Paint a bur acorn to look like a blue Hubbard squash!

Hand painted bur oak acorns dried and painted to look like
baked Blue Hubbard squash. See index for more cooked
doll foods to craft.

        Where I live there are all kinds of oak trees growing within blocks of each other. But, the finest one of them all is the Bur Oak. It's acorn seeds are simply magnificent! These are the largest acorns of any North American oak. But what do these acorns share in common with Hubbard squash? This craft project, that's what.
       It just so happens that dried bur oak acorns look exactly like blue Hubbard squash when dried and painted for our 18'' doll larder. These acorns are edible, but I am not so very interested in their taste as much as I am interested in drying these properly for crafts. 

• If you wish to try eating bur acorns as the native people still do read about this here.
• Here is an article about crafting with nuts at our Christmas blog.
• I have crafted using this nut before... click here to learn how to make Coconut Drinks for your 18'' dolls using bur acorn parts here.
• See our other squash crafts made to enlarge our doll's vegetable stand set here.
  

These giant bur oak acorns have been drying-out in a cupboard drawer for two years.
The outer husks with furry edges will be saved for a future craft as well as the tough shell
 of the inner nut meat. This time, I painted the dehydrated nutmeat of this bur oak acorn.

Left, you can see the texture of the nut's outside skin looks just like blue Hubbard squash,
 once it has been painted over with a dry brush and several acrylic paint colors: a bluish
 green, tan, and a much lighter tinted tan color. Right are the rich golden insides of the
nut painted and sealed with several layers of Mod Podge.

A raw blue hubbard squash cut open. The
seeds and pulp must be removed before 
baking the squash in the oven.

      "Hubbard squash usually has a tear-drop shape and is often used as a replacement for pumpkins in cooking. According to one source, the name comes from Bela Hubbard, settler of Randolph Township, Ohio, in the Connecticut Western Reserve. Other sources conclude that this variety came to Marblehead, Massachusetts via Captain Knott Martin where Elizabeth Hubbard brought it to the attention of her neighbor, a seed trader named James J. H. Gregory. Gregory subsequently introduced it to the market using Hubbard as the eponym. Gregory later bred and released the Blue Hubbard, a variety with bluish-gray skin. Another variety, the Golden Hubbard, has a bright orange skin. Gregory advertisements for Hubbard squash had begun by 1859.The Hubbard squash, including questions regarding the name, is the subject of a children's ditty, "Raising Hubbard Squash in Vermont". More about Cultivar squashes here...