Give Thanks Turkey Fan Blade Sign

Last night, I whipped up a super sweet painted Thanksgiving turkey sign on one of my old fan blades....and it was so much fun. I probably should've been baking, or setting a table or cleaning the house a bit, but the blades were just sitting on the floor looking at me. So I gave in.

And I am so glad I did.

Now I know what you're thinking.

There's tons to do for the big day, how will I ever be ready when I squandered my time crafting instead of cooking?

Well, don't you worry, I just will.

I'm a pretty laid back holiday gal. I don't fret about the perfect pie or the perfect place setting. I just do what I can at my own pace and somehow, some way, it all gets done. The holidays are much more enjoyable that way.

I remember my own mom racing to the finish line every Thanksgiving, up until two or three in the morning preparing things and then up again at six to put the turkey in the oven. She dreaded the day and collapsed once the guests cleared out.

I can't do that or rather, I choose not to do that. I still prepare all the requisite dishes and bake our traditional desserts, but I do it in batches, with some crafting in between. It's frankly the best part of the holiday for me.

Well, that and the pie. Pie is very good, too.

Here's how I made the Thanksgiving turkey sign, in case you want to craft while you cook.

I grabbed one of my fan blades and started by sketching out a design on paper. Remember, you don't have to be an artist to make something fabulously artistic. My pattern is something I would've had my kindergarteners draw. Find your inner kid and go...

Next, I drew that same design on the fan blade in pencil. 

That was the hardest part. The rest was just a matter of filling in my drawing with paint. Coloring is much easier than stenciling, in my opinion. I used regular craft paint and a variety of small and medium bristle brushes. 

I was going to use the pencil eraser trick for the eyes like I did on my Christmas fan blades, but I ended up using a brush instead. I added details over the paint, with a pencil, when necessary. I improvised as I went along.

I used a negative space technique on this Tom Turkey since the board was already brown, the faux wood grain looked a bit like feathers. I used a very light brown to define his body shape, but then wiped most of it off and added more feathers instead.

Lastly, I added the details to give him a little personality and with a gold paint pen, I wrote the words, GIVE THANKS, on the bottom for some seasonal flair.

To hang my sign, I looped ribbon through the fan holes at the top of the blade and then made a bow and hot glued it on. 

All in all, I am very happy with the way this Thanksgiving wooden sign turned out. Like the rest of my projects, it was very cheap to make, super simple to paint (no fancy artwork or tools required) and done in no time flat.

I had time to paint a turkey before I have to cook a turkey. 

And what could be better than that?

Gobble, Gobble!!

Hey! Speaking of Thanksgiving, I would like to say, once again, just how enormously grateful I am for each and every one of you, my dear readers. I started writing, because I was hoping to inspire people to try crafting and DIY projects, regardless of their skill level. Never in my wildest dreams did I ever imagine that so many people would come by to see what I had to say and that I would be conversing and building friendships with people from all over the world. 

But it happened...and every now and then someone will send me a photo of what they made based off something that I shared here. It's a true gift.

My sweet friend Amalia, did just that this week. She and her niece turned my sock angel ornaments into dolls and they are just darling. You must run over to see them and check out Amalia's great observations about kids. I keep telling her she needs to write a book. I am sure you'll agree when you see out her darling creations and their stories.  

Well ~ that's all folks! If you live in the states, Happy Thanksgiving...and if not, I hope you have a lovely week.

❤️

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