Crafting with acorns: Instructions for children

Which acorns are suitable for beautiful craft ideas?

For most kids, not only is crafting with acorns itself a highlight, but also collecting the little tree fruits is great fun for them and can be wonderfully undertaken together as part of a Outing with your children can be undertaken. So what are you waiting for? Grab baskets, buckets or cloth bags and go looking.

You're most likely to find them on a forest walk or on a hike through fields or parks. The best time to collect is from September. Now the ripe acorns fall from the trees and are just waiting to be found by you and processed into beautiful decoration.

In Germany you will mainly find the fruits of the pedunculate oak or the sessile oak are found – both species are equally suitable for crafting great works of art. Make sure to store the acorns dry and cool, until you begin crafting your fall decorations. This prevents your autumn craft materials from starting to mold.

It's best to spread all the acorns out on newspaper and let them dry thoroughly at room temperature for several days before you take on the first craft ideas. Ideally, when collecting with your children, only gather as many acorns as you need for a craft project. Rather go searching again, before the natural materials spoil at home.

Autumn crafting inspirations

Materials you need for crafting with acorns

Basteln mit Eicheln | Mädchen am Basteln

So that you can start crafting your best ideas right away, lay out in advance all the required materials and tools ready. Apart from the natural materials you collect on autumn walks, you probably already at home. Scissors at the ready, get set, go!

Natural materials

Acorns & acorn caps
Leaves & twigs
Chestnuts in shells
pine cones
dried flowers, fruits, or autumn leaves
nut shells

Craft materials & tools

Toothpicks, matches, or skewers
hand drill
googly eyes
craft glue or hot glue gun
scissors
craft wire & pliers
acrylic & watercolor paints
felt-tip pens & markers
felt in various colors

Not just for chestnuts – hand drill for acorn crafts

The chestnut drill not only helps you build funny chestnut figures, it also does a great job when crafting with acorns.

You can drill precise holes with the easy-to-use tool in no time – even the little ones can actively help and together with you parents put the most beautiful craft ideas into practice for gorgeous decorations.

Discover chestnut band drill

Let's go: What you can craft from acorns

DIY craft ideas with acorns are extremely varied and your creativity has no limits. When crafting with toddlers, the tree fruits are wonderful for the first creative attempts with brush and paint. Your little artists can, as they please, paint or create collages together with other natural materials to produce autumnal artworks that you can give as gifts or use to decorate your home.

Older children, on the other hand, already prefer more demanding crafting ideas. Whether acorn jewelry, funny acorn people or a small zoo made of different animals – with a hand drill and a bit of skill, wondrous creatures emerge that are quite a sight.

It is important that you as parents always keep an eye on your children while crafting and support them if they need help. The handling of sharp craft tools such as knives or drills takes practice – so never let your kids work alone.

Over time your children learn to use their little hands skillfully when crafting and this promotes fine motor skills on the side. A good reason to take out the craft supplies more often and spend a creative afternoon together.

5 easy tutorials to try yourself

Surely you want to start crafting your decorations right away. Are you not yet sure what exactly you'd like to create? We've put together the five loveliest DIY ideas that you can tackle together with your children.

Craft idea 1: Cheerful faces from acorns

Basteln mit Eicheln | Gesichter auf Eicheln

Materials needed

Acorns with caps
Permanent marker (waterproof) or acrylic paint
Paintbrush
Googly eyes (optional)
Craft glue (optional)

Instructions:

Choose the nicest acorns with caps from your collection. It's best to lay newspaper on the table when crafting to protect it from paint splatters.
Think about how you want your acorn face to look – whether funny, grim, happy or cheeky, it's your choice. Draw eyes, mouth and nose with a waterproof pen or acrylic paints and a brush, and let everything dry thoroughly.
Your face will look even livelier if you attach googly eyes to the acorns with a drop of glue.
There you have your funny autumn faces, which you can give to friends or use to decorate your home.

Craft idea 2: Funny acorn men with caps

Materials needed:

Acorns
Acorn caps
Knife
Hand drill
Matchsticks
Glue or hot glue

Instructions:

You need three acorns per little acorn man. Choose a large, elongated acorn for the body and feet, and a slightly smaller one for the head.
Cut a large acorn in half with a sharp knife — these will be the feet of your acorn man. Parents should help their children here so they don't cut themselves.
Use a hand drill to bore small holes for the arms, legs and eyes.
Drop some glue into each hole and press the matchsticks into the openings. Remove the match heads from the sticks beforehand. This secures all the limbs to the acorn body.
Use two match heads as the eyes for your little man and glue them into the pre-drilled holes in the head. The caps serve as headwear. Attach them as well with some craft glue or hot glue — and your autumnal acorn men are ready.

Craft idea 3: Cute acorn mice

Materials needed:

Acorns
Acorn caps with stem
Glue or hot glue
Pins
Hand drill
Bark or maple seeds
Pliers

Instructions:

For each mouse you need an acorn with cap and stem, three pins, and maple seeds or bark for the ears.
Use pliers to snip the pins so they only have a short end left. With a hand drill, bore holes for the eyes and the mouse's nose.
Drop some glue into the holes and press the eyes and nose in. Let everything dry well.
On the left and right, also drip some glue for the ears of your funny mice. Press the maple seeds firmly in place.
Do the same with the acorn cap at the back of the acorn — that's the tail of your little mouse.

Craft idea 4: Cute kitten made from acorns

Materials needed:

2 acorns
6 matchsticks
Hand drill
Glue or hot glue
Magnolia or maple seeds

Instructions:

Choose a large acorn for the cat's body and drill four holes at the bottom for the legs, one for the tail and one for the neck.
Drop some glue into each of the holes and push the matchsticks in. Shorten the matchstick for the neck a bit beforehand.
Drill a small hole on the underside of the head as well and attach it with glue.
Once everything is fully dry, take magnolia or maple seeds and glue them to the head as ears — meow, you've made a cute acorn kitten.

Craft idea 5: Whimsical acorn wild animals

Basteln mit Eicheln | Waldtiere aus Eicheln

Materials needed:

Acorns
Acorn caps
Matchsticks
Glue or hot glue
Hand drill
Additional natural materials for decoration (optional)

Instructions:

Let your creativity run free when crafting crazy acorn animals. Whether deer, little horses or mythical creatures — you decide which figures you want to make.
Choose a nice acorn for the animal body and drill four holes in the underside with a hand drill.
Attach matchsticks as legs with a drop of glue. Do the same with a short matchstick for the neck.
Once the head is in place, glue on an acorn cap or other natural material as a hat or head decoration as you like.

More craft ideas for autumn

Of course you can make great craft projects not only with acorns. In autumn you'll find craft materials for beautiful decor in abundance. Whether chestnuts, colorful autumn leaves, pine cones or fruits and flowers.

More action-packed craft ideas for autumn are of course possible too. How would your children like a colorful kite that you can make together and later let fly? HABA has collected great ideas for you that will bring you even more fun and happy autumn days with the whole family.

Crafting with chestnuts

Basteln mit Eicheln | Junge bastelt mit Kastanien

Crafting with chestnuts is probably the classic among the ideas for unique artworks made from autumn materials. Whether a toddler or older crafty kids – the round, brown fruits are not only eagerly collected, but also turned into playful figures or imaginative decorations further processed.

What to pay attention to when crafting with chestnuts and which ideas you can implement together with your children, HABA shows you on the related page.

Craft ideas with chestnuts

Crafting with pine cones

Along the roadside in autumn you'll find pine cones in the most shapes and colors. But did you know that you can, from natural materials, create beautiful works of art?

Grab a basket or bag on your next walk with your children and diligently collect cones for creative crafting afternoons. On the topic page, HABA has compiled the best ideas for crafting with pine cones for you.

Guide to pine-cone crafting

Make your own kite

Autumn is kite time. What could be better than making a flying kite together with your kids? The advantage: you create a one-of-a-kind, which certainly no other child in the park or on the meadow has.

On HABA's corresponding topic page we show you what to watch for when making homemade kites and how you can, in no time, create a guaranteed flight-worthy model.

This is how you make a kite

Crafting with leaves

Basteln mit Eicheln | Drachen aus Eicheln

Colorful leaves, rustling autumn foliage – as the days slowly get shorter, autumn announces itself. Long walks with the children are now especially fun. While the last rays of sun tickle you, nature shines in all its splendor.

Do you want to admire the colorful leaves as creative autumn decorations also at home? HABA has compiled the best instructions for crafting with leaves so you can get started right away.

Ideas for crafting with leaves

Frequently asked questions about crafting with acorns

Crafting with acorns | How can crafted artworks made from acorns be made durable?

Once you've crafted the prettiest ideas from your collected acorns, you'd of course like to enjoy your little creations for as long as possible. It's best to use completely dried acorns – let fresh acorns dry at room temperature for a few days or put them in the oven at a low temperature for an hour.

If you later spray your crafts with hairspray, you thereby seal the pores and your handmade little figures will also gain a nice shine.

Crafting with acorns | Are acorns edible?

Yes, provided that all tannins are removed from the fruits. To do this, crack the acorn shell and also remove the seed coat. Now place them in a bowl of water for several days. You will see that the liquid gradually turns yellowish. Change the water at least once daily with fresh water. If the water is clear after a few days, the acorns are ready to eat.

Warning: Make sure beforehand that the acorns come from species native to Germany, such as pedunculate oak or sessile oak. These are — if you have made them edible as described above — non-toxic. Never let your children eat acorns raw, as the tannins can cause gastrointestinal complaints.

Crafting with acorns | What else can acorns – besides crafting – be used for?

Acorns are real all-rounders. If you've collected too many of these tree fruits, here are some ideas for repurposing:

After you've made the acorns edible, you can process them into flour and bake delicious recipes with your children. Roasted acorns are also particularly tasty roasted acorns — an alternative to classic chestnuts.

If you don't want to eat the little tree fruits yourselves, many wild animals such as roe deer, deer or wild boar for a tasty snack. Use a visit to the wildlife park as an opportunity to feed acorns to the animals living there — of course only in consultation with the park management.

Discover even more