Thursday, September 4, 2014

Throwback Thursday- Fall Crafts...All Warm and Fuzzy

Hello!! It's ALMOST Fall!!!! (commence happy freak out!!) It's time to break out all the amazeballs Fall crafts I've you've been hoarding all year! Here is one I have seen around, before and after we posted this one back in October of 2012. Our reader Camille found out the hard way that some crafts are easier pinned than done. Check it out and Happy Thursday!
-Em

Seasonal crafts are a fun way to celebrate the coming months and get you in the mood for the holiday's. With that  usually comes thinking that you have to spend lots of time money and energy on such crafts, but thanks to Pinterest we all know that isn't always the case. Camille found this to be true as she started decorating for fall, she decided to use acorns to adorn her barren table for a fun seasonal touch, and the craft was one that seemed to need little to no directions. Seeing as it was a no brainer, she gathered her acorns, put them in her lovely vase, and then made one for her mom, how sweet! That's when things went...fuzzy. Check out today's Pinstrosity!

The Original
but it was originally posted on the Pottery Barn website (http://www.potterybarn.com/products/acorn-vase-filler/?pkey=cvase-fillers)

Simple.Elegant.Seasonal.


The Pinstrosity

This isn't the Pinstrosity, but this is Camille's piece the day she put it together. Nice touch with the leaves, no?!

Fast forward a few days....


Here's your Pinstrosity, there is now a lovely fuzz ball of an acorn making it's way around the vase, to ALL the other acorns...


Camille said this about her piece after discovering the mold:
"I think Pinterest is like an old-woman who purposely withholds one of the main ingredients from her famous-cookies recipe just so no one else will ever be able to make them quite as well as she does."

In this case she is right, there was information being withheld. Camille guessed that perhaps they waxed their acorns first because they looked perfect and shiny, and I think she is right about that one. But there is still one important piece that is missing.
You have to let the acorns "dry out". Little insects sometimes make the acorn their home and as they are left in this confined space (the vase), they start to mold up due to fungus growing in a moist atmosphere, the vase.
I did some research and there are a few ways to fix this, there are a couple of  steps, first you pick them outside from under the shade of the oak tree. Even if they have been on the ground a while doesn't mean they are dry...set out a tarp or a towel and lay the acorns in the sun for a day or two. If you have lots of squirrels in your area, you are going to have to be diligent in keeping them away or you will have to find a good hiding spot for the acorns or the squirrels will think you just put out a  free and easy buffet for them. 

Wash them once you bring them inside, get rid of dirt, debris or insects that may have made them a mess. Next you will need to bake them, grab a cookie sheet, line it with aluminum foil and spread the acorns out on the pan, bake at no higher than 175 degrees for a few hours. Make sure you check on them frequently and turn them so they don't burn (probably about every half hour or so). Also keep the door of the oven open slightly so the moisture can escape the acorns as they dry.
After they are baked and cooled, take a cloth and some wood polish to shine them up and make them pretty. Place in your vase of choice and enjoy!

Now I haven't had a lot of experience with drying acorns, not a common nut in my neck of the woods, but does anyone have a lot of experience with drying and using acorns for crafts, are there any tricks or the trade?! Let us know!
 
**Be sure to check out the comments from the first time we featured this post back in 2012, there are some helpful tips and tricks! You can find that here.**

4 comments:

  1. What a great quote about Pinterest! It does feel like that sometimes, although most pinstrosities come from people not following instructions. Yup, you're supposed to bake acorns, cones, branches and similar stuff you bring from outside. The "drying out" stage is superfluous because you get them wet for washing anyway and baking takes care of all the moisture. I don't know about leaving the oven door ajar, it scorches and deforms the plastic knobs and it's unnecessary because ovens have ventilation.
    For shine and colour, I'm thinking one of those lacquers for wood that yellows and darkens over a short time, or even wood stain before polishing might work if the acorns are very dull. From the look of the Pottery Barn acorns, they either had a touch of wood stain (sponged, perhaps) or generous Photoshop.

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  2. The Pottery Barn ones are fake. They're plastic painted to look real, with a real acorn cap. It says as much on the website. That's why they're so shiny.

    For real acorns- slow baking them after cleaning will work, but you'll need to glue the ccaps in place or they'll fall right off as the acorn itself will shrink a bit as it dries. A handrubbed finish of Tung Oil will shine them up nicely and help preserve them.

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  3. I always have to interject when I see this craft - DO NOT PUT ACORNS AROUND A CANDLE! My sister did that for her fall wedding. It was so cute, but then the acorns started to heat up, and the moisture inside made them explode right out of the glass vases! Fortunately, the acorn hit the wall, not a person. All of the candles got blown out after that!

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  4. There's one other problem I see with the pinstrosity...the shape of the vase. The way it narrows in towards the top would keep some of the moisture trapped within the lower part of the vase, making it easier for things like mold to grow.

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