Craftberry Bush

Gilded thankful walnut tutorial….

Fall, Halloween & Thanksgiving Crafts· tutorial

Hello everyone!  I wanted to share an idea from last year that I’ve refreshed – the Thankful Walnut.  But this time, they’re all jazzed up and gilded.

These guys have a little surprise inside.
Take a look….

Materials:
Walnuts
Knife
Twine or Ribbon
Hot Glue
Gold paint or Goldleaf sheet
Brush
Paper to print or write messages on
Spray adhesive or low tack glue 


1. With the tip of your knife, find the small opening on the top of the walnut
2. Gently wedge your knife in and slowly crack open
3. Empty the contents of the walnut
4. Print or write a question or statement which will evoke an answer that your guests are thankful for
5. Fold it small enough so that it fits inside the walnut
6. Insert paper in walnut and with hot glue, glue twine or ribbon to top of walnut
7. Using your hot glue, place three dots of glue along the top bottom and sides (you want to seal the walnut, but not seal it completely)
8. Apply a thin layer of spray adhesive and place gold leaf onto walnut 
9. With a brush, start to press down and brush leaf onto walnut

The price of goldleaf can range from $40-$80+, depending on the karat, thickness and weight.  There are also several finishes that you can purchase.

But there is also faux or imitation goldleaf which you can purchase for craft projects such as this one.  I bought a book of imitation Japanese goldleaf for $7.95 and it had approx 20 sheets (I used 1 sheet for 5 walnuts).

It had been a while since I last used goldleaf and it seemed easier than I remembered.  But still messy, so work over newspaper or a covered surface area.  You can use these guys as napkin rings, hang them on a thankful tree or simply place on your guests plate.

I painted one half with white paint, thinking of the transition between fall and Christmas. These could easily be used as ornaments, don’t you think?  Doesn’t the gold look so elegant against the green of the boxwood?


I love the look of gold leaf and you will probably see it in several upcoming projects.  Speaking of projects, my Christmas project list is growing and I’m looking forward to next week when I will start to reveal some of them. 
Thank you so much for visiting me today, I hope you have a beautiful day.


much love,
Lucy


Here are some other question ideas to place inside your thankful walnuts:
1. What event from this year are you most thankful for?
2. What personal ability are you thankful for?
3. What has the person  sitting to your left/right/across from you done for you that you are thankful for?
4. What material possessions am I thankful for?
5. What challenge/s that I have or are experiencing am I thankful for (ie. what have you learned from them, how have I grown from them?)
6. What opportunities have I had that I am grateful for?
7. What about my surroundings am I grateful for? (ie. neighbourhood, city, country, etc)
8. What relationship am I thankful for?
9. What personal trait are you thankful for?
10. What would your thankfulness look like?


Jennifer Rizzo 

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Comments

  1. Although we don’t have Thanksgiving day here in Spain, i think it’s a very good celebration -a good way to give thanks to God for all His blessings to us-.
    Greetings
    Pura

    Reply

  12. You know that #5 on your list applies to my year so far. We often forget to be thankful for our challenges. What a lovely and meaningful craft, Lucy.

    I’ll be sharing at Pinterest and over at a family traditions post later this week at The Classroom Creative.

    My best,
    Nic

    Reply

  14. What an awesome idea! I actually have a ton of walnuts that I just bought for a snack. I need to save the shells and make some of these as part of a cute Thanksgiving centerpiece. Great project as always 🙂
    -Jen

    Reply

  15. these are gorgeous! every week you blow me away with your creativity and beautiful projects and photos! so happy to have found your blog. p.s. Thanks for including the pic with 1 Thessalonians 5:18. I needed to read that one today!

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