Fun to Make! A Collection of Easy DIY Ideas for Stylish Autumn Decorations
With the arrival of autumn, wouldn’t you like to bring a touch of the season into your home as well? From Japanese-style maple leaf wall hangings and pampas grass ornaments made with macramé, to stylish Halloween decorations… Why not add color to your life with the gentle warmth of handmade items and autumnal decorations that make the most of natural materials? In this article, we introduce easy, accessible ideas for handmade autumn decorations.
Enjoy your time at home while creating an autumn space that’s uniquely yours!
Fun to Make! A Collection of Easy, Stylish DIY Fall Decoration Ideas (1–10)
maple leaf
Autumn is the season when temperatures drop and leaves gradually start to change color, and we especially picture maple leaves as looking beautiful.
Let’s create those vividly colored maple leaves in a three-dimensional way using construction paper.
Fold long, narrow strips of construction paper and combine them to form a maple leaf shape.
To make the leaves even more three-dimensional, it’s recommended to layer pieces of different lengths for each pointed segment.
Try changing the colors of the construction paper as well to see how the overall impression changes.
Osmanthus wreath
When autumn is in full swing, the scent of fragrant olive (kinmokusei) seems to drift in from nowhere, doesn’t it? In this project, we recreate kinmokusei—one of the flowers that represents autumn—using origami, arranging it like a wreath.
First, fold brown origami paper, which evokes the tree, into small pieces with slots for inserting, then combine them to form a ring.
After that, attach leaf-shaped pieces and flower pieces to complete the whole.
Consider the balance as you assemble, layering each part in a way that creates a vivid, three-dimensional finish.
A mobile of apples and pears
Autumn brings an abundance of delicious seasonal fruits—truly the season of hearty appetites.
How about making a mobile shaped like iconic autumn fruits? Using colored construction paper, we’ll create apples and pears.
Make a template and glue several identical pieces together.
Glue along the folds with wood glue or similar; it’s okay if a little squeezes out.
In the center, attach a paper piece shaped like the core of an apple or pear.
Hanging it from the ceiling or displaying it by a window makes for a lovely interior decoration.
Buddha nut arrangement
Let’s create a stylish arrangement using a Buddha nut.
A Buddha nut is a type of seed pod said to bring good fortune because it resembles the Buddha’s head.
Place floral foam inside the Buddha nut, then embed dried flowers, pine cones, acorns, other autumn seed pods, and dried fruit.
Fill the surrounding areas with faux moss, insert larger seed pods and flowers into the foam first, and then place smaller seed pods to fill the gaps.
This will give the whole piece a well-balanced finish.
jack-o’-lantern
When it comes to big events in autumn, Halloween is the classic, and the must-have decoration is the jack-o’-lantern.
Let’s make a three-dimensional jack-o’-lantern that also evokes the bounty of fall using origami.
Use a plastic cup as the base, and attach thin, elongated strips of origami paper to it, keeping a curved shape in mind as you go to form a round shape.
Once the overall shape is nicely rounded, add the facial features and other parts to finish.
To make it clear it’s a Halloween decoration, it’s also recommended to add motifs like a black cat or bats.
Fallen-Leaf Lion
One of the scenes that evoke autumn is the way fallen leaves pile up on the ground—you can almost feel both their layered depth and their softness.
This activity uses those autumnal leaves to create the shape of a lion.
First, draw the lion’s face, cut it out, and place it as the base.
Then, glue fallen leaves around that piece, surrounding it so they look like the lion’s mane.
The lion’s impression will change depending on the color and shape of the leaves you use, so it’s recommended to be selective from the leaf-picking stage.
Autumn foliage wall decoration
If you’re thinking of making a decoration with a Japanese aesthetic, how about creating a wall hanging featuring maple leaves and the moon? Using origami or colored paper, you’ll build an autumn scene on a backing sheet.
Unlike ordinary paper collages, this piece incorporates three-dimensional maple leaves and a single strip of paper twirling above the base, evoking the breeze of an autumn night.
The maple leaves may seem difficult, but you only need to fold and cut them to shape.
Try varying the sizes and coloring them vibrantly with yellow, red, and even still-green leaves.