A Pool Noodle Is All You Need For The Perfect Fall Decor

Pool noodles and fall decor go together like peanut butter and jelly. You're likely asking yourself "why?". One of the staples of autumn home adornments is foliage in warm hues. Pool noodles are like a giant blank slate for crafting, and they hold faux flowers and leaves better than floral foam. Plus, pool noodles' durability helps your completed project last for years. Get ready for another way to upcycle pool noodles into festive fall decor: Instagrammer @thedailynelly gets ready for hosting a fall feast with a pool noodle-based candlelit centerpiece that stuns. It's budget-friendly and takes virtually no skill to whip up one of your own. All you have to do is zip-tie sections of the noodle around a few stemmed glasses, add some faux foliage, and add some water and mini votive candles to the glasses.

The look of the final project makes it hard to believe that a pool noodle is behind this autumn display. Studded with faux fall leaves and flowers and glimmering with light, this pretty and low-profile tablescape leaves plenty of space for plates and serving dishes, and is short enough to make passing the rolls convenient. Set aside a bit of your afternoon to put together your own pool noodle centerpiece to elevate your Thanksgiving table decor. The only thing on the table to outshine it will be the turkey.

For this craft, you'll need one pool noodle, a pack of zip ties, three stemmed water glasses, three floating votive candles, and a generous selection of fake leaves and flowers on long wire stems in complementary fall colors. You can also use faux-liage without stems. A bit of hot glue — the best glue to hold pool noodles for DIYs — will hold leaves and blossoms to the form beautifully. Also, any glass with a stem longer than 2½ inches (the width of an average pool noodle) can stand in for water glasses. Lastly, if you have a hoard of long wire twist ties — like those that come around heads of lettuce — you can sub them for the zip ties.

Set one of your stemmed glasses on your work space, and bend your pool noodle at its halfway point around the stem. Secure the two loose ends of the noodle around the stem with a zip tie or wire. In the same way, attach the other two glasses, one halfway between the first glass and the ends of the noodle, and one at the end.

Slip the wire ends of your leaves and flowers through the pool noodle, or glue them directly to the noodle. If you use the first method, you'll be able to swap out fall-themed leaves and blossoms for winter greenery or springy blossoms. Continue until the surface of the pool noodle is covered. Fill the glasses halfway with water, set votives inside, and give them a trial light.