Easy DIY Fall Crafts (Upcycled and Inexpensive!)

Looking for ways to decorate for fall without buying new or spending a lot of money? This collection of 13 DIY fall decor ideas are all made with items found at the thrift store or maybe even already laying around your house.

Upcyled DIY FAll DECOR Project Ideas

I love changing up decorations for different seasons, but I am not a huge fan of continuously buying new decor every season as trends and my own personal design style changes. Instead, I prefer to create my own seasonal decor by resuing and upcycling secondhand goods whenever possible.

This collection of fall decor projects were all projects I’ve completed over the last several years. A few of these posts no longer live on my blog, but I’ve tried to give enough details so you are able to DIY the project as well. Of course, if you have any questions about how a specific project was completed, please feel free to reach out!

Fall Wreath from Silver Platter

Silver platters are always at the thrift store! Reuse one to make a chalkboard wreath and add a fun text perfect for welcoming the fall season. In the tutorial for this upcycled fall wreath, you will find a printable to help you easily create the exact font on this chalkboard sign if like the look of “happy harvest”.

Mason Jar Ring Pumpkins

Mason jar rings work perfectly to make little pumpkin shapes when they are combined together and fanned out. I added orange washi tape and a little electrical wire stem to make these guys look like pumpkins. You can read the full tutorial here: DIY pumpkin decorations from mason jar rings.

DIY Flannel Pumpkins

These are one of my favorite fall decoration DIY projects! Reuse old flannels by making this rustic and adorable flannel shirt pumpkins. I also reused old flannel shirts and a sweater to make a rustic fall table runner.

Scrap Wood Pumpkins

Use up small pieces of scrap wood to make these wood stacked pumpkins. Stain or paint the boards in fall colors and glue the boards together in an ascending/descending pattern. Rope wrapped dowel rods work great as rustic stems, but my favorite way to add stems to fake pumpkins is to use real pumpkin stems from the previous season that are dried out.

Candy Corn Candle Holders

I found these small glass jars at the thrift store that I made into candy corn candle holders. I cut out vinyl leaves with my Cricut (but you could also use leaf-shaped stickers) and then painted the jars in orange, light orange, and yellow with glass paint. Chalk paint would also work well for this project, but it will give a more opaque finish.

After removing the stickers you can see through the jar which creates a neat affect at night when the candles are lit. As a play on the candy corn theme, I added corn kernels for the candles to sit it!

Gold and Glittered Acorns

There’s probably not much description needed for this project! Collect acorns and paint them in any way you like! I used gold paint and gold glitter, but I’ve seen arrangements with multiple colors as well and they look awesome! Fill a glass jar or scatter then on a table centerpiece for a natural fall look with a little glam!

Fall wreath from Old Dustpan

This vintage dust pan was a fluke find in a garage at an estate sale, but as soon as I saw it I thought the colors would work perfectly for a fall “wreath”. Colored harvest corn fit in the bin perfectly to make this into a quirky fall door decoration!

Decoupaged Leaf Candle Jar

Faux leaves can be found at the Dollar Tree or any craft store around this time of year. These are flexible, so I used ModPodge to glue them to an old glass applesauce jar. Adding a candle makes these so pretty at night because it makes the fall colors glow!

Fall Fabric Pumpkins

This fall project was inspired by another lucky estate sale find. The vintage fabric was already a patchwork quilt design, so I just cinch-sewed up the bottom, inverted it right-side out, stuffed it with filling, and then cinch-sewed up the top.

These fabric pumpkins can also be made without sewing. Instead, use hot glue to attach wide strips of fabric together. Gather the bottom together, glue the wrong sides together, and turn it inside out. Stuff it up and glue it all closed. Use a stem to hide the bunching and glue at the top!

“BOO” Halloween Sign

Woven paper plate holders make the perfect backdrop for easy DIY signs. I painted the inside of these chargers in black paint, and then wrote the letters in glue and added glitter to make this “BOO” sign.

Fabric Ghosts

These colorful ghosts are made with styrofoam balls and fabric quarters (or you can cut down any piece of fabric to make different sized ghosts). Simply center the fabric over the styrofoam ball and pull the fabric over it, tying it in place under the ball. Fishing line works great to hang them from a tree, your mantle, or in the doorway!

Fall Wood Sign with Arrows

I reused some old bed slats to make this wood sign for fall. I have the printable file and directions for applying letters to paint in the full tutorial here: DIY Fall Sign for Front Porch

Pick Your Own Pumpkins SIgn

Using old shiplap is an easy way to make reclaimed wood signs because the tongue and groove help it to attach together. Then, just add two wood boards to the back and glue and nail them in place to hold everything together. This sign was made using a stencil I made, but you could easily use the hand lettering technique for signs as well.

I hope these DIY fall decor ideas inspired you in some way to reuse something to make some new fall decorations! Here are a few more inexpensive fall decor ideas to help decorate your home for the season without spending a lot of money.