Decorating Our Floor Mirror For Fall
I think the floor mirror in our living room has officially become one of my favorite places to decorate for the seasons. Every time a new holiday or season rolls around, I find myself thinking of new ways to spruce it up a little to make it feel fun. And, well, it’s officially decorated for fall!
I have to admit, when I started this project I didn’t plan on decorating the mirror. In fact, I created these little paper leaves with the intention of making a garland for my mantel. But, once I got going I quickly realized that spot wasn’t going to work. It was too busy and just didn’t look right. But on the mirror? Well, I think it’s pretty darn adorable.
How I Made the DIY Paper Fall Leaves
I got the idea for this project when I saw this fall leaf garland at Target. I didn’t really want to spend $20 on it, and I was in the mood to try my hand at a little craft. So, I got to work!
I made the leaves out of brown scrapbook paper, but paper bags would work really well for this, too! I have to confess that when I got started on this I totally forgot that I own a Cricut machine, so I cut about half the leaves out by hand by printing out and tracing a couple of different leaf shapes. It was tedious and caused a few hand cramps, but it was also a good excuse to binge watch Six Feet Under, so I’m not complaining.
Things went much faster once I remembered I had a machine to help me out. I had the Cricut cut the remaining leaves and it went by fast.
With all the leaves cut out, I got to painting. Of course, you could just buy the paper in the color you want the leaves to simplify things. But, I wanted the added texture of the paint and I think it adds a really nice effect! I just used some acrylic craft paint and made sure to mix in some brown with each of the main colors to deepen them.
Decorating the Mirror
Once the leaves had dried, I just taped ’em up on the mirror to create a little faux garland! I went really haphazardly and didn’t overthink it. I just occasionally stepped back to make sure the colors were being distributed relatively evenly. I think it took me about 15 minutes to get them all hung.
Is this the fanciest, most professional-looking decor around? Of course not! But, it makes me smile and I had a ton of fun making it, and that’s really all that matters to me.
I love finding free ways to make things feel a little more festive for the seasons. I think this is a great example of working with what you already have in the house to make some decor that makes a surprisingly big impact.
Other Seasonal Mirror Decor
Interested in seeing how I spruce this little guy up at other times throughout the year?
- In a few weeks, I’ll add bats for Halloween
- Here’s what we do every Valentine’s Day
- And, on this post you can see how it’ll look at Christmastime
Consider this post your friendly reminder to have a little fun with the seasonal decor in your house. Sure, it’s nice when everything looks all gorgeous and magazine-worthy. But sometimes it’s equally nice to have an imperfect-but-adorable addition that you made with your own two hands.
Other Easy Fall Decor Ideas
Looking for more ways to spruce your home up for fall on a budget? I’ve got you covered.
- Last year, I made this cute garland out of paper bags.
- You can make really cute pumpkins with some scrap 2×4 lumber.
- Cheap pumpkins from the dollar store look way nicer with a coat of paint.
- Cheap fall stems are my favorite way to make an impact on the cheap.