10 Fun Fall Crafting Ideas

There’s something about fall that makes us all feel warm, cozy, and creative. Fortunately, there’s no shortage of fun and inspired craft ideas for this colorful time of the year. To help rev up your imagination, here are 10 great ideas for crafting this autumn.

1. Paper Bag Scarecrow

Scarecrows are a hallmark of the fall season, and this festive idea is a lot of fun to do with the kids. You’ll need a brown paper bag, old newspaper, multi-colored construction paper, two googly eyes, scissors, tape, and glue. After stuffing the paper bag with newspaper for volume, you’ll tape it closed and get to work on the scarecrow’s features.

The more artistically inclined may feel comfortable enough to create the scarecrow’s face and accessories on their own, but others may want to scan the internet for a template to print out and work from – there are plenty of free ones to choose from. Of course, your scarecrow will need his/her googly eyes, a nose, a big goofy grin, and straw hair cut from construction paper. Feel free to dress it up with a hat and bow-tie as well. When complete, these little guys make for great centerpieces at the table.

2. Festive Place Cards

Cute and festive place cards always look great around the Thanksgiving table (and are a smart way to make sure that bickering relatives aren’t seated next to each other!). Unless you’re a skilled artist, you would be best served to find a free place card template online. Popular templates feature turkeys, leaves, pumpkins and gourds, pilgrim hats, etc. After printing your favorite designs, you can set about coloring them on your own, and stenciling in the names of your nearest and dearest.

3. Fall Handprint Tree

This craft is lots of fun, and is perfect as a keepsake for yourself or a relative. You’ll need craft paint in fall colors, a piece of paper, a foam paint brush, and a couple of hands. Start by painting the non-hairy side of your child’s arm and hand brown, and then press it against the paper to create the “trunk” and “branches” of the tree.

Next, you’ll paint just the hand in the color of your choosing (red, orange, and yellow are popular), press the hand to the paper, and create colorful leaves on the tree. You’ll continue this until the tree is full and colorful. Lastly, you’ll use just your child’s fingertips to press fallen leaves on the ground surrounding the tree. Clean up, let it dry, and cherish the memory!

4. Autumn Stationary

Feeling compelled to reach out to your loved ones during the fall? Create your own autumn letterhead or cards! It could be as simple as incorporating a leaf rubbing onto your paper, printing a festive template, or using your favorite autumn photos to decorate the front of your card. Your stationary is limited only by your imagination.

5. Apple Banner

If your home is like most, you’ve got a lot of re-usable grocery bags on hand. If you have more than you actually use, you can repurpose a few as a clever fall crafting project. If not, any burlap bag will do. It’s best to choose a bag in a neutral color (ie: beige or cream). Cut the bag into small, five-inch rectangles (approximately ten rectangles will do). Next, cut an apple in half, dip each half into paint (red and yellow, red and orange, or red and green look nice), and apply to the rectangles.

Once the prints have dried, you may want to take a painter’s pen or sharpie to add details like apple seeds or a stem. Using flexible jumper rings from your local craft store, you can attach the rectangles with twine and hang across your kitchen window.

6. Fall Decals

Printing decals and other crafts at home is easy, and have numerous applications. You can create your own customized fall decal, have it printed using high quality ink and toner from your home printer, and transfer it onto a wide range of surfaces such as drinking cups, pumpkins, and even shirts.

7. Leaf Mason Jar

This gorgeous project requires a mason jar, colorful leaves (real or artificial), a small strand of lights, a ribbon, and a power drill. Following glass drilling procedures, you’ll drill a small hole on the bottom of the jar where the lights can pass through. Arrange the leaves and lights as you like, tie a ribbon around the lid of the jar, plug in your craft, and enjoy!

8. Seasonal Stickers

Stickers make everything more fun! Create festive return address label stickers, or customized stickers that can be used to seal the invitations to a fall party.

9. Thankful Banner

This can be an ongoing project that will add fall colors to your home. Using fall colored construction paper, cut out a number of leaves in various shapes. You and your family can write on these leaves to express the things that you are thankful for. Continue addling leaves to a line somewhere in your home by affixing them with clothes pins.

10. Placements

Customize your own fall placemats by printing photos of Thanksgiving’s past, fun autumn patterns, or even an array of fun and engaging activities to keep the little ones entertained before dinner is served.
Regardless of how artistic you think you are, there are plenty of ways to create festive crafts at any skill level. Which crafting project will you try first?

About the Author

Caterina is a guest blogger who loves to write about baking,arts and crafts since she considers herself an avid crafter and a seasoned cupcake artist.