Unique Chic And Rustics: My Upcycled And Repurposed Life: Shabby Birdcage

Hello All, Thank You So Much for joining me today in yet another one of my adventures!! Before we get started with this project I've been tackling, I want to take a minute and introduce myself!! My name is Jessica Riddle, I am a wife to Steve, and mother of the 3 most amazing kids I know!! I have been a Stay at Home Mommy for almost 14 years now and absolutely love every single minute!! (Well, almost anyway!! Lol) We live in southeast Missouri, and have our whole lives, and wouldn't have it any other way!! I am a God fearing woman, and proud to be so!! I am also a re-finisher of antique furniture, crafter, a DIY-er, and lover of the old and unwanted!! Oh Yeah, and sometimes I'm a amateur photographer!! Lol!! Where most see trash, I see something that with enough effort and hard work, it can be something beautiful and awesome!! I also have a new shop on Etsy.com called UniqueChicAndRustics. My shop mostly consists of items that I have found that were in fact old and unwanted. And, I took upcycled, reclaimed, and repurposed them!! I also love to do just about any Farmhouse Rustic, Shabby and Cottage Chic Handmade Decor I can think of, and lets not forget French Country Decor as well!! I love to distress paint almost anything and everything, and my 3 babies are my biggest helpers/critics!! Their ages are 13, 8, and 5. Girl, girl, boy! My oldest daughter was born mentally and physically disabled and is such a blessing for God, as are my other two as well!! She is my own little angel, and brings joy to everyone's lives that she encounters!! SO...I sure hope you stick around, and join me on most of my wonderful adventures in life, well at least the crafting and making part of it anyway!! Lol!

The link to my shop on Etsy is www.etsy.com/shop/UniqueChicAndRustics I sure hope you vistit and find something you want!! Lol!! I LOL often, can you tell??

Today I am working on an old vintage birdcage my mother-in-law, Diane found and got for me. (Isn't she so sweet!!) I forgot to take some before pics, but I can tell you that is was gold with that rusty goodness all over it!! I am right in the middle of it, so I will show you some pics of what I have done so far.

(See my "Photo Shoot" background! It took my FOREVER to get it just right!! Lol)

Isn't she pretty?!! It's just SO Shabby, I can barely take it!! I love it!! Ok, so I first took it and cleaned it up really good. Taking a scrub brush and spraying LA's Totally Awesome. That stuff ROCKS!! I let it dry really good, then took some Rust-oleum's Painters Touch 2X in matte white and went to town on it!! I probably put 3 or 4 good coats on, letting it dry in between. I then let i completely dry for a few hours while I tended to my kiddos. But I'm sure you don't have to wait that long, I usually don't. Next, I took some 220 grit and paper, not a very big piece, nor did I need my sanding block for this, I just did it by hand, distressing all the edges and everything that stuck out, I swiped it baby!! Gotta LOVE that old worn, distressed look, Oh Yeah!!!! The only problem is that after sanding it down, I forgot a step! I forgot to take a damp cloth and wipe that sucker down!! I had already started decorating it when I realized I had white paint powder all over my hands!! I was spray painting metal, Ugh, hello Jessica!! Lol! That always happens to me though! I usually forget at least one step!! So, after wiping off all that I could, I got on with the fun part...Decorating it, and that's were I am now, right in the middle, wait, I already said that didn't I?! Lol!! Oh well, it never hurts to repeat yourself at least once!! (Just ask my husband) As you can see, I have already took some vintage seam binding in white that I hand crinkled by getting it damp, scrunching it, then letting it dry. I also put some vintage lace, rick rack, and ribbon in whites and ivory's and creams, and looped them around the top of the cage, then gluing them together where they met, letting them all hang at different lengths. Also, I took some old sheer material and ripped about an inch wide strip, weaving in through the bars at the top, then tying it off and letting it dangle too, and taking a vintage looking key and keyhole and tying each one to different ends of the hanging sheer ribbon!! As you can see from the photos, I put some spanish moss in the very bottom with a cream colored little metal plate and on top of that is a lite blue round candle of my youngest daughter. This I think is temperary, as I would like to make some little clay robin's eggs, paint them a shabby blue with brown specks, and put them on there on top of the spanish moss, instead of the plate and candle. What do you guys think?? Should I leave it like it is, or should make the robin's eggs?? I would love to hear what your thought is on that!! The hanging of the little crystal "Channie" was the tricky part!! Lol! I took the gem and I can't remember where I got it, and wrapped some thin gauge jewelry wire around through the little hole at the top, then I hot glued it to the very tip top of the cage, suspending it in the air!! Lol!! I thought this little touch would look great!!

Next, I'm going to take a mini strand of pearls, and wrap them around the top as well. I love pearls, and they are a must for almost everything that has to do with Shabby Decor, don't you think?!! My new friend Jaizella over @LavishLaces on esty hooked me up with some gorgeous vintage laces. Thanks Jaizella!! Then a few more strips of vintage rick rack, satin ribbon, and more vintage laces. I love making shabby flowers by hand. It's kinda my relaxing thing. So, I decided that after I put all of the laces, rick rack, ribbon, and everything else on, that I would make a big white shabby rose to put at the top, on the side, letting all of the laces and other stuff flow from underneath the rose!! Great Idea, Right?!! I get those every once in awhile!! Heehee!! And, the final detail is... a Tim Holtz Number Plaquette!!! This is a small, delicate metal plate, used as an ornamental element. It has the number 46 on it and and is distressed to perfection!! Just the way I like it!!

This Gorgeous Shabby Birdcage will be for sale soon in my etsy shop, UniqueChicAndRustics, if anyone is interested in purchasing it from me!! Now, I hope that is encourages you too go make something beautiful!! And, if you do, I would love to see the pics!! I am signing off now, but before I go, here's the finally product of my work for today!! I hope you enjoyed visiting with me, and please stay tuned for more to come!!!!

XOXO Jess

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