Turkey Blossom Tablescape Tutorial

How about a blossoming turkey to decorate the table this Thanksgiving?  It's a fun way to celebrate the bird of the season and make use of some gorgeous fall flowers in a unique way.  

Jo-Ann Fabric and Craft Stores asked me to create a Turkey Tablescape project and I thought I'd try something different from the usual table decor.  Added bonus - this little turkey can live on year after year, so he's ideal for vegetarians like me;)

Materials:
- 3 to 4 stems of silk mums (mine had blooms about 3 inches across)
- 1 stem of silk hydrangreas
- 8 inch diameter styrofoam ball
- 1 styrofoam egg
- Rolls of 2 inch wide wired ribbon in fall colors/prints 
- Hot glue gun
- Wooden skewer
- 2 buttons
- Scrap of felt

Start by pulling off the blooms from the stems.  Be careful to leave the base of each flower intact:

Add a nice swirl of hot glue to the base of the bloom:

Stick into styrofoam ball and press down.  

 Continue adding blooms with edges of petals touching:

The result will be a nice ball of blossoms:

Now to make the turkey head, carefully pull petals off the silk hydrangea stem:

With right sides facing out, fold each bloom in half and hot glue to one end of a styrofoam egg:

To keep folded, add a line of hot glue to the middle and press closed.  

Repeat this, overlapping the blooms until completely covered.  It will have a sort of pinecone look to it when done:

Insert a skewer into one end of the egg and then press the other end into the body ball.  Add feet to the turkey by taking a pair of leaves from the leftover stems and cut apart.

Then hot glue them to the bottom of the ball, so that they are just peeking out: 

Now it's time to feather this bird!  Take the ribbon and cut 26 inch strips.  Fold each in half and fold raw edges inward and upward about 2 inches up.

Repeat with other ribbons to make the turkey feathers.  I made about to get the fullness I wanted.

Attach the feathers to the back of the turkey with pins.  Start with two at the bottom corners and add several more to the middle.  The wire in the ribbon will brace them the rest of the way and allow them to be shaped by hand.

To make the beak, cut a piece of felt in this shape.  It's easiest to make by folding the felt and cut a diamond.

Add a dot of glue and fold.  Then hot glue the beak and two button eyes to make the turkey face.  

Add a charger underneath, some candlesticks & gourds, and the turkey centerpiece is ready! 

I'm also sharing this with my FAVE LINK PARTIES.

Click HERE to check them out!

I was not financially compensated for this post.  I received a Jo-Ann gift card and select craft supplies from Jo-Ann Fabric and Craft Stores® Celebrate the Season campaign.  The opinions are completely my own based on my experience.  For my complete disclosure policy, click here.