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Finished turkey wine cork napkin holder!

Finished turkey wine cork napkin holder!

Growing up, one of the things that made the holidays special was the way my aunties decorated our dinner tables. To this day, my Aunt Mim, especially, stands out as the Martha Stewart (long before Martha became Martha) of our family.

After all the hugs and hellos, we’d make our way into the dining room where we’d be greeted by wonderful tablescapes, napkin holders, and place holders she had painstakingly hand-crafted, with details that would make the most doleful of guests immediately cheer up with appreciation.

This year, I am co-hosting Thanksgiving dinner with my mom and sister-in-law and am solely in charge of the decorations. With 19 guests, that is no a small feat, but I’m up for the challenge.

In light of my love of repurpose and upcycling, I wanted to try and use items I had laying around and outside the house and, with the help of designer Taniya Nayak (HGTV), tweaked and came up with my own version of a fun turkey wine cork napkin holder, perfect for Thanksgiving.

I would like to dedicate today’s blog to all my aunties and mother, who, with all their time and effort, created and passed along an attention-to-detail tradition that I know my siblings, cousins and I will carry on for years to come. Cheers!

Supplies:

Turkey wine cork napkin holders supplies

Turkey wine cork napkin holders supplies

• wine corks

• colorful fall leaves

• drill with 5/32″ drill bit

• twine, string or thin ribbon

• map push pins (short)

• toothpick

• yarn needle (large)

• pliers

• red and orange felt

• scissors and sharp knife

• black Sharpie pen

• crafting glue and glue stick

• pennies

Instructions:

Step #1: Drill hole for twine.

Drill hole for twine

Drill hole for twine.

Step #2: Insert map pins for the eyes. Be sure to center them between the two drill holes…but have fun as to how wide you place them.

Insert map pins for the eyes

Insert map pins for the eyes.

Step #3: Cut at an angle to create the mouth for the beak.

Cut mouth for beak

Cut mouth for beak.

Good size for the beak to sit

Good size for the beak to sit inside.

Step #4: Cut out the felt beak. It will look like a diamond shape.

Cut out felt beak

Cut out felt beak.

Step #5: Apply glue inside of the mouth, then use a toothpick to insert the beak. You can hold the toothpick against the felt beak until it takes hold.

Apply glue inside of mouth

Apply glue inside of mouth.

Use a tooth pick to insert beak

Use a toothpick to insert beak.

Step #6: Wet and bite flat your twine, then insert into pre-drilled hole. Wetting the twine and biting it flat will make it much easier to thread your yarn needle. Tip: use your pliers to pull the needle through in case it’s hard to pull with your fingers.

Wet and bite flat your twine to thread your yarn needle

Wet and bite flat your twine to thread your yarn needle.

Pull the twine through the pre-drilled hole

Pull the twine through the pre-drilled hole.

Step #7: Use your Sharpie pen to make the irises which will make the eyes appear more realistic. Fun!

Use your Sharpie pen to make the eyes more realistic

Use your Sharpie pen to make the eyes more realistic.

Step #8: Cut, glue and apply your red felt to create the turkey wattle. (*hee.)

Cut, glue and apply your red felt for the turkey wattle

Cut, glue and apply your red felt for the turkey wattle.

Step #9: Hot glue a penny to the bottom of your wine cork to keep your turkey stable.

Hot glue a penny to the bottom of your wine cork turkey

Hot glue a penny to the bottom of your wine cork turkey.

The penny keeps your turkey stable

The penny keeps your turkey stable.

Step #10: Hot glue your leaf to the back of the wine cork, then tie to your napkins.

Hot glue your leaf to the back of the wine cork

Hot glue your leaf to the back of the wine cork.

Fini! Gobble! Gobble!

Turkey wine cork napkin holders are fun and festive

Turkey wine cork napkin holders are fun and festive.

Is it me, or does this turkey look nervous?

Is it me, or does this turkey look nervous?

Turkey wine cork napkin holder close-up

Turkey wine cork napkin holder close-up

Remove the twine and now you've got a place setting for the rest of dinner

Remove the twine and now you’ve got a place setting for the rest of dinner!

Might you try this fun crafting project for your Thanksgiving dinner? What other ideas do you have?

All photography by Skaie Knox, HomeJelly

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