Autumnal Seasonal Decorations for the Home

There couldn't be a better time to get outdoors and enjoy nature than on a clear, fall day. Even better, you can collect a plethora of natural materials, bring them home, and use them in a variety of fall decorations.

Pull out that wool sweater from its drawer, put on your best hiking boots, and set out on a fall hunt. A sturdy sack can be a handy tote for gathering fallen leaves, pinecones, acorns and late-blooming flowers as you take in the colors of the changing leaves and hear the crackle of twigs and dried stems underfoot. Once you're home, warm up with a hot mug of cider and spread out your seasonal glory on a newspaper-lined table. Then start creating some decorative pieces to bring the feeling of fall indoors.

Bountiful Table Settings

It's easy to turn the abundance of autumn into beautiful table displays. You'll find the materials heaped at farmer's markets or stacked at grocery stores.

For a pumpkin vase centerpiece, select a medium-sized pumpkin. Then, cut a hole in the top, remove the seeds, and rinse out the inside. If the pumpkin does not sit flat, trim off a little of the bottom. Rub vegetable oil or petroleum jelly on all the cut surfaces so they do not dry out. Set the pumpkin on a plate to avoid marking your tabletop or table linens. You can pour water directly into the pumpkin or tuck a container, such as those available from the deli, into the pumpkin to make the pumpkin last longer. Gather leaves, flowers, curly sticks and twigs, berries, wheat stalks, and other fall finery loosely into a bouquet and place them in the pumpkin.

You can use the same technique to turn gourds into place cards for dinner guests.

For each dinner guest, position a gourd or a hollow squash on a salad plate and fill it with a colorful posy of enchantment lilies and a sprig of red winter berries, pepperberries, or evergreen. With a little thought and creativity, you'll have a bountiful autumn display that will greet guests to your home.

Fall Garlands

Celebrate the abundance of the autumnal season by adorning your home with garlands you can make from leaves, herbs, fruits and vegetables, and other natural materials. Just follow these tips to create simple garlands:

1. Gather and wire together curly willow twigs or other flexible branches or limbs for the garland's base, then wire on accent shapes, such as Indian corn and oak leaves.

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