Monday, October 4, 2010

Two Fall crafts for less than $10!

I think I've established that I love Fall and I know that I'm not alone. I also live on a budget and know that I'm not alone in that either. I made a trip to Dollar Tree last week and found out that I could take a few small things and put them together to make some beautiful Fall decor for my home.



I knew I wanted to make a wreath...I've wanted to make one for a while and this was the perfect opportunity! How beautiful are those colors? I live in Southern California, born and raised, so I've never experienced the beautiful colors that leaves turn in autumn. I look at pictures of the Northeast and dream of the day where I don't have to get my beautiful leaves at the Dollar Tree...it will happen! In the meantime, I am thankful for these.



For this wreath, I used a wooden wreath form, a few sprigs of different colored leaves, my hot glue gun and a roll of burgundy ribbon with a glitter edged detail. One of the bunches had a pumpkin and a few other embellishments that I glued to the wreath as a final step. These supplies cost less than $6.


My vision for the wreath was that I wanted it to be balanced, but also look somewhat random, similar to a pile of leaves with colors everywhere. Using wire cutters, I cut each leaf from the stems and gathered them together according to color. When I started laying, I took the largest leaves first so that they could cover the wreath form as much as possible and offered a colorful backdrop for the next few layers. I used a glue gun to secure the leaves to each other taking one color, then the next.



Knowing when to stop was difficult because I always tend to go overboard but once I loved the layout of the leaves, I knew it had enough and I was so happy with the way it turned out.



I glued the pumpkin, a few acorns and some berry springs around the wreath, with no rhyme or reason...just glued where they seemed natural. My cat Chankla, which means flip-flop in Spanish, was obsessed with my leaves and she kept trying to take a few to her bed...not really sure why but it funny to watch. She is my loyal fan and I love when she joins me in the craft room.


TA-DA!!! Doesn't it look great...and it was affordable and so fun to put together. I think I might make another one for the bathroom...what do you think?


Using the glitter-edged ribbon, I slid it through a section of the wreath and hung it on my front door. How beautiful is that ribbon?? 9 yards for a dollar...you can't go wrong!

I also purchased a pretty glass bowl and remembering that a friend had bought me a couple of bags of pumpkin shaped beads, I decided to make a small centerpiece for my dinner nook at home.


I filled the bowl with the beads, slid a few leaves inside the bowl and arranged them a bit. Finally, I took three strands of red yarn, braided a cord with the yarn and tied it around the neck of the bowl.

Two beautiful, hand-crafted pieces for less than $10....now that's what I call fun and affordable! As an added bonus, this blog post is participating in....




Get Your Craft On Tuesday

5 comments:

  1. I love wreath...it's funny how many great things you can find at dollar tree!

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  2. I love the wreath very pretty colors ... Great job Michelle :)

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  3. Gorgeous! Love that it's so cheap to make!

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  4. Michelle - that wreath is AMAZING!! You are so gifted! Thank you for sharing. I LOVED it!!! The Dollar Tree is definitely one of those places that I think I visit more often than I give my child a bath! :-) God bless you!

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  5. Just so you know - this is beautiful! I may have to do a "drive-by" - Roxanne

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