Tuesday Tip

Glitter your nuts! I first tried this craft more than a decade ago.  I am quite certain Martha Stewart put it into my head. What I can't tell you if it was from her show or her magazine. It was one of her few crafty creations that I thought I could actually do. Not the usual laborious kind of craft where you need 10 people to actually pull it off type that she is known for. But a super simple one that brings back memories of grade school projects using glitter and glue.




Glittered nuts!

  Even though I'm a grown-up, I love glitter, fairy dust, shimmer whatever you call it. There are many types of glitter. For this project, over the years I've experimented with different types. Don't use course glitter or German glitter. The first doesn't look good and the second is too expensive and will tarnish. To get the best results use very fine glitter. Martha has her own line (at Michael's) now, which saves time hunting around for the right type and color.  This year I am doing glittered nuts for hostess gifts. And, hopefully a few batches for my house. My goal is to do enough to fill a hurricane...we'll see if I get it done!




Copper & greens look wonderful in a simple glass dish.

  What you need: craft glue, glitter in 2-3 colors, wax paper and plastic containers. Disposable gloves if you don't like getting glue all over your hands.



I bought glitter on clearance and used all but 2 colors.



Martha makes a glitter glue that I decided to give a try. I'm pretty sure it's nearly identical to regular craft glue, but I liked the fact it came with it's own brush attached to the lid. My daughter helped me and just used a small artist brush I already had to dip in the glue. This is a great project to involve kids. It's a bit messy and holding the nuts to apply the glue can be tricky. You will also need several small Glad containers to put each color of glitter in. Lids if kids are involved. Let each person work with one color on a wax paper placemat.




Container to drop glue coated nut into glitter

 

Step 1: Select your nuts. Use a variety of sizes and make sure there are no open seams or pieces missing. Especially check almonds. They have a more delicate shell that tends to chip. Any rejected are perfect for eating!

Step 2: Pour about 2-3 tablespoons of each glitter color into a container. Replenish as needed, but don't start out with too much because it will get caked up with glue bits.

Step 3: Brush the nut with craft glue. Don't glob it on (I know easier said than done if kids are involved) but do coat the nut completely.

Step 4: Put one nut in the container at a time, pick up the container and swirl it around until the nut is coated in the glitter. (I've tried using larger containers and multiple nuts, but they either stick together or the layer of glitter is too shallow to coat the nut.) If kids are involved, put the lids on and tell them to gently shake it. Once the nut is coated, push it out onto the wax paper with a toothpick. I don't recommend the kids do this part because they will either dump the glitter from the bowl or use their fingers to get the nut out which will remove the glitter.




Dry on wax paper


Step 5: Let dry several hours or overnight. Put in bowls or hurricanes to decorate or cello bags to give. To store, just dump them into a plastic bag and pack them away with your holiday decorations.






These are about 10 years old!

They are missing some glitter, but still look good!

New version and colors.

 I am still experimenting with color combinations and whether I prefer the glittered nuts combined with the natural nuts. What do you all think?

Alternate tip: Spray your nuts silver and gold. I've done this too. I don't think it's any faster because you have to turn ALL the nuts over to get all sides, but still very pretty.