Five cost-friendly tips to decorate your home for autumn without breaking the bank
HAVE you twigged the latest autumn trend – a seasonal wreath on your front door?
Garlands add a beautiful dash of colour to any home — but droopy leaves don’t belong.
Use these tips to rustle up something spectacular without spending a fortune.
TAKE IT OR LEAF IT: You can dry fallen leaves between sheets of newspaper and heavy books, or by brushing both sides with PVA glue.
But craft enthusiasts such as naturalist Emma Mitchell (@silverpebble2) swear by dipping dropped leaves into a glycerine and water mix to keep their colour.
Dr Oetker glycerine is £1 for 38ml at Tesco. Find it in the baking aisle.
DIY DIPPING: In her book, Making Winter: A Creative Guide For Surviving The Winter Months, Emma suggests submerging leaves in a baking tray in a solution of one part glycerine to two parts water, gently keeping them wet with another smaller tray on top.
Leave for two to four days, then rinse gently with water, blot with kitchen towel and allow to sit overnight at room temperature.
Use them in a wreath or add them to a vase without water.
BERRY PRETTY: Preserving flowers such as hydrangeas or berry clusters takes a similar method.
Pour the glycerine solution into a jug and submerge the flowers or berries by tying a pebble or two to their stem with string.
Continue as you would with the leaves.
RICH PICKINGS: For best results, have a go with any leaves that turn red, gold and pink in the coming weeks.
Ivy, birch and maple leaves work well, as do branches of hawthorn. They should last a long time before the colour starts to fade.
RING OF GOLD: Ready to make your own colourful autumn wreath?
Go to the ideas section of Hobbycraft to find out how.
The store has also knocked £6 off the price of its Autumn Wreath Making Workshops, down from £30 to £24.
- All prices on page correct at time of going to press. Deals and offers subject to availability.
Deal of the day
TROTTER along to the Morrisons toy sale, where the Peppa Pig playhouse is down from £105 to £52.50.
SAVE: £52.50
Cheap treat
A PACK of 15 Cadbury Fudge treat-size bars is down from £2.50 to £1.75 with a Clubcard at Tesco.
SAVE: 75p
What's new?
WARM up your home with Aldi’s autumn homeware range, in store now, including a toasty faux fur rug, £8.99 and this boucle throw, £12.99.
Top swap
GO for gold with this knot table decoration, for £32 at nordicnest.com.
Or for budget bling, head to Asda for the gold knot resin ornament, costing £7.
SAVE: £25
Leah's little helper
STOCK up on kitchen essentials in the Argos sale. This 23cm griddle pan is down from £21 to £13.99.
Shop & save
PUCKER up for Rimmel’s lasting mega matte lipstick, down from £7.99 to £6.39 at Superdrug.
Plus, get three for two on Rimmel products.
SAVE: £1.60
Hot right now
PRIME your plot with up to 20 per cent off autumn gardening items at Homebase.