Learn to Paint Acorns in Your Favorite Fall Colors

Learn how to paint acorns for fall! This fun, budget-friendly autumn craft adds colorful charm to your autumn decor — perfect for centerpieces or wreaths.

Skills Required: None. Even if you’ve never crafted before, you’re going to enjoy painting acorns. All you need is a paintbrush and paint; it’s quite simple!

If If you’re wondering what occupies my mind in my spare time, let me give you a clue: painted acorns. That’s right. While the squirrels are out there gathering acorns for their winter stash, I’m over here thinking, “These would look better in blue.”

And today, my friend, I’m going to teach you how to paint acorns so you too can transform ordinary nuts into colorful little pieces of fall decor.

Whether you pile them into a glass vase, scatter them down the center of your Thanksgiving table, or just make a tiny mountain of painted acorns to admire while sipping your pumpkin spice latte.

You’re going to love this easy, budget-friendly craft.

It’s also an excellent activity for misbehaving children, bored husbands, or anyone who needs a low-stakes excuse to avoid their inbox for an hour.

Why Painted Acorns?

Because they’re:
✔ Cute
✔ Cheap
✔ Tiny little canvases that are oddly satisfying to paint
✔ A perfect fall craft that doubles as free therapy

You can paint them to match your fall color palette, your mood, or your throw pillows. I painted mine in a turquoise blue inspired by another fall decor post of mine. (What can I say? I’m my own muse.)

Supplies You’ll Need

✅ Acorns – preferably large ones unless you enjoy painting something the size of a lentil 47 times.
✅ Acrylic Paints – I used FolkArt Multisurface Satin in Skyline.
✅ Paintbrushes – a larger flat brush for basecoating, a smaller round brush for details.
✅ Mod Podge (Satin) – to seal your painted beauties.
✅ Paper plate or palette – for your paints.
✅ Paper towels & cup of water – for brush cleaning and inevitable drips.

Pro tip: If you don’t have acorns in your yard, check craft stores, garden centers, or online. You can buy bags of decorative acorns without having to wrestle a squirrel for them.

Get the printable how to card below:

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Painted Acorns

Painting acorns is easy! Learn how to do it to make a simple fall display in the colors of your choice.

Prep Time30 minutes mins

Active Time3 hours hrs

Bake Time1 hour hr

Total Time5 hours hrs 30 minutes mins

Yield: 48 acorns

Cost: $1

Equipment

• Paintbrush(es)
• Oven

Materials

• 48 Acorns large are preferable
• Mod Podge Satin
• Acrylic paint two colors

Video

Instructions

• Collect as many acorns as you would like; the larger the better. Wash them and let dry. Bake in a 200 degree oven for a few hours to kill any bugs inside.
  
• Choose your base color. Paint the bases of all the acorns, one side at a time, using the paintbrush. Set aside on a covered work surface and let dry.
  
• Flip the acorns over and repeat. You may need two coats of paint depending on the color you chose. Let dry. Paint the tops at this time (optional).
  
• Seal all acorns with Satin Mod Podge and let dry. Add to a vase to display.
  

Notes

My project was free – I already had the glass vase. If you need to get a glass vase, I recommend Dollar Tree.

Now that you know how to paint acorns, I’m going to share another article that I’m guessing you’ll want to reference in re: the beasties – how to dry acorns for craft projects.

And I’d also love for you to visit some other acorn crafts. Because who can get enough nuts? This is also part of a collection of cute things to paint, so go check that out too.