Fall in Love with Fall
Its that time of year again when everywhere you look, the rich colors of autumn abound….if you live anywhere but Southern California, that is! Unfortunately for us, palm trees stay green and lawns aren’t littered with gorgeous crimson, rust or gold falling leaves. So, what’s a girl to do to bring in the fall season? Get crafting, that’s what!
After last holiday season, I picked up some clearance items from Pottery Barn in preparation for decorating this year. Among my finds were life-like acorns and preserved leaves in gorgeous hues for only $2.97 a box! There is so much you can do with these simple vase fillers! Here are a couple of easy projects to get those creative cogs turning.
Leaf Coasters
What you need:
- a set of photo coasters
- preserved, or artificial, leaves
- tweezers
- scotch tape
Here’s what you do:
- Choose four different leaf shapes in four different colors, selecting leaves that are comparable in size to that of your photo coaster insert.
- Lay your selected leaf on the cardstock insert to position. If your leaves extend beyond the edges of the cardstock, use scotch tape to wrap the tips around and secure to the backside.
- Using tweezers, gently slide the cardstock into the plastic insert, being careful not to wrinkle or damage the secured leaf.
Photo coasters can be found at many stores. These have a very simple design and were given to us as a wedding gift. They can be found at Crate and Barrel for $20 for a set of four.
Cost: $3 (with lots of leftover leaves for other projects)!
Golden Wheat and Leaf Wreath
What you need:
- grapevine wreath
- dried wheat stems
- preserved, or artificial, leaves
- fall foliage craft stems for colorful accents
- hot glue gun
- glue sticks
Here’s what you do:
- Pre-arrange wheat and leaves to ensure full coverage of your wreath
- Hot glue 10-12 leaves on wreath in a scattered, yet deliberate, way, as if they fell on the wreath naturally. You still want some of the grapevine wreath peeking through between leaves.
- Cut your wheat stems to half their original length for ease of insertion.
- Insert wheat stems into grapevine wreath horizontally, as close to 180 degrees as you can. This ensures the wheat lays flat against the wreath and does not stick out. Use hot glue as necessary to secure rogue wheat stems.
- Cut buds off of your fall foliage stems, leaving a 2-3 inch stem. Insert into wreath at various points, making sure to even out the color distribution.
- Turn wreath over and snip any length of wheat stem that protrudes from the back or can be readily seen.
- Hang and admire your handiwork!
Wheat was purchased at a farmers market for $2 a bunch, wreath and foliage stems were purchased at Joann’s (foliage was 70% off after Halloween!). Remember to check for coupons for your craft stores! I was able to use a 10% off transaction coupon the day I bought these!
Cost: $12!
Flowers with Acorns and Lentils
What you need:
- 5″ square vase
- one box of acorn filler
- few handfuls of dried lentils
- plastic water bottle
- Exacto knife
- autumn colored flowers
Here’s what you do:
- Place plastic water bottle inside square vase, centering it. Fill square vase with acorns around water bottle to determine proper height, mark.
- Remove plastic bottle and use Exacto knife to cut water bottle to marked height. Smooth cut edges with scissors, if need be.
- Center the cut bottle in square vase again, this time filling lower 1/2 inch or so of square vase with dried lentils to stabilize plastic container. Fill acorns around plastic bottle, making sure there are no gaps where the plastic bottle can be seen.
- Fill bottle with water and arrange cut flowers.
Cost: $3 + the cost of flowers
Apothecary Jars with Fallen Leaves
What you need:
- preserved, or artificial, leaves
- glass apothecary jar
There isn’t an easier craft than this! Simply take a handful of leaves and place into jar, making sure to fluff them so they are not crushed. Put on display and enjoy!
Cost: $3 + cost of apothecary jar (check discount stores for deals on these…I found mine at Ross for $5.99!)
