The Fall Booklet by Sarah Kress - HTML preview

Autmn Crafts

Fall Wreath Staircase Swag Window Figures Fridge Magnets Lanterns Sun Catcher Fall Tote Ghosts Candle Holders Hanging Feeder Suet Feeder

Fall Wreath
Wire coat hanger
Colorful fall leaves and berries with stems
Floral wire

Unbend a wire coat hanger and shape it into a circle or a heart shape. Twist the ends to secure the shape. Next, wrap the end of the floral wire around the coat hanger until it's secure. Gather a large bunch of leaves and berries with the stems all facing one direction, and secure the bunch to the coat hanger by tightly wrapping the floral wire around the stems a few times. Take another bunch of leaves and place them over the stems of the first bunch, and secure the second bunch with floral wire in the same way. Do this until the entire coat hanger is covered. The larger the bunches of leaves, the thicker the wreath will be. Hang the wreath on a nail or with a loop of floral wire.

Fall Staircase Swag
10 foot long string (or however long you need)
Evergreen branches, leaves, and stems with berries
Floral wire
two bows of ribbon

Take one end of the string and tie it into a small loop (about 1 inch in diameter). Do this to the other end. This way, you can hang the swag at each end when you're done. Next, tie the floral wire to one end of the string. Then, take bunches of clippings with the stems in one direction and wire them tightly to the string with the stems facing away from the loop at the end. Wire the next bunch so that it hides the stems of the first bunch, and continue this way until the entire string is covered. Attach bows of ribbon to the ends of the string to hide the loops, and then hang the swag to the banister of a staircase or wherever you like,

Simple Halloween Window Figures
Large pieces of cardboard (cut apart the sides of a large box) Acrylic craft paint in black
Scissors
Hole puncher or nail
Pencil or felt tip pen

Lay out the sheets of cardboard. Sketch the outline of bat silhouettes. If you would like a pattern for this to print out, please click HERE. Next, cut out the shapes. Paint one side of each shape with black acrylic paint and let them dry. Turn the shapes over and paint the other sides, then let them dry. Punch a hole at the top of each bat with a hole-punch or nail. Tie white thread through the hole of each bat, and tape the top part of the string to the top of the window sill so that each bat hangs as close to the window as possible. Your bats will be visible with the curtains open or closed!

Fall Fridge Magnets
small circle magnets (at craft stores)
Hot glue gun and glue sticks (at craft stores)
Sheets of thin cardboard (cut apart the sides of a cereal box or macaroni box)
Scissors
Pencil
Acrylic craft paint in red, orange, yellow, black and white

Lay out the sheets of cardboard. Sketch the outlines of different shapes including leaves, pumpkins, bats and ghosts. Cut these shapes out and then paint them. Let them dry, then hot glue a magnet to the back of each one. These magnets are simple and cute! Recycled Can-Lanterns
Washed tin cans with paper covers removed Medium length nail and hammer
Non-slip gloves
Craft wire
Pencil
Votive candles

Fill the tin cans with water and then put them in the freezer over night. The next day, take one can at a time and take it outside so that it doesn't drip on the kitchen floor. Draw a fall shape on the front of the can with a pencil, such as a leaf or pumpkin. Next, punch holes along the design with a nail and hammer, and punch two holes at the top of the can at opposite sides. When done, thaw the can in the sink. Run wire through the holes at the top of the can to make a handle. Drop a votive candle inside to light.

Autumn Sun Catcher
Colorful fall leaves
Paper towels
Heavy object (book or brick)
Wax paper
Iron
String or wire
Colorful beads to string
Small suction cup with hook attached

Pick out freshly fallen leaves. Ones that feel like leather and are not brittle are best. At home, place a paper towel on a table or inside a book, and then lay the leaves flat on top of it. Lay another paper towel on top, and close the book or place a heavy object on top such as a brick. Let the leaves flatten and dry for two days. Then, place the leaves on top of a square piece of wax paper, with the leaves resting on the waxy side. Lay down another square piece of wax paper on top of them, with the waxy side down. Next, iron the two pieces together with the iron on low. Be careful not to burn the paper! Pierce two holes at the top of the paper, tie a string to one hole, thread beads onto the string and then tie the other side to the other hole. Hang with a suction cup on the window.

Fall Tote 1 or 2 apples
Fall leaves (not brittle ones) Fabric paint
Canvas tote
Zipper to sew

Cut the apples in half and remove the seeds. Squirt a little bit of paint in just one color on a plate. Next, place a sheet of wax paper inside the tote, to make sure the paint doesn't bleed through. Take an apple half and dip the flat side into the paint, and wipe off any globs. Press the apple-stamp onto the fabric. Do the same with the leaves. When finished with one color, wash off the plate and use another color. Let the paint dry according to the directions on the bottle. Hand-sew or machine-sew a zipper to the mouth of the tote to finish it.

Halloween Ghosts Gauze or cheesecloth Aluminum foil
Liquid starch
Newspaper

Take a large sheet of aluminum foil, then crunch and shape it into a ghost figure with a head and arms (make the figure about 6 inches tall). Next, soak the gauze or cheesecloth in a bowl of liquid starch until it is saturated. Drape the gauze over the tinfoil figure and set it down on newspaper to dry. Make sure the bottom of the cloth is spread out so that the ghost will stand on it's own after it dries. Once dry, remove the tinfoil and place the ghost in a spooky spot!

Fruit and Squash Candle Holders Apples
Small squash
Sharp knife
Melon baller or spoon

Cut a circle around the core of the apples and around the stem of the squashes, and carve out enough of the cores to place a small votive candle inside. Use a spoon or melon baller if necessary. Place the candle in the hole of each fruit and squash and arrange them on a table top. Light the candles and dim the lights.
Hanging Bird Feeder
Empty, rinsed plastic soda bottle
2-3 Wooden dowels about 6 inches long and 1/4" in diameter, or sticks
Sharp scissors
Nail and hammer
String or craft wire
Black oil sunflower seeds

After emptying and rinsing a plastic soda bottle, punch a hole near the base of the bottle with scissors, and another hole near the base of the bottle on the opposite side. Next, push a dowel through the bottle so that it sticks out on each side.

Repeat this process again, but this time punch holes a little higher up the bottle. If the bottle is tall enough, repeat this process a third time so that the third set of holes are above the second set.

Do not make the holes too big or the seeds will fall out. Next, fill the bottle with seeds. Then punch a hole through the lid with a nail and hammer, and thread a piece of string or wire through it. Tie the string or wire under the cap and then screw the cap on the bottle. Hang the bottle up in a tree and wait for birds to find the feeder.

Suet Bird Feeders
1 cup corn meal
1 cup dried fruits such as cranberries, raisins, dates or cherries
1 pound fat or suet, shopped (fat is very cheap to buy from the local butcher)
Empty, rinsed tuna cans

Melt the fat in a sauce pan over medium heat, and then mix in the cornmeal, and dried fruits. Let the mixture cool slightly before pouring it into the empty tuna cans. Let the suet harden before setting the cans outside for the birds. The suet cans can be nailed to fence posts or hung close to tree trunks so that birds can perch while eating the suet.

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