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Sometimes you just want something new to spice up the decor in your house, but you can’t find exactly what you are looking for. Never fear! Oftentimes, you can make adorable decorations yourself using supplies found at various discount and craft stores. Note that some of these supplies may have to be ordered through Amazon, if applicable. Get ready to get crafty with some beautiful projects inspired by the upcoming change in the season. Fall is finally here!
Create some cute pumpkins out of any print fabric you choose! Traditional oranges always work, or spice things up with some patterns like plaid or polka dots.
Supplies:
Toilet paper rolls: I used “mega” rolls because they are a lot wider than the standard rolls. We want our pumpkins to look round and fat, not tall and square (more on that later).
Fabric: you’ll need an 18 inch square of fabric for each pumpkin. You can buy a fat quarter, which is 18 × 22 inches, or purchase half a yard of fabric, which will be enough for two pumpkins. I used plaid flannel because it’s soft and pretty, but you can use pretty much any fabric you’d like.
Sticks: you’ll want at least one 3 - 4-inch stick for each pumpkin stem. I just told my kids to find me some sticks last time we were at the park and then I cut them to size. If you don’t want to forage for sticks, feel free to buy cinnamon sticks and use those instead.
Green ribbon or leaves
A pencil
Directions:
Lay out your fabric square. Place a roll of toilet paper in the center. Unroll the toilet paper 8 - 10 times. Then loosely roll it back up, twisting and scrunching the toilet paper as you do so. This gives you a rounder pumpkin shape. Grab one corner of the fabric and tuck it inside the toilet paper roll, using a pencil to push it down. Continue with the other three corners, gathering up the fabric as you stuff each corner into the center of the toilet paper roll. Tie a ribbon around a twig and stuff it in the center of the pumpkin for a stem.
Farmhouse “Thankful” Wood Sign
This cute little sign will jazz up any room and bring the feeling of fall without going overboard.
Supplies:
Raffia
Burlap ribbon
Metal words: Thankful, Harvest, Welcome
Wood sign
Burnt orange chalk paint
Americana Décor Acrylic Chalky Finish Paint: Everlasting White
3 mason jar lids
Green felt
1 cinnamon stick
Adhesives: I used transparent E6000 craft adhesive, Art Institute Dries Clear Adhesive and foam tape
Directions:
Brush a thin coat of the Everlasting Chalky Finish Paint on the sign. I feathered it out toward the edges and kept it thin enough for some of the wood to show through.
Paint the mason jar lids with the burnt orange chalk paint. I painted three coats, letting it dry completely between coats. It took three coats so the words stamped on the lids didn’t show through.
Once completely dry, use the E6000 adhesive to glue the lids together. The bottom two are overlapped, and then the third one is glued to the top. Make sure to let the glue dry for a couple of hours before going on to the next step.
Hand cut or die cut two leaves from the green felt. I used a die from the Simply Stamped Leaves set by Taylored Expressions. Using the E6000 adhesive, glue them to the back of the pumpkin along with the cinnamon stick. Let dry for a while. Cut several pieces of the foam tape and layer them on top of each other on either side of the cinnamon stick. You’ll want to build up the height so it is even with the cinnamon stick.
Cut a piece of the burlap ribbon to fit across the sign. Attach it to the sign with the Art Institute Adhesive. Using several strands of raffia, tie a bow around the sign. Attach “thankful” using the E6000 adhesive – you may need to hold it in place for a few moments to make sure it adheres. Using the same adhesive, apply a small amount on the cinnamon stick and the two pieces of foam tape and place it on the sign.
Bring a little extra light into your life with these adorable lanterns!
Supplies:
Mason Jar (8 ounces/1 cup)
Fabric autumn leaves, thinnest you can find without a waxy finish
Matte finish Mod Podge
Sponge brush
Directions:
You need the leaves to lie as flat as possible. That means that you have to peel the plastic ribbing off from each of the leaves. It’s a lot easier than I thought it would be – just slip your fingernail underneath the end of one, and it peels right back.
This is important: you need to thoroughly wash your jar with dish soap and water to remove any surface dirt or grease. Then wipe down the outside of the jar with rubbing alcohol. If you skip these two steps, there’s a good chance your leaves won’t stick. Once you’re done washing the jar, be careful not to touch the sides of the glass where the leaves are going to go (you don’t want to add any oils from your fingers back onto the jar).
Using a small sponge brush, add a thin layer of matte finish Mod Podge to the outside of the jar – just larger than the size of your leaf. Wait a few minutes for the glue to start drying so that it gets a little sticky. Then, carefully press a leaf onto the glue. Don’t try adding the leaf onto the glue right away or it won’t stick. The Mod Podge needs to start getting a little sticky before the leaf will adhere to the glass.
Once the first leaf is sticking nicely (all the edges should be stuck, and it shouldn’t shift around at all), add another thin layer of Mod Podge where the next leaf is going to go. Again, you’ll need to wait until the glue starts to get tacky before you add the next leaf. I used a fan to help speed up the process.
Use the sponge brush to press down any edges of the leaves that aren’t quite sticking. Don’t add any extra Mod Podge. There should be plenty leftover on the sponge brush – it’s a sponge, so the Mod Podge kind of soaks into it.
Use your finger (or the sponge brush) to press down any pesky edges that don’t want to stick. Make sure all the edges are sticking nicely before you move on to the next leaf. When you’ve finished adding all the leaves, wait for them to dry enough that they don’t move. Maybe 15 to 20 minutes in front of the fan? It depends how much Mod Podge you added.
Once the leaves seem to be good and stuck, squeeze on a generous amount of Mod Podge. Use the sponge brush to (carefully) brush a layer of Mod Podge around the entire jar. Then let the jar dry. Mine was dry to the touch in about one hour, but there were little areas that still looked white. So I left it overnight to finish drying. You can use either a battery operated tea light or a regular tea light inside.
Fall Wreath from a Picture Frame
This delightful front door wreath will make all of your visitors want one of their own!
Supplies:
Thrifted picture frame – mine is about 14 inches by 17 inches (the wider the frame edges, the better)
Burlap (or wide burlap ribbon)
Fall floral picks
Wood sign (you could also use a chalkboard sign, monogram, or wooden word)
Paint for sign (or Sharpie paint pen)
Brad (or nail or clothespin) to hang sign
Ribbon
Hot glue gun (and extra refills – I went through about 2 large sticks)
Wire cutters
Gloves or a pen/marker - something to protect your hands from hot glue burns
Directions for frame:
Cut four rectangular strips of burlap to cover your picture frame, one for each side. They should be wide enough to wrap around a side and be glued to the back of the frame so no cut edges show. The length will be the length of the side you are covering.
Cover the first two sides of the frame, hot-gluing the burlap to the frame. (If you are using burlap ribbon, you’ll simply wrap the frame at an angle, weaving in and out and overlapping as you go. You’ll only need to glue at the start, maybe a few times in the middle and at the end.) I started with the long sides first, since my burlap scraps were slightly shorter than the frame and I knew I wanted the short sides to be able to cover those exposed corners afterwards. I glued the burlap to the back, to the front and then to the back again – just wrap and glue as you go. This is where I used a pen to press the burlap into the glue. In the video, you can see that I let the burlap bunch up in the corners, and that’s okay.
For the next two sides, you’re going to want to make cuts to help the burlap lay flat – it’s kind of like wrapping a present, but the video does a much better job at showing you what I mean. Once you’re to the corners, you can either save a little burlap and fold it under for a mitered-corner or just cut it at a diagonal – just cutting it was easier. To finish gluing down the corners, you kind of work it like a present again. In the video, you can see I just play with it for a minute until I figure out a way to get it to lay flat and hide the messy edges – I didn’t use any specific method.
Directions for floral picks:
After your frame is covered, you can start to design your floral picks. I knew I wanted large flowers at the base with longer picks going up either side. Trim your stems with the wire cutters or pop off larger flowers you want to lay flat.
Once you’ve laid out your design the way you want it, take a picture for reference. This helps you remember where everything went when you start removing pieces to glue down.
Glue longer stems first–the ones that will be covered by other picks and flowers. With the design I chose, I worked from the outer corners down to the bottom left corner. Make sure that any hot glue will be hidden by other flowers. Only use as much glue as you need to get the picks to stay flat. When you’re finished gluing, flip the frame upright and upside down to check for any loose flowers. Add glue as needed.
Directions for finishing touches:
Finish your sign. I hand-painted “Happy Fall” with regular acrylic paint, but I think a Sharpie paint pen would have been much easier!
Hot glue sign to frame. My frame had some raised edges, making the sign slant to one side. I rolled up a piece of burlap and glued it underneath that side to level the surface before gluing the sign down. I added extra glue to the back of the frame to make sure the sign was going to stay put.
Add a brad to “hang” your sign. I pushed it through the burlap, bent it flat, and stuck a dot of hot glue underneath to hold it in place.
Tie a ribbon hanger at the top of the frame. For mine, make a simple knotted loop around the frame. Secure the knot to the back of the frame with hot glue. Add a bow to the top of the frame around the loop, cinching the loop so it will lay flat when you hang your wreath over a hook.
Any one of these fall crafts is sure to spruce up your space and really get you in the mood for apple cider and pumpkin pie. Try your hand at one or even all of them if you are feeling inspired. Surely there’s no such thing as too many fall decorations!
