Cute Pumpkin DIY Crafts for Fall;

This is the Cutest little decorative craft for your house that would be fun to make and super inexpensive. If
you're a crafter, you will have these materials just laying around! So why not make these lovely little pumpkins and decorate your house for Fall. Have fun guys! Let me know how it works out for you. This tutorial is curtesy of Craftaholics Anonymous. I'll post a link to their website for you to check out!





supplies {makes approx 7 mini paper pumpkins}
-12″x12″ sheet of orange cardstock {or you could use pattern paper for a fun twist}
-scraps of green or brown cardstock
-1″ circle punch
-low heat glue gun
-pen



cut your 12″x12″ into 2.5″ by 0.5″ strips except for the last 2″x12″ strip. use your 1″ circle punch and cut out 14- 1″ circles.



using your glue gun, glue the small strips of paper to the circle, overlapping them slightly. glue strips all the way around the circle. depending on how much you over lap them, it will take between 7 to 10 strips per pumpkin. {i used 9 strips on most of mine.

 

**if you’re using thick cardstock, you’ll want to bend your strips so that you they make a nice rounded shape. to bend your strips, you can bend the strips indiviudally before you glue them to the circle
OR you can bend them after you’ve glued them to the circle by putting them in your hands and cupping your fingers.

 
take a second 1″ circle and glue the strips underneath with your glue gun.



i found that it worked best to pull the strips up indivudally, place a dot of glue on them, and then press them to the underside of the circle. that helped keep the circles lined up and the pumpkin from being lopsided.



the last strip is slightly tricky to press down because my fingers didn’t fit in the small gaps between the strips. so i used a pen to press the last strip into place.



this is what your pumpkin should look like. if you want a short, fat pumpkin, you can smash it slightly. or if you want a taller, skinner pumpkin, press the strips together so the circles are pushed away from each other.



using your scraps of green or brown paper {preferrably cardstock}, cut a 0.25 inch by 0.75 inch strip for the stem. bend over a small section so that you can glue the stem to the pumpkin.

Fall Home Decor Craft: Fun, easy Fall wreath

Okay everyone,
We all know that with Fall comes those delectable decorations! But most are expensive and who wants to buy something pricey to use only a couple weeks in a year? Well here's a fun, easy alternative that will keep you busy and maybe be a fun activity for the kids!
So I got this idea from Martha Stewart's Fall Decoration Line. It's called 'Vintage Paper Leaf Wreath', and I think its just adorable! I'll post a link from her website so you can see for yourself.
Alright, let's get started.

Materials:

• Leaf template
• Cardstock
• Scissors
• Pencil
• Old book with at least 100 yellowed pages, pages removed
• Craft glue
• 24-gauge floral wire, cut to 5-inch lengths
• Pressed real leaves (optional)
• 20-gauge floral wire

• Brown floral tape
• 1/8-inch tan quilling paper
• Acorn caps
• Hot-glue gun and glue sticks
• Ribbon for bow

Again, I got all this how-to's from Martha Stewart's website! (Including the Leaf Template).
 
   The First Step: Print leaf template on cardstock and cut it out. Now take your cardstock and trace it onto a page from your yellowed book. Cut it out. You don't have to cut it perfectly, a jagged edge will look nice when it all comes together.

  Second Step: Now this is tricky, so try to keep up. Apply craft glue to the back of your leaf (yellowed paper not template). Place a 5-inch length of wire on a SECOND page of the yellowed book. This page doesn't have any leaf cut-outs. Place leaf cut-out with glue face down, sandwiching the wire between the leaf and page. Make sure the wire is centered on the leaf with half inside and half sticking out, so that it forms a "vein" within the leaf. Let the glue dry, then cut it out. Make 45-50 of the leaves for the wreath.

  Third Step: Take a bundle of 3-5 leaves and twist the wires together. Martha Stewart came up with a brilliant idea of incorporating REAL leaves! All you have to do is glue some wire to them.

  Fourth Step: To make the wreaths' shape, cut a 47-inch length of 20-guage wire. Fold that in half and twist. Manipulate into the shape of a horseshoe, then wrap it all in your brown floral tape.

  Fifth Step: Starting at one end of your wreath and working towards the middle, attach bundles of leaves with floral tape. Repeat on the other side!

  Sixth Step: To make the acorns, tightly roll 1/8-inch quilling paper into a flat disk. Use your thumb to push the center of the disk outward, creating a little bowl. Rub the inside of the cup with craft glue. Apply hot glue to the inside of the cup and adhere to acorn cap. Use hot glue to attach acorns to wreath.

  Seventh Step: Tie a bow to the middle/top of wreath. And you're done!
There is a video on her website to help you out if you get a little lost! Enjoy everyone!

Resources: http://www.marthastewart.com/271540/vintage-paper-leaf-wreath

Brookeknowsbest