Good evening loyal readers!
This is a great craft for parents and children to do together….or for anyone of any age.
As with any craft, there are many variations that can be used.
I found this craft activity on the net a month ago. The original craft item is hanging leaves, as you will see when I give you the link.
You can choose to do leaves, as we are in the midst of falling leaves at this time of year, and I think the finished look is really neat.
I made a variation to show you another idea. I made turkey feathers! When I taught kindergarten, I found out that five year olds (and most children) are fascinated with turkeys!
Click here to see the original craft idea from KABOOSE. (my directions vary from Kaboose because I wanted the feathers to look different)
MY HOW TO:
1. Using tagboard or heavy construction paper, cut out 7 feathers, leaf shapes (or the shape you desire) Note: they do not have to be exactly the same shape! Just free-form draw them, or make one shape and trace it. Don’t worry if they are different sizes.
2. You or your child decorate the feathers/leaves using crayons, watercolor paints, poster paints, markers, torn paper scraps, etc.
3. Find a twig or branch that is fairly straight
4. Use thin string or thin crochet “yarn”
5. Punch a hole in the TOP of each feather/leaf (in the top row) and tie a knot with the string there. (make sure you have a long piece of string)
6. For each of the 3 top items, wrap the string around the stick several times and then tie it in a knot.
7. Punch a hole in the bottom of each feather in the top row.
8. Punch a hole in the top of each feather in the second row and tie them together, using a square knot. Mine are about 3″ apart.
9. For the last feather….repeat the process ….as you can see in the photo.
**Thoughts: if this will be exposed to the outdoors, it may be a good idea to cover the feathers/leaves with clear contact paper, or…one of my favorite things: clear package wrapping tape. KABOOSE suggests putting glue on each knot…. if your item is outdoors and exposed to humidity changes, that is probably a good idea.