Having a child can be challenging on a good day, let alone as we head into the busiest time of year. The pressure to be the mom who has it all is stronger than ever. With that in mind, we have compiled a list of quick DIY fall décor to have your home ready for the season, without having to spend all day in your craft room. As a bonus, no glue guns are involved, some your kids might even be able to help, and all of these project can be done in the time it takes for a good solid nap!

Mat

Life is all about making a good first impression, your house is no different. A great place to start is with a fall/Halloween-themed door mat.

Materials:

Outdoor mat
Paint (outdoor acrylic is recommended)
Stencil
Paint Brush
Scissors or X-Acto Knife
Cardstock

This project is very versatile and can be turned into a DIY for almost any season. First, you’ll need an outdoor mat that can be found at your local Target or Lowe’s. Next, find a design you’d like to recreate. Once you find the design print it out onto a piece of cardstock and cut it out so you can use it as a stencil. Place the stencil on top of the mat. Use your brush to paint your design. Try to avoid using a stroking motion when you’re painting over a stencil, instead, use more of a pouncing motion. Once you have filled in your stencil completely, remove it. Finally, allow your mat to dry overnight. Be sure that it is completely dry before using.

Vase

This simple idea can make the transition from Halloween to fall without needing any adjustments, making it the perfect DIY for moms.

Materials:

Glass Vase
Small Pumpkins in a variety of colors
Fairy light (optional)

For this simple DIY all you’ll need is to use a cylindrical vase in your home to place the miniature pumpkins in. It really is that easy and can be used as both a Halloween and fall decoration or centerpiece. If you want to add some light you can artfully place some fairy lights around the pumpkins and use it as a fun night light.

Ghosts

These little ghosts are a great outdoor decoration and they take very little time. Plus, they are so light weight once the wind starts to blow they will move eerily in the breeze. They are also a great project for the kids to help with.

Materials:

White balloons
White trash bags – make sure they don’t have colored drawstrings
Black Sharpie
Fishing line
Twist ties – preferably white

Once you have all your materials in one place, begin blowing up the balloons. You will need one balloon per ghost that you hope to create. Once your balloon is at the desired size, take your trash bag and put the balloon in it. You want your balloon positioned so that one of the corners of the bag sticks up like a little ghost top notch. Next, use the twist tie to secure the balloon in the bag. Then, take your sharpie and give your ghost a face. Repeat until all your ghosts have faces. Finally, you can hang your ghosts from trees or your porch by using the fishing line to secure them. When tying the fishing line to your ghost secure it around the corner piece above his head. If you secure it near the twist tie it will look like he is hanging by his neck, which isn’t quite as cute. Once they are hung they will move with the wind, giving your home a cute, yet haunted appearance.

Apothecary Bottles

Are you looking to add some bone-chilling décor to your home? Consider creating these easy apothecary bottles. They bring to mind a more traditional Halloween feel without being too creepy for the kids.

Materials:

 Glass bottles
Corks if desired
Pipe cleaners
Dried mushrooms
Paper feathers
Flour
Silver glitter
Gray wool
Colored water
Label paper

Once you gather your materials, print out your apothecary labels onto label paper using this template provided by liagriffith.com.  Simply peel the labels from the paper and place them on the desired bottles. Then use the rest of our materials to fill your bottles. Black pipe cleaners make great tarantula legs, dried mushrooms for toadstool clippings, paper feathers cut from black paper for crow feathers, white flour makes great bone powder, silver glitter for the unicorn horn dust, gray wool for werewolf fur, and colored water for snake venom and arsenic.

You don’t have to use those materials. Part of the fun is being creative and adjusting as you see fit.

Book Covers

Do you have any hardcover books in your home? Do you have a printer and some paper? Great! You have all the supplies needed for these traditionally spooky book covers. Place these books around your home for total Halloween vibes.

Materials:

Hardcover Books
Standard Brown Packing Paper

Cut your brown paper into A4 sized pieces of paper. Then insert the paper into the printer and print the prepared templates. Once they are printed, you can trim the paper to fit the size of your books.

The template created by littlehouseonthecorner.com can be found here.

Pumpkin Drawing

Carving pumpkins are a standard of Halloween but the minute that you start carving your pumpkin begins a countdown towards decay. Nothing puts a damper on the festivities quite like a moldy pumpkin. With this mess-free option, your pumpkins will last past Halloween all the way to Thanksgiving.

Materials:

Pumpkins
Sharpies
Paint Brush (optional)
Mod Podge (optional)

For this decoration the first thing you are going to want to do is give your pumpkin a good washing. Nothing worse than creating a masterpiece to then realize you drew right over a muddy patch. Next select either a saying or a design that you wish to put on your pumpkin. Use your sharpie to draw your design or saying. You can stop their if you want but if you feel that you want to put a final layer of protection you can paint a thin layer of Mod Podge on top to create a barrier.

In an age were social media makes it easy to see the lives of others through rose colored glasses, the pressure to be the mom who does it all is substantial. With our quick and easy DIY décor ideas you can create the perfect subject for an Insta without investing hours of your time, freeing you up to spend more time with your kids.