acorns a mast.

if you are as blessed (or cursed) as we are when it comes to oak trees, you may have noticed this is a mast year.

mast year = a lot of acorns.

running in the dark over acorns at six in the morning to get the garbage out in time may be the equivalent to running over your children's wood blocks or legos.  the curse of acorns.

but, you know me...i harvest what i'm given.  this is the blessing, free/cheap material for fall decorations.

different oaks produce different acorns.  if dendrology is not your thing, just keep searching on the ground under oaks until you find the ones you like.

or for $15 you can get 54 plastic acorns from pottery barn.

i've collected enough acorns to cover five jelly roll pans.  however, i'm down to one pan.  i had to toss most of them. who would have thought such things as acorn weevils exist. within a day or so after collecting, all the acorns had holes in them with ugly, little larva slithering around.

getting rid of them was easy.  lightly cook them in the oven. really, you should do this if you want to use acorns for any decor.  even if they don't have weevils in them, they are still full of moisture and have the potential for getting green and fuzzy.

spread acorns out on a pan and put in an oven set at 250 degrees for 30 minutes.

if you are using the acorn caps, a glue gun may be handy to have to keep them together.

so, you have your acorns...now what?  here are some ideas i found.

i love wreaths, so naturally i used the acorns to make one for our front door. it can easily be transformed into a Christmas wreath by choosing Christmasy spray paint colors.  

disclosure: this is not my front door, mine is in the process of getting a facelift. much needed facelift.

or filled up a jar with a teal pillar candle.

living in the pine barrens has surely given me ample material to work with.  some more desire than others ie moss over half my lawn.  what have you found in nature that has made it's way into your home as decoration?  i'd love to hear about your finds.  

hope everyone has a safe and relaxing thanksgiving week.  enjoy your family and friends and remember to give thanks each day to the lord for what he has blessed you with.

jill