Carolyn J. Braden • 3 Minute Read
Craft the Cutest DIY Felt and Feather Turkey Tiara for Thanksgiving Joy
Bring the festive fun to Thanksgiving with this adorable felt and feather bling turkey tiara DIY holiday craft! This easy, charming craft adds playful personality to your holiday look and is perfect for parties, family photos, or kids’ table magic. Learn step-by-step styling tips, creative embellishment ideas, and how to make your turkey tiara sparkle with influencer-approved flair.
Shop the Post
Don’t feel like reading this article? That’s okay! See my craft come together via my Amazon Shop plus get buying links at affordable prices!
I think PINK is taking over all my holidays!
The Crafty Inspiration
So many people decorate festively for Halloween and Christmas, but Thanksgiving seems to have been left out. In 2024, I took notice of this and I started making some Thanksgiving focused crafts and did a cute balloon garland for Thanksgiving at my in-laws and it got me thinking of more fun Thanksgiving decor and crafts to try.
I saw a super cute turkey headband on Amazon in traditional fall colors, and thought I would attempt a Thanksgiving tiara in a similar style, but in colors I like. So, in 2025, I designed it and crafted it and now here you are learning how I did it! I think it’s time we all got a little more festive for Thanksgiving, which is a time to be thankful and I’m thankful the holiday inspired this cute craft.
It’s a cute way to add festive holiday fun to your look!
Other Thanksgiving Craft Ideas
In 2024, I attempted Cricut place card ornaments, turkey nail art and a turkey ornament for my all-season driftwood tree. I even created a tutorial for space buns adorned with turkey hair clips. See that hair tutorial here.
I loved the space buns because they are cute and get your hair out of your face for all that holiday cooking! Having Thanksgiving themed crafts ready to create for young holiday guests is also a good way to keep them occupied while they wait for food. See 70 other Thanksgiving crafts on The Pioneer Woman’s website.
See my textured turkey ornament creation in my 1-minute video below or via my YouTube channel @carolynjbraden:
How I Made My Turkey Tiara
Now for the craft process. The turkey tiara I created was more of an experiment, so it was rough going as I figured out how to put it all together, but it ended up working. You can learn from my mistakes in order to make one much easier than I did!
I don’t consider it a failure, because I just worked on it one day at a time until I got it to look presentable and festive. All links go out to Amazon, Walmart or Target, where I often source my craft supplies based on pricing.
Check out my 1-minute video tutorial for this project on my TikTok now or coming soon here and to my YouTube channel @carolynjbraden!
You’ll Need:
Sparkly Pipe Cleaners (Amazon or via Walmart)
Google Eyes (I love my set from Amazon or there is a nice set for $5 at Target)
Aleene’s Jewel It Glue (It’s best for gluing rhinestones on fabric and Walmart has it too)
Aleene’s Tacky Glue (Amazon or via Walmart has it in a set with the Jewel-It too!)
Feathers (I used long feathers and some short feathers in pink and turquoise)
Tracing out the felt pieces for the turkey
How-To
First I made the felt turkey. I sourced a funnel from my kitchen to create a perfect circle and then used a smaller one to make a second circle. I traced them out onto two different yellow felt pieces, then cut them out.
Tracing out wings and beaks and feathers
I used a tear drop stencil to trace out wings, the gobbler, beak, feet pieces, and turkey tail feathers in various colors and cut them all out.
Meet Taffy the Turkey!
I glued all the pieces together using Aleene’s Tacky Glue. I experimented with hot glue, and the hot glue soaked through the felt, so craft glue is best for felt. I also added the google eyes. I named my turkey Taffy…she is such a cutie and you could just make her alone and turn her into an ornament!
Adding the rhinestones to Taffy
After the turkey dried a bit, I applied a bit of Jewel It glue to the wings and head, and used a wax tip pencil to glue on various sizes of flatback gold rhinestones because I love a little bling on everything! You do not have to add the rhinestones.
Adding the pipe cleaner to the headband
I set the turkey aside to dry overnight, and wrapped the headband in gold pipe cleaners. I did not glue them as they stay wrapped on their own. I did this to create a good base for the tinsel.
Adding the tinsel to the headband
Next, I hot glued some gold tinsel onto the pipe cleaners. I worked in small sections and did burn a finger or two, so be careful with this step!
Adding the feathers
I hot glued layers of long and short feathers in turquoise and pink onto the tinsel. They were not super stable at this point, but I solved it later.
Trimming the feathers
I used scissors to trim the tops of the feathers at angles. I needed to make sure the feather stayed long enough to support the turkey.
Gluing on Taffy the Turkey
When the turkey was dry, I glued it onto the feathers. I used a hot glue gun (but sparingly) so it wouldn’t soak through the felt. You can use craft glue for this, but it will need a bit more drying time.
Adding more tinsel
Lastly, I hot glued another layer of tinsel to the headband on the back AND front to sandwich the feathers and turkey together, making it more stable on the top of the headband. I also added two gold pipe cleaners by wrapping them around the ends of the headband, just to make sure the tinsel stayed on.
My completed Turkey Tiara
It ended up being cute, sparkly, super fluffy, lightweight and very festive in my favorite colors! Who said Thanksgiving has to be brown, orange, yellow and red!?
Take Action
I encourage you to try the project with your own creative twists and share your creations on your social accounts! If you tag me using @carolynsbloomingcreations or @carolynjbraden, I’ll see it! Or tell me about it in the comments below.
If you loved this article, then we know you’ll love this one too: How to Make Glittery Crepe Paper Trees
Carolyn J. Braden is the owner of Carolyn’s Blooming Creations is a regular contributor and editor for CBC. She has been featured in numerous media publications such as InStyle Magazine, on HGTV, on Bustle.com, and more. She is the author of the books Georgia McMasters in Amethyst Lake Cemetery, How To Be Yourself: 3 Ways To Help You Being You, and the illustrator for the children’s book Bridging Connections. She is a former classroom teacher that now dedicates her life to educating others on how to live their most healthy, creative and happy life. Learn more about her visiting our About Us page.