If you live in an area with all four seasons, there will soon be free crafting supplies literally falling all around you. Autumn leaves are colorful, beautiful, and they can inspire all sorts of seasonal home adornments!
Here are some ideas to get you started. Don’t forget to invite the grandchildren to come up with additional ideas as well as hands-on assistance.
Make A Wreath
Gather some leaves, and make a beautiful fall wreath for your front door. Use this tutorial for inspiration.
Make Invitations Or Cards
Use spray mount to attach single leaves to thick paper stock for unique invitations or thank you cards. (Handwritten, of course.)
Make A Garland
Make a festive garland along a fireplace mantel or staircase rail by attaching leaves to string lights using twist-ties.
Make Placemats
Fan leaves out under your dinner plates to create organic placemats.
Decorate Your Table
Make a trail of leaves down the center of your table, and decorate it with glass votive or LED flicker candleholders in a meandering pattern.
Decorate A Pumpkin
Spray a pumpkin with gold spray paint, and glue on a few of the most beautiful leaves in whatever pattern pleases you.
Make Sugar Cookies
Make sugar cookie dough, but instead of using cookie-cutters, cut around the edges of various leaf patterns using a small knife.
Make Bookmarks
Press leaves between book pages for natural bookmarks.
Make Napkin Rings
Use twine to tie a bow around an individual leaf and napkin for impromptu napkin rings.
Make A Monogram
At a craft store, find an inexpensive monogram letter representing your family name, and use a glue gun to attach leaves to it. You could also cover the outside of an inexpensive bowl with leaves.
Make A Stamp
Use the back of your favorite leaf—in other words, the leaf vein—to make a custom stamp. Simply paint the backside of the leaf with one or multiple colors of acrylic paint, and press onto your paper or object of choice. Remove the leaf carefully, allow paper or object to dry, and add more leaf shapes and/or colors as desired. (Instead of paper, you could use tea towels, linens, pillow cases, or an apron. Just be sure to purchase paint meant for fabrics.)
Make A Wall Hanging
Create a custom wall hanging using a branch by tying on a series of ribbons of either the same or varying lengths. Then, use a hot glue gun to attach leaves to the end of each ribbon. (For extra bling, paint the leaves with Elmer’s glue and dust with glitter first.)
Make Magnets
Glue small magnets on the back of your favorite leaves, and use them on your refrigerator.
TIP: In a couple of months, you can replace the leaves on these creations with holly, berries, and/or sprigs of pine.