Learn how to make a cute turkey handprint with paint that parents will treasure for years! This easy tutorial will show you how to make a painted turkey handprint craft that kids love to make. Download the FREE turkey handprint poem for your kids for a fun Thanksgiving craft, preschool craft, school craft, Sunday school craft, or for a sweet Thanksgiving gift for family.
Life moves so quickly and it seems like every time I blink my kids have grown another foot. As a mom of five kids, I love doing crafts with my kids that will help me hold on to where they are right now and remember when they are older.
Easy Turkey Handprint Craft
With Thanksgiving quickly approaching, I made a turkey handprint with my younger kids.
They loved it just as much as I had hoped!
Now I have the cutest turkey handprint art keepsake to put in their memory books (this is how I organize my kids’ art and school work.
The great thing about this handprint turkey craft is-
- it’s simple
- it only takes a few minutes
- takes just a few basic supplies
- makes a great memory
- is good for kids of all ages!
My 2 year-old, 9 year-old, and my 12 year-old were all excited to get in on the turkey handprint craft, which shows that this truly is a craft for all ages.
When the kids see that they are allowed to get paint all over their hands, they get on board really quickly!
Turkey Handprint Supplies
You’ll need just a few simple supplies to make a turkey handprint:
- FREE printable turkey handprint poem
- Paintbrush
- Brown, orange, yellow, red, and green craft paint
- Black, orange, and red markers
- Small googly eyes and glue (optional)
Download the Turkey Handprint Poem
I made a simple poem printable to go with the turkey handprint that you can download for FREE.
Just press on this link to download the FREE handprint turkey poem.
Free template printable is for personal use only, not for resale or distribution.
Helpful Tip: Be sure to print the turkey handprint poem onto white cardstock paper so the paper doesn’t wrinkle after the paint is put on.
How to Make a Turkey Handprint
Paint the Hand
If you’re doing this turkey handprint craft with a toddler, preschooler, or early school aged child, then you will probably want to be the one to paint the colors on your child’s hand.
Older kids can paint their hand themselves if you want them to.
Starting with the brown paint, use a medium sized paintbrush to paint brown paint onto the palm of your child’s hand, and then the thumb.
Be sure to use plenty of paint since it will start to dry if you’re not somewhat quick.
Next paint the pointer finger orange, the middle finger yellow, the ring finger red, then the pinky green (or any other color combination you would like).
Every different color of paint on the fingers will become our turkey’s feathers!
Helpful Painting Tips:
- Use plenty of paint on the palm and each each finger. We painted outside and the fingers dried somewhat quickly so I used more paint the second time, which worked much better.
- Use a different paintbrush for every color. You want to get the paint on as quickly as possible with our your child drying anything or the paint drying up. I made the process faster by using a different paintbrush for each color and quickly painting each finger.
- Have a paper plate or paper towel or napkin ready to put the wet paintbrushes on while you move on to the next color.
- Have baby wipes ready or do this craft near the sink so your kids don’t touch their clothes or any furniture before washing their hands. I wiped their hands with a baby wipe first, then had them go into the house and wash with soap and water afterwards.
Press the Hand Onto the Paper
Next you’ll want to grab your child’s hand, have them spread out their fingers a little, tell them to hold their hand flat, then gently press their hand down onto the piece of white paper.
I told my kids not to move their hand or fingers while I gently pressed down on them to make sure all the paint transferred onto the paper.
When it was time for them to lift their hand, I used one of my hands to hold the paper down (so it didn’t stick to their wet painted hands) and one hand to gently lift their hand off the paper.
Let the painted turkey handprint dry completely before moving on to the next step.
Adding the Details
Now it’s time to give those handprint turkeys some personality!
We used small google eyes and a drop of tacky glue to make our turkey eyes.
You could also draw them on with a black marker or pen.
For the beak and gobbler (not sure what the real name is), the kids used an orange and a red Sharpie to draw them on.
For the feet, they just used a black Sharpie to draw some basic bird feet.
I just loved how this turkey handprint craft turned out!
They really were so easy to make, and I’m keeping every single one and putting them in my kids’ memory books!
Painting Alternative
If you’re really opposed to painting your child’s hand or you just don’t want to deal with paint, you could also trace your child’s hand onto brown construction paper and glue it onto white cardstock with the handprint poem printed on it.
Then the kids could cut out the turkey’s feathers from orange, yellow, green, and red construction paper and glue them onto the turkey.
An orange construction paper beak, red paper gobbler, and google eyes will help finish off the handprint turkey.
A turkey handprint and poem make a great keepsake that you can save and even frame to decorate with every Thanksgiving.
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