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My friend, Nicole, and the creative mind behind Tikkido and Tradewind Tiaras is one of our newest Catch My Party contributors, welcome Nicole!

Nicole is not only a gifted pastry chef, but also makes some of the most inventive crafts. Here she is sharing how she made these beautiful felted acorns that would be perfect for the coming seasons. 

Acorns made from felted wool balls are simple to create, and add a perfect autumnal touch to gifts, crafts, and fall decor.

Materials:

• Wool Roving (I bought mine at a local yarn store, but it's easy to find online if you don't have a nearby supply)
• A bowl of soapy water
• Acorn caps (I bought mine from an Etsy seller -- there are many)
• Spray paint (optional)
• Hot glue gun

First, pull off a chunk of your wool roving.  What's that, you ask?  Not being an avid knitter/textiles person, I had no clue, either. Wool roving is wool that has been cleaned, combed, and twisted ever so slightly into a big, fluffy rope.  Textile artists use this material to spin into yarn.  I use it to make fun gnome and Santa beards. And felt balls.

Wrap the fluffy wool into a loose ball.  Make it several times larger than you want your finished ball to be, because it will compress a lot.

Dip the fluffy wool ball into water with a few drops of dish-washing soap.  Roll between the palms of your hands.  The wool ball with compress, and the fibers will bind together, creating a much more solid, smaller felt ball.

Sometimes, I end up with cracks and crevasses in my felt ball, not exactly a nice ball shape.  When this happens, I simply take a very small, wispy piece of wool roving and wrap it around the outside of the ball.  Dip in the soapy water and continue rolling the ball with your hands.  The new layer of wool felts onto the surface of the ball and covers any imperfections that might have been there.

Squeeze out any excess water, and let dry overnight.

Once the felt balls have dried out completely, it's a simple matter to glue the acorn caps to the felt balls.  If you want to paint the acorn caps, it's best to do so before gluing the felt balls in place.  I used spray paint, but I think they'd be spectacular with glittered caps.  Something to remember for next fall!