When I was a kid, I was fascinated with raffia.  But for all my hours of playing around with it, I never did manage to make anything useful out of it.  Enter Chyanne from Off the List.  She came up with these ingenious raffia bowls!  [how to make a raffia bowl]

Make a bowl from raffia in autumn colors and fill it with apples for an instant harvest-themed centerpiece, use one to corral stray odds and ends while you work on a craft project, or put one in your entryway to hold keys and other leaving-the-house essentials.  For a more rustic look, try substituting twine for raffia.

Project Estimate:

• Raffia, $1
• Balloons, on hand or $1
• Mod Podge, on hand

Project total:  $1 and up

Chyanne also has some other great ideas for crafting with raffia, including a fun mobile and a spruced-up message board frame.  Use her method to add pizzazz to all kinds of items around the house!