The Twelve Days of Craft-mas: Day Ten

On the tenth day of craft-mas, I made this for my tree…

gilded walnuts!

Gilded walnuts are a Victorian holiday staple! They are usually made using gold leaf, but thankfully an 1883 issue of Household Words (edited by none other than Charles Dickens himself) tells us that gold paint is also acceptable (1), so that’s what I used.

Difficulty: Easy

Time: 20 min

Fig. 1. Necessary tools

What you will need

• Whole walnuts (I found them at Bulk Barn!)

• A paintbrush

• Metallic gold paint

• Ribbon

• Newspaper (to protect your table)

Instructions

Paint one half of a walnut with the gold paint, making sure to get in all the cracks.

Continue to paint one half of each walnut, leaving the unpainted side down so that the paint can dry.

Once they are dry, paint the other side.

Once the paint has fully dried, tie a ribbon around the walnut and slip an ornament hook through it.

Now your walnuts are gilded and ready to hang!

Fig 2. My gilded walnut on my tree!

What I enjoyed

Once again, a super simple craft. If you have a nutcracker (I unfortunately do not), you can open them up first and remove the nut, then glue the halves back together. I love how the light reflects off of the gold paint, it brings the magic of nature to life!

What i found difficult

I would have loved to have tried this craft with gold leaf. I attempted to use a metallic wrap, but it was too thick. I’ll have to give the old fashioned way a shot next year!

How did your walnuts turn out? Did you use gold leaf or gold paint? Let us know on Facebook or Instagram @dalnavertmuseum !

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Sources

1. Dickens, Charles (editor). “Home-made Christmas Ornaments”, Household Words, vol. 4, 1883, p. 75.