Tutorial: Pine Cone and Acorn adornment

How cute are these?!

And with this easy peasy tutorial, you can make a collection of your own little adornments. These can be hung up anywhere in the house to add a little whimsy, or decorate next year's Christmas tree with handmade charm.



What you need:

Acorns
Pine cones
Thread or string
Sewing needle
Drill with small bit
Acrylic paints and paintbrush
Elmers type glue
E-6000 glue

Pick a beautiful sunny autumnish day and take a walk outside. Keep an eye out for acorns with their tops and any pine cones. Its OK if the pine cones are closed, we will open them later...

After your nice stroll, empty your pocket full of gritty treasures into a colander and rinse that dirt off. Then set  the oven for 200 and place your haul on a cookie sheet and "bake" until the pine cones open. (careful to not burn them!) This should not take more than 15 min.

Detach the top of an acorn and paint the nut any color you like. I use acrylic paints. 

While that's drying, Drill two small holes through the top of the acorn "hat" 

one more to go...

Now thread your needle with whatever string or floss you want to use. Note: make sure that the hole you just drilled is big enough for the fiber and needle to fit through. 

Tie a knot at the end of your string and feed it through the first hole until it stops at the knot.  Tie another knot in the middle of the string leaving enough play to hang your decoration then cut the string. 

Fill the cavety of your acorn top halfway with E-6000 glue and place it back on your painted acorn. Let it sit for a few hours to harden. 

I used this clamp as a platform so that the acorn had a place to sit upright. 

Once sturdy, I sealed the paint with some Elmer's type glue.

 Don't forget to wash out your gluey brush before it dries! 

Once dried, you are ready to hang your acorn anywhere! 

Oh wait!! You thought I forgot about the pine cone, didn't you! I saved the easiest for last. 

Just paint the tips of your acorn any combination of your favorite colors. Then drill a hole in two of the top tips. (not the tippy top tip though)  and repeat the same string and needle steps as the acorns....voila! 

Where will your baubles find their new home? 

Don't have the time to make these on your own?  No problem! You can buy them here on my web site: www.sunshynesilverwear.com for just $3 each! 

Are you working on any fun projects to get over the winter blahs? Please feel free to share them here!