Decorate a Birdcage for the Winter Season

I have a birdcage that is part of the year-round decor in my living room. It is an ivory color filled with white ceramic birds and has a big raffia bow on top. I didn't have it last year, so the problem didn't arise until this year...where do I put it during Christmas and the winter season?

I usually pack everyday things in my empty decoration boxes when I decorate for the holidays, but I knew that after the holidays, it still wouldn't fit in with my winter decorating. I needed a solution that would allow me to leave it out for display. I decided to give it a simple makeover that could be changed back when the seasons changed.

A little bit of pine greenery, mushroom birds, snowman's top hat and a bow gave it the right amount of seasonal charm I was looking for. It was a simple fix that took about an hour to complete. This project can be duplicated with most any type of decorative birdcage you have on display.

Step 1
Cut off the sides from a cardboard shirt box, leaving you with the top and bottom of the box. Cut a rectangle 6 inches wide by the length of the box. Curl the rectangle into a cylinder shape and tape the short ends together using masking tape.

Step 2
Stand the cylinder on the cardboard and trace around it. This circle is the top of the hat. Cut out the circle. Place the circle on one end of the cylinder and tape the edges using masking tape.

Step 3
Place an 8-inch dinner plate on the cardboard and trace around it. This is the brim of the top hat. Cut out the circle.

Step 4
Stand the cylinder in the center of the brim and trace around it. Remove the cylinder. Trace another circle a 1/2 inch inside the traced circle. Cut out this inner circle.

Step 5
Cut a rectangle of black fabric 1 inch wider and 1 inch longer than the rectangle of the cardboard cylinder. Apply a thin line of craft glue around the outer edges on the side of the cylinder. Center the cylinder on the wrong side of the fabric. Wrap the fabric around the cylinder, overlapping and gluing the short ends. You should have a 1/2-inch of fabric sticking up from the top of the cylinder and a 1/2 inch from the bottom. Clip slits in this fabric 1/4 inch apart. Apply craft glue to each slit and press them to the inside bottom of the cylinder and over the edge to the top.

Step 6
Trace another circle on the black fabric the same size as the top of the hat. I used a silver permanent marker on the black fabric, but you could also use chalk. Cut out the circle 1/4 inch smaller than the traced line. Glue the circle to the top of the hat.

Step 7
Place the brim of the hat on the black fabric and trace around it a 1/2 inch larger. Cut out the fabric circle. Apply glue to one side of the brim and center the brim on the fabric. Clip slits around the edge. Apply glue to the slits and fold to the other side.

Step 8
Trim the fabric on the inside circle of the brim a 1/2 inch inside the cardboard inner circle. Clip slits around the edge. Glue the slits to the other side.

Step 9
Place the brim on your table with the fabric side facing up. Apply craft glue to the bottom edge of the top hat cylinder. Center the cylinder over the center of the brim. Allow the glue to dry.

Step 10
Cut a length of 2-inch-wide black ribbon long enough to wrap around the top hat and overlap a 1/2 inch. Wrap the ribbon around the bottom of the top hat and glue the overlapping ends. Place the hat on the top of the birdcage. There is a raffia bow on top of my birdcage. I tucked it inside the hat to conceal it.

Step 11
I left the Spanish moss in the bottom of my cage and covered it with scraps of pine branch garland I had left over from other projects. Three large mushroom birds (I used quail) were perched on the pine branches to finish off the inside of the cage.

Step 12
Cut a 2-yard length of 2-inch-wide gold wire-edge ribbon. Form a loopy bow and wire it to the side of the cage.

I cut "Merry Christmas" from a scrap of the shirt box using my Cricut. I applied spray glue and glittered it red. It is taped to the side of the top hat. After Christmas, I plan on replacing it with a "Let It Snow" die-cut.