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As we round out the end of fall, Benzie Design Maker Team member Sue of @bluewithoutyoukids shares her tutorial for sweet acorns and leaves that can be used to make letter board accessories and many other crafts! Decorate your Thanksgiving table, fall gifts, and letter board saying with this seasonal project!
Felt acorns in beautiful fall colors are my favorites this time of year, and making them is so easy that you almost don’t need instructions! I’m going to take it a step further, though, and show some different ways you can use them. That’s where the real fun begins! I love scattering them on my table as a simple centerpiece, hanging them as ornaments on a tree, using them as fun place markers at Thanksgiving, making gift toppers at the holidays, and adding them to my letter board as accessories! Follow along while I show you how!
Supplies:
- Medium poms in your favorite Fall colors. For colors shown: blush, almond, russet, mojave, cameo
- Felt in your favorite Fall colors, or for colors shown: toast, grapefruit, copper, nutmeg, blush, seaside
- Acorn caps - I usually have lots of them in my yard but you can also purchase them on Etsy. The ones with a stem are best.
- Hot glue gun
- Scissors
- PDF template (click to download)
Additional Supplies (depending on what you make with your acorns):
- Card stock (ornaments and gift topper)
- Jumbo paperclips (letter board accessory)
- Needle nose pliers (letter board accessory)
- Wire cutters (letter board accessory)
- Twine or string (ornaments and gift topper)
Instructions:
1. Basic Acorns and Leaves - First, I’ll show you how easy it is to make felt acorns! Using a hot glue gun, place a very thin line of glue around the inside rim of the acorn cap and attach the felt pom.
For leaves, use the downloadable template to cut oak leaves from felt. I like to make them more realistic by folding them in half and finger creasing them. Tip: Grab the leaf along the crease with both hands and gently pull in opposite directions in a downward motion. Repeat one or two times along the length of the crease. Don’t be afraid to twist and tug the felt a little! When you open the leaf it will have a more natural crumpled shape!
Scatter the leaves and acorns on your dining table as a centerpiece or place them in a bowl on your coffee table. I like to play with different color combinations for each season or holiday! Wintery blues, greys and white look pretty at Christmas!
2. Letter Board Accessories - We’ll start with the metal tabs that attach accessories to the letter boards. They are simple to make but tricky to explain, so you may want to just look at the pictures! Using your pliers, bend the ends of the paperclip at a 90 degree angle to make a rounded tab that is about 1/4”. Then use your wire cutters to cut the paperclip about 1/4” from the bend in the wire.
Cut two 1” circles from matching felt and one 1” circle from card stock. Cut a slit in the center of one of the felt circles and insert the metal tab through the hole. Glue a little piece of felt over the back side of the paperclip ends to secure it. Then glue the card stock circle and another felt circle to it as shown (this three layer “sandwich” holds the metal tab securely in place and provides a solid base for your letter board accessory). Now you can glue acorns to your tabs! Tip: These tabs can be used to attach any three dimensional accessory to your letter board!
Use the downloadable PDF template to cut oak leaves from coordinating felt. Fold them in half and finger-crease them as described in Step 1.
To attach the accessories to your felt board, arrange the leaves so that the ends can be tucked under the metal tab base on your felt acorn. The round base of the acorn will hold your leaves in place too!
3. Ornaments and Gift-toppers: Glue a felt pom to an acorn cap as described in Step 1. Then, cut a 6” piece of twine and make a hanger by tying the ends together in a knot. Hot glue the knot on the twine hanger to the top of the acorn cap next to the stem.
If you want to add a tag to your ornament, use the downloadable pattern to trace and cut. Tip: If you want to add an oak leaf to your ornament, poke a hole in the base of the leaf and string the hanger and tag through the hole.
Hanging acorns make fun gift toppers and Christmas tree ornaments. You can also hang them on a branch for a family Thankful Tree, using the tags to name all the things you’re grateful for!
Now you’ve learned three different ways to decorate with felt acorns and leaves! There are so many fun things to do with them, it was hard to narrow it down to just a few!
Thanks to Sue for designing and writing this tutorial! You can follow her on Instagram @bluewithoutyoukids or visit her website. Stay tuned for more tutorials from the Benzie Design Maker Team!
