Reusable Wood Turkey Place Cards for Thanksgiving

I have a confession to make.

Even though I try really hard to create functional decor, like these custom monogrammed towels, or this vintage file box and this upcycled wall organizer, sometimes a piece wiggles its way into my house just because it’s so darn cute!

When I found this adorable turkey place holder design on Etsy, I immediately fell in love! I’m all about decor that is cute, customizable, and easy to pack away at the end of the season.

These little cuties are laser cut from sturdy 3mm basswood that I chose to stain and clear coat, but the beauty of the P2 is that it provides you with a blank slate that you can completely customize! These turkeys could easily be painted, decoupaged, left natural, or stained in any number of different colors.

In fact, these turkeys have a flock of super fancy cousins. They received a functional upgrade in the form of these tiny little chalkboards that make them not only super adorable but completely reusable! (Cuteness redeemed!)

These hard-working turkeys are ready to dress up the table with personalized settings, identify the scrumptious delights of the buffet, or join in your annual Thanksgiving scavenger hunt!

Now you want a turkey or ten at your house, don’t you?

Let’s see how to make your own flock of laser-cut turkeys. But before we get started, please first enjoy the following disclosures included for your reading pleasure…

This post is sponsored by xTool. While they provided the machine and some of the products for this project, all opinions are my own. Follow this affiliate link to see all of their amazing laser engraving and cutting machines and materials!

AS AN AMAZON ASSOCIATE I EARN FROM QUALIFYING PURCHASES AT NO COST TO YOU. YOU CAN SEE MY FULL DISCLOSURE HERE.

Now, let’s see what I used to make these not-wobbly gobblers!

Tools and Materials

Cleaning & Prepping Turkey Wood

The first step is always to prep. In this case, I sanded both sides of the wood surface lightly with a sanding sponge to remove any burrs. Then, I wiped the dust and debris off with a clean tack cloth.

Using a rag (in this case, an old sock donated by The Mister), I applied one coat of stain to both sides allowing each coat to dry for 2 to 3 hours before flipping the board.

Once the stain was dry, I rubbed the sanding sponge over each side, once again cleaning with a tack cloth to remove dust and debris. Then, I sprayed a light coat of shellac onto each side. Shellac dries quickly, so I only needed to allow it to dry for 1 hour (probably even less, but my studio isn’t conditioned, so I always allow a little extra time due to humidity), before applying 1 coat to the other side.

Pro Tip: I like to create pieces that will stand the test of time, which means giving the wood protection from humidity, food, and spills, hence all the steps. I love the finished product, but these definitely could be made more simply if you wanted to.

After the shellac was dry, I once again lightly sanded both sides, wiping clean any dust and debris with a tack cloth. (Are you sensing a pattern here?)

With the wood surfaces prepped, the final step was to mask them. Transfer tape was applied to both sides of the board using the craft squeegee to smooth out air bubbles or wrinkles.

Pro Tip: “Why mask both sides”, you may ask?
For the simple reason that I really don’t like sanding, believe it or not! I would prefer to take 2 minutes to mask a full board than have to sand a hundred tiny little pieces of wood to remove char and flashback.

Cleaning & Prepping Chalkboard Wood

The original design included an option to custom engrave names on the included label, which is super cute! However, I wanted to add a little more flexibility so that these little turkeys could be even more functional. What better way to be more functional than to add a chalkboard tag?

The chalkboard wood received pretty much the same treatment as the turkey wood in that both sides of the board surface were lightly sanded with a sanding sponge to remove burrs and then wiped clean with a tack cloth. But there the similarity ended.

To securely adhere the chalkboard tag to the turkey, I applied a layer of 3M adhesive to the back of the board. The trick here is to make sure that the adhesive is firmly applied to the base material (in this case, the wood surface) so I do take the time to scrape the adhesive backer firmly in several different directions.

Pro Tip: 3M adhesive is amazing stuff! It’s a huge time saver and the perfect product for adhering lasered materials together. This is one of those “don’t try, just buy” tips! I’ll be happy to accept your thanks later. (wink)

With the adhesive in place, the next step was to apply a coat of primer to the other side of the wood and then allow the primer to dry per the instructions on the can. (I usually just wait 24 hours, again just to be certain the primer is dry.)

I have never used chalkboard paint before, but the reviews for Rustoleum Chalkboard Paint were great, so that’s what I went with. I was surprised to find when I opened the can that the wet product appeared navy blue instead of black. However, when it dried, the color did settle into a rich black.

Once the paint was thoroughly mixed, I applied a coat with a synthetic paintbrush and allowed it to dry for at least 4 hours before applying a second coat. The first coat was transparent, but the paint became opaque if a bit shinier than I anticipated after painting on the second coat.

After about 4 hours, the chalkboard side of the wood received a layer of transfer tape.

With two fully prepped wood “sandwiches” it was time to download the design!

Download Design

Etsy has so many beautiful laser designs such as the cute turkey design that you will find in the shop of Oyster Bay Design Co.! Jamie, the owner of Oyster Bay Design Co. not only offers simple 3D designs (that are great for beginners) but also several signs, door hangers, and story cards.

Needless to say, you will be seeing more of her designs in future posts!

If the wood that you’re working with is the same thickness as the two options included in Jamie’s file (customer service high win!) then you’re all set. Buuuut, if it’s a little thicker or thinner, then you now have your chance to explore the fantastic world of “Kerf”!

Adjust Kerf

As I mentioned above, this design includes 2 different thicknesses for the slots: 3.175 mm and 3.302 mm.

However, the 3mm basswood that I was using measured 2.8 mm, which is significantly thinner than the included designs. Cutting out turkeys with that size slot with the thin material that I was using resulted in wobbly turkeys that easily fell apart when they were picked up.

This required me to make some adjustments to the kerf as you can see in the screenshots. It took a few tries, but I finally honed in on the perfect kerf measurement that resulted in snug but not too snug, non-wobbly turkeys.

Unfortunately, adjusting kerf deserves a post all its own, so I won’t be diving deep into that here. Suffice it to say, that this digital caliper needs to be in every laser owner’s toolbox.

Cut Out Design

Once the kerf was adjusted, I started copying and pasting turkeys until I had a full flock!

Then I set the cut settings to Power 100/Speed 10, auto-measured the material in XCS, selected “Go to Process”, clicked “Start” and then pressed the big button.

Yay! Turkeys!

Design and Cut Out Chalkboard Labels

Designing the chalkboard labels was super easy. One of the tools included in XCS is a shape selector. I just grabbed an oval, stretched it out until it fit within the tab of the label, and then placed it on a separate canvas to cut out.

Another press of the big button…

…it was super easy!

Customize

This is your chance to customize even further! Before removing the masking tape, I gave these turkeys a little extra “wow” by painting the edge of the feathers gold using an artist’s brush. It’s a small detail that makes them a little extra special.

Which turkey is your favorite? Leave a comment below and let me know which turkey you would want at your Thanksgiving table!

Apply Chalkboard Label

Final Thoughts

And that’s it! Aren’t these turkey place cards adorable?

These cute little turkeys would also make a fun “paint your own turkey” activity for children or adults! With so many possible uses, don’t you need a flock of turkeys at your Thanksgiving?

---