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Tips and Tricks on How to Make Beautiful DIY Fall Decor That Will Last Much Longer

Tips and Tricks on How to Make Beautiful DIY Fall Decor That Will Last Much Longer


True holiday enthusiasts always enjoy decorating for Autumn and Halloween as our second favorite holiday and a beloved season for many. When the weather is usually not too hot nor cold, this is the time of year when leaves change color with gourds galore and plenty of pumpkins.

While we commonly use these items for beautiful Fall decor, as living things, they don’t last very long once they’re removed from nature and/or sold in retail stores. Here are some tips and tricks to get some more life out of these plants and fruits.

It's The Great Pumpkins (and Gourds)

Carving pumpkins is a popular tradition for kids and people of all ages dating back for many generations. However, once gutted and carved they typically begin to rot after just a few days. Keeping Jack-o’-Lanterns fresher for longer involves the use of some common household products including:

  • Bleach
  • Borax
  • Petroleum Jelly
  • Salt
  • Sugar

Head over to the ThoughtCo website for complete instructions on how to use these materials to make pumpkins last longer for the Halloween season. They also include other tips and tricks for preserving pumpkins. When it comes to gourds, typically they’ll last for several weeks when separating from the vine and left untouched. However, using these preservation techniques available from SFGate will have them lasting for many years in most cases. 

Saving and Savoring the Beautiful Color of Fall Leaves

Whether you’ll be using them as tasteful art for your Thanksgiving table, as a part of a colorful wreath, or other types of home decor, preserving leaves is a great way to add color to our homes during the Autumn holidays. It’s best to use leaves that have come straight off the tree rather than those that have fallen to the ground for the best results. Generally speaking, there are at least three common methods for keeping these tree droppings lasting longer.

First, there’s soaking them in a glycerin and water solution using weights to keep them flat during the process. Second, there’s pressing them with a hot household iron and wax paper. Lastly, there’s heating them in the microwave using paper towels and acrylic spray available from craft or hardware stores. Head over to Home Science Tools to learn more about how to achieve these methods successfully.

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