Tuesday, September 24, 2013

Art Project: Wet-Felted Acorns + Autumn Link-Up

I am somewhat in love with acorn caps. I use them for everything: game pieces (like Bingo), art projects, the nature table, etc. On Saturday, my daughter went to the playground and gathered acorn caps until our pockets could hold no more. And then, after dinner we spontaneously decided to wet felt some acorns.




This is definitely not a new idea - I first saw it on The Magic Onions and most recently at Textile Love - but it sure is fun to try! 

To make these acorns, you need: wool roving, a bowl of warm soapy water, an underlay and towel, glue and acorn caps.  

To begin, you pinch off a small, wispy amount of wool roving. Then, you gently wrap it into a ball with your finger. (My daughter actually taught me the technique for this project this time, since she became a pro at wet-felting little balls at her Nature Kindergarten. I made the mistake of pulling the wool fibers apart and ended up with a mess, until my daughter showed me how to gently wrap it.) 



Then, you immerse the wool ball into the warm, soapy water, and squeeze out as much soap afterwards, taking care not to wring the wool or pull it apart. The final step in the wet felting process is to shape it to fit the acorn cap.  Such a soothing, relaxing activity!




After the wool has dried overnight, then you glue the caps to the wool balls. 



My daughter also made a knitting basket for her Playmobil figures.


My son also made a few acorns, but then played a game of "Cathedral" with Dad.




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