fall crafts

Growing up, I was not a fan of the Fall.  It meant that summer was over, school had begun and Winter was coming.  But now, as I get older, I have grown to adore Fall–it’s slouchy sweaters, suede boots, tolerable weather, pumpkin everything, race season, and oh yeah, Friends-giving, baby!

So what better way to welcome the changing of the season than to create some Fall crafts — a little something something with your little something somethings? Since very recently our welcome decor was damaged in the Harvey winds, we decided to make a new, Fall, kid-infused decoration to welcome our guests into our humble abode.

What you’ll need:

  • 1 Fence Picket – You can find this at most local hardware stores (we went to Lowes), and it’ll cost you about $2.50 (heck, come curbside pick-up, you will probably find yourself a few decent pieces for FREE—Christmas gifts for the Grandparents perhaps?!)
  • Sandpaper (Grit should be between 60 and 220)
  • Various Paint Colors (washable is fine if you plan to seal it at the end) – keep in mind that you want the colors to coincide with the season
  • Paper Plates – for ‘plopping’ your paint colors down (so that all the colors don’t mix in their containers and your organized self goes into full-on panic mode…. not that this happens to me)
  • Popsicles – because it gives the kids something to do as you prep, and well, they’re gonna get messy anyway
  • Vinyl Letters, Alphabet Stickers and/or Seasonal Stickers (such as acorns, squirrels, etc.)
  • Fingers – for painting all the awesomeness
  • Clear Protectant Spray Paint – this can also be found at pretty much any craft or hardware store.  Should run you around $6
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Steps to Making Your New Signage:

  1. Sand off any splitters or rough edges
  2. Make sure to remove any excess sawdust by wiping the service with a damp cloth, let dry
  3. Lay out vinyl letters/stickers carefully onto your fence picket
  4. Divvy out equal amounts of paint onto the paper plates for the kiddo(s) (trust me, equal is key).
  5. Paint, with your fingers of course!   Keep in mind that you want to fully cover all the letters you have applied to the board
  6. Let the paint dry and then slowly peel the vinyl letters from the fence piece
  7. Spray a clear protectant over all painted surfaces… and… TAH-DAH!  You, my friend, have yourself some swanky new Fall decor.

Optional: Add some lace, beads, small trinkets, ribbon to give your signage a bit more pizazz!

Other things to try

  • Staining your wood before you begin (whitewash or dark brown perhaps?)
  • Using another saying instead of ‘Welcome.’  (i.e. ‘Happy Fall Y’all,’ ‘Pumpkin Kisses + Harvest Wishes,’ ‘Pumpkin Spice & Everything Nice,’ ‘Fall is Short for Football’)
  • Use only black and gray paint and spell out ‘Boo’–then adhere plastic spiders, orange ribbon and some webbing for some easy, funky Halloween decor.  

Loren McEllin
Lo is the Founder + Chief Innovation Officer of Trotting with Tots, a local stroller-toting mama tribe. When not scoping out new trails and neighborhoods to explore with the running group, she spends her time cooking up random vegan concoctions, inflicting pain on friends with her waxing skills, putzing around on her Cricut machine, inventing some new house project for her husband, and/or drinking wine while watching the latest episode of Intervention. Lo is married to her very own Magic Mike, whom she met on an airplane, and is lackey Mom to two munchkins (Gage + Gemma), and an allergy-ridden pup (Killian). She loves the color yellow, the sound of high heels on asphalt and gargantuan wind chimes.

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