Put your skeletons back in the closet and take down the cobwebs, because spooky time is over and now it’s decorative gourd season, motherf-ckers. Sure, go ahead and buy out all the squash and pumpkins at Trader Joe’s and plop them atop every surface in your house. Or, if you don’t want to go over-gourd, but you’re still into, like, leaves and acorns and other autumnal accoutrements, behold these easy DIY projects that will infuse just the right amount of basic fall-dom into your home.
Painted Acorns
This is a fun one because you get to do your best squirrel impression and go collect a bunch of acorns. Or, you know, put away your iPhone and instead, keep your eyes peeled for these tree droppings while you’re walking around. Soak the little nuggets in a bowl of water to get the dirt off. Then, grab some acrylic paint (or, how about old nail polish you never use?) in whichever colors you fancy and brushes from your local craft store, and get to it. Display the colorful goodies in a mason jar, bowl, clear vase, etc. This is an incredibly easy and soothing craft project, great to do with kiddos or just while you’re bored watching a Netflix show you don’t like all that much.
Leaf garland
In the city, fallen leaves get trampled dirty pretty quick. But if you’re off peeping some fall foliage savor the season or whatever by bringing some back with you and creating a leaf garland. If you can’t find any decent leaves, you can totally buy packs of fake Maple leaves on Amazon — which seems depressing, although they’re definitely more sturdy and reusable.
Once you’ve obtained your leaves by any means necessary, you’ll want to string them together. The easiest way to do this is with a needle and thread (you’ll want to use fairly thick string and a large needle), making one stitch in the bottom center of each leaf. Then you can hang it over your doorway, drape across your fireplace mantle if you have one of those, place it as a kitchen table runner, etc.
Pine cone dinner party decos
Last but not least, there’s a lot you can do with pine cones, our favorite conifer collectibles. These are great because they stand up all on their own and look pretty elegant. Spray paint them in metallic colors for a festive centerpiece, or do just the tips, painting them ombre-style. They also work great as place-card holders for a dinner party.
