Bring the outside indoors this fall and let Mother Nature do the decorating

With all the colorful abundance surrounding us in autumn, it’s easy to decorate your home for the season using nature’s gifts. Connecting with nature is truly satisfying, and it reduces our stress – and saves money – when we let Mother Nature do the work. After all, she does autumn decorating so well.

It’s easy and fun to make a personalized harvest wreath for your front door, transform a pumpkin into a charming vase for flowers, or preserve colorful leaves to use in a number of ways. Here are a few simple ideas for bringing nature indoors:

A Harvest Wreath for Your Door. Start with an inexpensive grapevine wreath from your local craft shop. Next, go on a family hunt for the perfect autumn leaves (to preserve them, see Autumn Leaf Ideas), nuts and seedpods. Tiny pumpkins or decorative gourds also make great add-ins. You can glue all these items in place, or use lightweight florist wire to attach them. Or you could string some Native American corn kernels: Just remove the kernels from the cob and soak them in hot water for 30 minutes, then pierce with a needle and string them on thread. This can be wound around the wreath or even draped above a doorway as a garland.

Pumpkin Vase. For a lovely, earthy flower arrangement, find an attractive pumpkin (available in all areas of North America thanks to shipping), cut off the top, and scoop out the seeds. Spritz the pumpkin inside and out with straight vinegar to inhibit mold growth and allow to dry. Fill a small glass with water and set it inside, then fill the glass with your favorite flowers. Or you can forgo the water and use dried seedpods and weeds you’ve collected from your yard or roadside.

Autumn Leaf Ideas. Here are two easy methods for preserving autumn leaves:

• Sandwich moist, still brightly colored leaves between paper towels and microwave for 30 seconds to one minute on high. Keep an eye on them to prevent scorching.
• Place leaves in a baking pan filled with one part glycerin to two parts water for three days or so, weighted to keep them submerged, then remove the leaves and wipe them off. They’ll stay colorful and pliable indefinitely.

Now you can use your leaves in a number of ways: as a colorful display taped to the backsplash of your kitchen countertops; as the ground for a simple arrangement of squash, pears or apples; or as coasters for your favorite beverage.

Cait Johnson is an assistant producer at care2.com. Visit the Web site for more healthy-living tips.

It’s All Outside

Fall color is easy to find – in your garden, the grocery, a local farmers market or produce stand. Here’s a guide for spinning Mother Nature’s color wheel.

Orange: Believe it or not, there are nearly 50 varieties of pumpkins. From September through November, you can find your choice of pumpkins at just about any produce stand or grocer, or pick your own at a local patch.

Yellow: Corn is a delicious way to decorate for fall. Native American corn, with multicolored kernels, makes great table arrangements and wreath ornaments. Cornhusk dolls – easy to make using husks, string and pipe cleaners – are great craft projects for kids.

Red: Burgundy maple leaves easily spice up any autumn décor. But a touch of red can also be achieved with a simple basket of apples.

Brown: Find a good home for those pesky pine cones. A decorative bowl filled with pine cones makes an attractive centerpiece. Pine cones spray-painted gold or silver are great additions to a holiday wreath.

Purple: Garden mums make wonderful fall floral arrangements. Most varieties bloom between August and November and should be planted in late spring. But if you’re buying a potted mum for display, try transplanting it in your garden; it’s a hardy perennial capable of surviving most winters.