With autumn just around the corner for the northern hemisphere, I thought I'd show you a door hanging that I made with my garden club a couple of years ago. I happened to be in Michael's this afternoon and saw something quite close to it, selling for $19.99. I priced all the components today, and they would cost between $5 and $7, depending on where you shopped, and what supplies you already have at home.
This is one bundle (3) of Indian corn (the grocery store today had a bundle of 3 corns selling for $2), 3 autumn-themed floral picks, one with leaves and a pumpkin, one with leaves and small berries, and one with autumn-toned flowers (dollar store for $2-3 or Michael's for 79c a pick, total about $2.50-$3.00), 1 wired ribbon folded in a bow, about 2/3 yard (dollar store, fabric store or craft store for about $1), a bit of florist's wire to hold it all together (about 25-50c).
Our group spent about 10 minutes each assembling these. They required no special skill whatsoever. All of us were first-timers making these and they turned out nicely.
First we wrapped some florist wire around the necks of the 3 ears of corn, front to back, to secure them together. Then we pushed the decor picks up through the area where corn kernels meet husks, and bent wires down and wrapped the ends to the back, following up with one more length of florist wire to secure the bunch. (I placed my picks such that some would be under the ribbon and some would be above.) Finally, we added a wired-ribbon bow, held together by another wire, twisted and wrapped around to the back. Turning the ornament over, we made a loop out of some of the wire on the backside for a hanger. On mine, I added a bit of string to suspend the ornament from a hook or nail above.
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| this is the backside, showing wires wrapped to the back and "hooked" to make a hanger |
At the end of the autumn season, and beginning of the Christmas season, I put it away in a closet with other autumn decor. It still looks great, this being it's 3rd season.
Do you decorate for the seasons, other than Christmas? I like autumn, so having decor specific to autumn seems like a natural to me.
