by Grace Shellito

Created on: September 25, 2010

Acorns can turn fall flower arrangements into true works of art. They’re a versatile useful product of nature that can be used in hundreds of ways. Historians state that civil war soldiers used them to make a coffee type drink when there was nothing else available. There are also recipes that use ground acorn meal to make breads. Currently the main use of acorns is in arts and crafts. One of the most common uses is enhancing flower arrangements for table centerpieces.

Acorn Stems for Flower Arrangements

The supplies you’ll need for this project are:

Acorns with caps

Regular white glue

A piece of coat hanger wire

Green floral tape, green crepe paper or bamboo skewers painted green

Colorful fall leaves

First remove the caps and set them aside. Use a large needle or piece of wire to punch a hole in the bottom of the acorn. Add a couple drops of regular white into the hole. Insert a 10 to 12 inch piece of wire into the hole. Punch a hole in the center bottom of the cap. Add a couple drops glue slide the cap up onto the bottom of the acorn. Wrap the wire stem in green floral tape or green crepe paper. Bamboo skewers that have been painted green could also be used. Insert the decorated acorn stems into the flower arrangement.

Attach some colorful fall leaves to a wire stem and insert them with the acorn stems. Small plastic apples on a stem would be a perfect addition to the arrangement. Spray paint a few acorn stems in gold or silver to use for Christmas centerpieces.

Acorn Stick Figures

The supplies you’ll need are:

Acorns

Pipe cleaners, any color

Liquid acrylic paints

Regular white glue

Yarn or twine for hair

Small safety pins, if making lapel pins

These can be used as pins, ornaments or package ties.

Use a piece of wire such as from a wire coat hanger to punch a hole up through the entire acorn. Add a few drops of glue in the hole. Insert a folded pipe cleaner into the hole. Twist the pipe cleaner so it forms the middle body or use two acorns, one for the head and one for the body. Use a short piece of pipe cleaner to form the arms. Twist it around the middle or near the neck and from the arms. Faces can be painted on using liquid acrylic craft paint. Glue on short pieces of yarn or twine under the cap for hair.

If the acorns are hard to punch holes in soak them overnight in cold water.

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