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🏈🦃 DIY Fall Football Turkey Round Sign — Game Day Meets Thanksgiving!
Fall Football Turkey Round — DIY Tutorial (Cindy | Berry Jam Crafts)
Quick, cozy, and perfect for your porch this season — Cindy from Berry Jam Crafts shows how to turn an 18" round into a playful football-themed turkey sign using Essential Stencil patterns. Short steps. Big impact. Mobile-friendly layout so you can follow along while you craft.
Materials
- 18" wood round, pre-painted white (clean & fully dry)
- Football Turkey 12x12 Stencil
- Football Plays Pattern Stencil
- Fall is for Football Door Hanger Stencil
- Mini Stencil Brush Set (4-pc)
- Stencil Brush Set | Pure Natural Bristle
- Acrylic paints: Kelly green, chestnut brown, nutmeg, burnt umber, golden straw (yellow), gray, white, pumpkin/orange, Tuscan red
- Painter’s tape, pencil, napkin or paper towel
- Exacto/utility knife (for cleanup), blow dryer (optional), small fine-tipped brush
Prep + Positioning
- Clean the painted round and make sure it’s fully dry.
- Place the Football Turkey 12x12 stencil where you want the turkey. With a pencil, lightly trace the turkey outline as a guide for the background — this keeps your pattern clear where the turkey will be. (Cindy traced her turkey first so the background wouldn’t overlap the turkey shape.)
Background — Football Plays Pattern
- Secure the Football Plays Pattern stencil with tape. Start stenciling the background elements while avoiding the penciled turkey outline.
- Use Kelly green for the X's/O's and arrow details. Use a mini brush for control. Cindy emphasizes: don’t rush — pounce your brush and offload paint before applying to avoid bleed-through.
- Add helmets in golden straw (yellow) where shown, and fill footballs with chestnut brown.
- Move and reposition the stencil across the round, repeating the pattern until the background is filled but the turkey outline remains untouched.
Turkey Stencil — Layers & Texture
- When the background is dry, place the Football Turkey stencil back onto the penciled outline and tape it down securely.
- Use a stencil brush and chestnut brown to fill the turkey’s head and body for the first coat.
- Once dry, add a second coat of burnt umber (darker brown) to deepen the body and create dimension. Cindy used a blow dryer to speed drying between coats.
Face Details, Feathers & Lettering
- Align the second (detail) layer of the Football Turkey stencil. Use gray as an undercoat for the nose and snoot.
- When dry, paint eyes with white, the nose with orange/pumpkin, and the snoot with Tuscan red. Use a fine-tipped brush to refine edges and the small top nose detail.
- Use white paint to add feather line details over the body as shown.
- Place the Fall is for Football Door Hanger stencil at the top area. Fill with burnt umber and apply a second coat for a bold finish.
Helpful Tips
- Trace the turkey first. That pencil guide keeps your background pattern from accidentally stenciling over the turkey.
- Pounce don’t brush. Offload paint on a napkin and use a pouncing motion for crisp stencil edges and to avoid bleed.
- For reds: try a thin gray undercoat (as Cindy did) to prevent patchiness and make the red pop.
- Hold small stencil bridges down with a finger (or low-tack tape) to keep little islands from lifting while stenciling.
- If you see bleed-through, remove the stencil and clean up small edges with an Exacto knife or a tiny brush once dry.
- Use a blow dryer between coats when you’re short on time — it speeds things up without smudging when done carefully.
Final Reveal
Want to make one? Grab the key stencils and brushes below and get started:
- Football Turkey 12x12 Stencil
- Football Plays Pattern Stencil
- Fall is for Football Door Hanger Stencil
- Shop all stencils
Watch the full tutorial:
Finished yours? Snap a photo and tag Essential Stencil so we can share your version.
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