Capture the essence of fall with this DIY Fall Vase

“It’s fall y’all” and it’s time for fall crafts! 

KimKingClassified Advertising Manager
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So, I’m getting married in March 2019 (more on this in a later article about DIY wedding decorations). And I don’t know if it is the fact that I feel the need to nest due to the changing weather, “It’s fall Y’all!” or I’m procrastinating on making my own wedding decorations but I have the need to craft something to get in the spirit of autumn.

After scrolling through my Pinterest feed searching “Fall” I got quite a few ideas of projects that I could work on. I decided on something inspired by the changing colors of the trees. 

Even though the trees haven’t begun to change here in Southwest Louisiana, I’m inspired by this quintessential fall happening. I grew up in Maryland, (Yes, I’m a Yankee, by Louisiana standards) near the Catoctin Mountains. This time of year the leaves start to change and the weather gets cooler. It really is one of my favorite seasons.

I also lived in Japan for 2 years and attended college for 1 semester. Just like the famous cherry blossom viewing season, residents of Japan also enjoy making special trips to the mountains to see the changing of the leaves.

It’s called “Momiji-gari” which translated literally means “red leaf hunting”. If you are planning a trip to Japan and would like to know the best place to see the trees changing, there is a website (www.jrailpass.com) dedicated to forecasting when the leaves are changing for the best viewing experience.

The other inspiration for my project was my excitement over our new Creative Crafter contest.

Visit AmericanPress.com/CreativeCrafter for more info on how your craft or crafting business can be featured in the American Press 2018 Holiday Gift Guide!

I needed a container to place entries until the time of the drawing on Nov. 3. In true thrifty crafting style, I grabbed a wide mouth vase we had lying around the house just collecting dust and borrowed some twine from a friend. I was given some autumn colored leaves by our partner, Niche Creative Studio.0928182101b.jpg

After work, I visited a local craft supply store to get the needed Mod Podge and foam brushes. After using my coupon, I only spent $6.15. Now, let’s get crafting.

I started by laying down last week’s paper on my table to protect it from any drips and painting the vase with Mod Podge. I placed the leaves in a haphazard way on the vase to make it look like the leaves had just fallen. They weren’t sticking like I thought they would so I applied more Mod Podge and wrapped in clear plastic.0929181027d.jpg

I left it overnight to adhere and dry. To say the least, this didn’t really happen the way I imagined. I thought I totally ruined my project. But I am not one to easily give up and I take the words of Bob Ross, “There are no mistakes, just happy accidents.”, to heart. 

The following morning, some of my leaves had stuck enough that I pulled the plastic wrap off and let it dry a little more. I again painted the bottom of the vase with Mod Podge and started wrapping the twine around my vase. I wrapped it over some of the leaves to secure them to the vase and to give it depth.

I continued wrapping with twine until I was happy with the coverage. I finished it by tucking the cut end of twine under one of the first wraps. My project was still looking messy. No one said crafting was clean.0929181101a_Burst01.jpg

So I started peeling the dried Mod Podge off the glass. Any that was too difficult to remove, I used nail polish remover on a cotton ball. After I was satisfied with that, I used glass cleaner on a paper towel to make it sparkle.

While admiring what I had just accomplished, I felt that it wasn’t quite finished. It needed something more. I decided to get inspired by visiting Yayi Beads and Gems. I knew she would help me finish it off with something spectacular. 

And sure enough, beads made all the difference. I love visiting Yayi’s shop. She is so inspirational and helpful. She thought that beads should be incorporated in the twine so we took apart the twine and strung beads.0929181400b.jpg

Some beads didn’t have big enough holes so we used findings to be able to attach them to the twine. She had a gorgeous glass bead that I thought would work so well hanging from the top.

Yayi made a bow and attached the bead and another smaller bead to each of the tails and I attached it with hot glue.

I was so happy once I completed this project and all the businesses in The Creative Crafter were such a great help. I think if I were to do this project again, I would trade in the Mod Podge for a hot glue gun. The glue gun would have eliminated a lot of mess and I think the leaves would have been better fixed to the glass.

I also could have ordered some leaf decals that would stick onto glass from Niche Creative Studio or emailed Cardinal Creations to see if they would be able to assist with vinyl.

Once the contest is over and we draw the winner from this ‘winning’ fall vase, I’m going to find the perfect handmade candle to place inside to make an amazing fall center piece for our Thanksgiving table.

Do you know anyone that makes beautiful candles? Tell them about The Creative Crafter where they can advertise their craft or their left over crafting supplies. They may be mentioned in the next crafting article and could win a write up in our Holiday Gift Guide that comes out on Thanksgiving.

Now I’m off to do my next fall “wedding decoration procrastination” project and make pumpkin bread with Kabocha squash I found at a local market.


 Creative Crafting with Kim prints on Saturdays. If you would like to advertise your crafting business or sell leftover crafting supplies call the American Press Classified department at 337-494-4000 or email djean@americanpress.com. Deadline to place a display ad is Wednesday at 4pm and line ad deadline is Friday at 4pm. Feedback about this article can be sent to kwright@americanpress.com.

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