Monday, September 10, 2007

Autumn Bliss Week: Monday



Autumn Bliss Week starts today as hosted by Clarice at her Storybook Woods blog. My autumnal contribution today is a simple acorn project.

Acorn Harvest Project

Acorns represent good luck and the reminder that great things start small. It’s perfectly suited for the arrival of autumn—a time to reap our harvests, be it literally or figuratively.

We cannot find fat juicy acorns here in Tucson; a totally different kind of oak tree grows here. So, my friend Donna in North Carolina and her grandson Jake gathered a bag of traditional acorns and mailed them to me.



When using acorns in crafts, you must prepare them first to avoid mold and little wormy surprises later. Carefully pop off the little caps and gently wipe each acorn with a soft cloth. Place in the freezer for about 48 hours which resolves the worm issue. Then bake the acorns in the oven on a baking sheet at 250 degrees for about an hour—this prevents mold.

After they cool, take a clean cloth and rub each nut with furniture polish until it shines. Then glue the cap back on and craft away to your heart’s content.

I hope your Monday is full of Autumn Bliss!

16 comments:

Home ec new Haven said...

Who knew????

Ali said...

You know the coolest stuff. I love acorns.

Unknown said...

Wow, I had no idea you had to do all that for acorns. Now I know!

Anonymous said...

Ah, so glad to see you've jumped into blogging! Welcome! And now I know what to do with the pockets full of acorns I emptied out before the wash the other day!

Margaret said...

Polish my acorns!!!??? I haven't had time to take a bath for 3 weeks!

Anonymous said...

I want to thank everyone for visiting me this morning.

Based on Meg's comment which has me laughing, I'm adding a caveat to the acorn polishing activity for her: acorn polishing should never supercede any personal needs such as bathing. Oh my, Meg has me giggling like a little girl.

Lilli in Vancouver said...

Acorns are the Best! I'll have to keep an eye out for some (there are lots of oak trees in Vancouver), and I did not know about the acorn prep!

Lilli in Vancouver said...

Ooh, and I love your banner!

Pearl Maple said...

How cool, acorns are the perfect decoration for many a crafty projects. Thank you for sharing the tips on how to make the goodness last.

Autumn is a wonderful time for celebrating creativity.

Anonymous said...

Gosh, I had no idea about these delightful tidbits concerning acorns! Thank you for sharing!

xo,
Kim

Anne said...

How cool is that! I'm in Los Angeles and we probably have the same kind of oak trees you do in Tucson - teeny tiny. They look just like acorns only little.
OOOOOoooooooooooo Maybe they will work in the dollhouse! There aren't any ready on my tree - I just happened to look yesterday - but where there are I'll have to see if they will work in my dollhouse.

Gosh, this is so fun to have so many days of your blog to read at once. I'm so glad you started this!

Lena said...

I once had a friend send me acorns, and the worms too! LOL! It was too late for the freezer, but I have used that trick since then, and it worked great.
Meg made me laugh too! But, I for one think polishing the acorns is a great idea. I'm sure it makes them look so much prettier.

Lisa said...

Very good info! Thank-you. Now we'll have to go on some hikes and find some acorns!

Anonymous said...

Hi,
We froze our acorns and still got some worms. Will bake also next time! We drilled holes in them for keychains and necklaces, would that make a difference? Polishing with a cloth AND adding a coat of clear nail polish really enhances their color.

Anonymous said...

Recently made a wreath of acorns and the directions only called for me to bake the acorns for 10 min at 350 after washing them...well after making the wreath, spraying with a primer and then spraying it candy apple red...I HAVE MOLD. I am so happy I saw your instructions before my next wreath..THANK YOU

Kristal said...

Thank you so much. Did not think about worms and mold!