A Vintage Birdcage Food Tent!

Hey there!  Remember when I mentioned in the last post that I had an idea for a vintage birdcage food tent because the one I used to cover the yummy Girl Scout cookies was just for show?  Well I made one.  I used that cute birdcage to make a food cover and LOVE IT!  It was so easy.

Here are the simple steps so you can make one too!

A DIY – Vintage Birdcage Food Tent

Step 1: Gather your supplies – Birdcage, mesh or screen, scissors, and floral wire.

 

Step 2: Roll out the screen and make a pattern.  You can cut it out or mark it with a Sharpie then cut it out.  Try and keep the pieces to a minimum.  Three is great but because my scrap piece of screen wasn’t long enough, I had to make four pieces which worked fine.

Step 3: Cut several pieces of floral wire to make your fasteners.  I cut mine about 3 inches long so I’d have a good grip when I twisted it together.

Step 4: Overlap the two pieces that will go along the inside from left to right.  So if you are looking straight at the cage, the left side that curves over to the right side is what I’m talking about.  Sew or fasten the two pieces together with at least 3 pieces of floral wire twisting them together as tightly as you can.  I was making one piece.

Step 5:  Place the piece of screen/mesh inside covering that center section.  Now use more floral wire to sew/fasten the edges to the cage.  Try and keep them to a minimum but make sure there are no holes where flies can get in.  I fastened them to the corners and in the middle to keep the mesh flat to the sides of the birdcage.

Step 6: Now add the back piece of the screen to the cage.  Once it fits inside, use more floral wire to sew/fasten it to the cage and the center piece that you just put inside.  You are fastening the center and back pieces together while you are fastening it to the cage.

Step 7: It’s time to add the front piece.  You’ll do exactly the same thing as in Step 6.  You will have a perfect mesh cage that fits inside the metal birdcage.  If you have gaps or places it isn’t sitting against the cage, add more floral wire fasteners.  What I like about using the screen is that it molds very easily and takes shape quickly.

Step 8: The last thing I did after checking for holes was to cut the extra ends off the twisted floral wire to make them as short as possible.

 

IMPORTANT:  I didn’t use gloves because I’m stubborn so the screen mesh cut my fingers in a few places.  Nothing major but it did hurt.  And the only thing I would do differently – is use silver or white wire to connect the screen to the cage.  They would be less noticeable in white.

I think I’ll be using this food tent A LOT!  It’s super sized too so it will hold a giant bowl of fruit or a nice sized cake.  I know some of you are thinking to use it for a big bowl of watermelon.  Bleh.  I cannot stand that stuff.  Oh I could stomach it if I added a pound of sugar but I have terrible friends that judge and shame me (you know who you are!) so it’s a no-go for this table.

Doesn’t that sound easy?  It’s a little time consuming because of all the wiring but it’s worth it.  And I think you should totally make your own vintage birdcage food tent and be the envy of your friends at your next outdoor party! Or come over to my party and ooh and aah over mine! 😉

And for those wanting to see the entire patriotic cart, I’ll show you that next week. Thank you sweet friends for following along.

Happy Hump Day!