Your calendar may already be filling up with fun fall activities, but you should still make time to spend some weekends inside to put your DIY skills to work (especially when the inevitable fall chill hits). These creative fall craft ideas are a great place to start, whether you’re looking for a rainy day activity to keep your kids busy or a simple, affordable way to add seasonal cheer to your home. Best of all: Each and every one of these DIY projects, which range in number of supplies needed and crafting ability, double as fall decorations that you can leave on display from Labor Day through Thanksgiving. Give your home a warm and cozy (and orange!) vibe with these ideas, complete with pumpkins, foliage, acorns, candy corn, and other autumnal favorites.
You know what to do: Grab a mug of apple cider, round up a few of your family members (kids and adults alike), and enjoy a fall crafternoon. And while you’re at it, start brainstorming craft ideas for Halloween and Thanksgiving because those holidays will be here before you know it.
Use a faux pumpkin so this lovely craft can last all season long. To make, paint a small area of Modge Podge on the pumpkin’s surface, and using tweezers carefully place a pressed leaf or flower on top. Using a paint brush with a little Modge Podge, smooth out the petals of the flower/leaf. Let it dry completely and repeat all over the surface of the pumpkin. Once dry, paint another layer or two of Modge Podge on top of the flowers and leaves to seal. Let dry for several hours to fully cure.
SHOP FAUX PUMPKINS
Once you collect enough pinecones from your backyard, get crafty with Mod Podge and glitter to make a shimmery statement. Your neighbors will be impressed.
SHOP PINE CONES
Dress up your mantel, front stoop, or dining room table with these adorable flower arrangements. Carve out these minis just like normal, then cut the bottom of a water bottle, and drop it in to act as a vase. Fill them with ranunculuses, mums, and dahlias — your choice.
RELATED: 70+ Easy No-Carve Pumpkin Decorating Ideas
For a special Halloween glow, dip plain taper candles into a custom mixture of orange crayon shavings and melted candle wax. Just let them dry before you light ’em.
SHOP TAPER CANDLES
RELATED: Easy and Spooky Halloween Decoration Ideas
Since pumpkin carving is sometimes more trouble than it’s worth, DIY these colorful yarn versions that’ll last more than one season. Just keep them indoors on your mantel or dining room table, so they can stay in tip-top shape.
If you have any dinner parties on your horizon, use this floral-meets-fall centerpiece. To make, carve a deep hole in the top of a pumpkin, then slide in a plastic cup. Fill with water and a medley of bright blossoms.
RELATED: Cute Painted Pumpkins for a Colorful Fall
Fill orange balloons with rice and draw on faces with a black Sharpie to create stress-relieving pumpkins. Both kids and parents will benefit from a squeeze or two.
SHOP ORANGE BALLOONS
Although this clever craft looks good enough to eat, stick to the edible variety if you want a sweet treat. This pie-shaped soap, however, will come in handy when it’s time for everyone to wash up before the feast.
SHOP SOAP MOLDS
Repurpose used jam jars into something that’s equally delightful: After giving the jars a clean base, stamp them with red apples or orange pumpkins, and then add gingham fabric in complementary colors.
Celebrate the season’s finest fruit — apples! — with this quick and easy DIY. It’ll bring a final burst of color to your front door before black and orange inch their way in for Halloween.
SHOP FOAM APPLES
To ensure that you can enjoy this sparkly beauty all season long, glue gold sequins to a plastic white pumpkin instead of a real one.
SHOP GOLD SEQUINS
Lean into the season’s spook by painting artificial plants and their pots a rich black color.
SHOP FAKE PLANTS
Welcome the season that gives us sweater weather, pumpkin spice lattes, and bounties of apples with this easy-to-make wooden sign.
These pumpkin jars are cute and practical. It’s a win-win situation, really.
Grab your favorite candy (candy corn, obviously) from this hand-painted jar whenever you need a pick-me-up.
SHOP BLACK PAINT
How cute is this little guy?! It also helps that he’s so easy to make and will protect your house from unwanted critters.
Make this wall art or shelf display even more unique by choosing acorns from your own backyard.
Paint has the power to turn something ordinary into something unique — like this apple pencil holder your kids (or kid’s teacher) will love.
SHOP MASON JARS
Get the tutorial at Tilly’s Nest »
Steer clear of foliage and pumpkins with this sweet-as-can-be paper garland.
For an easy upgrade, decorate your spice cake with DIY foliage in the colors of your choice.
Get the tutorial at The House That Lars Built »
RELATED: The Best Fall Desserts You Can Make
Glue a bunch of felted balls or pom-poms in a circular shape for instant door decor. Choose fall colors that’ll pop against your door, including red, orange, and yellow.
Get the tutorial at The Magic Onions »
Blank gourds have serious start potential. Jazz yours up — real or fake — with rhinestones for a sparkly take on fall.
SHOP GEMSTONES
Get the tutorial at Aunt Peaches »
An empty toilet paper roll can skip the recycling bin and become a glittery, plump pumpkin instead.
Get the tutorial at Domestically Blissful »
Hang fabric scraps in harvest hues, cleverly cut in the shape of leaves for an instant mantle upgrade.
Get the tutorial here »
Paint stray acorns fun colors and then cover in glitter for display-worthy shine. The rest is up to you: Sprinkle them throughout your tablescape, dot them along your mantle, or use them as vase filler.
Get the tutorial at Home Stories A to Z »
Put spare wine corks to use by gluing them together in a pumpkin-shape and decorating the ends with orange acrylic paint.
Get the tutorial at A Little Tipsy »
Print out leaf templates onto cardstock and dip them into a marbleized shaving cream concoction to make this kid-friendly craft.
Get the tutorial at Teaching with TLC »
Give the rustic look a contemporary twist by making pumpkins in a bevy of colors and patterns, everything from chevron to gingham.
Get the tutorial at The 36th Avenue »
Snipped from patterned plaids and fuzzy felt, this wreath’s faux foliage will look fresh year after year.
Get the tutorial here »
Say cheese — graters, that is. Salvaged shredders make a lovely table display with the illumination of votive candles twinkling through.
