Acorns and Pearls

Years ago I saw an idea in a Better Homes & Gardens holiday book, which is just too good not to share.  And yes, it is now February, and this is a decidedly autumn project, but I thought I'd post it so you can have it in mind for future broken pearl necklaces or stray acorns.

For a candle ring, you will need a 6-8" grapevine wreath, lots of acorns, and assorted pearls to fit the acorn caps.

The acorns can be gathered from your neighborhood oak tree in the fall, and the wreath can be made from stray grapevine (around here it is everywhere)... but if you gather your own, be sure to bake it in the oven at 250F (after you've shaped the grapevine) for an hour to kill any larvae within the the wood or acorns.  Not only are exiting insect holes unsightly, wood boring insects like powder post beetles can set up shop in your home and invade your studs.  Don't ask me how I know this.

Once you have your materials gathered and prepped, the assembly is easy.  Cover the wreath uniformly with acorns, some of them with the nuts replaced by pearls, glueing it all in place with a glue gun.  A word of advice:  if the nuts did not fall out of their caps during the baking process, pull them out anyway and put a dab of glue under the cap before putting them back in; this will keep those acorns in place for years to come.

For co-ordinating napkin rings, cut a 12" length of ribbon, flame-seal the ends to keep them from fraying, and with a needle and thread sew on a 2-acorn sprig, with a pearl replacing one of the acorn nuts.