Three Easy Fall Crafts + Link Party

By Kate Riley October 4, 2011

Yes, it’s true, I’m a crafty gal around the holidays and now that October is here, it gets me excited and feeling all warm inside. But that could just be my glue gun permanently affixed to my hip which I might as well just leave plugged in until December 26th.

I’m happy as can be to be hosting a Fall Crafts Link Party today as part of the ongoing series with my blog pals Sarah, Layla, and Rhoda. So glad you’re here, have an hors d’oeuvre! Or better yet, enjoy the virtual eye candy in the form of all the crafty goodness you’ll see linked below.

Sometimes I think we’ve all gone and done everything we possibly could to a pumpkin, I’m wondering what will be next. As much as I like them in their natural state, I’m always a fan of a little embellishment – I love ‘em gilded and painted too. My first craft you got a glimpse of yesterday and I really bent over backwards man. They are what I call Distressed Pumpkins and they are so easy, there’s no real ‘how to’ necessary. easy distressed pumpkins how to

I’ve never tried this with latex paint, but Chalk Paint is famous for its easy distressing qualities, so I used the ‘Old White’ and it worked really well. Simply paint with one coat then sand with a fine sanding wedge to reveal the skin underneath.

Here’s a second easy and cheap idea for your fall tabletop – clothespin place card holders. These are simply spray painted and the faux berries are hot glued inside.  clothespin place card holder

Lay them down or stand them up, then tell your guests it’s a hint of what household chore they’ll be doing after dinner. :)

gold clothespin place card holder cg

I made up these very whimsical creations from corn husks, you saw them yesterday in the dining room.  Call ‘em Corn Puffs, Corny Starbursts, whatever makes ya happy. I call them Pom Poms because they remind me of the gold versions I had back on the squad, circa 1989.  Wow, major flashback just now. It makes me think how I miss my old perm. Not.

You can find dried corn husks for making tamales in the Hispanic or specialty foods section of many grocery stores.  how to make corn husk pom pom

corn husk pompom cg

Suspend them wherever you want to add a dash of fall whimsy, whether in a garland or over a tabletop.

pom poms over table

corn husk pom pom and leaf garland cg

 

Alright friends, your turn to show off your latest craftastic creations. Bring on the autumn crafty goodness and link up !!

Rules: Must be a fall related craft, and please do visit the two links above you to mix and mingle!

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74 comments

  1. Yay for the party. :) Thanks for hosting! Those corn husk pom poms really are cool! I was hoping you’d show us how to distress a pumpkin–glad you did! I have got to try that! I was going to link up my post from today–“how to hang a wreath on a metal door”–it’s my Fall/Halloween wreath. If it doesn’t fit the party theme, let me know and I will take the link down. I wasn’t sure….

  2. How brilliant! I didn’t realize yester day that the cute pom-poms were corn husks!!! And the place setting clips are so simple and pretty! I can’t wait to get the kids involved in these fall decorations! Thanks for hosting!

  3. Shoot it took me three attempts to get my linky up there without mistakes. You’d think I’d never done it before.
    Love your Fall crafts. Easy, simple but with big wow factor!
    Thanks!!

  4. Love those corn husk pom poms Kate. I’ve been painting pumpkins too! love the way you’ve distressed them. Thanks for hosting.

  5. I just love those corn husk pom poms. I made a corn husk wreath a couple of weeks ago that is similar in look to your pom poms and I was wondering what to do with my leftover corn husks…and now I know! Thank you for hosting!!! Can’t wait to check out the other links.

  6. I am so enamored with the corn husk pom poms! Easy peasy is the way that they separate to create the look. I guess I should get into my pantry and pull mine out. Tamale making time isn’t til Christmas! LOL
    Thanks for hosting the par-tay! ~ Sue

  7. WOW Kate! These are such great ideas. I always use latex paint and it never quite works right. AND I guess my 3 yr old daughter was checking out your great ideas too because as I was looking she came up to me with a left over fall leaf in a clothespin and said “look mama”. It was too sweet! I love the corn husk pom poms too. Honestly I love all 3! Thanks for hosting! :)

  8. Kate, thanks soo much for hosting! Your corn husks pom poms are soo cute! Thanks for sharing how to make them. I love your whole table scape, soo lovely. Have a great day. Can’t wait to check out all the links. =)

    ~ Catie

  9. Thanks for the fun party. I can’t wait to look through all the ideas. I love the clothespins abd the corn husk poms are adorable. What a fun idea!

  10. O.K. those corn husk poms poms are adorable!!! My daughter and I can have some fun making those! Great post!

  11. Thank you for hosting, Kate. I love the crafts you made – especially the pom poms. Gotta try those. Your tablescape looks amazing.

    Warmly, Michelle

  12. Kate! Your dining room is stunning! It is so beautiful and is executed perfectly! All of the magazines should be clamouring at your door to have you do projects for them! This is just so, so, so amazing! Thank you so much for hosting this party! Wishing you a wonderful week! Angie xo

  13. Oh my… I was just thinking of painting my gourds and pumpkins with my chalk paint, loving how your turned out! And I see you have a place at the table for me, when should I be there? :) Simply lovely!!!

  14. Thanks for hosting the party Kate!! So many great ideas out there in blogland!! I love your tablescape – it looks so inviting! Heather

  15. Thanks so much for hosting, Kate! I LOVE your house! (I saw some more pics from Rhoda too ;) And those pompoms! Girl, you took me back – waaay back – much farther than ’89, ha! I remember being so excited when we got our poms until we opened the box to see flat little STRAIGHT strips of silver and green. It took hours to get them all crumpled up, lol.

    Thanks again. I just told Rhoda if she comes to CA next year I’m gonna come down and swoop both of you up and bring you up to El Dorado County wineries and Apple Hill!

  16. You never cease to amaze me with your creativity. Love, love the corn husk pom poms. Can’t wait to check out the links to get more inspiration. Thanks for hosting the party!

  17. I love your crafty ideas! I had started a similar pumpkin project the other night on the back deck . I had painted the pumpkin and left it outside to dry. Overnight, the rain came in torrents and washed much of the paint off the pumpkin. I am going to have to give it another shot when I have time. :)

    Thanks for hosting today.

    Jane at frugalfineliving.com
    Join us on Facebook!

  18. I love the look of your white pumpkins! Can you find chalk paint at any of the regular craft stores – like Michael’s, or Hobby Lobby?

  19. Today is the first time that I visited your website. I can not believe how smart and crafty you and your readers are! I am so impressed. I recently left the working world to be a stay at home mom(after 17 years) and am excited about learning new ideas from you. Love it!

  20. Thanks for hosting the party. I’m going to try your corn husk craft. I bought a bag of them last knowing that I would need them for something for fall.

  21. Your crafts are, per usual, incredible! I feel like I’m a crafting machine this time of year too…sometimes I wonder if I’ve crossed that crazy crafter line…you know the one I mean!

    Thanks for the party…I may have gotten carried away with my linking! ;)

  22. The corn husk balls are a great way to use husks that are too small for tamales so this is on my list of things to do (oh my, that means I may never get to it!). I also love the pumpkins. At Halloween time, I do something similar to the “hidden zucchini” in my garden – you know the ones – they grow unnoticed until they are 18 inches long and not edible (we all have ’em, don’t we?). I cut off one end, hollow it out, cut out a ghost face and then paint it white. Put a candle inside, stand it on the cut end (you may need to devise something to make it steady but it’s never been a problem for me) and you have Halloween ghosts to keep your jack ‘o lantern company.

  23. SOOO… excited to be linking with Centsational Girl! Love your sight and all your inspiration. I just purchased some corn husks over weekend & planned to do something with them & burlap… I’m still crafting! That’s the wonderful thing about Fall – you get Sept. thru Nov.
    Keep inspiring us! Thanks!

  24. I love your ideas! Thanks for hosting this link party. I love seeing the creative ideas and projects! I love the corn husk pom pom ball!

  25. I just love how you distresse the pupkin with white paint- how clever- and the tutorial on the pom pom is fab!
    thanks- new here!

    Karen

  26. How funny- those are my two daughters’ names. Thanks for having them over to do chores! :)
    Now I’m especially inspired to make some fall fun!

  27. Hi Kate! Thanks so much for hosting this fun party =) I love those pom poms!
    Also, thank you so much for your post about Windows Live Writer. I used that on my post today, and it worked so well! Great advice!

  28. A beautiful, festive and elegant table! The clothes pins are a fun idea! I finally took the plunge and ordered some chalk paint. I look forward to giving it a try. Maybe my first project should be a pumpkin!

  29. Love those corn husk pom poms! Thanks for hosting this party, Kate. So many fun ideas to explore! (This link party was also the impetus for me to create my first ever tutorial too! Eeek! Now I have an even greater appreciation for you and all the other crafty folks who post tutorials often, because it’s *way* more time-consuming that it looks–I had no idea! But hooray for trying new things!)

  30. Just scrolling through the photos is like an autumn wonderland. Can’t wait to sit in front of the fire tonight and look through the fun links!

  31. These are so gorgeous! I would love to feature this on Reduce, Reuse, Upcycle. Feel free to stop by and grab a featured button. Thanks!

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