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Make a clothespin bird to brighten holidays
By Kathy Antoniotti
Beacon Journal staff writer
Published on Saturday, Nov 15, 2008
Each Thanksgiving, someone reminds us that the turkey came in second best when it came to choosing an official bird to represent our new nation. America patriot and inventor Benjamin Franklin lobbied to give the wild turkey the honor instead of the majestic bald eagle.
In a letter to his daughter, Franklin lamented that the turkey was a ''much more respectable bird and a true original native of America.''
Today, we revere the bald eagle as our national bird, but it can't replace the turkey as the symbol of Thanksgiving.
Wild turkeys are the largest game birds in North America. They live in woodlands and eat seeds, acorns, insects and berries and fly onto low-hanging branches to sleep.
A tom, or male turkey, will spread its tail feathers, dance a fancy turkey trot and make a gobble sound to attract female turkeys. A tom has skin around its beak called a snood, a caruncle around its throat and a wattle under its chin that turns bright red during courtship, or when the bird is upset.
I saw this turkey, created by craft coordinator and floral designer Bev Hanlon, roosting on a shelf at the Pat Catan store on West Market Street in Akron. I snapped a picture on my cell phone camera and took it to the craft aisles to put together a supply list and these directions.
Supplies you will need:
• 1 jumbo wood clothespin.
• 11 jumbo wood craft sticks in natural color.
• 1 21/2-inch wood circle.
• 1 split pullet wood egg.
• 1 red Chenille bump stem.
• 2 10 mm wiggle eyes.
• Black fine tip marker.
• Acrylic paint colors: ivory, clay, barn red, gold.
• White craft glue.
Paint the clothespin (on all flat surfaces), the circle, and each of the craft sticks with the clay-colored paint. Paint the pullet egg gold. Set all the pieces aside to dry.
Paint a one-inch band in barn red at one end of each craft stick. When the red dries, paint a 1-inch band in ivory under the red on all the sticks. Paint a narrow ivory line at the very tips of each stick and paint a ''V'' shape in gold just below each one of the bottom bands.
To make the turkey's face, cut one of the bumps from the stem and twist it to conform to the shape of the side of the egg. Glue it on the egg to make the turkey's snood. It should run from just above the top edge of the gold beak and end just before the bottom, at the pointed end of the egg. Let dry.
Glue the gold pullet egg to the center of the circle with the pointed end down, about an inch below the bottom of the circle.
Glue two wiggle eyes above the beak and draw eyebrows onto the circle above the eyes.
Stack and glue the tail feathers so they fan out behind the turkey and glue to the back of the clothespin. Glue the face on the front surface
Kathy Antoniotti writes a craft column for the Beacon Journal. If you have a craft idea or question, contact Kathy Antoniotti, Akron Beacon Journal, P.O. Box 640, Akron OH 44309-0640; 330-996-3565; or kantoniotti@thebeaconjournal.com.
Get the full article here.
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