by James Johnson

Created on: December 05, 2009

Walnuts are great to eat and available almost all year around. There are actually two types, Black Walnuts with a super thick, hard shell, and English Walnuts wit a much thinner shell that has a clearly defined seam. This is important because you cannot only eat walnuts, but you can have a lot of fun by making some very interesting crafts with their shells! What type of craft you make depends on the type of walnut you have.

The Black walnuts are difficult to open, but you can use a band saw to section them. Cut them into very thin slices and you will get some interesting shapes on the inside, the outside will always be circular and black. The inside shapes can be polished and made into pendant necklaces, each one will be unique. You can also slice them thin, then clean out the inside and sand them down to make small loops. Stain those loops or paint them and you have little, miniature picture frames! These can also be attached to a necklace and made into jewelry. Black walnut shells are best as they are thick, heavy shells and easy to cut, the English Walnuts are too thin shelled.

The English walnuts have their uses and can be a lot of fun, especially with small children. These nuts have a seam which one can stick a knife into and pry open. With a bit of practice, you can get them to split into two equal halves. Eat the walnut, but save the shells, they can be used to create "Magic Fairy Nuts". You get small items, miniature toys, earrings, or even marbles, that will fit inside the shells. Put the item in the shell and then rub the seam with super glue and put the shells back together. Mix these with normal walnuts and tell people that the fairies have hidden things in the nuts. It is a fun craft idea that won't last long, but will provide hours of speculation on how you did it!

The English walnuts can also be made into Christmas Tree Ornaments. Split them as before, clean out the inside and then mount on strings and now place little scenes on the inside. It can be something as simple as a star or as complex as a micro-nativity scene. The nuts are easier to work with than eggs, but can be just as beautiful! A Faberge Nut, what a novel craft idea!

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