Kids and crafts go together when you have a simple project to do together on those rainy days. Fall is the perfect season to get outdoors with the kids and collect those acorns, chestnuts, hickory nuts, and pine cones that are falling from the trees. Store them in clear glass jars tied with a decorative bow or jute and display with your pumpkins and gourds until a rainy afternoon keeps the kids indoors and bored. Next time you bake or roast something in the oven, let the pinecones open up in the cooling oven. Shut oven off. Lay pine cones on a foil covered cookie sheet. Leave in oven until it cools completely.

Supplies

You will need:

pkg of 1/4" googly eyes
white glue
pkg of asst colored pipe cleaners
pkg of asst pompoms
an assortment of felt squares
cardboard or Styrofoam food tray
scissors
toothpicks for spreading glue
drill (for jewelry)
elastic cord (for bracelet)
rigid cord (for necklace)
large needle for stringing
asst paints and brushes
clear acrylic spray

The Creature People Project

Use a glass or cookie cutter to draw shapes on cardboard or food tray. Cut them out. These will be the bases on which to build the people. Use a pine cone for a body and glue the base to the bottom. Snip off a few of the top pedals so that a nut or acorn can be glued on as a head. Acorn caps are ready-made hats but should be glued in place as they tend to fall off easily. To make arms, wrap a pipe cleaner from center front to back of pine cone and twist. Fold ends back on themselves to right lengths for arms. Glue on google eyes.

Your kids can now decorate their creature people in Halloween costumes, pilgrim attire, even as Christmas ornaments to hang on a tree or wreath using felt and pompoms.

Chestnuts and hickory nuts can be stacked on a base to form a body with an acorn head. For more stability, drill holes on opposite ends of nuts, put glue in each hole, and insert 1/2 or 1/4 toothpicks to stack. A clear acrylic spray will minimize shrinking. Glue on google eyes and decorate after spray is dry.

Jewelry For The Girls

Nuts can be strung like beads. Measure a length of elastic cord around wrist and add 2." Drill hole through each nut. Tie a knot on long end of cord. Thread cord into needle and pull through nuts leaving a 2" length at top. Tie the two ends together to form bracelet. Let the child paint nuts and decorate with small shells, charms, stickers. Give finished product a coat of acrylic clear spray. Let dry.

Measure a length of rigid cord for necklace and add three inches. Make sure this is long enough to slide easily over the head. Tie knot 2" in from end and string as in bracelet or make spaces between nuts by knotting cord before and after each nut. End 2" before end of cord and knot after final nut. Tie both ends together. Paint and decorate. Follow with a coat of clear acrylic spray. Let dry.

Bugs For The Boys

Drill holes through nuts as in jewelry. Cut cord in 8" to 14" length. Knot one end and string on nuts. Knot other end close to final nut. Glue nuts together to form rigid creatures like caterpillars or leave as is for floppy snakes. Two holes can be drilled in top of end nut to glue in pipe cleaner pieces as antennae. Glue on google eyes. Decorate with paint, pompoms, legs, tails, tongue. Finish with a coat of clear acrylic spray. Let dry.

A child's creativity is amazing. These fall craft projects are wonderful bonding time spent between you and your kids. Enjoy!

Resource: Picture courtesy of Jennifer Perkins of Naughty Secretary Club. She shares how she created these fun, vintage-inspired pinecone people ornaments.