1. Make your place smell like fall with “stove potpourri”: My great-grandmother has been doing this for as long as I can remember, and since we live in South Texas where the leaves don’t change color, this is how I get into the fall mood/cure homesickness! All you do is bring a pot of water to a simmer and add orange peels & slices of apples (I prefer oranges for a more spicy scent), cinnamon, and some vanilla! Let it sit on your stove for a few hours (disclaimer: plz plz plz only do this when you’re home and can watch it periodically), and your whole place will make you feel like you dove into some leaves/sipped a pumpkin spice latte/went on a hayride! Plus, why by pricey candles that smell like food, when you can use real food to make your place smell delicious?!
2. Decorate some wine bottles (because we know you have some lying around all ready): Even the worst crafter could make this Pinterest worthy. Just take some leftover wine bottles, buy some acrylic glass paint, and some twine if you’re feeling extra sassy, and whoolah you’ve got a cute, inexpensive, and easy decoration!
3. Turn plain wood letters into a cute door hanger with glitter! If you’re like me, your favorite color is glitter, so obviously decorating with it is a no brainer! Buy wooden letters in whatever size you prefer, and glitter in the fall color of your choice. The best way to apply glitter to anything is to mod-podge and then poor glitter onto the wet glue. Don’t worry if it’s splotchy, because when it’s dry you can repeat the process on the bare parts. When you’re done, spray some hairspray or put another coat of mod-podge onto the letters to get the glitter to stick! Attach the letters with color-coordinating ribbon and you have a super easy and cute door sign!
4. Glitter a pumpkin! Like I said, glitter is my favorite color! Instead of dealing with the time-consuming mess of carving out a pumpkin, use the same steps listed in the door sign craft to make a pumpkin that stands out! Tip: Rinse your pumpkin off with warm water and bleach before you glitter it to keep it from rotting and molding quickly!
5. Create mood lighting with leaf votives: For this project you’ll need glass containers, votive candles, fake leaves from the floral section, and matte mod-podge – which you can find most of at the dollar store! Apply mod-podge to the back of the leaves and press onto the container! After its dry you have cheap and easy mood lighting to get you into the fall spirit!
There you have it! Five easy and cheap ways to make your place super cute and homey for fall! Send pictures to us of your crafts for our Instagram and Twitter account @utsahercampus so we can feature your crafts!