snip slits into the circle to make a feathered look. This is the tail of the turkey. Now choose smaller circles for the body, one or two layers. Cut one circle in half for the wings and then use the smallest circles for the head. You can use the scraps from cutting circles for the facial features like eyes or a beak, or for other embellishments (feet, wattle).
4. Glue and go
Once you like the look of your turkey, glue him together!
For some variation, you can add a popsicle stick or magnet on the back of your turkey. You could also use these turkeys as place cards or name tags for your Thanksgiving guests.
Sarah Dexter is the communications intern at the I.D.E.A Store in Champaign.