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DIY Craft Stick Scarecrow – Easy Rustic Fall Decor

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There is just something about a cute little scarecrow that says fall, isn’t there? And this one started with something about as simple as it gets; a handful of wooden craft sticks!

I wanted to create a rustic little scarecrow that would be easy to make but still have plenty of personality. With some antique wax, a little paint, raffia, and a few fall embellishments, those plain craft sticks turned into the sweetest little guy ready for his autumn debut.

This DIY craft stick scarecrow is a fun project for using supplies you may already have tucked away in your craft room. And, of course, you can change the colors and embellishments to make yours completely your own.

Supplies for Your DIY Craft Stick Scarecrow :

  • 9 large wooden craft sticks
  • Hot glue gun and glue sticks
  • Wire cutters
  • Pencil
  • Waverly Antique Wax
  • Cloth or rag for applying the antique wax
  • Apple Barrel Tuscan Teal acrylic paint
  • Orange craft paint
  • Pink craft paint
  • White puff paint
  • Black Sharpie
  • Paintbrushes
  • Raffia
  • Muted orange gingham ribbon
  • Faux fall leaves and berries
  • Button
  • Scissors

This is what I used. You can absolutely substitute colors and embellishments with whatever you already have. That’s part of the fun of projects like this!

Want a Printable Supply List?

Prefer having your supply list handy while you craft? I’ve made it easy for you! Grab the free printable supply list for this DIY Craft Stick Scarecrow so you can gather everything you need before you get started. Print it out, check off the supplies you already have in your craft stash, and take it with you if you need to pick up anything else.

[DOWNLOAD THE FREE PRINTABLE SUPPLY LIST]

Now that you’ve got everything together, let’s make this little scarecrow!

How to Make a DIY Craft Stick Scarecrow

Step 1: Build the Craft Stick Base

Start by lining up six craft sticks side-by-side vertically. Try to get them fairly even, but don’t worry about making them absolutely perfect. A little variation works perfectly with the rustic look of this scarecrow.

Six large wooden craft sticks lined up vertically to create the base of a DIY craft stick scarecrow.

To hold the six sticks together, take two additional craft sticks and place them horizontally across the back; one toward the top and another toward the bottom. I used wire cutters to trim the ends of these two sticks so they wouldn’t extend beyond the sides of my six-stick base. Once they were the right size, I attached them to the back with hot glue.

Back of six large craft sticks secured together with two horizontal wooden supports for a DIY scarecrow craft.

This gives you a nice sturdy base to work with while keeping those individual craft-stick lines visible from the front.

Step 2: Create the Scarecrow’s Hat

For the hat brim, I used my ninth craft stick. I trimmed a little from each end with my wire cutters until I liked the length. I then laid the brim across the front of the six craft sticks where I wanted the bottom of the hat to sit.

Trimming the brim of the hat on the front of the craft stick scarecrow with cutting pliers.

Using a pencil, I traced along the brim. This gave me a guideline separating the scarecrow’s face from the portion of the craft sticks that would become his hat.

Pencil guidelines drawn across the wooden craft sticks to mark the placement of the scarecrow’s hat.

Set the brim aside for now; we’ll add it permanently later.

Step 3: Antique the Scarecrow’s Face

Next, I used Waverly Antique Wax on the portion of the craft sticks below my pencil line. I applied the wax and wiped it back until I had the warm, aged wood tone I wanted. I love how the antique wax lets the natural wood grain show through instead of completely covering it. It immediately gives those inexpensive craft sticks a much more rustic appearance.

Applying brown antique wax to the wooden craft sticks to create a rustic stained finish for the scarecrow face.

Step 4: Paint the Hat

Once the antique wax was finished, I painted the upper portion of the craft sticks with Apple Barrel Tuscan Teal. I also painted the separate craft stick that I had cut for the brim in the same teal color. Let everything dry completely before moving on to the face. And, of course, you don’t have to use teal. Rust, mustard, olive green, navy, or even a creamy white would all be adorable choices for a fall scarecrow.

Painting the top of the stained craft sticks and wooden hat brim teal for a DIY fall scarecrow.

Give Your Scarecrow Some Personality

Step 5: Draw the Face

This is where he really starts coming to life! Once everything was dry, I lightly drew the scarecrow’s face with a pencil first. Doing this in pencil gave me a chance to adjust the placement and shape of the features before committing to them. I drew large oval eyes, eyebrows, a triangle nose, and a big curved smile with little stitch marks.

Drawing the scarecrow face onto the stained wooden craft sticks with a pencil before adding the final details.

When I was happy with everything, I went back over the pencil lines with a black Sharpie, leaving the nose for later.

Drawing black eyes and a stitched smile onto the wooden craft stick scarecrow face with a marker.

Step 6: Paint the Face

I filled in the triangle nose with orange craft paint first. Let that dry.

Painting an orange triangle nose onto the DIY craft stick scarecrow face.

For one more little detail, I added small white highlights to the black eyes using white puff paint. It’s such a tiny addition, but those little white highlights really make his eyes pop and give the face more dimension. At this point, he was already pretty cute; but we’re not finished yet!

Adding white highlights to the painted eyes of the DIY craft stick scarecrow.

Once the paint on the nose dried, I outlined it with the black Sharpie and added little stitch marks around the edges.

Outlining the orange triangle nose on the wooden craft stick scarecrow with a black marker.
Adding stitched details around the orange nose of the DIY craft stick scarecrow.

Then I added a soft touch of pink to his cheeks. Those rosy cheeks make such a difference! Between those and that big stitched smile, he suddenly had the sweetest little personality.

DIY craft stick scarecrow with painted eyes, orange nose, pink cheeks, stitched smile, and teal wooden hat.

Step 7: Add the Raffia Hair

I used raffia to create his straw-like hair. I gathered pieces of raffia and hot glued them to the back of the teal brim, allowing plenty of raffia to extend out from both sides. Once I was happy with the amount and placement of the hair, I hot glued the brim into place across the front of the scarecrow along the line I had marked earlier. You can trim the raffia if you want a neater look, but I actually like it a little wild and uneven. He is a scarecrow, after all!

Hot gluing raffia to the back of the craft stick scarecrow to create rustic straw hair.
Reattaching the teal wooden hat brim over the raffia hair on the DIY craft stick scarecrow.

Step 8: Decorate the Scarecrow’s Hat

Now for my favorite part; the embellishments!

I added a strip of muted orange gingham ribbon across the hat just above the teal brim. That little bit of orange helped tie the hat into the warm fall colors I planned to use for the rest of the decorations.

On one side of the hat, I layered faux fall leaves, greenery, and berries.

Next came a bow made from the same muted orange gingham ribbon. I finished the center of the bow with a simple button.

And that was it!

From nine plain craft sticks to one very happy little fall scarecrow.

Finished wooden craft stick scarecrow featuring a teal hat, raffia hair, plaid bow, greenery, and hand-painted facial details.

Make This Scarecrow Your Own

One of the things I love about this project is how easily you can change it up. Use a different color for the hat, dig through your ribbon scraps, use different fall florals, change his expression, or give him as much (or as little) raffia hair as you want. You could even make several of them with different faces and hat colors and create a whole little scarecrow family. The basic construction stays the same, but the finished look can be completely different depending on what you have in your craft stash.

Handmade wooden craft stick scarecrow with a burgundy hat, black-and-white gingham ribbon, raffia hair, fall florals, berries, and a cheerful hand-painted face.
Handmade girl scarecrow craft made from wooden craft sticks with an orange hat, green plaid ribbon, fall florals, raffia ponytails with bows, eyelashes, rosy cheeks, and a smiling face.
Handmade fall scarecrow craft made from large wooden craft sticks with a green hat, orange plaid ribbon, raffia hair, rosy cheeks, and a hand-painted smiling face.

A Cute and Easy Fall Craft

I think he turned out absolutely adorable! I especially love the combination of the aged wood, teal hat, messy raffia hair, and those warm autumn embellishments. And considering he started as nine simple wooden craft sticks; that’s quite the transformation. He’s ready for his autumn debut! This little DIY craft stick scarecrow would be cute tucked onto a shelf, added to a fall vignette, displayed on a tiered tray, or nestled among pumpkins and other autumn decor.

Finished DIY craft stick scarecrow displayed with pumpkins, autumn leaves, berries, and a glowing lantern in a rustic fall setting.

Want More Creative Ideas?

If you enjoy easy DIY projects, thrifted makeovers, seasonal decorating ideas, and creative ways to make your home feel collected and uniquely yours, I’d love to have you join me!

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DIY craft stick scarecrow made with large wooden craft sticks, raffia hair, a teal hat, orange plaid ribbon, and fall florals. Easy rustic fall decor tutorial from My Eclectic Treasures.

Love this project? Save it to Pinterest so you can find it when you’re ready to make your own!

More Fall Crafts You Might Love

Not ready to put away the fall craft supplies yet? I don’t blame you! Here are a few more fall projects from My Eclectic Treasures that you might enjoy:

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