Fall Decorating on the Cheap: Burlap Wreath and Toilet Paper Pumpkins

The hubby and I just started the Financial Peace University course by Dave Ramsey through our church. This is a wonderful opportunity for us to get our finances in order, but it also means no more random trips to Hobby Lobby or Michael's whenever I see something I HAVE to try on Pinterest. This year when decorating for fall I cannot buy anything. I can only use what I already have. 

I posted HERE about some very cute projects that I found on the blogosphere and Pinterest that are super adorable but really cheap. Unfortunately, even some of those projects would be difficult to manage from my craft stockpile.

First of all, I have a pretty hefty craft stash. I make a ton of items to sell at craft fairs around Christmastime – the key word being Christmas. I have ten tons of Christmas decorations. However, I have absolutely no fall themed anything, so I had to use creativity and ingenuity to come up with fall decorations. Here’s what I came up with.

Items used:

About 1 yard of burlap fabric

Wire

Ribbon

Picture frame

Toilet paper
Cardboard

I had a few yards of burlap fabric – not the pretty natural burlap, but an off white. I wanted to make a wreath, but I have no wreath forms except for the green foam floral ones that disintegrate when you put anything on them. So, I made my own. I took some wire and crafted my own wreath form. It looks extremely homemade, but you can’t tell when the wreath form is covered. Problem solved. I wrapped and stuffed burlap strips into the wreath form.

I got some awesome frames from a yard sale this summer for 50 cents each. I knew they would come in handy one day. I painted one of the frames and used it to hang the wreath from. I took ribbon that I literally saved from a Christmas gift last year to hang the wreath on the frame. Because it’s the off white burlap, it needed something more.

I found this awesome tutorial at In My Own Style about making monograms with foam board. Unfortunately, I had no foam board. Remember, I can’t buy ANYTHING! I did have a cardboard box, so I proceeded to cut a monogram into cardboard. It may have been a little easier had I made the monogram bigger, but let me just say that it was hard to cut the stuff with an exacto knife or scissors. And when I was finished, the cardboard looked all shaggy. I ended up mod podging tissue paper onto the cardboard to get the edges smooth. I then painted it. It turned out cute, but it was entirely too much work for such a small detail. Never again will I use cardboard if I can help it.

 

Next, I wanted pumpkins. Unfortunately, I have no fake pumpkins, or real for that matter, or any orange fabric. I have no fabric even remotely close to resembling fall colors. Note: Sewing machines run from me screaming, so I don’t usually have a major stash of fabric handy. I do, however, keep a ridiculously large collection of acrylic paint. I also have the bland burlap fabric I used for the wreath. This would have to do.

One of my inspiration projects, which you can find at Posed Perfection, was a project that involved wrapping toilet paper rolls in fabric to make them look like pumpkins. I took orange acrylic paint and brushed over the burlap. When finished, I wrapped a few rolls of toilet paper in the burlap. I embellished them with some green ribbon and sticks from the bushes outside. The hubby pitched a fit that I used the good Charmin toilet paper. It’s not like we can’t use it once I pull down the decorations.

I was fortunate to have all of these things at my house already. However, if I were to have bought all of these materials, it probably wouldn’t have put me out of pocket too much. A yard of the burlap was about $2.40, 2oz bottle of paint was $0.99, green ribbon was $0.99, and the frame was $0.50. I don’t know how much the wire would cost since I found it buried in my garage, maybe a few bucks. The cardboard and toilet paper are things everyone pretty much has lying around the house somewhere.

I was really happy with how these projects turned out. I think that limited funds increases creativity. I have a few more projects planned, so stay tuned! Let me know what you think of my frugal fall decorations so far!

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