10 Fall decorations you can make yourself

As the summer yields to fall, it is time to put away the beach gear and deck out the house for harvest time. Fall’s official start is September 20th, but we can’t help ourselves here at MakeItGrateful.com. We love fall. The spices, the gourds, and yes, the fall decorations. We’ve found 10 of the most accessible and cute fall decorations you must make yourself.

Reclaimed wood turkey

If you’re handy with a jigsaw and a screwdriver, then this is the project for you. Using spare planks of wood you can make this adorable reclaimed wood turkey for your entryway.

You will need different sized wooden circles, drywall screws, tacking nails, square dowels and more scrap wood. Extra pallet wood works fine here. Besides the wooden circles, recycling spare wood that is laying around is great for this kind of project.

Start by screwing the wooden circles together. Working from the back of the display, screw the circles of wood together using the drywall screws.

Then find some smaller wooden pieces, such as square dowels, and cut to size. Affix them to the back of the wooden circles. Next, take your jigsaw and cut out feet. Some recommend using 4″x6″ pieces of wood for the feet; a larger base makes the structure more steady.

The next step is finding the scrap pieces needed to make the turkey feathers. Using extra pallet wood is perfect. Cut them to the desired length and arrange on the back. Once arranged, begin to screw them into the back of the largest circle.

When the body assembled, it’s time to make the face. Using your jigsaw, cut out a head (shaped like a giant spoon), a beak (shaped like a triangle) and the gobbler (shaped like, well, a gobbler).

When everything is assembled you can paint and decorate however you’d like. For a rustic look, use watered down paint, so that the texture of the wood comes through. For a fun twist, try your hand at an ombre look.

Using leftover wood for this project is a smart and economical way to turn a regular entryway into something special for fall. With just a little bit of time and some tools, you can make this turkey.

Cinnamon stick candles

Fall has its own scents,. Like the smoky aroma from an autumn bonfire, what would fall be without the fresh smell of hot apple pie? The earthy and woody aromas permeate our homes and evoke memories of holidays past.

The sense of smell, otherwise known at the olfactory system, can evoke particular memories and emotions. For some the smell of onions cooking in a pan can evoke the memory of mom cooking. The smell of the spices in apple or pumpkin pie baking can trigger memories of a favorite aunt at holiday dinners. Perfumes play this up by offering the ideas of fulfillment and happiness in a bottle. Chanel, Ralph Lauren, and Calvin Klein have made empires based on their ability to sell emotion through smells.

To set your table and mood this Thanksgiving, give this simple cinnamon stick candle centerpiece a try. This project can be made in just an hour. You will need pillar candles, cinnamon sticks, rubber bands and twine.

First, take a candle and place a rubber band around it. Begin to insert the cinnamon sticks inside the rubber band, and continue around the candle. Vary the length of the sticks to create a unique look. Once you have the cinnamon sticks all around the candle, wrap the twine around the candle, hiding the rubber band. Repeat with the other candles.

This is an easy yet elegant centerpiece for your fall table. As the candle heats the wax, the scent of cinnamon is released. You’ll be creating more scent filled memories for your dinner guests.

Candles make great hostess gifts, and what an economical way to extend gratefulness for hospitality. You could even switch up the colors for the candles. No need to stick to white. Fall colors of orange, red, brown or golden yellow would all look pretty in this centerpiece.

Perhaps you have extra pillar candles in your storage cabinet. Give those candles new life as a cinnamon stick candle centerpiece. This centerpiece is simply beautiful, will look lovely on your fall table — and smells wonderful.

Wine cork pumpkin

Fall is a time of celebration. Starting with harvest celebrations, and culminating in Thanksgiving, fall is full of festivities. Usually, wine is a part of the celebration.

However, once the wine is gone, what is to be done with the corks? Corks are a great addition to your craft supply stash. Durable, elastic and water resistant, cork crafts are everywhere. Just search “cork crafts” and you’ll have lists of 10, 20, 50 crafts all using corks.

One look at this wine cork pumpkin craft, though, and we know you’ll want to make this one. Using corks, felt, hot glue, a paint brush, a craft knife, twine and scissors, this craft can come together in about 30 minutes.

First, your corks are painted. Orange paint, diluted with a bit of water creates a watercolor look. Paint the ends of the corks, leaving one cork unpainted. Once the painted corks are dry, start to arrange them in a pumpkin shape. Use hot glue to secure the corks together.

Next, take the unpainted cork and hot glue it to the top of your pumpkin shape. Then cut out leaf shapes from the felt and glue the felt leaves to the base of that cork. Finally, wrap twine along the base of the cork to look like a vine.

If you don’t have any leftover corks from wine, you can buy crafting corks from hobby stores, about $18 for 100 corks. You can create a whole pumpkin patch of varying sizes.

These wine cork pumpkins will look positively enchanting during the fall season. This is an amusing craft for fall and will look good year after year.

Scarecrow wreath with legs

Lions and tigers and bears, oh my! Frighten away all those vicious creatures with this adorable scarecrow wreath with legs.

Scarecrows are decoys or mannequins used to frighten away pesky birds from crops. Where there were once men guarding plots of agriculture, our ancestors realized that a stick dressed to look like a man could be equally as frightening to birds. Small-brained birds fall for it almost every time.

Chances are you don’t need to scare away fearsome creatures, but you can certainly get in the fall spirit with this scarecrow wreath. Using a wreath frame, some burlap, and ribbon, you can create this fun and festive wreath. However, with this friendly scarecrow visitors won’t be afraid to ring the doorbell. These scarecrows are more like welcome-crows. The smiling face greets guests, and the legs are just plain cute.

Look for scarecrow heads at craft stores; sometimes you can find old fall decorations of scarecrows at thrift stores and repurpose the head for this attractive project. The legs can be made from tube socks, or you could make your own by sewing some fabric into tube shapes. The feet can be cut, stuffed and sewn, too.

Create a different look by affixing a cornucopia to the center with some fall fruit and gourds. Other possibilities include pumpkins, leaves and wheat bundles. Use coordinating ribbons of gold and red to really bring out those fall colors.

Celebrate the bounty of the year with this fall wreath with scarecrow legs. This whimsical and delightful fall decoration can adorn your front door for years to come.

Pinecone lantern

These pinecone lanterns are just what your front porch needs this fall. Simple, customizable for each season, these lanterns are the blank canvas you need to get you into the mood for fall — or any season, really.

Lanterns are a beautiful decoration to have around the house. They can be used inside, on shelves and on entryway tables. They can be used outside on a covered patio for decoration.

These lanterns were purchased from Oriental Trading Company, but empty lanterns are pretty on trend right now and can be found at most home decor stores. You might also be able to find them at Walmart. They are a shell of what lanterns really are: no gas function, no candle holder at the bottom, just the basic lantern structure,

These lanterns are filled with pinecones of varying size. The creator started with small pinecones from Oriental Trading Company, then used some standard sized pinecones along with some fake leaves, mini pumpkins and acorns. Consider using some potpourri for a cute and sweet-smelling element.

For Christmas time, the fall pinecones, leaves and acorns can be replaced with wintery decorations. Gather some silver-coated pinecones, snow-flocked berries and maybe even a strand of battery-powered LED lights. Oh, the possibilities with these lanterns!

As the year moves along to spring, you can switch in Easter eggs, fake grass and silk flowers for an easy springtime version. Then with summer, move out the fake grass and replace with sports items, like miniature balls and rackets and bats. You can do anything with a set of lanterns like these.

Get a couple of different sizes for a fuller display around the house. For fall, the lanterns remind us that the days grow shorter during this season. These lantern decorations are a easy way to welcome the harvest and our guests.