Upcycled Plastic Egg Acorns
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I first saw this project on the Hallmark Channel show Home & Family and couldn’t wait to try it out. I even had most of what I needed! I love it when that happens. I also love reusing and upcycling things whenever I can. I’ve had a lot of fun making things this fall, and this was no exception.
Here’s what inspired me: https://www.hallmarkchannel.com/home-and-family/how-to/diy-acorns
You can see in the link above the different sizes of eggs that they used for the acorns, and I love the variety. I was absolutely certain that I had leftover Easter eggs in multiple sizes in the basement, but apparently I was wrong. Everything the kids and I could find was about the same size. Out of hundreds of eggs, I found eight that were unique in that they are not hinged, feel a little more solid, and don’t have holes in either end. They seemed like good candidates, so I went with those. I could have made any of the others work though. In fact, I have in the past cut apart hinged eggs and just trimmed off the hinge part. So use whatever you have! This is not the best time of year to be shopping for Easter eggs, but I will be looking for some bigger eggs to add to my collection next year.
I had already bought some spray paint for another project that I decided would be perfect for this, so I was super excited. It’s color shift paint, and it’s amazing. I used Testors brand Green Copper and Emerald Turquoise, as well as Rust Oleum’s Champagne Pink. All of them say they work best over a black base, so I knew I needed some black spray paint as well. Not just any spray paint will work on plastic, though, so I found some Krylon Fusion paint that fit the bill. It worked great! My color shift paint looks gorgeous on top of it. I also have gold, silver, and rose gold paints that would make some beautiful acorns. I’ll try something new next time.
I found some twine as Michaels that looks really nice, but you could use thicker twine, yarn—whatever gives a textured look to the acorn top. Once I get ahold of some bigger eggs, I’ll find some bigger twine to use.
You will need a glue gun for this project, but since you’re working with plastic, a low-temp glue gun is best. I just prefer low temp anyway, so that’s what I have in my stash.
Supplies:
Plastic eggs
Low temp glue gun and glue sticks
Twig or pinecone pieces for stem
Scissors
*****
Let’s get started!
The first step is to paint your eggs. I waited for what felt like forever for a non-windy day to be able to go outside and spray paint my eggs, but I finally got my chance. Check the instructions on your paint to know how long to wait in between coats. For my color shift paint, I was surprised that I only had to wait a minute for one brand and “a few minutes” for the other.
Next you can snap the eggs together. If they don’t feel secure, you can glue them together. Mine did feel secure, so I just ran some glue along the seam of each egg as I was wrapping the top in twine. So I started along the seam and then just wrapped the twine as tightly as I could as I went around and around towards the top. Be careful as you’re doing this, because it’s easy to burn your fingers if the twine is especially small. (Don’t ask me how I know.) I had a lot of glue strings all over my eggs by the time I was done, so I peeled those off once I was finished with the twine.
The final step is to add a little topper to the acorn cap. I actually cut off a piece of a dead plant I’ve been meaning to dispose of, and then I cut that into little pieces. I used a little hot glue to attach it to the top of the egg. I also have an abundance of twigs in my yard, so I had plenty of options. Adorable!
Now your acorns are ready to be displayed!
