35 Easy Fall Decorating Projects

In a Nutshell

Turn your snacking into crafting. A handful of pistachios can easily become a creative harvest centerpiece that you can display in vases or jars. Just make sure to save the shells as you nosh.

First, trim the point from a bamboo skewer. Hot glue a pistachio shell to the tip. (A low-temperature glue gun is good for this project, to avoid burns.) Hold in place until the glue dries. Repeat with another shell, overlapping the side of the first slightly. Continue in an offset pattern, mimicking wheat kernels, until you've covered about 2 inches of the skewer. See a short video about this project.

Fall for Gray

Change up your fall color palette with shades of gray accenting greens and pinks. Here, a scooped-out white pumpkin holds pink dahlias and gray-green dusty miller. Pears add a bright pop of green.

Tie-Dye Flair

The vivid hues and streaky leaves of coleus inspired us to reimagine favorite art: tie-dyeing. Bring color to your fall table with crafts like tie-dye cocktail napkins, fabric strips, paper tags and pillows.

Marigold Wreath

For this eye-catching wreath, cut fresh marigold heads and hot-glue them to a premade grapevine wreath. Get a casually stylish look by clustering the marigolds more densely on one side. For a longer-lasting wreath, use flowers from a crafts store. Read more about marigold wreaths and flowers.

Letter Perfect

A monogram looks completely fresh when it's stitched in lower case on magenta tie-dye—and especially when paired with matte black flatware and charcoal plates. In the corner, coleus clippings help bulk out late-season arrangements.

Natural Vases

Gourds and squash come in all shapes and colors and easily become seasonal vases. Cut a hole big enough to accommodate a couple of florist tubes. Insert flower stems for a unique bud vase.

Corn Husk Bouquet

At summer's end, corn's lowly husks become decorating stars. A quick dip in fabric dye sets them aglow in ruby, indigo and gold, leaving vibrant raw material for easy and long-lasting fall crafts.

In place of flowers, display a bouquet of dyed corn husk ears in a wide, clear vessel on your fall table.

In the Spotlight

Squash, pumpkins and a twig of ginkgo leaves (inserted in a flower pick) on mounded moss command attention in this bell jar set atop a terra-cotta dish. Substitute a terrarium, large jar or even a glass cake cover, if desired. Arrange a few spillovers outside the glass for a touch of spontaneity.

Crafty Gourds

Trade the usual fresh gourds for jewel-tone painted dried ones. Start with dried gourds in varying sizes. (If not available locally, try amishgourds.com.) For crisp lines, apply painter's tape around the middle of a gourd. Paint half of the gourd with latex wall paint and remove tape when dry. For a drippy effect, pour 1⁄4 cup paint into a resealable plastic storage bag. Snip a corner to drizzle paint around the middle of a gourd (like piping frosting). Using a foam brush, carefully extend paint up from the drips, adding additional paint as necessary, to reach one end of the gourd. Pile painted gourds on a mantel or shelf or in decorative bowls.

Setting the Season

Vibrant dahlias in carved-out mini pumpkins delight at place settings. We used a candle carver-a small tool that removes candle-size chunks from fruits and veggies. Insert a votive holder as the "vase" for water and blooms.

Leaf Bowls

Faux leaves become pretty lightweight bowls with just a little DIY time.

Blow up a balloon (the larger the balloon, the larger your bowl will be) and rest in in a bowl. Cover the top of the balloon and the top sides of leaves with decoupage medium. Gently layer the leaves face down on the balloon, forming a bowl shape. Brush more decoupage medium on the backs of the leaves. Let dry, then poke a hole in the balloon and discard balloon.

Cozy Glow

Wrap glass votive holders in textural flair. Tie raffia around three or four overlapping moistened corn husks trimmed to fit. A spotted guinea fowl feather (available at crafts stores) adds a flourish. For safety, use battery-powered candles.

Beyond Mums

If your go-to autumn bouquet defaults to traditional offerings, shake it up with a less-expected blend of veggies, fruits, berries and widely varied flowers. Small gourds, cabbage heads and pears (secured to thin dowels) add surprise and flair.

Fall Glow

Turn wax paper and leaves into a pretty autumn lantern to use with a battery-powered votive.

Cut waxed paper into four 5x12 pieces, then fold in half to 5x6 pieces. Put leaves (fresh, dried, faux or cut-out printed images) inside the folded waxed paper, then press with an iron on low heat to seal. Tape the sides together with decorative tape to make a lantern and place a battery-operated votive inside. (Waxed paper can burn, so be sure to use only battery-operated candles.)

Rope in Decor

Replicate a chandelier with leaves instead of lights. Drill a 1⁄4-inch hole in each canning jar lid. Pull a separate piece of rope through each hole, then tie a knot under each lid. Place single leaves in jars, and tightly secure lids. Tie rope pieces together and hang from a heavy-duty ceiling hook.

Rich Reds

Emphasize the robust reds of fall with your choice of plants and flowers. Here, a dappled apple gourd, kale, dahlias, squash, and an oak branch form a color-saturated arrangement. Turn a gourd into a vase by scooping out the insides and adding a plastic cup for water.

Set a Scene

A stack of pumpkins and gourds in an unusual stone birdbath highlights an autumn scene. Mums, fall leaves and berries add even more color.

Simple Leaves

Highlight the beauty of fall leaves with this display.Put single leaves, either pressed or fresh, in small glass vases. We used old lab beakers-look for them at antiques stores. Replace leaves as they brown.

Season's Bounty

Gourds in a variety of sizes, colors, shapes and textures fill a wooden tray, accented by flowers and berries.

Orange-and-White Centerpiece

White pumpkins encircled by bittersweet vine and set along an orange table runner create a striking table arrangement.

Bottle Display

Show off bittersweet berries in gold, green and clear bottles on a windowsill or shelf. Tiny gourds between the bottles add another shape to the seasonal mix.

Hanging Vase

A swan gourd makes a natural vase hanging from a front gate or porch railing. Cut a hole near the gourd's neck, then hollow out enough space for fall flowers: mums, black-eyed Susans, Virginia creeper or other favorites.

Leafy Display

While the trees may be dropping leaves outdoors, you can preserve them inside on this tree—perfect for an entry display or party centerpiece.

Anchor a branch (we used manzanita from a floral shop) in a decorative pot with floral foam or rocks, then cover the top with moss. Decoupage color copies of gathered leaves onto small cards or hot-glue pressed leaves to cards. Tie to branches with twine or raffia. Add lines of favorite seasonal poems to the back, if you like.

Mantel of Gourds

Use as many gourds as you'd like to create this simple mantel decoration. We mixed two larger hard-shell gourds with smaller soft-shell gourds (and tucked in a squash for good measure). Bittersweet branches and maple leaves provide extra color and texture.

Eerie Entry

Greet your guests with ghostly gourds this season, cleverly decorating your stoop to show your holiday spirit.Just a little paint will transform fall produce into eerie apparitions. Start by covering your gourd with acrylic spray varnish. Use acrylic crafts paints to create your design. Finish with another coat of spray varnish.To hang each gourd, drill a small hole through the top of the neck and thread florist's wire through it. Finish your display with dried vines, bittersweet berries and maybe even an abandoned paper-wasp nest.

Collector's Showcase

A vintage tacklebox becomes a unique autumn display when filled with collected tree parts: bark, berries, seedpods, cones, small branches and leaves.

Gourd Grouping

A grapevine wreath elevates a mound of striped gourds and pumpkins in a fall display it takes only minutes to assemble.

Seasonal Abundance

Use your backyard as inspiration for fall decorations. Press fallen leaves between the pages of a thick book to preserve their forms, then display autumn hues in a cigar box or in birch frames.

Leaf Card Art

This display is a biology lesson and wall decor in one! Tape leaves to identification cards created with crafts store materials. Then place them along a card-holder tree.

Creative Candleholders

Use repurposed candleholders for easy fall displays of small pumpkins and gourds. Look for inexpensive candleholders in varying heights at a garage sale or antiques store, then spray-paint black for a unified look.

Golden Glow

Clear glass containers show off both candlelight as well as colorful materials. Nestle a candle in popcorn kernels or other seasonal materials, such as candy corn or colored clear round stones (available in crafts stores). If you prefer, use a battery-powered candle for safety.

Leaf Art

Pressed leaves taped to crafting paper make for simple seasonal art. Hang a few rows with removable adhesive strips for high impact above a bed or sofa.

Bountiful Wheelbarrow

Put together a colorful outdoor fall display using a sturdy wheelbarrow as a base.Our wheelbarrow overflows with ornamental cabbage and peppers, ornamental grasses, chrysanthemums and other seasonal plants. Fill the wheelbarrow with soil and insert the plants loosely, or tuck containers into the wheelbarrow, making sure to fill in the gaps with more plants.

Leafy Banner

Tissue paper and twigs make a pretty, leafy garland to drape in front of a window. Trace leaf shapes onto heavy cardstock to create templates. Cut out and trace shapes onto colored tissue paper, then cut out the leaves. Glue small twigs on the leaves to look like veins; glue or tape finished leaves onto a thin strip of twine. Hang in a sunny place!

Sunburst Wreath

Mimic a blazing sunburst with this fall wreath. Fold out the husks on ears of Indian corn so they point straight out from the tops. Hot-glue the ears to a straw wreath, and "fluff" the husks to complete the look.