DIDDILYDEEDOT'S
DREAM-LANDAlong
with Kaboose and Amanda Formaro bring you two of
her wonderful ideas for
making gifts from Nature in the Autumn
Time.
An
Acorn Frame
Difficulty: Very Easy
- Age: 5 and up
Acorns are a sure sign of autumn.
Gather the kids together to
make this adorable frame to hold one of your
family's favorite fall
snapshots.
Fall is full of fun for the kids. Try
out more of our fall crafts, as well as some of our
great fall recipes and printable activities.
What you'll
need:
-
Acorn tops, enough to cover your frame, we
used 59
How to make it:
-
Gather acorn tops that have fallen from the
trees. Place acorn
tops in a bowl of water to soak. Use a toothbrush
and a little baking
soda to clean them off if you wish. Rinse, drain,
and pat dry with a
towel.
-
Place the acorn tops on a cookie sheet and
have an adult bake
them in a preheated 225° F or
110° C oven for
about 40 minutes. This should
kill any remaining insects that may be hiding and
will also dry the
acorn tops. Remove from oven and let cool on a
paper plate in a single
layer. (See photo.)
-
Apple a generous amount of glue to one
section of the frame at a
time. Cover with acorn tops, hanging the ends of
the acorns over the
edges of the frame if needed to fit. (See photo.)
-
Once the frame is completely covered, fill
in all the gaps between the acorns with craft glue.
Let dry overnight. (See photo.)
Tips:
-
If you want a more colorful frame, paint
the acorns.
-
To jazz up your frame, add a bow to a
painted frame or use jute, twine or raffia to add a
bow to a natural frame.
-
When collecting acorn tops, be sure to
gather extras to save for additional projects!
And
here is another of Amanda Formaro and Kaboose
with another of her wonderful
ideas And now for his
charming bag of leaves makes a wonderful
centerpiece
for
any autumn get-together. Striped Bag Leaf Bouquet
Centerpiece
Fall is full of fun for the kids. Try
out more of our fall crafts, as well as some of our
great fall recipes and printable activities.
What you'll
need:
-
1 brown paper lunch bag
-
1 cup rice
-
Re-sealable zipper sandwich bag
-
Fresh and silk leaves
-
Twigs
-
3-4 green chenille stems, cut into fourths
OR tape
-
2 feet twine
-
Paint: yellow, brown, green
-
Scissors
How to make it:
-
Paint bag with wide green stripes. Let dry
before painting other colors. When dry, add thin
lines of yellow and brown. (See photo.)
-
Place a leaf at the top of a twig and
secure with a section of
chenille stem. Repeat with several twigs and
leaves, both fresh and
silk. You can also use tape instead of chenille.
(See photo.)
-
Trim three inches off the top of the bag.
Place rice inside sandwich bag, place bag of rice
into the brown paper bag. (See photo.)
-
Place twigs into the bag. If twigs are too
tall (leaves should
touch the top of the bag), snap bottoms of twigs to
shorten. (See photo.)
-
Wrap twine around the bag twice. Tighten
the twine and adjust
leaves and twigs as you tighten. Tie twine in a bow
and trim the ends. (See photo.)
Tips:
-
Using fresh leaves is a temporary thing.
The leaves will wilt
and curl up, but they make a nice addition to the
table. Try using dried
fallen leaves for a more permanent arrangement.
-
For an even simpler project, paint stripes
with only one color.
-
Instead of twine, use ribbon or yarn.
And as
usual remember the proverbial Scrap-book for
listing all the leaves etc. that you have used. In
this and all your craft
work.
Posted 17:00
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