Turkey Finger Puppets

Gobble, Gobble!

       Thanksgiving will be here before you know it,   but a cute little turkey can be fun to play with any time.  Now is the time to make these cute turkey finger puppets for your kids in time for Thanksgiving!
    

       I know this guy has a frightened or startled look on his face.   You would to if you or one of your friends were on the menu for Thanksgiving dinner.

       I like to create felt finger puppets for my granddaughters, nieces, and nephews.  Having a large scrap box of felt comes in very handy when these little friends need to be made.    As you can see, the smallest scrap of felt can be used for feathers, a beak, or eyes when making a felt finger puppet.

      These little finger puppets are only about 2 1/2 inches tall.  They are appliqued and then stitched together with embroidery floss.    I don't use any glue.   They are very soft and lovable. Each turkey has a little yellow beak that opens.   Gobble,  Gobble!


     

        These turkeys were a lot of fun to make. They would make a great addition to my Old MacDonald felt set. Here is the link if you would like to see the rest of the farm animals.

http://betikempa1.blogspot.com/2017/01/felt-old-macdonald-had-farm.html

Here is the horse.

   If you like finger puppets, give these a try.

Beti

The Detroit Zoo during the Winter

  Detroit Zoo

in the winter!

                  We took a ride to the Detroit Zoo.   Our zoo is great any time of the year.   There are wide paths to walk on between the exhibits.   Perfect for Social distancing!  Not many animals were out frolicking in the cold.   Not even the Polar Bears!   But, we had a great time!

           The Detroit Zoo opened the new Polk Penguin Conservation Center that was perfect on a cold winter day in Michigan.   When you first walk in you can view the little rock hopper penguins swimming around and diving under the water.   The guide instructed us to walk down the ramp to view the penguins swimming under water.   The ramp is surrounded by a 360 degree video of Shackleton's  ship and icebergs.  Very interesting and gives you the feeling of going deep into the ocean.

           These penguins at the end of the tour were having a great time walking around on the ice and diving into the cold water.    My granddaughter really enjoyed watching these Black and white very entertaining birds.

            There were many beautifully colored peacocks was strolling around the grounds of the zoo even thought it was about 30 degrees and windy that day.    This fellow just wanted to show off his lovely tail feathers.    He followed us around as we walked the zoo paths.

  
           We also found a nice warn place to visit with the giraffe family.   Here are three of the four family members.   The baby giraffe is up front with mother giraffe peering over the baby's head.   The father giraffe, the tallest on the right, was in a separate area but could visit anytime he wanted.

           As you can see the sign on the right says "QUIET".  The giraffes don't like a lot of noise.  Shhhh!

           The Detroit Zoo is a great place to take "children of any age".

Enjoy the winter season wherever you live. 

Beti

Hello Mr. Gecko

Hello, Mr. Gecko!

        Spending time in Arizona means you will see a different variety of animals from the assortment we have in Michigan.    One of my granddaughter's favorite pass times is looking for geckos.      Baby geckos, Dada geckos, Mamma geckos, large and small, are so much fun to look for in the yard.     I should say, on the outside walls of the house.     These little guys are so very fast, and they blend into their environment so well.   So looking for them is a challenge.    But they like to hang out there in the hot Arizona sun and sun themselves.

      I have to say that I'm not sure that "gecko" is the correct term for this little reptile, but that is what my granddaughter calls them.    If you know the correct name for this little guy, please feel free to leave me a comment.
   

      Well, one afternoon while cleaning up after lunch, Mr. Gecko decided to come into the house and walk around on the kitchen window sill.     He startled me to say the least.  Then I had to figure out how to catch the little guy and get him back outside where he belonged.       He was hanging out on the windowsill between the blinds and the window behind the kitchen sink.
  
     First,  I had to clear all the dishes, cups, etc. from in and around the sink.    I needed to have easy access when trying to catch a very, very fast gecko.   Then what am I to use to trap him?    I had a good size plastic bag from grapes.   You know the kind with the little holes in the sides.  

    Mr. Gecko needed to be cornered so I could carefully get him to run into the bag.   As you can see in the picture, he was near the side of the window.    Lucky, he did run into the bag without me making a lot of noise.    By the way, I was doing this while my granddaughter was taking an afternoon nap in her crib.   Her bedroom is adjacent to the kitchen.

    So now what do you do with a trapped gecko?     Of course I could not just let him go.  My granddaughter would have been terribly disappointed not to see the gecko close up.

      You put the gecko into a bucket for safe keeping, of course!

       Now he was only in the bucket for about an hour before my granddaughter woke up from he nap.    Needless to say, she was very excited to see Mr. Gecko.
We had a good time pointing and talking  to him.
    
         A few weeks earlier by accident another gecko fell off the side of the house and into this same bucket.    He tried to jump out.       As you can imagine, this scared my daughter and granddaughter.     When she sees a gecko, she shakes her finger and says, "No, No, Mr. Gecko, don't scare us!"

     We placed the bucket on its side so Mr. Gecko could  leave when he was ready.     I didn't want him jumping up at us this time.     Eventually, Mr. Gecko went on his merry way. 
  
         This is one of Mr. Gecko's friends.      He is much darker in color than the other gecko.      This one is climbing down the outside of the house.

       We are visiting our family in Florida now.   What do you know?  There are geckos here, too!   Well that's all for today.    No geckos in Michigan.      Enjoy the  weather where ever you live no matter what time of the year.

Please leave a comment if you find the time.  I'd love to hear from you.

Beti

Polar Bear Amigurumi

       Hello,  Mr. Polar Bear!

          Here is my newest Amigurumi creation!  A white polar bear with a red scarf.   He is ready for the cold weather wrapped in a cozy scarf.  This little guy is about four inches tall and about three inches wide.  You could say that he is on the chubby side.

         Mr. Bear is just waiting for someone to love, play , and sleep with.

    He was very easy to crochet using only single crochet stitches in the round.

If anyone would like the pattern for my Polar Bear, please let me know.

Happy CROCHETING!

Beti