Want to have beautiful seasonal crafts on display in your home, but think you don’t have the time?

This autumn decoration literally takes about 3 minutes to make and most people would never guess that it’s made of canning rings OR that you made it yourself!

I first saw this orange painted version on Pinterest from Fun Home Things. You can read all the directions for making your own there, though there really isn’t much to it other than about 20 canning rings, something to tie them together, and cinnamon sticks for a pumpkin stem.

I had a huge bag of canning jar lids and rings stored in a cabinet because I mostly use plastic lids on my mason jars since I use them for storage instead of actually canning. I was so thrilled to find a use for all my extra rings that I started gathering my supplies immediately after reading the post! I used fishing line to tie my rings together, though what you use really won’t be seen, so I think you could use any type of ribbon or string.

I have our canning ring pumpkin on a table in our entryway, but it’d be great on a mantel, as a table centerpiece, or even as a seasonal gift. One of the reasons I love this is because there are so many ways you can style this to fit your own personal décor!! You could use all silver rings, all gold rings, alternate the two, arrange them randomly, or even paint the rings to suit your tastes.

I went for a classic style with mine, using rings that were mostly shiny and new, adding a few real leaves from a plant in our yard for a bit of a natural touch. I think making several pumpkins in both regular and wide-mouth ring size and painting them in various shades of metallic paint would make for a beautiful seasonal grouping!

Another reason I love this decoration is that after Halloween and Thanksgiving pass, I can simply snip a string and put all my canning rings back in the kitchen instead of hauling (more) decorations up to the attic! Though certainly you could keep it together if you prefer!

Do you have any easy autumn craft ideas?

Genny is a former Wake County Public School System elementary and reading teacher, who is now a stay-at-home mom of two preschoolers in Cary. Read more on her blog In Lieu of Preschool and Facebook page.