Weekend Mini-Make: Halloween garland

I'm back with another Weekend Mini-Make today: a quick craft you can complete over the weekend for less than a tenner. And even better than that, all my mini-makes are designed to be something beginners can try their hand at, whilst also being a relaxing, well-being boost. As I've mentioned before, I regularly turn to DIY and crafting when times get hard, so for me, having a creative outlet has become a vital part of my everyday life. I hope that these simple, cheap crafting ideas will inspire others to have a go, and see if it can make big changes in their life too.

Today's quick craft is another Autumnal-inspired decoration - because who doesn't love decorating up  their home for every possible occasion they can think of?! I've gone with something super simple today - you can honestly make this in an hour or so and its a lovely way to get your home Halloween-ready, and something you can bring out year on year. And best of all - I had all these bits laying about from previous crafts, so this cost me absolutely nothing to make.

You will need:
Felt in various colours - I used one sheet of the following colours: brown, plum and dark pink
Embroidery thread
Needle
Cotton wool
Leaf template

Total cost: £0 - however you could pick up all these bits for just a few pounds from craft shops or on eBay

How to make the leaves 

First up I created a template for my leaves, which I then printed out onto A4 paper and used to cut my leaves out from felt. I cut out a total of nine leaves from three different autumnal colours. 

Right-click or press and hold on the image below to download:

How to make the pumpkins 

I then moved onto making some felt pumpkins from grey felt. I previously shared how to make these in this tutorial here - but they're a lot easier than you might think, and take about 5-10 minutes each. 

I started by cutting a large circle from felt, to form the pumpkin shape. Then, using embroidery thread and a needle, I stitched around the edge of the circle using a standard running stitch - no need for anything fancy here as you won’t see this when the pumpkin is formed. Then, pull the thread together so the felt forms a cup shape, and fill with cotton wool.

Once it’s full, pull the thread together to fully close the pumpkin. Don't snip the thread, keep it attached before moving onto creating the ‘segments’. Push the needle through the centre of the pumpkin from the top, pulling it through the base. Be careful with the needle here, as it can be a little tricky.

Repeat this around the pumpkin to create six segments. Once you're all done, tie off the thread to secure.

Then to finish I rolled some of the darker brown felt into a small tube, securing it with glue to create a stalk.

Assembling the garland 

Finally, I strung the leaves and pumpkins onto a long piece of embroidery thread to hang in your home. I'm really pleased with how this has turned out, and am already thinking about how I can adapt it for Christmas too - think holly and red berries?! Or daffodils at Easter? Any excuse to decorate up...

And you're all done! See Halloween decorations don't need to be plastic bats and streamers!

Hope you enjoyed this quick and simple DIY - let me know if you make one, I'd love to see! And I'll be back next Friday with another quick craft perfect for completing over the weekend.

Thanks for reading,
Sam Xx