Fall "Thankful" Banner DIY

I don't know about you guys, but that first chilly night of the season threw me into the fall decorating spirit. Which is weird, because I've never put much thought into fall decorations before. We usually grab a couple pumpkins to paint with the kids, call it a day, and wait for Christmas to get the real decorating started. But for whatever ever reason, this year the changing leaves and brisk days have found me feeling the need to welcome the changing season. Maybe I'm trying to make our new place feel a little more like our own, or maybe it's just all the beautiful trees around our house giving me a fresh outlook. Either way, it's time to bring a little bit of this fall beauty inside. We'll leave the chill outside though, m'kay?

Enter Phase 1 Fall Decorating: The Mantle.

This is the first time I've ever had a mantle to decorate, and I have no idea what I'm doing. So I though a simple, cheap little banner might be a good starting point. A good no-commitment starting point. If I hated it, I could trash it guilt-free. This one was so easy to make, and cost almost nothing because I used things I already have. It's so quick you could make one up for every season and holiday in no time!

I'm planning to add a few pumpkins and fall foliage as soon as I get my hands on some, but for now this is a happy little start. And a good reminder that we really do have so much to be thankful for.

Here's how it went down. I started with three sheets of 12x12 brown cardstock. It's actually the backside of some patterned paper left over from another project. I was able to get three pennants out of each sheet (they're 6" wide and 7" long). Then I used a pencil and a ruler to hand-draw the letters on each banner. I just made sure they started and stopped at the same heights so they would be even, and went for it. I did the letters for THANKFUL but you could do anything you like! AUTUMN, GATHER, GRATEFUL, or HARVEST would also be cute for fall.

Then I used white acrylic paint to trace over the pencil lines.

I left them to dry (it didn't take very long) then I lined them up face-down and taped a cotton string across the backs.

I knotted the string at each end and looped it over some Command Utensil Hooks I mounted on the under side of the mantle.

Aaaaannnnd done. I actually really like it! It's simple and clean, but the brown background warms up the black & white. Side note: I am planning to redo the mantle at some point. It's painted glossy black (and I think painted blue and beige under that) but I'd love to restore it to wood.

It's not screaming "fall" yet, but it's a gentle little nudge in the right direction.

I never have a shortage of little helpers when I work on a project. Today's model is equal part sweet, sassy, and goofy. Yes I cut his hair myself and yes I regret everything. Which means next time it will turn out amazing because that is my hair-cutting cycle.

Next on the fall agenda: mums, pumpkins, and some kind of foliage for the mantle. I'll keep you posted.

Do you decorate for fall?