Wire Turkey
Napkin Rings/Name Card Holder
When window shopping with my husband several weeks ago I saw that Pottery Barn was selling these beautiful metal turkey napkin rings. The price for them was out of my budget so my crafty mind set out to make them myself at a much cheaper price. The budget for this project is: low. The experience for this project is intermediate.
Supplies Needed:
*An empty toilet paper roll
*Needle nose pliers
*12 gauge jewelry wire in your choice of color
To begin this project unwrap about 6"-8" of the wire so it is straight and smooth. This will make wrapping the wire around the toilet paper roll easier for you and the 6"-8" of wire will be used for the head of the turkey. Leaving the extra wire just measured for the head at the end of the roll begin wrapping the additional wire around until you have 6 complete rings. Now you can begin forming the head. (This was the hardest part for me and will take patience.) Bend the extra wire at a 90 degree angle vertically off of the toilet paper roll. While keeping the wire vertical, begin to form the two small waves that sit just below the turkeys head. Next use your pliers to hold the wire where you want your beak to end. Take the wire and pull it around the pliers to form the beak. Once the beak is formed use your pliers again to bend the wire at a 45 degree angle. This will begin the front of the head. Continue to use your pliers to form the large rounded portion of the head. Once this is complete take the excess wire and wrap it around the next ring to secure the head in place. Be sure to put the excess wire in front of the next wire and then wrap it around towards the back. Cut the remaining extra wire off.
The next step in finishing the napkin ring is to make the tail. With the turkey sitting upright on the toilet paper roll, pull the wire at the end so that it forms 1/4 of the bottom of turkey. Next, using your pliers, bend the wire at a 90 degree angle towards the right. Then again at another 90 degree angle towards the left, and then again once more. You should have no made what looks like a square. To make the bottom of the square, use your pliers again to bend the wire at a 90 degree angle towards the right. Then take the wire and wrap it around the first side of the square that you made from the back around to the front. This will enclose the shape and secure it as well. Repeat these steps seven more times to create the tail. Be sure to increase the height of the shapes after each time until you have four different levels then decrease at the same rate four more times. To finish the tail, simple trim off the extra wire as you wrap around the last base of the shape instead of bending it again for another tail feather.
The only thing left to do is put a festive napkin in your newly created ring and write a name card if you wish and wedge it between the tail feathers. These napkin rings/name card holders are sure to be the perfect accessory to your table. Not only are they festive but they are also very useful too.
