Yarn Wrapped Turkey Tins: A Recycled Craft

I don’t know that I have a “favorite” craft anymore. A long time ago, I would have said that sewing was my favorite past time, but with limited time these days I’m simply glad for any chance to be creative. My current obsession is any craft that uses materials that I have on hand. Recycled crafts, if you will. Crafts that are easy, inexpensive, but still give me the biggest bang for the buck. I’ve been saving tin cans this year for gift giving and decor purposes, and I’m excited to share a new one with you today! These Yarn Wrapped Turkey Tins are a great Thanksgiving recycled craft for the holiday table. They use those yarn scraps, too!

Supplies:

• Hot glue gun (I’m using my new Ad tech hot glue gun) and hot glue sticks
• Various colors card stock
• Lion Brand Homespun Yarn
• Empty tin cans, washed and dried
• Scissors
• Optional: washi tape
• Optional: Jute ribbon (I received mine from Consumer Crafts)

Begin by inspecting the rim of the tin cans. In my tin can crafting, I’ve noticed that not all cans are created equal. The can that I used for my Star Yarn Wrapped Tin was not sharp on the inside at all. But the tins that I used for today’s project cut my finger while I was washing them! We definitely do not want anyone cutting their fingers on the cans, so inspect the cans for sharpness based on the usage of the cans. For instance, if you’re using the cans only as decor and no one will be messing with them, you can probably skip covering the rim. If you’re using it as an utensil holder or treat holder or maybe a crayon holder for the kids’ table, then you’ll definitely need to cover the rim.

If you find the rim to be sharp, cover it will washi tape or another thick tape. I used washi tape because I had it on hand, but a painter’s tape or masking tape would have been thicker and more adhesive. If you have any other suggestions on covering sharp tin can rims, be sure the leave them in the comment section, and I will add them in.

Using the hot glue gun, wrap the wrap around the tin can. I secured the yarn with the hot glue at the top and the bottom. Since the bottom of the can was curved, I had to use the most hot glue there. But I didn’t use any in the middle of the can. The ridges from the can, paired with how tightly I wrapped it, held the yarn in place.

OPTIONAL: Wrap a piece of Jute Ribbon around the can and hot glue in place.

Cut out feather shapes from the colored card stock. This is a great step for the kids to help. The size of the feathers will be based on the size of the can, so cut out one feather and hold it up to the can to check size before cutting out a lot of feathers.

Hot glue the feathers to the back of the can in a turkey-like arrangement.

Use as need for your Thanksgiving holiday! I think I’m going to use mine as decor but really hide treats in there that I’ll sneak after the kids go to bed. Just a suggestion.

 

Want more yarn wrapping ideas? See one of these projects!