Football Crafts on D: The Broadcast

Football season is here! And who doesn't love a tailgate or game-day party? Today on D: The Broadcast, our Etsy Dallas craft segment was all about how to make decorations that scream spirit and will leave you with plenty of money left to spend on the important stuff (like amazing food and drink).

A simple yarn-wrapped wreath in your team colors is a great way to dress up your front door this fall. It can be as simple or as elaborate as you'd like--and the best part is, you can make one yourself in an evening for under ten dollars! All you need is a foam wreath form, a skein of yarn or two in your team's colors, and an evening in front of the TV.

Tie one end of the yarn, securing with a knot and/or a straight pin into the foam, and start wrapping. You'll get into a groove and soon discover whether you like a loose or chunky look.

a simple wreath with a combo of handmade and store-bought embellishments

you can add and subtract embellishments easily when you use a styrofoam wreath--just use a straight pin

Felt is a great way to dress up your wreath because it doesn't ravel and is super easy to work with. There's no need to use a pattern; it's so forgiving! Just eyeball some triangles for a pennant, glue or sew onto a strand of leftover yarn, and you've got a cute banner to stretch across your wreath. I even used a felt-tip pen to write "FROGS"--no fancy embroidery necessary.

The pompons are super quick to make and so cute. Just take a strip of felt about 2" in width and fringe it, leaving about 1/4" at one side--don't cut all the way through! Then roll it up, adding a dot of glue as you go or using a needle and thread and stitching it shut. Apply to the wreath using a straight pin so you can move it as you desire.

roll felt fringe from one end to make a festive pom

At the Spring Bash, we used something similar to this ribbon and fabric garland for our photo booth backdrop. I made this one a little shorter using inexpensive cotton fabric (about a quarter yard of each print) and some leftover ribbons and things I had hanging around the craft room. Again, this project was under $10.

here's Suzie checking it out on air.

dress up your front porch at your next game-day event. 

Don't sew this. Just don't. Trust me. Just snip your (unwashed!) fabric on the selvage edge and rip. Seriously. Just rip. Once you have a whole pile of fabric and ribbons cut to about the same length (again just eyeball this!), start assembling your garland.

Use a foundation piece of ribbon cut to the length of where you'd like to place it (on an actual tailgate, across your buffet table, on your front porch), plus an extra foot or so so you can tie it securely, and start tying your fabric and ribbons onto the foundation piece. Don't fuss over placement. Just grab pieces and tie. You can always go back and add more or less, depending on the look you're going for, and you can trim to a more uniform length up top and below if you're super picky. :)

Round out the party decorations with a quick and easy way to dress up a boring old beverage tub: a pretty hand towel hanging from one end give a quick pop of color and also gives your guests a way to dry off their drinks. (Nobody likes a bottle or can that drips all over the place.)

there are so many cute ribbons in your team's colors!

a simple straight-stitch appliqué and you're set

Since I went to school up north, I never have a chance to throw a tailgate, so I was delighted to borrow my friends' local team for this segment. They will have the cutest tailgate on Frog Alley.

We'd love to see what you make! Snap a photo and tag us on Instagram or Twitter @etsydallas!

Jenni