Design*Sponge » Blog Archive » diy project: kate’s walnut charms

i love nut season!! something about the textures and shapes of all the different shells really gets me excited for fall. i went ahead and did the entire bag of walnuts in preparation for gift wrapping, and a variation on the traditional cranberry garland for the holidays. once you start making these beware! it is very easy to get carried away and want to tie a walnut to everything! have fun! -kate

CLICK HERE for the full project after the jump!

materials:
1. walnuts, whole in shell
2. thick gauge wire
3. pliers
4. hot glue
5. spray paint (optional)

instructions:
1. cut the wire into 1.5 inch strips.
2. use the pliers to bend one end of each strip into a small loop and leave about an inch of straight wire at the end.
3. dip the straight end of each wire strip into the hot glue tip and squeeze a little to apply a small blob of glue.
4. stick the wire end with the glue down into the center of the top of the nut where the shell halves meet. press until the loop sits right against the top of the nut.
5. use another small piece of wire to pull away any excess glue that collects at the top.
6. if you want to paint your nuts, place them in a cardboard box and spray evenly with a couple coats of spray paint. allow to dry.

YOU’RE DONE!

Hi Grace–

I think both Julie and Susan are referring to the tag in the first photo, which spells it ‘apetit’ instead of ‘appétit’.

Kate, these are really sweet! I love the first photo & the use as a napkin ring (especially with such a pretty napkin).

These are too cute! I did a project back in 2nd grade where we made colonial ornaments – including a gold colored walnut! And 17 years later it still hangs on the family Christmas tree every year. So yes, they do last!

You can also do the walnuts with gold (or other metal) leaf and it’s pretty easy. Just brush on the Wunda Size – or similar gel for this, and then wait til sticky and apply the leaf sheets. I did a small tree with all walnuts once and it makes a nice little simple holiday look.

If you are going to make this craft, and you have tons of leftover nuts, not only walnuts, but pecans, and almonds, etc…then I suggest everyone go and make the Martha Stewart nut wreath that is in her new issue…

all you need is nuts, a hot glue gun, and stiff wooden wreath base….and you just glue on the nuts. I did it and it turned out gorgeous, I added a copper satin bow and its hanging on my front door.

Ive done every martha stewart craft and usually its too good to be true, but the nut wreath I would say is the easiest ive ever done……..

One drawback, you need like 4 pounds of nuts and it could get expensive, It cost me like 17 dollars for the entire thing, but it looks like I paid 150 and had it professionally made.

I am going to make these and use them to tie the top of Christmas gift baskets that I am making – much better than all of that glittery and garish stuff in the stores and inexpensive, too! Thank you for a great idea.

I made these as Christmas decorations and used gold spray paint. I’m so proud of how they turned out! It was such an easy project with such great results! I didn’t use heavy gauge wire, though. I just cut apart paperclips and twisted them together to make loops. So much easier and better than buying special wire. Thanks for the idea!

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