Acorns and Oak Trees

Acorns and Oak Trees

 

Can you stand another post on Fall crafts?

This is three in a row,

so maybe I better call it a Nature Study instead.

I know my brother, Thom, will like that better.

So keep reading, crafters,

there will be another easy peasy Fall Craft project in this post,

 right after the Nature Study!

Here's a sneak peek:

OK.  Begin Nature Study:

 It's been a gorgeous Fall here in Chicagoland, 

despite the serious drought conditions we have had all summer long.

Our oak trees are finally getting some much needed rain-

so good for them before we get into winter.

We have quite a few oak trees here in our neighborhood...

This is the park at the end of our block.

And the front of our house....

Look at all the different shades of the oak leaves

all at the same time.  Amazing.

Can you believe the leaf guys have already been here once?

Lots more work to do...

When we first moved into this house, we loved raking leaves.  

We made leaf trails for the kids, and piles to play in.  

And we raked and we raked and we raked. 

And then we had to bag them.  

After several years of raking and bagging, when we had filled 175 bags of leaves,

we finally decided to call in the pros. 

It costs about the same and we don't need to spend all of our fall weekends raking.

The leaves go on forever. 

But the bonus is ACORNS!

Crunch City underfoot on our lawn.

The good news is that I have finally found a crafty way to use acorns.

Yup, I actually painted them.  

I told you it was an easy project.

I saw these Painted Acorns on Pinterest, pinned from ModPodgeRocks.

There is a tutorial there if you want to make this project really complicated 

or if you have way too much Mod Podge on hand.

I loved the idea, but not the color.  

Hard to believe, I know, 

but these are not for the lake cottage,

they are for here, at home.

And I like a simple craft project like this one about matchboxes

and this one about pumpkins.

The only problem is that this year's crop of acorns

is pretty rough, probably due to the drought.

-Back to the Nature Study-

This year's acorns are thin, dark and splotchy, 

clearly not craft worthy.

Fortunately, I have some acorns saved from last year, 

when they were plump and beautiful.

Same yard, same trees, different weather conditions.

These are some happy, healthy acorns,

perfect for painting. 

I got out the paint and the paintbrush and I was ready to go.

Hey, what do you know?  

This is not just a post about crafts or a Nature Study-

It's also a Before and After!

Here is an acorn 

Before-

And After!

VOILA!

I used a small, stiff, square tipped brush and painted them while I watched TV.

Best kind of craft, I think...

Then I got really fancy and I painted some in this color green, too.  

 Which do you like better?

Happy Fall!

Linking to:
Nifty Thrifty Tuesdays at Coastal Charm
Tuesdays Treasures at My Uncommon Slice of Suburbia

Wow Us Wednesdays at Savvy Southern Style
Tutorials, Tips and Tidbits at Stone Gable
Fabulously Creative Fridays at Jennifer Rizzo
Weekend Bloggy Reading at Serenity Now