Beaded Acorns

Just in case you don't have enough to do before Thanksgiving - here's something more! Beaded acorns!! A couple years ago one of the local beading shops featured these little sweeties. I couldn't resist making some for myself, however all but one have disappeared. Not to fear, though, I still have some supplies to make a few more.
If you would care to make some for your Thanksgiving table they are quite simple to put together. As you can see, they consist of a wooden form, some beads and some glue. If you want to be fancy you can use silk stems/leaves at the top.

To begin, you will string some beads on a beading thread, leaving a tail of half an inch or so. String about 6 inches of beads on and then glue the tail onto the base of the form. Now all you do is wind the beads around the form, gluing them in place and adding more beads as you go (the beads will cover the tail you glued down). When you reach the 'cap' of the acorn you will leave another half inch or so of thread and glue it down just under the rim of the cap.
Starting at the top of the cap you will first glue on your stem/leaves (or ribbon loop to make an ornament). Ignore the fact that in my photo I obviously started beading the cap from the rim...ahem.... Then you will repeat the same process as you used on the lower half, working from the tip down to the rim of the cap. That's it in a nutshell. Sorry - I couldn't resist saying that. Cheesy, I know.

If you want to get really crazy and obsessive about it you can find all sorts of wooden forms (fruits etc) and make ornaments or other table-top decor. If you want to make this even simpler you could use glitter or hole-less beads (known as micro-beads or micro-marbles) and just spread glue on your form and roll it in the beads. Happy crafting!