DIY Woodland Swag and Autumn Tablescape

~ by Trenda

It’s that cozy, all things pumpkin, sweater weather, cider sipping time of year…and time to decorate Cottage Green for autumn. Seeing the shadows of autumn sunshine coming through our shutters, while smelling the apple cider fragrance in our diffuser, I was inspired to make a woodland swag. A swag that looked like it was made with treasures found during a walk in an autumn forest…some bittersweet, wild blossoms, red, golden, and orange leaves, pinecones, wild grapes, and hawthorn berries, all weaved into a fir garland and mixed with discarded pheasant feathers and antlers shed from the deer in autumn.

Where the heart is the mind works best.

Louisa May Alcott

To make my woodland swag, I took a plain and unadorned green fir garland I had in our closet (like the garlands you see displayed at Christmas) and spread the length of the garland out on the table. Then I began placing and inserting the woodland decorations I’d selected, using the wired branches of the garland to secure each decoration in place. Wild blossoms and grapes cascaded down the center of the swag. Autumn leaves, pinecones, more grape clusters, and dark hawthorn berries filled the garland. Pheasant feathers were a beautiful woodsy touch and were easy “to stick” throughout the fir swag…and faux antlers, like those shed from the deer in autumn, added just the right touch of forest enchantment to my swag. To blend all the mixed pieces together, I finished by winding a bittersweet vine throughout my autumn woodland swag.

I knew the woodland swag would be beautiful hanging above our downstairs dining area, but also loved that hanging it here, it would be a surprise focal point that would be seen whenever someone was coming down the stairs.

The swag almost glows in the autumn afternoon and lamplight.

Since the woodland swag frames the dining area, I wanted our table setting to reflect the same autumnal mood that the woodland swag conveyed. I used a tartan runner woven in woodsy colors for my backdrop, and started building my tablescape. A wrought iron crescent moon with a profile of a face, and a fortune ball filled with fairy lights add a little whimsy to the scene.

A wire pumpkin filled with potpourri ties in with the autumn theme and repeats the wrought iron of the moon. A cedar timer from Colorado adds a woodsy feel and is a dear souvenir that belonged to my mother and father and brings back sweet, remembered times.

Apple cider potpourri looks and smells delicious tucked in a Weeping Gold vase. The gold and red theme is repeated throughout this little vignette with the orange-red berries of the bittersweet, the red tones of the apples and pomegranates, and the red cover of the book, which delightfully is embossed in the same gold as the vase.

A pheasant, in his autumn colored plumage, nestles near the cedar branches and a wire canoe filled with candles.

Autumn tablescape.

Autumn view inside and outside.

And…coming down the stairs.

We have had our summer evenings, now for October eves!

Humbert Wolfe

I hope these ideas have inspired your creativity, and I hope you’ll try making your own woodland swag and you’ll create an autumn tablescape! The swag is beautiful and looks quite opulent, though it is easy to put together…and you’ll enjoy being thrifty and letting your imagination soar when “shopping” from the inventory you have in your cabinets and closets to decorate your tabletops and mantels. You’ll see seasonal decorating doesn’t require a trip to the craft store. (:

Next week…“All Things Halloween!” (:

From my cottage to yours ~ Trenda

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