Conker Crafts for Kids: 8 Easy Autumn Projects

A good conker haul is half the pleasure of autumn. The other half is what happens once every coat pocket in the house is full and the kitchen table has a shiny brown heap on it. The projects below suit children of about four and up, with older ones handling the fiddly parts and an adult taking care of anything sharp. Most need nothing more than a bowl of conkers, a skewer and the odds and ends already in your craft box.

Getting Set Up

Assemble the basics first, so you are not hunting for a needle halfway through a snake.

• A bowl of fresh conkers: firm, glossy and free of soft brown patches
• A metal skewer, or a hand drill with a 3 to 4mm bit
• Pipe cleaners, strong cotton, garden twine, thin florist's wire
• PVA glue, sticky tape, googly eyes, felt tips, acrylic paint
• Scissors, and a knitting needle or chopstick for pushing thread through
• An old tray or a tea towel to protect the table

Conkers are not food. They taste bitter and eating them can cause a stomach upset, and they are harmful to dogs, cats and horses, so keep the bowl where toddlers and pets cannot reach it and wash hands when you finish. Children should never use the drill. An adult makes every hole, and a skewer pushed through with a firm twist is often quicker than getting the drill out. Dry conkers can be stubborn; leaving them to soak in water overnight softens them noticeably and makes piercing much easier.

Creatures and Characters

1. Pipe-cleaner creatures

Drill two holes near the top of a large conker and two near the bottom, then thread short lengths of pipe cleaner through each pair so the ends stick out on both sides. Bend the ends down to make eight sturdy legs, and you have a spider. For a mouse, glue a small conker on as a head, add paper ears and a loop of string for a tail. Because the pipe cleaners grip the inside of the hole, the legs stay put without glue.

2. Painted conker bugs

Acrylic paint covers the shiny shell best, though felt tips work on lighter conkers. A red conker with black spots becomes a ladybird; yellow stripes make a bee; a small one painted green and dotted with black is a beetle. Stand each finished bug on a bottle cap while it dries, otherwise it rolls across the table and takes the paint with it. A coat of clear varnish afterwards stops the colour rubbing off on small hands.

Things to Hang

3. Threaded conker snake

Drill each conker straight through the middle and thread them onto strong cotton or thin elastic. Tie a small knot between every conker so they hold a little apart; without the knots the snake bunches up at the bottom and looks like a bag of marbles. Ten to twelve conkers makes a good length for winding along a banister or across a shelf. Paint the front one with eyes and a forked tongue.

4. Conker garland and autumn mobile

For a garland, tie conkers at intervals along a length of twine, slipping a dried leaf or a pine cone between each one. A mobile is the same idea hung from an embroidery hoop or a straight stick, with the conkers at different heights so they turn in the draught. Weigh the whole thing before you hang it: thirty conkers are heavier than they look, and a drawing pin will not hold them.

Games and Things That Move

5. Conker skittles

Press ten conkers into small bases of playdough or modelling clay and set them out in a triangle on a smooth floor. Roll a tennis ball at them from a few paces back and score it like bowling: one point per conker knocked over, ten for a full strike. Older children can adjust the distance, or swap the ball for a single oversized conker to make it genuinely difficult.

6. Conker boats with leaf sails

Conkers float, which makes them excellent boats. Drill a hole in the top of the flattest conker you can find, push in a cocktail stick mast, and thread a small leaf onto it as a sail. Test them in a washing-up bowl before moving to the paddling pool or the edge of a stream, and add a tiny blob of clay underneath if a boat keeps tipping over. Keep an eye on them outdoors; they sail better than you expect.

Decorations for the House

7. Conker wreath

Bend a wire coat hanger, or a length of thick florist's wire, into a circle. Drill each conker and thread it on, packing them tightly so no wire shows, then twist the ends together and cover the join with a wide ribbon bow. Twenty-five to thirty conkers fills a hanger-sized ring. Tuck in a few dried seed heads or sprigs of berries before you hang it, and keep the wreath indoors rather than on a door that catches the rain.

8. Conker picture frame

Take a plain wooden frame from a charity shop, or cut one from stiff card with an adult's help. Glue conkers around the edge with strong PVA, starting at the corners and working inwards so the spacing stays even. Small conkers look neater here than big ones, and a single row is usually enough. Leave it flat and undisturbed overnight; the glue needs longer than you think to hold a heavy conker at an angle.

Making Your Conker Crafts Last

Fresh conkers shrink as they dry, which is why threaded pieces loosen after a week or two and glued conkers sometimes drop off a frame. Keep finished items in a cool, dry room rather than on a radiator, and tighten any knots once everything has settled. A light spray of clear varnish or hairspray helps hold painted surfaces and slows the shrivelling. By spring the conkers will be brittle and dull, so plan on composting them and starting again next October, which is a good excuse to go collecting all over again.

Photo: RDNE Stock project / Pexels