One of my favorite parts of fall, aside from the yummy food and cozy nights in, has to be the leaves changing color. The outdoors turns into a world of oranges, yellows, reds, and the whole color spectrum in between.
I am a big fan of changing up the interior decorations of my house according to the seasons. Not only does it mark a transition between one period of the year into the next, but it is also just a lot of fun to do.
Autumn is one of my favorite times to decorate, as it means that Christmas is approaching. My combined love of decorating and fall leaves makes the latter a prominent feature in the former, and there are so many creative craft ideas out there for bringing the beauty of autumn into your own home.
Inspiring Fall Leave Crafts
1. Leaf and Branch Mobile
I absolutely love the simplicity of this leaf and branch mobile. The natural materials add a touch of fall to a room, without making it look like you have brought the actual garden inside.
This DIY actually uses watercolor paper leaves hanging from the branch, but I think you could easily swap them out for real ones as long as you make sure to preserve them. If you want to be really creative, you could also add other autumn foliage to the hanging leaves, like pinecones or acorns.
2. Fall Leaf Book Page Banner
This fall leaf book page banner looks so rustic, while still looking like something you could have paid a lot for in a shop.
It will most likely be entirely free for you to make this banner, as you are bound to have an old book you don’t need anymore, and there is a surplus of leaves outside just waiting for you to collect them. I think that this would also make a lovely gift for a home-lover and bookworm, as you could easily make it using pages from their favorite book.
3. Glitter Leaves Garland
If it were acceptable and nonmessy for me to cover everything in my life in glitter, then I most definitely would, I absolutely love the stuff.
I love the fact that this glitter garland DIY has stuck to the true colors of autumn, with gold and copper glitters, but if you would rather jazz it up even more then you really could use any color you wish. I think this garland would also look spectacular strung around a Christmas tree, that is if you make it before all the leaves disappear.
4. Autumn Leaf Bowls
In the coming weeks, I have a feeling that these might be appearing in various locations in my house, on the coffee table, in the kitchen, on the bedside table, you name it.
You could easily make these autumn leaf bowls in any size you like, and to suit any purpose. They look so chic and expensive, when in fact they will cost you next to nothing to make. Anyone who visits your house this season will definitely be eyeing them up, and chances are you might just see a couple when you next visit their house.
5. Leaf Printed Tote Bag
This DIY is a simple step by step guide to how to do the best leaf prints, and I already have it bookmarked.
The example used is a leaf printed tote bag, which I think is very cool, but there really is no limit as to where you could apply this DIY. The instructions also suggest gift tags, you could try out t-shirts, invitations, napkins, I am even tempted to do my walls.
6. Glittered Fall Leaves Table Runner
Themed table runners are a great way to make a home look autumnal. This glittered fall leaves table runner is simple, yet elegant, and as much as I love overdoing it with glitter, I think that the slight touch of it here works well.
This table runner would steal the show laid out by itself, or work well merged together with other table decors if you have any. Either way, it would be a perfect addition to any table.
7. Leaf Coasters
I would never have thought to customise my own coasters, but after seeing this leaf coaster DIY, I don’t think I will ever stop.
They are very simple to make, and there is no chance that the leaves will shrivel up. This would be a lot of fun to get kids involved in, as they could experiment with different colors, shapes, and patterns.
8. Autumn Leaf Fairy Lights
Fairy lights are, in my opinion, one of the best ways of making a room feel cozy. On cold evenings, one of my favorite things to do is turning all the big, harsh lights off and putting on the fairy lights.
These autumn leaf fairy lights are so beautiful, and the way that the light makes the leaves go almost transparent is so pretty. These would look amazing in any room of the house, whether they’re hung across the mantlepiece, or wound around the posts of a bed.
9. Gilded Leaf Place Cards
Chances are, at some point this fall you will be either attending or hosting a group dinner, may it be Thanksgiving or a family get together. These gilded leaf place cards would be perfect to set out at either.
The metallic color makes them look incredibly impressive considering how simple they are to make. They are the loveliest little extra touch that your guests are bound to appreciate, and you can whip them up in minutes before your party arrives.
10. Illustrated Leaves
The contrast between the white illustrations and the natural autumnal colors of these illustrated leaves is what makes them so pretty.
Although the DIY uses white, I think this would also look amazing with gold or silver pens, for a little added sparkle. These would look so good scattered across a table or around a centerpiece, you could even string them up and make a garland if you wish.
11. Fall Candle Centrepiece
Candles are a great thing to use as a centerpiece all year round, but this fall candle centerpiece looks perfect for this time of year.
If you want to incorporate leaf decorations into your house but aren’t quite willing to go too over the top then this is a great DIY for you. It is easy to make, and very subtle. That being said, if you do want to add a little more, you easily could by laying more leaves of all different shades around the base of your candles.
12. Fall Leaf Covered Initials
These fall leaf covered initials would be a nice little autumnal style addition to any room. You could have them hanging from a wall or door, or sitting on a mantlepiece or kitchen surface.
If you really wanted to go all out, like I often do, you could spell out words, like ‘fall’ or even your family name. I do like the one color look of the example in this DIY, but to really get that natural autumn feel, I would use a mix of all different shapes and colors of leaves.
13. Fall Leaf Lanterns
I am obsessed with how amazing these fall leaf lanterns look. They look so professional, when in fact they are incredibly simple to make. Everyone has an old vase or jug that could do with a bit of spicing up, and quite frankly I can’t think of a better way of doing so.
I am inspired to make different versions of these for different times of the year. You could use bright colored flowers in summer for example, or bits of pine around Christmas.
14. Fall Leaf Confetti
This fall leaf confetti looks so cute and is one of the most simple DIYs you will ever come across. All you need is a shaped paper punch, access to some leaves and you are good to go.
There is an abundance of different shaped paper punches out there, so you can really get creative, mixing and matching different confetti shapes. This confetti would look great generously sprinkled over a table for dinner, or hidden within a holiday card to surprise the recipient when they open it.
15. Fall Leaf Prints
I remember doing leaf prints at school when I was younger and absolutely loving it, chances are that that won’t have changed. It would be a great idea to get your kids involved in these fall leaf prints.
As much as it can be messy, if you take your time doing it then these really can be something beautiful. Pick a color scheme to match the room where you want to display your print, find or buy a nice frame and it will look like a real piece of artwork.
16. Fall Leaf Wreath
I am a firm believer that wreaths are not only for Christmas. This probably stems from my mom and the extravagant easter wreath she hangs on the door each April.
This fall leaf wreath is incredibly pretty, I love the bow detail, and it looks very neat while still being exciting with all the different colors of leaves. Wreaths are traditionally hung outside, but you could just as easily display this inside your house.
17. Leaf Crowns
I don’t care what anyone says, I think these leaf crowns would be fun for kids and adults alike. I certainly know that many of my very adult friends would put these straight on their heads without a second thought.
Of course though, kids would absolutely love these, and they are a great activity for a rainy day when you need a craft idea fast. They are easy to make, and should, in theory, result in little mess, although you never really know with kids do you?
18. Fall Leaf Animals
These fall leaf animals are so cute. It may be a fun craft for kids, but I think that these would honestly look brilliant framed and put up around the house.
They’re a lot of fun, but also very simplistic. There are so many different animal ideas on this website, from elephants to penguins, and there are also no limits on the ideas that you yourself could come up with.
19. Leaf Table Runner
The steps involved in making this leaf table runner are so easy to follow that I believe that I could whip one up right here, right now.
The addition of the acorns in this DIY is something that I really like, and you could definitely go further by adding any other foliage that you want to. It is easily stored, so you can pop it away when the Christmas decorations come out and rest assured that it will be good to go for next year.
Conclusion
All my friends and family are literally going to think that I have gone leaf crazy. The streets around my house are going to be totally leaf free with how often I am out collecting, and no leaf will safely make it to the ground before falling into my craft ready hands.
Because I am, as previously mentioned multiple times, a glitter fiend, that glitter garland is the first thing that will be appearing in my fall themed house. After that the choice is just too difficult, although I would definitely be very happy to hang a fall leaf wreath on my door and a leaf print on my wall.