Dried leaves and fresh flowers in a urn - Stefanie Gabrych Fraser
You've only to step into your own back yard or take a walk in the woods to discover a wealth of autumn treasures with decorating potential.
Next time you go for a stroll outside, bring along a bag or small basket to collect fallen leaves, berries, branches and twigs, birch bark, and cones to use as seasonal ornaments. Here are just a few ways to preserve autumn in ways that can be displayed in your home or presented to friends as gifts.
Birch Bark
- Birch bark can be used to make simple baskets or lamp shades by joining smaller pieces together with raffia. Use only bark from fallen branches.
Branches
- You can create anything from a simple twig_basketto tables, beds, chairs, loveseats and benches from tree branches.
- Make a rustic chandelier with just two or three branches (the twister, the better). Attach candles votives to the branches with fine wire. Hang from the ceiling with a sturdy rope. Never leave lighted candles unattended.
- Make a woodsy ladder to serve as a rustic rack for towels or blankets. Intersect two long branches with smaller branches, using screws or finish nails to secure.
- Make simple place holders for your next dinner party. Cut twigs into small segments and trim off any nubs. Glue two trimmed segments together with a hot glue gun. Decorate with a few bright berries and slip a place card into holder.
Pinecones
- A fast and easy way to use pinecones: embellish a plain picture frame with pine cones, using wood glue to secure the cones.
- Create a pinecone wreath by gluing pinecones to a Styrofoam or straw wreath forms.
Pressed Leaves
- Press fallen leaves and mount in frames behind glass.
- Make a stunning pressed maple leaf wreath by gluing the leaves to a wire coat hanger that you’ve pulled into a round form.
- A simple and quick way to decorate a room: hang pressed leaves by attaching the stems to the top of your curtains with café clips.
Twiggy Vines
- Disguise an ugly vase with twisted lengths of sinewy climber vines. Fill with a simple arrangement of dried hydrangeas.
- Present a friend with a rustic basket made by twisting sinewy vines into a basket shape. Place a container inside to hold fresh herb and flower cuttings from your garden.
- Twist a few pliable wines together to make a circle and secure with fine wire. Decorate with cones, berries, or dried floral blossoms to create a simple fall wreath.
Window Boxes, Baskets, and Urns
- Fill a window box with colourful autumn treasures to being seasonal surprise to a quiet façade. If you don’t have an attached window box, prop a rectangular planter on a bench and place it under a window.
- Fill bowls or baskets with cones you’ve harvested from woodland strolls. Or simply line up arrangements of cones along window ledges and shelves.
Check out more or my inexpensive and quick fall decor projects as well as my winter preparation ideas.
Copyright Stefanie Gabrych Fraser. Contact the author to obtain permission for republication.
