Makes Me Happy Monday : My Bird Cage Jacket

This is my covered birdcage.

We bought the birds several years ago in November. I’ve wanted birds for ages. I knew they would be messy  and I put off buying them. But, they have been worth any extra work that they create.

They sing, sing, sing …. any time they are uncovered. Okay – their singing is more like chirping … and when life gets loud in our house, they actually squawk more than they chirp. But, I adore these guys.

We cover the cage at night with a thick, red tablecloth. It was available that first night having them home … and it has continued to keep them in the dark and quiet at night and in the early mornings.

To keep the cover in place, we just fold the cloth over itself on top and allow the bird food container to keep it in place.

It works.
And it’s ugly.

A few years ago, I was shopping downtown in one of my fav.o.rite stores
that was unfortunately going out of business,
when I spied some beautiful furniture upholstery samples.
Blue Magnolia was the place I went to buy presents … and an occasional splurge for myself.
They had the coolest items for sale … including a select few pieces of furniture.
Marked down for their going-out-of-business sale, I bought some of those samples for a quarter a piece.
I choose the earthy colors that I knew would fit in our home well,
with an idea that I would piece them together for a cover for our bird’s enclosure.

I had to remove the information label from the end of each sample.
Each one was around 2-3″ and I couldn’t afford to lose that much material from each sample.
I knew the job would be time-consuming,
which was surely part of the reason that I had put off this job for so long.
But, as I try to get to the root of my motivations lately,
I have also considered two other factors.
I probably put off doing the job
because I knew that the finished product would please me and only me.
Nobody else cares that we swaddle the birds in a red table-cloth at night.
But, I did. I hated the thing … probably because I had a vision for a more beautiful cover.
It somehow felt selfish to spend hours on something … that would only please me.
And the other reason that I put off starting the project was fear
that when I finished … it wouldn’t be “perfect” … it wouldn’t be “right” … it wouldn’t be “good enough.”
It wouldn’t be what I had envisioned.
Lastly, what if I had to seam-rip … over and over and over. There have been projects that have gone that way!
Oh, the frustration!

But, a week ago, I began the project. I seam-ripped labels off while I waited on carpool.
There was no way to sew around those grommets … and they would let in light if I left them on each sample.
They had to be removed, so I cut off edges creating nice, even squares
and pieced together squares while Joy serenaded me with her violin.
For several hours on Saturday and a few more on Sunday,
I sewed and fitted …

sewed and fitted.

There was no pattern, only the vision in my mind.

I prayed as I brought together pieces, edges and corners. Praise God, I only had to seam-rip one short seam during the entire building process.  My squares lined up well and they were just the right size so I only had about an inch of waste on each individual square.
And while nobody else will find pleasure at looking at my birdcage cover, I will.
It really makes me happy.

I’m so proud of how it turned out.
My corners are as true as I could dream.

The tabs matched up well so that the swing-front cloth door stays in place well when the cover is in place.

I even finished the edge with some trim that I had stashed away from some huge grab bag that I bought for $2 at a yard sale ages ago.

Would you just LOOK at that pattern on the far left bottom? *swoons* I just LOVE it!

The only thing I had to purchase for this project was velcro. It cost me $1.74 at Hancock. It was on sale … down from $3.49 for their Veterans Day Sale! Yay!

After years of looking at a frumpy red cloth draping their cage,
my sweet birdies have a beautiful jacket that was made just for them and their little house.
For less than $10. and several hours of focus, I was brave and attempted a project that I had put off for ages.

My Bird Cage Cover r.e.a.l.l.y  Makes Me Happy today.
What makes you happy this marvelous Monday morning?