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    Home » Holidays Seasonal » How To Paint Acorns For Fall Decor and More

    How To Paint Acorns For Fall Decor and More

    Published by Gail | Published September 25, 2020 | Updated July 30, 2022
    As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

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    Have you ever seen painted acorns? I'm going to show you how to prep and paint acorns from your yard. Step by step details on drying, baking, painting and sealing. A great Fall decor project. #MyRepurposedLife #repurposed #acorns #fall #decor via @repurposedlifeHave you ever seen painted acorns? I'm going to show you how to prep and paint acorns from your yard. Step by step details on drying, baking, painting and sealing. A great Fall decor project. #MyRepurposedLife #repurposed #acorns #fall #decor via @repurposedlifeHave you ever seen painted acorns? I'm going to show you how to prep and paint acorns from your yard. Step by step details on drying, baking, painting and sealing. A great Fall decor project. #MyRepurposedLife #repurposed #acorns #fall #decor via @repurposedlifeHave you ever seen painted acorns? I'm going to show you how to prep and paint acorns from your yard. Step by step details on drying, baking, painting and sealing. A great Fall decor project. #MyRepurposedLife #repurposed #acorns #fall #decor via @repurposedlife

    Today, I’m going to show you an easy activity-how to paint acorns! I first saw this fall project from my friend Catherine many years ago. I don’t have an oak tree, but the site I frequent while camping has two very mature oak trees. So, I thought I would try my hand at painting acorns.

    fresh acorns

    I have found that it's fun to do crafts while camping. So, I set off to gather acorns, and wash them off. I have an awesome sink table I place at the back of my camper every time I camp.

    basket of fresh acorns

    I let the acorns dry and turn brown for about two weeks in this basket (outdoors). Do you think I have enough acorns? Please only collect acorns your will use, as they are a food source for our furry friends with fall approaching. I think late August is the best time of year to get a bumper crop of acorns.

    How Long Do I Bake Acorns In The Oven?

    how long do I bake acorns

    To make sure there were no critters anywhere, I set my oven temperature to 180° and baked them for two hours. This also helps remove the extra moisture.

    place acorns on cookie sheet

    To do this, I used a piece of parchment paper on a baking sheet. I did shake the cookie sheet after the first hour. Heated acorns have a strange odor to them, so you may want to do this when you can open the windows.

    How To Hot Glue Acorn Caps

    glue gun without electricity

    What I didn’t know was this—baking the acorns released 99% of the little caps. Many of them were still on the acorns, but not attached. Those corresponding caps were very quickly glued back on using a small glue gun. Because I didn’t want to run a long extension cord out to the picnic table, I opted for my Ryobi Inverter. Simply run a ring of glue to hold the cap on. To keep the hot glue off the tablecloth, I used a paper plate. You could even use Gorilla Glue to get a permanent bond.

     

    How To Paint Acorns

    how to paint acorns with nail polish

    The easiest way to paint acorns, believe it or not is with nail polish! It’s glossy, goes on smoothly, dries rather quickly and is very durable! The small flat brush is easy to get close to the caps of the acorns. Bonus! You don't see any brush strokes. It may surprise you to know that my neighbor Rodney is actually the one who thought of this. I probably should have ordered some nail polish replacement brushes to use on the rest of the acorns. Smile You may need more than 1 coat to get full coverage. Seriously, this is so easy, even the kiddos could help with the painting, it would even help with their fine motor skills. (former pre-k teacher here)

    paint acorns gold metallic

    Using a cheap soft paint brush, I continued painting acorns in various colors using layers of acrylic paint. To keep the paint off the picnic tablecloth, I used waxed paper.

    Did I mention that I painted all these acorns while camping back at the original site where I collected them? It was a beautiful week of weather, and the process was actually very relaxing - one of the best fall activities I've done in a while.

    how to paint acorns gold glitter

    Everyone needs a little sparkle, right? So, of course I had to do some gold glitter acorns.

    seal painted acorns with gloss

    After seeing how Catherine gave some shine to her painted acorns, I decided to use a spray paint spray sealer (clear coat) on my pretty acorns! Don't the different colors make you smile?

    shine up acorns with spray sealer

    I had some raw acorns, not painted left over. I decided to give them a little shine also!

    how to paint acorns sealed painted raw

    This may help you decide if YOU want to paint acorns as one of your next craft projects. Top left are the acorns after they were sealed. On the top right are the painted acorns after they were sealed. Finally on the bottom are baked, raw acorns with no paint or sealer.

    Painted Acorns in a Dish

    painted acorns in a dish MyRepurposedLife

    Do you have a favorite color? Do you think you will ever paint acorns?

    acorns sprayed with sealer MyRepurposedLife

    Or do you prefer the acorns with spray sealer to protect them and make them have a sheen?

    How Can You Decorate with Painted Acorns?

    • Wreaths
    • Ornaments
    • Vases
    • Christmas Decor
    how to paint and seal acorns MyRepurposedLife


    I would love for you to save and share this project on Pinterest. Thanks!

    gail

    See more Fall Projects here

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    1. Mickey Griffith

      February 24, 2021 at 11:04 pm

      I love painting acorns too. My son has a bur oak tree that drops huge acorns which I like to paint little faces on because the tops look like fairy caps. Also, I buy clear nail polish at Dollar Tree to glaze.

      Reply
      • Gail Wilson

        February 26, 2021 at 10:32 am

        Mickey,

        Wow! Lucky you to get those mega acorns to paint!! Awesome tip about the clear nail polish. I hope I can remember to pick up some the next time I'm there! Thank you!!!

        gail

    2. Cheri

      September 28, 2020 at 10:51 pm

      Whoda thought??? I love, love these!!!!! I like all the colors. They look great in the dish together. Might have to see if I can locate some acorns. But I will hate the baking part!!!

      Reply
      • Gail Wilson

        October 01, 2020 at 8:21 pm

        Thank you so much! They do make me smile!!

        gail

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    Hi, there! I’m Gail Wilson, the author and mastermind behind My Repurposed Life. I’m obsessed with finding potential in unexpected places and believe that with a little hard work and imagination, any old thing can be made useful again—myself included! I hope you’ll enjoy the journey and pick up a few tools along the way… literally!

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