Raffia Fall Centerpiece - How To

I think every crafter has raffia in their stash.  I got a large pack last year on clearance at Hobby Lobby and finally came up with an idea on how to use it in my fall décor.  This past summer I did manage to make some cute little raffia pot characters that you can see here.  Now I'm going to show you how to make a somewhat versatile centerpiece that you can use virtually anytime of the year.

Start by cutting out a round piece of cardboard.  I used a plastic bowl top as a pattern.

The diameter of this circle is 9 1/4 inches.

I divided the circle into quarters so I could glue the raffia on evenly.

I cut small bunches of raffia nine inches long and first taped the bunch and then tied with a piece of raffia.

Next I covered the circle on both sides with burlap (forgot to take pictures) to blend in better and then I started hot gluing the raffia bunches along the lines.  I left space for a round candle or vase in the center.

It took be about an hour to cut, tape and tie all of the raffia bundles.

Back

   Front

 This is the basic raffia centerpiece.  Decorating it is virtually unlimited for anytime of the year.

I put a candle in the center, added leaves, an assortment of pumpkins, berries and gourds.  Makes for a pretty centerpiece don't you think.

Next I filled a small vase with acorns and tied a raffia braid around the top.

So much light coming from the windows. . . 

I think you can have fun arranging whatever you want on top and around the raffia.

You can even add a mirror and hang it on the wall, if you like.  Or maybe use it as a wreath.  Just let your imagination soar!

Can't decide which one I like.  Who knows.  .  . I might just switch it up again!

Take a little time to enjoy,

   

You may also be interested in:

Burlap Leaf Table Runner

Make an Owl from Recycled Soap Bottle

Pinecone Flower Tree

Marble Cone Tree

Mums in a Boot

Some boots are made for walking, or working, but this one is a whimsical boot for planting.  Realistically worn right down to the tattered finish, curled-up soles and wrinkled shape!  My dear childhood friend Walter, who lost his wife last year and then underwent brain surgery a week later, gave me this adorable planter.  Although recovered, he is no longer able to take care of himself.  Now, he's slowly getting rid of some cherished items and I'm so glad he thought to give me this.  I've had it awhile trying to think of the best way to use it. 

I think these chrysanthemums look stunning in the boot.  With each new season a different plant can be placed inside.

The color of the chrysanthemums is called coral.  I love the shade. The mums look so soft and muted.  For my outdoor fall décor,  I made pumpkin topiaries using faux autumn fern leaves, and creamy bittersweets placed between the pumpkins. . . .

 

 

 

 

 

 

and secured in urns on opposite sides of my front doorway.

 

You can read about how I made my grapevine garland pumpkin door wreath here. 

 Thanks, Walter!  You mean so much to me and my family.  Your boot planter has become my most favorite outdoor accent. So cute and adorable!



Take a little time to enjoy,











Linking To Some of My Fav Parties:
Mellywoods Mansion for Raising Imperfections Party ,  By Stephanielynn  for the Sunday Showcase Party ,  The Tablescaper for Seasonal Sunday ,  VMG206 for DIY Sunday Showcase , Sewing Barefoot for The Weekly Creative, Alderberry Hill for Make the Scene Monday , Clairejustineoxox for Creative Mondays ,  Craft and Repeat for On Display Monday Link Party ,  The Dedicated House for Make It Pretty Monday , Feeding Big and more for In and Out of the Kitchen Monday ,  I Should be Mopping the Floor for Mopping It Up Monday ,  Making the World Cuter for Making the World Cuter Monday , Newlywed Pilgrimage for Moonlight Mason Jars linky party Monday Night ,  So Much Better with Age for Give Me The Goods Party ,  Thrifty Decor Chick for Before and After Monday , Boogieboard Cottage for Masterpiece Monday , Between Naps on the Porch for Metamorphosis Monday , Home Coming for DIY'ers , I Gotta Try That for Linky Party Monday,  Mod Vintage Life for Mod Mix Monday , Pursuit of Funtional Home for Monday Hop , One More Time for Share It One More Time , Twelve O Eight for Pretty Things Linky Party Monday , Todays Creative Blog for Get Your Craft On ,  Be Betsy for Brag About It Tuesday , DIY Dreamer for From Dream to Reality , Flusterbuster for Creative Muster  Tuesday ,  Kathe With A E for You're Gonna Love It Tuesday ,    The Stories of A2Z for Tutorials and Tips Tuesday , Coastal Charm for Nifty Thrifty Tuesday , A Stroll thru Life for  Tabletop Inspire Me Tuesday , Cedar Hill Ranch for The Scoop on Tuesdays ,Homework for Inspiration Board Tuesday , My Uncommon Slice of Suburbia for Tuesday's Treasures , Romance on a Dime for Take on Tuesday , Debbiedoos for Tuesdays Top Talent Pinterest Party ,  Hickory Trail for Assets and Efforts ,  Hope In Every Season for Make,Bake,Create ,  Mad Cap Frenzy for Totally Tuesday Link Party ,   VMg206 for Brag About It Tuesday , Love Grows Wild for Time to Sparkle , The Blissful Bee for Work It Wednesday ,   Cass-Eats for Linky & Drinky Wednesday ,  Our Home Away from Home for Tuesdays at Our Home ,   Eclectic Red Barn for The Pinterest Power Party ,  Primp for Primp Your Stuff Wednesdays , Ginger Snap Crafts for Wow Me Wednesdays ,  
Life With the CrustCutOff for Two Girls and a LinkUp ,  Pink Recipe Box for Creative Wednesdays ,   Savvy Southern Style for Wow Us Wednesdays ,The Shady Porch for Rock and Share Wednesdays , The Taylor House for Pinterest Power Party Wednesday ,  We Like To Learn As We Go for What I Learned Wednesday ,  DIY by Design for Swing into Spring , All Things With a Purpose for Thursday Link Up , Krafty Cards,Etc. for Krafty Inspirations Thursday ,   CSI Project for Challenge of the Week Thursday , Dysfunction Junction for Linkin With My Ladies Thursday ,  I Gotta Create for Wildly Original Linky Party The Frugal Girls for Chic and Crafty Party ,  Glued To My Crafts for Thursdays Obsessions , Lamberts Lately for Create It Thursday , Katherine's Corner for Thursday Favorite Things Blog Hop ,  A Peek Into My Paradise for TGIF Link Party ,  The Shabby Creek Cottage for Transformation Thursdays , Marigold's Loft for Tutorial Thursdays ,  My Fashion Forward Blog for All Things Pretty ,  No Minimalist Here for the Open House Party on Thursdays , Posed Perfection for All Things Thursday ,  Sparkles and a Stove for All Things Pretty Thursday ,  Stone Gable for Tutorials, Tips and Tidbits on Thursdays , Chic on a Shoestring Decorating for Flaunt It Friday , The Dedicated House for Anything Blue Friday . Happy Go Lucky for Shine on Fridays ,  Jennifer Rizzo for Fabulously Creative Friday ,     My Romantic Home for Show and Tell Friday , French Country Cottage for Feathered Nest Friday , Common Ground for Be Inspired on Fridays , The Charm of Home for Home Sweet Home Friday , Craftberry Bush for the Inspiration Gallery on Friday ,  Diana's Rambles for Pin Me Linky Friday 504 Main for Tickled Pink Fridays , Happy Go Lucky for Shine on Friday , Happy Hour Projects for Happy Hour Friday ,  Mellywoods Mansion for Freaking Awesome Fridays ,   Obsessive and Creative for Craft Frenzy Friday ,  Rooted in Thyme for Simple & Sweet Fridays , See Vanessa Craft for do something crafty Friday ,  Shaken Together for What's Shakin' Friday ,   Whipperberry for Friday Fair Link Party ,  DIY Showoff for That DIY Party ,   Funky Junk Interiors for Saturday Nite Special, Love of Family & Home for Inspire Me Please Weekend , A Bouquet of Talent for Life on Lake Shore Drive on Saturdays , Classy Clutter for Spotlight Saturday , Crafts a la Mode for What To Do Weekends , Debbiedoo's  for Get Blitzed on Pinterest , It's Overflowing for Share Your Creativity Saturday ,  Just Us Four for Pinworthy Projects Party Friday , Mommifried for Ladies Only Blog Share Link Party , My Snippets of Inspiration for Pin It Saturday ,  Natasha in Oz for #Say Gday Saturday Linky Party , One More Time for Share It One More Time Saturday ,  Serenity You for Serenity Saturday , Tutus & Tea Parties for a Pinteresting Party

Bleached Pine Cones & Decor

I love being challenged to recreate something. I often use them as inspirations for me in my world of crafting.  Recently I saw a picture of a pinecone ornament for the Great Glitzy Hack Off.  I had just tried bleaching some pine cones and knew their final appearance would be the ideal look for this ornament.  I had success in bleaching leaves last year and you can read about that here,  but I was a little skeptical about doing that for pinecones. Naturally I went online to see if anyone had done it before.  Why yes, but all that I read said to mix part water to part bleach for the pinecones.  Since I was going to use bleach from the dollar store (didn't want to waste money on more expensive stuff)  I decided to use it full strength in my experiment.

I gently poured bleach over store-bought cinnamon scented pinecones I had from my xmas stash.  The bleach immediately turned brown and the pinecones began to close up.  I closed up the container and ever so often would move them about.  After about 24 hours I removed them from the bleach and put them on paper towels to drain.  (don't know why I didn't rinse off the bleach)

You could tell that the color of the scales had changed, but the beauty was yet to be seen.
It took several days for the pinecones to reopen and at one point I got impatient and put the pinecones in a 275 degree oven for an hour. That worked!

Putting them in the oven initially would have solved my anxiety about the pinecones opening.

                                          

 Lo and behold, the pinecones were absolutely beautiful!

 Each one with a different shade and appearance.

I turned one upside down so you can see the detail.

The interesting part about bleaching these and putting them in the oven is that the cinnamon fragrance remained and my kitchen smelled really good.

Using the bleached pinecones in décor proved to be very rewarding.  After decorating them with a mixture of seed beads, glitter, mod podge and champagne color glitter paint, I fell in love with the results. 

For my vignette, I needed to color some plastic leaves using the same champagne color paint.  First I painted the leaves white

and then painted three coats of champagne metallic paint over that. 

 Next I added champagne glitter paint onto the edges.

The leaves were transformed into glittery beauties with a leathery feel.

 I added an evergreen twig. . . 

For a delightful arrangement. . . .

The picture from the Great Glitzy Hack Off featured pinecone ornaments and décor in shades of turquoise.  

                                               

    You know I had to use my purple hues instead.

A tutorial on my purple flower napkin ring can be found here.

Still can't get over how pretty the bleached pinecones are.  I know I'll be bleaching more for the holidays.  Why don't you try this, too?

Take a little time to enjoy,







Linking to and Joining: 

 Some of My Fav Parties:
Mellywoods Mansion for Raising Imperfections Party ,  By Stephanielynn  for the Sunday Showcase Party ,  The Tablescaper for Seasonal Sunday ,  VMG206 for DIY Sunday Showcase , Sewing Barefoot for The Weekly Creative, Alderberry Hill for Make the Scene Monday , Clairejustineoxox for Creative Mondays ,  Craft and Repeat for On Display Monday Link Party ,  The Dedicated House for Make It Pretty Monday , Feeding Big and more for In and Out of the Kitchen Monday ,  I Should be Mopping the Floor for Mopping It Up Monday ,  Making the World Cuter for Making the World Cuter Monday , Newlywed Pilgrimage for Moonlight Mason Jars linky party Monday Night ,  So Much Better with Age for Give Me The Goods Party ,  Thrifty Decor Chick for Before and After Monday , Boogieboard Cottage for Masterpiece Monday , Between Naps on the Porch for Metamorphosis Monday , Home Coming for DIY'ers , I Gotta Try That for Linky Party Monday,  Mod Vintage Life for Mod Mix Monday , Pursuit of Funtional Home for Monday Hop , One More Time for Share It One More Time , Twelve O Eight for Pretty Things Linky Party Monday , Todays Creative Blog for Get Your Craft On ,  Be Betsy for Brag About It Tuesday , DIY Dreamer for From Dream to Reality , Flusterbuster for Creative Muster  Tuesday ,  Kathe With A E for You're Gonna Love It Tuesday ,    The Stories of A2Z for Tutorials and Tips Tuesday , Coastal Charm for Nifty Thrifty Tuesday , A Stroll thru Life for  Tabletop Inspire Me Tuesday , Cedar Hill Ranch for The Scoop on Tuesdays ,Homework for Inspiration Board Tuesday , My Uncommon Slice of Suburbia for Tuesday's Treasures , Romance on a Dime for Take on Tuesday , Debbiedoos for Tuesdays Top Talent Pinterest Party ,  Hickory Trail for Assets and Efforts ,  Hope In Every Season for Make,Bake,Create ,  Mad Cap Frenzy for Totally Tuesday Link Party ,   VMg206 for Brag About It Tuesday , Love Grows Wild for Time to Sparkle , The Blissful Bee for Work It Wednesday ,   Cass-Eats for Linky & Drinky Wednesday ,  Our Home Away from Home for Tuesdays at Our Home ,   Eclectic Red Barn for The Pinterest Power Party ,  Primp for Primp Your Stuff Wednesdays , Ginger Snap Crafts for Wow Me Wednesdays ,  
Life With the CrustCutOff for Two Girls and a LinkUp ,  Pink Recipe Box for Creative Wednesdays ,   Savvy Southern Style for Wow Us Wednesdays ,The Shady Porch for Rock and Share Wednesdays , The Taylor House for Pinterest Power Party Wednesday ,  We Like To Learn As We Go for What I Learned Wednesday ,  DIY by Design for Swing into Spring , All Things With a Purpose for Thursday Link Up , Krafty Cards,Etc. for Krafty Inspirations Thursday ,   CSI Project for Challenge of the Week Thursday , Dysfunction Junction for Linkin With My Ladies Thursday ,  I Gotta Create for Wildly Original Linky Party The Frugal Girls for Chic and Crafty Party ,  Glued To My Crafts for Thursdays Obsessions , Lamberts Lately for Create It Thursday , Katherine's Corner for Thursday Favorite Things Blog Hop ,  A Peek Into My Paradise for TGIF Link Party ,  The Shabby Creek Cottage for Transformation Thursdays , Marigold's Loft for Tutorial Thursdays ,  My Fashion Forward Blog for All Things Pretty ,  No Minimalist Here for the Open House Party on Thursdays , Posed Perfection for All Things Thursday ,  Sparkles and a Stove for All Things Pretty Thursday ,  Stone Gable for Tutorials, Tips and Tidbits on Thursdays , Chic on a Shoestring Decorating for Flaunt It Friday , The Dedicated House for Anything Blue Friday . Happy Go Lucky for Shine on Fridays ,  Jennifer Rizzo for Fabulously Creative Friday ,     My Romantic Home for Show and Tell Friday , French Country Cottage for Feathered Nest Friday , Common Ground for Be Inspired on Fridays , The Charm of Home for Home Sweet Home Friday , Craftberry Bush for the Inspiration Gallery on Friday ,  Diana's Rambles for Pin Me Linky Friday 504 Main for Tickled Pink Fridays , Happy Go Lucky for Shine on Friday , Happy Hour Projects for Happy Hour Friday ,  Mellywoods Mansion for Freaking Awesome Fridays ,   Obsessive and Creative for Craft Frenzy Friday ,  Rooted in Thyme for Simple & Sweet Fridays , See Vanessa Craft for do something crafty Friday ,  Shaken Together for What's Shakin' Friday ,   Whipperberry for Friday Fair Link Party ,  DIY Showoff for That DIY Party ,   Funky Junk Interiors for Saturday Nite Special, Love of Family & Home for Inspire Me Please Weekend , A Bouquet of Talent for Life on Lake Shore Drive on Saturdays , Classy Clutter for Spotlight Saturday , Crafts a la Mode for What To Do Weekends , Debbiedoo's  for Get Blitzed on Pinterest , It's Overflowing for Share Your Creativity Saturday ,  Just Us Four for Pinworthy Projects Party Friday , Mommifried for Ladies Only Blog Share Link Party , My Snippets of Inspiration for Pin It Saturday ,  Natasha in Oz for #Say Gday Saturday Linky Party , One More Time for Share It One More Time Saturday ,  Serenity You for Serenity Saturday , Tutus & Tea Parties for a Pinteresting Party