When you make something by hand, you’re putting your energy and love into it. So instead of spending a load of cash on store-bought fall decorations for your Philly home this year, why not create your own by hand? Here are three fall craft ideas that will help you beckon in the autumn season.

Gathering Your Supplies …

In the fall, the Philadelphia parks and neighborhoods are a treasure trove of supplies that you can use to create fall crafts. Grab a large basket and take a walk around your neighborhood. Look for long branches that are bendable (you’ll use these for wreaths). Also, pick up attractive, whole leaves with long stems in a variety of sizes and colors. Visit a large park that has pine trees to gather as many pine cones as possible. If you’re located near an apple farm, see if you can get a deal on apples that have already fallen to the ground, or offer to clean up recently fallen apples from a neighbor’s yard. When you return home, separate what you’ve collected into four well-organized piles.

Image Source: Flickr/Kevin Burkett

1. Fall Wreaths

Use your branches to make a homemade fall wreath to hang on your front door. Carefully manipulate the branches into a circular or oblong shape and tie them together with dark brown twine. Sort through the longest-stemmed leaves and smallest pine cones you’ve gathered to decorate the branches once they’re securely fashioned together. Use a glue gun to affix your pine cones or acorns to the branches in an attractive arrangement. Insert your leaves by the stems throughout. To add some color, you can also insert artificial flowers with felt wire stems in various shades that remind you of the fall season.

2. Glass Vase with Painted Pine Cones

Paint the pine cones that you collected in fall colors, including gold, yellow, maroon, and green. Sprinkle them lightly with glitter while still wet. Place the dried pine cones in a large, decorative clear glass vase. Use a few of your best remaining leaves (snip the stems first) to glue around the outside of your glass vase for an added touch. Finally, bow-tie a gold-tinted ribbon at the top. Place the vase on your dining room table as a centerpiece or on top of your mantel.

3. Apple Votives

Picking apples in the fall is a long-held tradition in seasonal areas like Philadelphia. As delicious as those apples may be, you can’t eat them all, so why not use a few for decorating your home. Create apple votives using small tea lights from the dollar store. Core each apple from the top using a small melon baller — just enough to fit each light. If you want to preserve the apple a bit longer and kick things up a notch, spray it with shimmery metallic paint in gold or red. You can also purchase battery-operated lights from the dollar store that will gently light your table for many hours.

Try these simple fall craft ideas to decorate your Philly home with the beauty of fall in mind. Grab a delicious pumpkin latte and get to work!

Main Image Source: Flickr/Laurice Marier

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