Bird cages are such a versatile decorative accessory. They're like an artistic canvas just waiting for you to add your own creative spin. Paired with vibrant blooms and trailing vines, they make a chic and elegant centerpiece that's perfect for weddings, afternoon teas and showers. You can even put one on your nightstand so it's the first thing you see every morning. You might just wake up thinking you're royalty — or royally creative.
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Things You'll Need
Decorative bird cage
Wire cutters
Artificial vines
Artificial flowers
Floral foam
Hot glue gun
Artificial bird
Step 1: Select a Bird Cage
Decorative bird cages are typically dome-shaped, but they vary in the way they open. Some, like the one in this example, feature a caged dome that comes completely off of the base. Others open at the top, or may have a small door in the front. The open bird cage I'm using is very common and easy to work with. Just lift the dome, and you're ready to create.
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Step 2: Add Vines
We want it to appear like vines are growing up the side of the cage. With wire cutters, snip off several lengths of artificial vines from a larger bush.
Weave the vines between the wires of the cage to secure them in place. Start at the bottom of the cage and go up.
Continue adding vines to the top so the vines make an arch over the bird cage. If the vines become too bushy, feel free to snip off some of the greenery.
Step 3: Adhere the Floral Foam
To help position the flowers inside the bird cage, start by hot gluing a disk of floral foam to the center of the base. Floral foam is available in the floral decorating section of the crafts store, and it is formulated for either fresh or artificial flowers. Select the one for artificial flowers. If you can't find the circular disk shape, you can buy a rectangular piece and cut it to size.
Step 4: Insert Foliage
Artificial foliage provides a foundation for the flowers while hiding a lot of the floral foam for you. Pick densely packed, small leaves like those in boxwood so they won't overwhelm the flowers. With wire cutters, remove individual sprigs of the foliage.
Insert the stems of the foliage into the floral foam.
Continue inserting stems of foliage until about half the floral foam is covered. You want to reserve open space for the flowers.
Step 5: Decorate with Flowers
Cut artificial flowers off their stalks, leaving about two to three inches of stem.
Insert the stems in the floral foam in the blank spaces.
Continue adding blooms, but leave openings for some flowers that will be inserted from the outside of the cage.
Step 6: Close the Bird Cage
Place the bird cage dome over the flowers on the base. Some of the foliage will get caught as you lower the dome, but that's fine. Just reposition some of the leaves so they extend past the confines of the cage.
Step 7: Add Outside Flowers
Trim flowers leaving a longer stem of about four to five inches, and insert the stems through the cage and into the remaining areas of visible floral foam. Now it looks like the flowers have grown through the bird cage.
Step 8: Accent with a Bird
Since this is a bird cage, after all, let's add a bird. Artificial birds are available at the crafts store with the other floral arrangement supplies. Hot glue it to the outside of the cage (I like it on the outside enjoying its freedom).
Making a Bird Cage Candleholder
Another way to decorate a bird cage is to turn it into a display for an LED battery-operated candle. With this type of arrangement, all the flowers need to be attached to the exterior of the bird cage.
Step 1: Connect the Vines
As with the regular floral bird cage arrangement, cut vines and weave them through the wires of the cage. Less is more in creating a candleholder, as we want the candlelight to show through, so just one or two sprigs of vine are enough.
Step 2: Interlace the Foliage
Instead of inserting green foliage in floral foam, weave some green foliage though the wire just as you did with the vines. Again, just a little bit is all you need.
Step 3: Add Flowers
Hot glue flowers to the outside of the bird cage. If your flowers are large, you may only need one.
By decorating only the outside of the bird cage, there is room for the LED candle when the dome is placed on the base.
