DIY: Acorn Mobile

After I made my fall garland I had some acorns left over and I had some empty space above my fire place so I made a cute little decorative mobile. It's super easy to make.

Materials

Acorns
Branch
Thin gold wire
String

Tools

Scissors
Pliers

Steps

1. The first thing I did is wrap the gold wire around the branch. This is to add a little bit of color and at the same time, it allows to hang the mobile. See how I made one of the hoops a bit bigger?

2. After preparing the branch, I tied all the acorns together. Don't forget to glue the tops so the acorn doesn't fall off it's top!

3. Lastly, I tied the acorn string to the branch and added a few of the extra attached one (from the fall garland) to each side.

Isn't it just cute? You could even paint them if you want, to add a punch of color, or maybe even add some beads between the acorns. I might end up making different variations of this over the next few years; something fun to do with my kids in the fall. :)

DIY: Nature Hunt + Fall Garland

Fall always makes me want to go on nature hunts. I remember collecting lots of fallen leaves as a child and carefully putting them away in books to dry. I never ended up doing anything with them though. Such a shame since so many beautiful things can be made with them.

This year, my son has been rediscovering the seasons. At 2 years old I find he's a lot more alert and curious. I've been playing a lot of discovery games with him, one of which involves exploring and gathering; a nature hunt! It involves picking random things outdoors and building collections or finding things I ask for, sort of like hide and seek. I'm not sure who enjoyed this activity more, my son, or myself but it's definitely something I plan on doing more often, especially during summer and fall.

We picked so many wonderful things that I thought it would be fun to get creative and make some decorations for our home. Today I'll be sharing my fall garland and next week my acorn mobile so don't forget to check back next Monday. :)

MATERIALS

Random outdoor pickings (I have leaves, branches and acorns)
String
Thin wire

TOOLS

Scissors
Glue gun
Pliers

STEPS

1. The first thing I did is dry the leaves. I just used an old book and carefully placed them between pages overnight.

2. While the leaves were drying, I made sure the tops of the acorns were stuck on properly. When they fall from the trees they come loose so I strongly suggest gluing them. I then attached them in bunches of 2 to hang on the garland.

3. Next, I tied some of the branches to the string by twisting a thin gold wire around both.

4. Once the leaves were dry I glued them together in bunches of 3 and the glued them to the string between each branch.

5. Last, I hung the garland and added the little acorns. I switched them around the garland a bit until I settled for next to the leaves. That's really where it looks best.

There you have it, a super cute fall pickings garland with leaves, acorns and branches. Excuse the spiders and skulls, that was part of my Halloween decor. ;)

“Have you made decorations with things you collected outside before?”