I’m slouched behind my computer, supposed to be concentrating on work. But somehow my mind only wants to wander today… It is autumn in the Southern hemisphere, and staring through my studio window, I see that the trees are loaded with acorns. Which makes me think of squirrels and hoarding things for winter. Which makes me wonder what the fairies are harvesting right now? And what are they using to bring the harvest home in? Which brings me back to acorns. Acorn cups specifically. Wouldn’t an acorn cup make just the perfect gathering basket for a fairy? So, let’s drop what we are doing and go help the fairies make some baskets to bring in the harvest!
Here is what you will need:
Acorn cups, duh, can’t do anything without those.
Something to make a handle with. Materials that would work well—a platted pine needle, a pliable twig, a snip of wire, a sprig of grass, a scrap of ribbon or string.
If you want your basket to stand, you will need to sand the bottom flat, or glue a small button, metal washer or a flattened ball of polymer clay to the base.
Line the basket to cushion a fragile load. Use materials that a fairy would typically choose—moss, tiny feathers, a scrap of lace or fabric, cat hair. Huh? Just checking to see if you are still paying attention :-)
Constructing the basket:
Start by making the base of the acorn cap flat so that it can stand. You can do this by rubbing the base over sandpaper, or by gluing a small button, metal washer or flattened ball of baked polymer clay to the base.
If you prefer a more finished and durable look, varnish your acorn cup.
Glue the handle to the sides of the acorn cup. My handles are made from wire, platted pine needles, twisted polymer clay, ribbon and rope. If you are using wire or rope, you could drill two small holes to put the ends of the handle through the acorn cup instead of gluing it. I made a polymer clay grip for the wire handle.
Advice when platting pine needles:
These make the most natural looking basket handles, but they require a bit of patience to assemble. I like to use dry pine needles, because of the natural brown colour. Soak the pine needles in water for a few hours before starting, this will make them pliable and less prone to breaking.
Tape the end of the pine needle to your work surface with masking tape, and put a pin through it to stop it from pulling out. Carefully and tightly plat the pine needle. Rub over the platted length after every few twists to make sure that it is lying flat. When you get to the end, tape the needles down with a second piece of masking tape, and leave in position to dry.
I find it easier to glue one end of the basket handle to the acorn cup and let it dry, then cut to length and glue the other end.
Line the basket:
I used a variety of linings—moss in the wire handle basket, feathers in the baskets with pine needle handles, lace with the ribbon handle, and knitting wool fluff to resemble raffia and moss in the basket with rope handle and basket with polymer clay handle.
As you can see, some baskets have a more naturalistic look, and others are more colourful.
Tip for lining material:
Some wool shops have an amazing variety of chenille and boucle knitting wool. It can be unravelled or snipped into tiny pieces to make moss and raffia to line your acorn baskets. Chenille sticks (pipe cleaner) also come in a variety of colours. Use small sharp scissors to cut off the fluff and use it to line your baskets.
