Wednesday, November 4, 2009

Button Turkey

I heart my new button turkey! He's so cute! I can't wait to introduce him to James! I love exclamation points! :)
This lil' bird will be a great learning tool to teach James how to button. And bonus - the buttons and feathers create a color matching game!

This was fun and easy to make and I finished it in about 2 hours (sewn by hand). I first found the idea on Itty Bitty Love, but I've also seen it on My Montessori Journey (two of my fav blogs!). I didn't follow an actual pattern to make it, I just eyeballed the photo in the link and copied it as best I could. That said, here's my attempt at giving you a tutorial so you can make one of your own!

Materials needed:
  • Felt...
  • Brown - for the body. One sheet was enough to make two circles about 5" in diameter.
  • Light brown - for the head (fyi, I tried the brown on brown and it was just too hard to see the turkey's head).
  • Red - for the wattle
  • Orange - for the beak
  • Cream - for the eyes
  • 5 Various colors of your choice - for the feathers, which I made to be about 4" long.
  • 5 Buttons - color coordinate with the feathers.
  • Stuffing (I used Poly-fil) - for the body
  • Scissors, needle & various color thread to match your felt (if you care about matching, that is!)
Instructions:
Step 1:
Cut out the head and sew it onto one of the brown circles.

Step 2:
Cut out the wattle, beak & eyes and sew them onto the head. I used black thread to make the pupils in the eyes, but you could use sequins instead.

Step 3:
Sew the buttons onto that same circle. Space them out a bit to make room for the feathers.

Step 4:
Stitch the two circles together, but before you close it up completely, fill the inside with stuffing. Not too much though or you'll have a really plump turkey!

Step 5:
Make the feathers by simply cutting feather-like shapes out of the felt and then cutting a slit in the bottom narrow part of the feather. Be careful when you cut the slit - start with a small slit and check it with your button. Adjust the size of the hole as needed. I made the mistake of making too large a slit and the feather wouldn't stay on the button.

That's it! Now you have a button turkey of your own!

I made a button snake recently, too. Click here to see how to make one.

16 comments:

Jen said...

Ok this is just way too cute. I cannot believe you finished it so quickly! You're amazing! I would totally buy one of these from you for my nieces Christmas present.

Becky said...

I love this idea! Thanks for sharing it and also explaining how you made it. I'm going to try to see if I can make one as well.

Counting Coconuts said...

You're welcome, Becky! I'd love to see it when you've finished it.

Jen, you're so sweet! I would love to make one for you, but I used the last of my felt on that little guy. The fabric store here tells me they'll be getting a new shipment in in December (!) - I don't think I could finish it in time for you... sorry!!

Susan said...

So cute!! You did a great job.

DB said...

This is soooo cute! Have you put any thought into having your own Etsy store?! I'd so buy this!

Jo Shabo said...

what a creative idea! Keep coming up with more!! :) Precious!

Cassie said...

What an adorable turkey! I love that it has multiple uses too.

Cassie said...

Oh and thanks for coming by and linking up!

silly eagle books said...

Your turned out way cuter than mine!! :) I like that you used different buttons for each feather. And the square shape is nice too. Good work! I saw the idea on Itty Bitty Love and My Montesorri Journey too and had to try it:

http://www.sillyeaglebooks.com/2009/11/make-your-own-button-turkey-feathers.html

michelle@somedaycrafts said...

I love this! So cute and fun! I featured this at somedaycrafts.blogspot.com

Kim said...

That is just so cute! I'll have to try this for my little ones.

Angie - treasuresfortots@gmail.com said...

Thank you for sharing at Thursday's Treasures!

Come share again this week!

Deb Chitwood said...

I LOVE your button turkey, Mari-Ann! What a fun way to reinforce dressing skills! I featured your Thanksgiving posts and button turkey photo in my Montessori-Inspired Thanksgiving Activities at http://livingmontessorinow.com/2011/11/14/montessori-monday-montessori-inspired-thanksgiving-activities/

jessers said...

Great idea! I just made one while my bebe was sleeping! Maybe it looks more like a peacock, but whatever. :) Thank you!

Unknown said...

I adore this idea and am going to make one right away. I just shared it on my Facebook page too, so that others can share in the fun. Thanks for the inspiration!

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Simple-Little-Home/218866024821811?ref=hl

Emily
Simple Little Home

Nicole said...

Such a cute turkey! I made a lazy version myself that you can see here: http://guiltlessmama.blogspot.com/2012/11/20-minute-button-turkey.html

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