creating conker faces

we always end up with a million conkers stuffed in pockets, bags and baskets when we go walking in autumn… so rather than secretly removing them from the house when my toddler forgets about them, this time we sat down together while the baby slept creating little conker people with felts and paint and turned them into something magical

now they are ‘conkers for keeps’

You will need

aesculus hippocastanum (conkers)

white paint (acrylic)

wooden skewers or small paintbrush

permanent felt markers (pink, red, black)

How to create your own conker people

forage conkers

carefully paint white circles using acrylic paint on the lighter part of the conker (or dip a flat ended wooden skewer in the paint, then touch it onto the conkers for the eye whites)

allow your eyes to dry (it makes sense to paint all the eyes on first yourself and set them to one side, especially if you have little ones waiting to help and you dont want a paint fiasco)

use felt markers to create black pupils, pink cheeks, eyebrows, moustaches, bonnets, beauty spots…. whatever pops to mind. it can help to think of caricatures or famous people for inspiration (can you spot my cheeky frida kahlo conker face?)

all in all this is such a wonderful, clean craft you can do with so little. simply gather around a table together and let your imaginations go wild. our daughter is three and this thoroughly entertained her (and her mama) for over an hour.

next year we will continue the craft and may even add fabric for bonnets and headscarves!

id love to see your conker creations so please share!