It's that time of year again! When everyone pulls out the box of Halloween/Thanksgiving/Autumn decorations and gives the house a facelift. Everyone, that is, except minimalist cheapo DIYers like me.
Last year I was committed to not spending a ton of money on Christmas decorations. 1) Because I'm a tightwad, and 2) because our apartment doesn't have a lot of storage space, and 3) because I was (and still am!) trying really hard to suppress the hoarder that lives inside of me. One of the decorations I came up with that was cheap and easy to store was a wreath of fresh evergreen branches. I used a few different kinds of greenery here on the property, some pinecones and a bow made from ribbon in my craft stash.
I decided this year to use the same idea for harvest time, but with fall colors and materials. It wasn't totally free because I bought $2.00 worth of fake flowers/leaves from the dollar store. I wanted some color that would last for many weeks.You can find nice fake flowers in garage sale free boxes or secondhand stores as well. In addition to the fake stuff, I used several different grasses, golden rod, curly dock, wild rose hips, and hot peppers from my garden. Foraging isn't just for food and medicine!
I posted the video tutorial I used for my Christmas wreath in that article, but the directions are pretty simple. After collecting materials, I used floral tape (you could use wire or anything green) to make little bunches.
Last year I was committed to not spending a ton of money on Christmas decorations. 1) Because I'm a tightwad, and 2) because our apartment doesn't have a lot of storage space, and 3) because I was (and still am!) trying really hard to suppress the hoarder that lives inside of me. One of the decorations I came up with that was cheap and easy to store was a wreath of fresh evergreen branches. I used a few different kinds of greenery here on the property, some pinecones and a bow made from ribbon in my craft stash.
I decided this year to use the same idea for harvest time, but with fall colors and materials. It wasn't totally free because I bought $2.00 worth of fake flowers/leaves from the dollar store. I wanted some color that would last for many weeks.You can find nice fake flowers in garage sale free boxes or secondhand stores as well. In addition to the fake stuff, I used several different grasses, golden rod, curly dock, wild rose hips, and hot peppers from my garden. Foraging isn't just for food and medicine!
I posted the video tutorial I used for my Christmas wreath in that article, but the directions are pretty simple. After collecting materials, I used floral tape (you could use wire or anything green) to make little bunches.
Wreath material.
After making the bunches, you can lay them on the metal wreath holder thingy and wrap it with wire. You may have to add more stuff, wrap with more wire or utilize a hot glue gun to keep some things from falling off. Then when everything is done, you can tie a ribbon to the metal frame and hang it wherever you want.
Some other decorations I decided to do for fall were setting out fall-ish candles (apple pie, pumpkin spice, etc.) that I already had or bought at garage sales. I bought an $0.88 harvest-themed hand towel at Walmart to hang on our oven door in place of my cherry-themed one. Another thing I've done is put some squashes on our porch. These decorations are semi-useful and inexpensive, yet not cheap-looking banners or window clings.
What is your favorite way to decorate for fall? How do you keep yourself from buying too many decorations?
What is your favorite way to decorate for fall? How do you keep yourself from buying too many decorations?
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