Quick & Easy DIY Decor Ideas for Any Season!
Interested in creating your own decor this year? We would love to help! Online Metals has decided to curate a regularly updated blog article with metal DIY decor for every season.
NEW PROJECTS ADDED! We have just added some new Late Winter DIY Garden Preparation Projects including metal flowers, flower stands, and even a nice garden gate.
Feel free to scan through any of the following decor sections below using the table of contents. Every season has projects ranging from easy and complex, with content that can be more craft/hobbyist focused or more metalworking focused.
Projects By Season
Halloween DIY Projects
DIY Halloween Chicken Wire Ghost Figure Yard Decoration (EASY)
What You Will Need:
Steps:
- Start by forming the basic ghost shape and cut off the access with your wire cutters
- Use the ends of the cut wire to stitch the wire to itself
- Shape into whatever ghost form you would like
- Trim the top for a cleaner look
- Paint it with the glow in the dark paint for added effect
DIY Tin Can Pumpkins (EASY)
What You Will Need:
- Orange Spray Paint (ps. You Could Use White for a Ghost)
- Cleaned Tin Can (No Label or Residue)
- Mallet or Hammer
- Screwdriver
- Stencils + Decorative Paper
- Scissors
- Pair of Work Gloves
- Wire Cutter
- Wire Hanger
- Low Grit Sand Paper
- Twigs
- Hot Glue Gun
Steps:
- Spray paint your tin can
- Hammer hole at the top of your can
- Stencil leaves on paper
- Cut and spiral wire hanger
- Sand down for a gritty look
- Decorate with twigs, hanger, and paper leaves
DIY Gas Can Pumpkin (INTERMEDIATE)
What You Will Need:
- Black & Orange Paint
- Elmers Glue
- Empty Gas Can
- Cotton Balls
- Paper Design Template (Pumpkin Pile Templates)
Steps:
- Paint the gas can with a black base layer
- Cover in Elmers glue-all, and let sit 5-10 minutes
- Cover again with orange paint
- Use a design template of your choice to outline the face
- Using a cotton ball, dab black paint over your template
Sheet Metal Jack-o-lantern (COMPLEX)
What You Will Need:
- Pair of Work Gloves
- Sheet Metal for Engraving (Aluminum is a great choice for this project)
- Laser Engraver or CNC Router
- Tig Welder
- Orange Spray Paint
- Light or Candle to make a luminaire
Steps:
- Download or design your own CAD file
- Setup machine to cut according to your design
- Bend/fold your material into its proper positioning
- Weld ends together
- Paint your desired color
- Let dry, and add lighting or candle for luminaire effect
Fall / Thanksgiving DIY Projects
Fall Porch Decoration (EASY)
What You Will Need:
- Large Plant Pot
- Tomato Cage
- Chicken Wire
- A few gourds (real or fake)
Steps:
- Fill the pot base with objects to weigh it down, and take up space (Stones, Bottles, etc.)
- Fill the pot with potting soil
- Cover your tomato cage with chicken wire, cut to size, and attache to the cage
- Secure the cage upside down into the pot
- Add chicken wire as filler inside of the cage
- Add all sorts of beautiful gourds!
- Place one gourd on top using the legs of the tomato cage to hold it in place
- Use additional wire to hold the legs together
Floral Metal Pumpkin Centerpiece (EASY)
What You Will Need:
- Black Spray Paint
- 2 Wire Hanging Baskets
- Black Wire
- Zip Ties
- Wire Cutters
- Scissors
- Chicken Wire
- Floral Foam
- Floral Arrangement
Steps:
- Disassemble the hanging parts off of both baskets
- Line up and stack the baskets to form the pumpkin shape
- Zip Tie the baskets together
- Create the stem using chicken wire
- Spray paint both the basket and chicken wire black
- Attach the stem to the top with the black wire
- Put the floral foam centered on the bottom
- Fill the foam with the variety of florals that meet your aesthetic
Fall Metal Ring Wreath (INTERMEDIATE)
What You Will Need:
- Large Fake White Flowers
- Two Fall Picks
- Two Small Pumpkins
- Floral Foam
- Wire Cutters
- Scissors
- Ribbon
- Hot Glue Gun + Glue
- Large Metal Ring
Steps:
- Take 3 flowers off of their stem
- Cut the leaves off of the stem as well
- Then glue 3 leaves on the back of each flower
- Use foam to give the pumpkins some more depth on the wreath
- Use a ribbon as a base to glue and hold the florals in place
- Glue the ring in between the ribbon and the florals
- Do the same with the foam squares
- Now glue the pumpkins on top of the foam
- Add the two picks to the side and wrap them around the ring
- Use twine and make a loop to hang it with.
Metal Turkey Pumpkin Decor (COMPLEX)
What You Will Need:
- Large Sheet of Weathered Steel
- Designs for Turkey (Tail, Wings, & Head)
- Laser Cutting Service, Waterjet, or Plasma Cutter
- We would recommend our Waterjet Services or SendCutSend
- Large Pumpkin (Recommend Flatter)
- Garland
- Ribbon or Tie
- Painting Optional
Steps:
- Cut out designs or get your material cut by a professional
- Outline / Mark the pumpkin where you will insert your turkey parts
- Insert the Turkey Parts
- Wrap a fall garland around the pumpkin
- Place your beautiful metal turkey pumpkin out front or around your home!
Winter Wonderland DIY Projects
Bike Chain Star Ornament (EASY)
What You Will Need:
- A bike chain
- Empty bottle & dish soap
- Bike chain tool
- Nails & wooden board
- Super glue
- Thin metal wire
Steps:
- Place your bike chain in an empty bottle and fill up roughly a quarter with dish soap
- Shake vigorously to clean
- Empty the contents and dry / wash off the remaining soap
- Detach gears at about eleven screws apart, and connect the ends to each other
- Measure out the proper distance to crunch the gear into a star shape with nails in a board, to hold its position while you glue.
- Glue all of the connecting pieces with super glue and let sit.
- You can repeat a few times to create multiple stars
- Add a thin metal wire to hang as an ornament on your tree!
Welded Silverware Star Ornament (EASY)
What You Will Need:
- TIG Welder
- Cutoff Wheel
- White Paint Markers
- 6 Forks
- Die Grinder w/ 2″ blending disc
- Ribbon
- 1/16th inch aluminum filler rod
- Small jump rings
Steps:
- Mark 4 of the forks 1″ up the tines and two of the forks on the top of the tines
- Take the cutoff wheel and cut everywhere we marked.
- We are going to use the wider outside tines to weld our little edges and us the narrower tines without anything on them
- Set the two small tips up to the full tine and weld them together (Make four of these)
- Layout the final welded tines in a cross pattern and the narrow thin tines in between and weld them all together
- Create a hanging device bending a small extra tine and weld it on the back
- Clean off the weld the discoloration using a stainless steel wire brush or a pneumatic die grinder
- Take your ribbon and string it through the back
- You can take it a step further and bend the year in the aluminum filler rod and jump ring (This is if you plan on continuing the tradition)
Welded Horseshoe Christmas Tree (INTERMEDIATE)
What You Will Need:
- MIG Welder
- 14 – St.Croix 1 Lite horseshoes
- 1 can Rust-Oleum Hammer Paint Bronze
- Can of Vegetable oil
Steps:
- Line four horseshoes our horizontally on your table (upside down)
- Continue to line up with one less horsehoe until you reach the top. Keep the pieces centered to form a Christmas tree
- Set up your MIG welder, and use solid MIG wire.
- To make clean up a lot easier, use vegetable oil, and spray it across your whole project.
- Weld the ends together
- Weld one more horseshoe to the bottom center, and connect three to the base and create a stand
- Wipe it down with paint thinner and prep for painting
- Pain with the 1 can of Rust_Oleum Hammer Paint Bronze
You could also try a Welded Horseshoe Reindeer if trees aren’t your thing…
Christmas Winter Village Scene with USB Powered LED Lighting (COMPLEX)
What You Will Need:
- 1/4” Plywood
- 1/8” Plywood
- LED strips
- Primer
- Shellac
- Heat shrink tube
- Heat Gun Tool
- Router Bit, 1/16” & Router Bit, 1/8”
- Utility Cutter
- Utility Knife
- USB Power Switches
- Soldering Station
- Table Saw
- Bench Top Planer
- Belt/Disk Sander
- Project Plans (WorksBySolo)
Steps:
- Gather your measurements for where this will be displayed.
- Build a mockup using corrugated cardboard and hot glue (feel free to just use Bernies plans if you want to skip this step)
- Test the lights to ensure you are getting the light and shadow effect you are looking for
- Create your final vector to scale and add the art into Rhino to produce a 3d model and dimensional drawings (Feel free to use Bernies)
- Setup the tool paths base on your router bits for roughing and finish
- Program in strategically placed holes to screw plywood down to your spoil board.
- Check your simulation closely to spot problems before making the part
- Cut the plywood into machine ready sizes.
- Fire up your CNC Router to make your first panel
- Sand or use a brass brush to take off all of the fuzzy edges
- Seal these panels up and prepare for the table saw parts for the bottom and sides
- To ensure that everything lines up cut the lanes first, and then proceed with the rest of the structural parts
- Paint the surface with the matte white primer to get the color you need
- Glue all the parts together and clamp together using rubber bands
- Add the wiring/ lighting to fit properly into your structure and install at your site
Late Winter DIY Garden Preparation
Scrap Metal Flower Art (EASY)
What You Will Need:
- Hot Roll Steel Square Tubing
- Hot Roll Steel Round Bar
- Metal Band Saw
- MIG Welding Equipment
- Metal Vise
- Spray Paint
- Wooden or Metal Base
Steps:
- Cut 1/8″ strips of square tubing with your band saw
- Markup the leaves on 18 Gauge Sheet Metal (or whatever you have available)
- Cut the leaves out with something similar to the CaNibble sheet metal nibbler
- Next, bend some metal round bar into the stem/stems
- Hold up your stem piece with a vise, and cut 1/4″ inch out of the strips originally cut out.
- Properly adjust the settings on your welder and begin to weld the full circle of strips you cut out to make the center of the flower at the top of the stem.
- Weld the leaves to the base.
- Spray paint the colors you would like for your flowers! (Cover the top to spray paint the stem)
- Use scrap/firewood and build cut out a circular base with a band saw.
- Insert the metal flower into the base and ensure it has a tight fit.
- Feel free to add anything to the base you find necessary for stability.
Iron Flower Shelf Plant Holder (INTERMEDIATE)
What You Will Need:
- Metal Band Saw
- Hammer
- MIG Welding Equipment
- 10mm Steel Round Bar
- 8mm Steel Round bar
- 6mm Steel Round bar
- Dimensions: Height 39″inch Wide 35″Inch
Steps:
- Cut 4 equal lengths out of your round bar and sharpen/taper the edges, and two shorter support bars and bend the sharp edges into a hook
- Hammer the tip of the sharp edges into a curl and continue to bend for aesthetics
- Ensure the bottoms have a slight bend
- Create four additional hooks with curls for aesthetics, which will be welded on the side of the long bars
- Weld the slightly bent sides together and then weld the support bars near the curled side of the long bars
- You will now take three small steel bars and form a small square measured out to your desired width, with additional crossbars as support.
- You will do this five times to have 5 layers.
- Next, we will add the two shorter bars cut earlier for the base for the bottom of the shelf holder. We will add interior bars to this as well for additional plant support.
- You will then add/weld your square layers around the outside and the top to hold your plants.
Make A Wrought Iron Gate (COMPLEX)
What You Will Need:
- Various Rectangle Steel Bars
- Large Steel Support Tubes
- Bronze Tube for Hinges
- MIG Welding Equipment
- Forging Iron
- Metal Clamps
- Metal Furnace
- Scroll Jig & Fork
- Screwdriver
- Metal Paint Primer
- Black Spray Paint
Steps:
- Start by forming the outer shape (essentially a rectangle with a half-circle top)
- Create a work area by putting square tubes on top of saw-horses and clamp down
- Tack weld the steel frame together
- Use belt grinder to clean up welds
- Prepare panels by cutting the steel for the dividers and pieces for scrolls
- Find the right length using experimentation
- Prepare the ends of each bar by heating and bending them so that they fit into the scrolling jig
- Form scrolls using scroll jig and fork
- As the bend happens at different heights on the jig, some adjustments are needed to keep the scrolls aligned.
- Now do the same procedure but on the other side of the bar (make sure to bend in the right direction)
- Begin to weld in the scrolls (use metal spacers to ensure the scrolls end up in the middle of the frame)
- Make another divider higher up on the door for another line of decorative scrolls
- If the scrolls don’t fit, as they aren’t exactly the same, you will need to compress them
- Weld rings across the center of the door for the design
- Form the next set of scrolls (double spiral) putting multiple irons in the fire and repeating the process for efficiency
- Examine the double scrolls and cut them down to length if needed
- Clamp and weld in the final scrolls into the main door to meet your design needs
- Final clean up of most welds
- Weld the hinges to the steel pillars, to help the hinges rotate use a centered bronze tube that can be lubricated
- Paint the gate to meet your desired appearance