Making It Mine - Bird Cage

Today we have another episode of Making It Mine, where I buy an item and change it to make it more to my liking.  Some items I change right away; some take many years before I do anything.

I bought this bird cage from JoAnn Fabrics many years ago when they were located on Whitney Way, across from Westgate.  It was that greenish-black sort of mottled color, vaguely reminiscent of oxidized copper.   I bought a stand at the same time and the two of them together amused me for a long time.  For the last couple of years, however, this bird cage has been sitting in the basement, irritating me.  Last month I decided to do something about it.

It was either give it away or do something new with it.  I decided a new coat of paint was all it needed to make me like it again.  I started out with a can of spray paint.  I hate spray paint.  It seems like more of it goes in the air than on the thing you're trying to paint.  That can't be good.  It was particularly trying since the bird cage had so many skinny wires.   I decided never to use spray paint again as long as I live, or until I change my mind, whichever comes first.

Unfortunately, after two coats, the paint job was still incomplete.  I was going for white and what I had was greyish white.  I finished the job with a bucket of white paint and a brush and was pretty happy with the modern look of it.

I thought the new coat of paint would be all I needed to be happy, but I was wrong.  I needed to put something inside the bird cage.  The pigs wanted to go in there and play, but it looked like they were in pig jail, so I chased them out and came up with a different plan.

This morning I took the bird cage to my favorite garden center and tried out a bunch of plants and coordinating pots.  These Kalanchoes were my final choice, for all the right reasons:

1. bright splash of color
2. long-lasting blooms
3. ceramic pots to protect the metal hutch the bird cage will sit on
4. reasonably priced
5. and most important of all, they all fit inside the bird cage

 

 I can refill the pots when the Kalanchoes are done blooming.

Here they are getting some much needed sun.

Now I have a nice trio of bird cages.