Raising Maine

By SUSAN HYDE, Raising Maine Contributor

When it comes to crafting, there’s more than one way to tame a turkey. This month it’s Tom Turkey, a bird who can help you organize your life even as he makes a festive November addition to your locker or refrigerator.

Materials

* Glue gun and glue sticks (younger children will require supervision)
* Scissors
* Pre-cut craft foam shapes, craft foam sheets, card stock or construction paper in fall colors
* Smaller sized self-adhesive google eyes
* Round magnets with peel off self-adhesive
* Wooden clothespins
* Optional: small, colorful feathers, glitter or other items for decorating

Instructions
* Cut a 3- to 4-inch heart out of fall craft foam, card stock or construction paper to create the body of the turkey. For younger children, you may want to use pre-cut shapes.
* Cut 15 to 20 smaller (1- to 2-inch) hearts to make turkey tail feathers and beard.
* Cut a 1-inch oval for the turkey’s head and a smaller triangle in a different color for the beak.
* Cut two 1-inch triangles for Tom’s feet. Snip zig-zagged triangles in the bottoms of the triangles for claws.
* Stick two self-adhesive google eyes on the oval, and use the glue gun to attach the beak.
* Now use the glue gun to join one of the smaller hearts, right-side-up and in a color that contrasts with the head, with the pointed end just underneath the top of the turkey’s head.
* Glue a second small heart in a different contrasting color, upside-down with the pointed end just under the “chin” of the turkey head.
* Now glue the entire head onto the larger heart. The craft works with the larger heart right-side up or upside-down. An upright heart will give the effect of a Tom with a puffed up chest. An upside-down heart will give him larger drumsticks. (It all depends on whether you like white meat or dark!)
* Glue the feet to the bottom of the turkey and then attach layered hearts as feathers. If you have 3- to 4-inch colored craft feathers, use your creativity and intersperse real feathers between the heart feathers.
* Use the glue gun to attach the clothespin to the back of the turkey so that the “pinching” end of the clothespin is approximately centered on the heart. Allow a small bit of the clothespin to peak out underneath the heart.
* Peel the paper off of the magnet’s adhesive and carefully stick it onto the back of the clothespin.

Use your creativity. For a more glamorous turkey, embellish the feathers with glitter glue or other items. Attach a black pilgrim hat if you want a more seasonable Tom Turkey. You are limited only by the amount of weight your magnet can carry. Use your magnetic clip to hold a favorite picture, bills or your holiday grocery list.