How To Create Simple and Unique Fall Centerpieces Using Wildflowers

Websites, magazines and home decorating shows offer a plethora of decorating ideas. Pumpkins and gourds, haystacks and scarecrows are all traditional decorations for the season. For some simple and different ideas, try a stroll through a park, meadow or forest. Fresh air, blue skies and vibrant colors on an Autumn day can tickle your creative bone. Spice up your traditional decor this year with your imagination and what you find on your walks. The daily grind of life often smothers our creative thinking process.Creativity is often defined as using resources available to you to produce original material and ideas.While it is resourceful to use other people’s ideas, you can gain self satisfaction from seeing your own ideas come to life.

Decorating with Leaves

If you live in an area with a variety of deciduous trees that change color collect some pretty ones and take a close up look. You will see that most are spotted, two-toned or have a “tie dyed” look. Take a bag with you so you can pick up the best specimens. I’ll bet you can come up with a creative way to display them. Just remember that if you are going to use them in an arrangement they will dry and crumble in a day or two so be prepared to show your display right away.

When I was a child we pressed our leaves between sheets of wax paper with a warm iron
to help preserve them. Nowadays we can take this process a step further with clear Contact brand plastic sheeting. A great project to do with kids is to create leaf place mats for Thanksgiving. You will also need 11” by 14” construction paper and real leaf specimens.Follow these steps to make your place mats.

1. prearrange the leaves you choose to create a general pattern.
2. place the leaves on a sheet of the construction paper.
3. cut two sheets of the clear Contact slightly larger than the 11” by 14” paper.
4. peel and carefully place the Contact on both sides.
5. trim the edges, and press out any wrinkles or bubbles.

Other ideas for your preserved leaves include mobiles or sun catchers. Simply cut around the leaves with scissors following the leaf’s shape. Follow directions for making a mobile and use your leaf cut-outs. Purchase small suction cups at a craft store and glue to your leaf cut-outs for some unique sun catchers. How impressed your guests will be to see real leaves as sun catchers in a sunny window!

Wild Flowers or Rag Weeds?

Goldenrod is a prevalent wild flower across North America that showcases in the Fall. There are several varieties and they take the rap for aggravating allergies when it is actually rag weed that is the bad guy. A big bouquet of goldenrod alone in a glass container makes a tasteful centerpiece. Add a ribbon of Autumn colors or designs if desired. Depending on the region where you live the fields are rich with an assortment of Fall wildflowers. Finding and identifying them can be a fun activity as well.. Be creative as you look around your particular region. I found that left over blackberries dried on a fading vine added interest to my bouquets along with some yellowing wild grapevine. Learn to include what is indigenous to your region. After your walk, look around your home for glass vases, old watering cans and other containers to creatively display your finds. Acorns, seed pods, red berries, small pine cones and other natural objects can be placed in glass jars to display


Halloween Lights and Nature

For a really cool Halloween tree scout the woods for a small bare tree or branch. (You may need to pack a hack saw for this). Mount the tree in a trick or treat bucket with clay. String purple and orange mini lights among the branches. Leave as is for a classic look or have the kids adorn the tree with black paper bats and white tissue ghosts. Be creative with your Halloween tree and see if you can add some originality to it.



Be Creative, Be Green

What I have attempted to relate by sharing my projects is that by opening up to the natural resources around us we can help our creative juices flow. I have often found it satisfying to use others’ ideas as a springboard to come up with personalized projects.My projects will not look exactly like theirs because I have used my own resources. And unlike plastic decorations, natural items are mostly free and always a sustainable choice. Being a good steward to Earth is one more thing to feel good about. Happy Autumn!