We had our first cool day in months and instantly my fall decor instincts kicked in. Since we don’t have a garage and we have to fight tooth and nail for any storage space we can, seasonal home decor items need to be kept at a minimum. This led me to find some budget friendly fall decor items that I don’t have to be attached to, and can donate or recycle at the change of seasons.
Find the video tutorial here.
The first thing I did was hit Pinterest to find some Fall color inspiration. I decided to stick to a color pallet so that everything would blend nicely together, and also to help keep me focused. Trying to be minimal here!
I hit Michael’s with my color pallet in hand, and bought some inexpensive craft paints with future Fall up-cycles in mind. You can also find these craft paints here.
After Michael’s, I hopped over to the thrift store and the dollar store, and I ended my shopping spree with this little mini haul of goodies to work with.
Colorful Fall Frames
For my first budget friendly fall decor project, I grabbed some dollar store frames and put some fabric in them. Literally the easiest of all the projects I did, but one of my favorites. I picked up a couple frames in different sizes and then a 1/4 yard of fabric in prints that matched my color pallet.
After giving the frames a coat of paint and a little distressing, I cut the fabric to size, placed it in the frame and threw them on the shelf.
Up-cycled Dollar Store Pumpkins
The Dollar Store had some little foam pumpkins in different sizes that were great for up-cycling. With no sanding necessary, I dove in with my paints. I experimented a little bit with layers, and was loving the copper metallic color.
To get a drippy paint look, if that’s your vibe, you can mist your wet paint with water. Mist a little at a time and wait and watch before adding more water to see how much dripping you will get before adding more water.
The glass pumpkins were also easy to paint, but I did need to rough up the surface with sandpaper beforehand.
Thrifted Fall Coasters
After finding these little wooden coasters at the thrift store for $2.00 I knew they would be a great addition to my budget friendly fall decor. After a little TLC of course, I had originally painted them all different colors, but ended up just going with green and cream.
Find similar coasters here.
Using decoupage, I stuck some fabric down to the tops of my coasters. Make sure to smooth the fabric down so there are no wrinkles and use your fingernail or something with an edge to push the fabric tightly into the corners.
After the decoupage is dry, I used a utility knife to carefully cut along the edges and remove the excess fabric. I also added a bit of my new favorite copper metallic paint to shnaz the coasters up a bit.
Budget Friendly Fall Flower Arrangements
There may be nothing I love more in the decor world than plants. Especially ones that never die. Thankfully Michael’s was being super budget friendly and had a buy one get one free deal on all their Fall faux flowers. 
We are also thankful for neighbor farmers who leave a couple clumps of wheat for us to glean. This year my budget friendly Fall decor understudy got in on the gleaning excitement.
My husband was also delighted that we moved next to a field because I used to drag him out into the countryside after harvest to search for clusters of left over wheat to turn into bouquets. Not really his idea of a good time I’m afraid. Maybe even slightly embarrassing for him as passer buyers question our unethical harvesting methods.
Another tip I discovered on my shopping adventures is that buying faux floral at craft stores is a much better value than the Dollar Store. I did grab a couple stems from the Dollar Store, but they are maybe a little too faux if you know what I mean. They are also pretty tiny compared to the size you’ll get at the craft store, with shorter stems and fewer buds.
Dollar Store Leaf Garland
My last project was this leaf garland. In an attempt to spread the Fall decor love to more areas of our home, I crowned the kitchen door with this easy project. The Dollar Store had different colored burlap and sparkly leaves that I grabbed, matching my pallet of course. You can find similar product here and here.
I used my hot glue gun to stick the sparkly leaves onto the tops of the burlap leaves, and then hot glued some twine across the backs of the pairs. Stick the leaves on every 12 inches, and be careful to leave about a foot at either end for tying up the garland.
We even made a little bonus decor with my extra leaves.
Budget Friendly Fall Decor – Shelfie
Now that the crafting frenzy is over, we are feeling a lot more festive around here. I managed to get the fall decor I was craving without breaking the bank. Nothing on our shelves is so priceless that our kids can’t touch it without facing annihilation, and I can change my whole decor scheme next year without being overly wasteful. Success!
Happy Fall and Enjoy!
