Sunday, October 7, 2012

Little acorn ghosts




The yearly acorn invasion has begun.  Hundreds of acorns cover my deck making walking on it very precarious. That is what one gets when there is a giant oak tree overhead. Every night I sit in my family room as they crash to the ground, listening to the dog going nuts trying to protect the house from the invasion.  So yesterday I put on a football helmet (got a visual yet) and navigated the ice skating rink-like deck and collected a few specimens for crafting.  I thought, Halloween is near and why not some acorn ghosts.  Make sure you pick acorns that are not wet and starting to germinate or your ghosts may end up with goatees! 

You will need:

Acorns with caps (but you will be taking the caps off before painting)

Acrylic paint in white

Paper plate

Piece of scrap cardboard to protect your work surface

Sand paper or sanding block

Masking tape or double-faced tape

Small paintbrush

Black sharpie marker 

Tacky craft glue

Acrylic matte finish (optional)

1.     Apply the tape to the cardboard so the sticky side is facing up.  Remove the caps from the acorns and set aside.  Place the acorns flat side down on the tape to secure.  This is how you will paint the acorns.  You don’t have to worry about painting the top since the caps will cover it.



2.     Sand the acorn a bit with a sanding block or a piece of sandpaper before sticking to the tape for better paint adhesion.


3.     Squirt some white acrylic paint onto a paper plate and apply a coat to the taped acorn.  Let dry and apply a second coat of paint.  Let dry.


4.     When the paint has dried remove the acorn and add some tacky craft glue in the cap and replace on the acorn.



5.     Use the sharpie marker to draw a ghost face on each acorn.  Be creative and make them all different.  (See photo)  You can get ideas for faces from the internet, or computer clip art.




Note:  Make a bunch and use them to accent the décor around the house.  Try using orange paint for a pumpkin and paint the cap green or green.  You can also make a frankenstein monster.  Simply paint the cap black, draw the face and glue on some tiny cylinder type beads on the sides of the neck.  This is a fun family project to try with the kids!



Many thanks to Bowdabrablog.com for choosing one of my tutorials for their

 bowdabrablog.com/2012/10/05/feature-friday-bowdabra-top-crafty-showcase-picks-17/#




For more fun projects or to add some of your own visit Bowdabra's Saturday showcase







24 comments:

  1. These are so cute! I love them! I have to get some acorns!! I don't have any where I live?

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  2. What a cute idea. I love it! Thanks for sharing:)

    Katie
    www.funhomethings.com

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  3. Found you through the homemaker on a dime link up. This is super cute! Acorns are all over my back porch. I'll have to snag a few for later.

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  4. Oh my these are cute aka scary :) Thanks for linking it up to our Crafty Showcase. We are featuring you this morning on our Facebook page!

    Susie @Bowdabra
    http://bowdabrablog.com/2012/10/06/saturday-showcase-craft-project-linky/

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  5. Oh these guys are just too cute! You will have me looking for acorns now!

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  6. This is totally awesome. Virtually free and really unique- nailed it!
    I'll be on a nature walk tomorrow. Now... where the heck did I put my paints?

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  7. Too cute!! My boys would LOVE making these! Thanks for sharing!!

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  8. love them thanks for linking up to our party

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  9. so super cute and creative! love the scream one. wish i had an acorn invasion!

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  10. I like the creepy screaming ghost and the pumpkin one the best. :)

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  11. These are adorable and would be a great addition to my Halloween tree! Hope to find some larger acorns, they've been a bit puny in Philly this year:@)

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  12. These would be great with my art class! Thank you so much for joining the party!
    ♥Linsey

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  13. These are just too cute!!
    You sound like me, I listen to the acorns drop on the deck, first hitting the metal roofing and bouncing down, the dogs go to barking like crazy at the sound of them. Yesterday I was out on our deck collecting acorns to do something with. I'm really liking what you did, might just make some too. Thanks for the inspiration!

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  14. Found and followed you through Adorned from Above's link party! These are so adorable! Could make them for every holiday. Have you seen those fairy gardens that are popular now? These would be perfect for those as well.

    Hope you stop by my blog sometime :)

    http://www.the-not-so-desperate-chef-wife.com/

    Krista

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  15. Love the little ghost faces, and the pumpkin one looks great.

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  16. super cute. Please consider sharing on Repurposed Ideas Weekly at: http://repurposemylife.com/repurposed-ideas-weekly-8/

    My next hop will start Friday night!

    Great idea!

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  17. I love these little guys they are so cute! I would love for you to share this on my Blog Stalking Thursday weekly Linky Party! http://www.thecraftyblogstalker.com/2012/10/blog-stalking-thursday-62.html

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  18. These are great.
    I would love you to share them on my Halloween linky please
    https://pinkoddy.wordpress.com/2012/10/10/create-your-own-halloween-t-shirt-with-linky/

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  19. How cute! What a great idea! Thanks for sharing at Gettin' Krafty!

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  20. You are a STAR today! I'm nuts about your silent scream acorn. Featuring you over at I Gotta Create!
    Thanks so much for linking up. You've earned a feature button :)
    <3 Christina

    http://igottacreate.blogspot.com/2012/10/of-ghosts-graveyards.html

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Thanks for your lovely comments!