Raffia Mod Podge Vase

Well as the temps and leaves keep dropping -- it's feeling more and more like fall here.  So you know that that means.....more fall decor! :)

Remember that raffia wreath I put together a few weeks ago?  I had plenty of raffia left over for it and I wanted to use it for another project.  This time around I thought I might make a raffia vase.  

So, here's what you'll need to make your raffia vase:

- Raffia (I used multicolored)

- Mason Jar (I used pint sized)

- Mod Podge (I used the glossy kind)

- Paint Brush

- Ribbon

- Dollar Store Flowers

First I painted Mod Podge on the outside of my jar.

Now comes the messy part.  Wrap a few pieces of raffia around the the jar and Mod Podge over them.  You have to hold them down for a few seconds so the ends of the raffia don't pop back up.  You'll get your fingers really Mod Podged for this part. :)  

I continued doing this around the mason jar.  I tried to overlap the ends to help hold them in place.

Once I had the whole jar covered I let it dry overnight.  If you're in a pinch or something you can always take a hair dryer to your vase -- it will accelerate the Mod Podge drying time.  (I know it looks scary now -- but it'll turn out -- I promise!)

See, it looks MUCH better now that it's dried.  Once I had my vase I put a ribbon on top and filled it with some dollar store flowers.

VIOLA!  A cute little fall flower jar!

I just could not help snapping a picture of my new vase with some of our pretty fall trees in the background. :)

Linking up to:

Mondays:Between Naps on the Porch ; C.R.A.F.T; Craft-O-Maniac; Keeping it Simple; Mad in Crafts; Making the World Cuter; The DIY Showoff; The Girl Creative Tuesdays:  All Thingz Related; House of Grace; I'm Topsy Turvy; Lucky Star Lane; Sugar Bee Craft Edition; The CSI Project; These Creative Juices; Today's Creative Blog Wednesdays:  Blue Cricket Design; Creations by Kara; Debbiedoos; Domestically Speaking; My Backyard Eden; Night Owl Crafting; Seven Thirty Three; Someday Crafts; The Thrifty Home; Trendy Treehouse Thursdays: Beyond the Picket Fence; Craftastical!; Fireflies & Jellybeans; House of Hepworths; Life as Lori; Somewhat Simple; The Shabby Chic Cottage Fridays:  Chic on a Shoestring; Finding Fabulous; Fingerprints on the Fridge; Frou Frou Decor; Frugal & Fabulous Design; It's a Hodge Podge Life; It's Fun to Craft!: Just a Girl; Remodelaholic; Simply Designing; The Shabby Nest; Tatertots & Jello Weekend:  A  Little Lovely; Be Different Act Normal; Funky Junk Interiors; House of Thrifty Decor; I Heart Naptime; Kuzak's Closet; Under the Table & Dreaming

Fall Wreath

I absolutely LOVE fall -- it's one of those seasons that has completely grown on me.  Ironically, as a kid I HATED fall -- it meant we had to go back to school, stop swimming outside, and start wearing jackets.  But now I adore the change -- the crisp air, the rustling leaves -- all of it.  And this year it feels like the season came overnight!  It got chilly really fast.

So to celebrate the autumn season, I decided to make a Fall Wreath to hang on the front door.

I used some decorating raffia, a wreath form and my glue gun.  

 I got this raffia at Michael's for around $4.00 with my 40% off coupon, and I managed to find the straw wreath form at Goodwill for $2.00.

First I took thee or four strands of each color raffia and glued one end of the bunch to the wreath.

 Then I wrapped them around the wreath tightly.  I glued the end of the stands to the wreath and then started another bunch of raffia, overlapping the end of the previous bunch so no ends would be sticking out.  

 I continued doing this until the whole wreath was covered with raffia.  

At the end there were a lot of loose ends and pieces sticking out.  I trimmed as many as I could with scissors, and then the ones that I couldn't trim short enough, I glued down (I tried to do most of my gluing on the back of my wreath where it wouldn't be seen).

Now that my wreath was done, I decided to make raffia flowers.  First I took the purple colored raffia and grabbed five to six strands. 

 

I wrapped it around a cardboard form (or you could use your hand) so that it is uniform and even, like this:

 Then I wrapped another piece of raffia around the middle and tied it in the back to secure it like a bow.

Then I made another "bow", exactly like the one shown above and glued them on my wreath in an "X" to make a flower.

Finally, I hung it on the door and admired it. :)

What do you think??  I wish there was less pink and purple in there, but I still like it -- it still says, fall, right? :)

Linking up to:

Mondays:Between Naps on the Porch ; C.R.A.F.T; Craft-O-Maniac; Keeping it Simple; Mad in Crafts; Making the World Cuter; The DIY Showoff; The Girl Creative Tuesdays:  All Thingz Related; House of Grace; I'm Topsy Turvy; Lucky Star Lane; Sugar Bee Craft Edition; The CSI Project; These Creative Juices; Today's Creative Blog Wednesdays:  Blue Cricket Design; Creations by Kara; Debbiedoos; Domestically Speaking; My Backyard Eden; Night Owl Crafting; Seven Thirty Three; Someday Crafts; The Thrifty Home; Trendy Treehouse Thursdays: Beyond the Picket Fence; Craftastical!; Fireflies & Jellybeans; House of Hepworths; Life as Lori; Somewhat Simple; The Shabby Chic Cottage Fridays:  Chic on a Shoestring; Finding Fabulous; Fingerprints on the Fridge; Frou Frou Decor; Frugal & Fabulous Design; It's a Hodge Podge Life; It's Fun to Craft!: Just a Girl; Remodelaholic; Simply Designing; The Shabby Nest; Tatertots & Jello Weekend:  A  Little Lovely; Be Different Act Normal; Funky Junk Interiors; House of Thrifty Decor; I Heart Naptime; Kuzak's Closet; Under the Table & Dreaming