Quickie Fall Projects

There is just something so invigorating to me about fall. I love everything about it, the occasional rain, a slight chill in the air, and the holidays that come with it. It’s the only season I actually make an effort to welcome into my home decor every year. I went on a googling mission to find autumn-themed DIY projects that not only bring nature indoors but incorporate fallish things in a stylish way. Here are 3 simple projects that involve stuff you have around the house and a few things from Mother Nature.

Acorn Push Pins:

I can’t wait to make these, I have plenty of acorns and now all I need are some push pins, I should have some left after this project.

thumb tacks + hot glue + acorn tops = earthy and rustic touch for your corkboard

Seriously? How can you not want to immediately go out and collect as many acorn tops as you can find? I found this photo shot by Justin and Elise. Such a clever idea, it probably took them 3 minutes to complete! Check out the rest of their flickr stream here.

Framed Nature:

This project was suggested to me on a twitter (follow me!) during Overstock’s conversation with my friend Angelo Surmelis, he’s a wonderful interior designer/DIY’er/furniture designer/great energy to be around. He’s always dropping tips and tricks to inspire a post on this blog, like this one or this one. In this particular tweet he suggested simply finding an autumn leaf that appeals to you, or two or three, and simply putting them in a frame and hanging them somewhere in your home. Instant-FREE-art!

(Photo from Ed Yourdon’s Flickr Page)

Wooden Coasters:

Pinterest rarely lets me down and this fall project was no exception. I was driving home one day after a huge storm hit North Texas and there were downed tree branches all over the place. I spotted some smallish ones from the side of the road and pulled over, I’ll pause while you think “she’s such a nerd”.

I plan to eventually turn them into this–

After I grabbed the two logs/branches, it took me a minute to figure out just what I wanted to do with them. I have been wanting wooden coasters for the longest time (I’m still using some paper ones I nabbed from a pub), so I went digging through pinterest and came out with this image from a great blog called Ruffled. Now I just have to figure out how to convince the guys at home depot that they should use their saws and slice ‘em up for me……picture me all doe eyed and bushy tailed walking up to some lumber jack:

Me: “um excuse me Sir, I was wondering if you could help me saw my log?”

Home Depot Dude: “Your log? How do you want it cut?”

Me: “Oh you know, just slice it up like a loaf of bread.”

Home Depot Dude: “???”

I’ll let you know how it turns out I’m making plans to go there next week. So hopefully soon I’ll have some sweet little coasters. What fall holiday projects are you working on? Do any of you try to scam home depot guys into doing the “tough stuff” for you by batting your eyelashes at them? Just me? Ok, please don’t judge then.