Altered birdcage

Today I am finally able to share my latest design team project for Ezee Pzee Embellishments. Anyone who reads my blog knows that I've been involved with Ezee Pzee since the beginning and it's just so excitingto see the company grow and its product lines expand! This month our design team was challenged to use a selection of silhouette flower die cuts along with a box (a planter?) for our projects.

This was a very challenging project for me! I found a decorative birdcage in the clearance section at Michaels and planned to put the flower box inside with a mixture of the chipboard flowers and silk flowers. One little problem ... I am not an artist and I couldn't make the die cuts look like real flowers. Thank goodness Ezee Pzee chipboard is so durable because I must have coloured, painted, stained each piece at least 3 times over!

I was ready to pound my head against a wall when I had the (brilliant) idea to see if I could find inspiration on the internet. I did a Google search for altered birdcages and came across a couple of sites where birdcages were used as message boards. I looked at those ideas, remembered the wonderful Kathy saying that we could do anything we wanted with the materials we were provided, and like lightening flashing in the sky, I suddenly realized that I didn't have to make the flowers look real!

In the end, I simply hot glued several of the chipboard flowers to the birdcage and then painted the entire thing using Sophisticated Finishes blackened brass paint. I found a few round magnets which I also painted with the same paint and "voila" - instant picture holder. The project took less that an hour (plus drying time) once I actually got down to work.

I couldn't let the planter go to waste though, so I made a special holder for my spritzes and favourite paints. I covered the box in Basic Grey paper and then created four legs by folding and painting some scrap cardboard. Kathy included a chipboard die cut of my name in the design package so I adhered it to the front of the box after painting it with the blackened brass paint. The box is a great addition to my craft table.

Now, hop on over to the other Dezign Team member blogs and see what they've done with these items:

• Jennifer (http://createbyjennifer.blogspot.com/)
• Rena (http://roadtocreativity.blogspot.com/)
• Diana (http://missusgmoments.com/
• Dana (http://poorscrapbooker.blogspot.com/)
• Katie (http://scrappinginmemoryoftuffy.blogspot.com/)

Challenges I'm entering these projects into:

• Allsorts - blooming blossoms
• I Did It Creations - anything goes
• One Stitch at a Time - something 3D