Lavender Bird Cage

Lavender Bird Cage

Making the wreaths for this project is the most important part.  How you ultimately decorate it is up to you!



Instructions:

1. Pick lavender when the blossoms first start to flower and plan to work on the project immediately, while the plant material is still fresh and pliable.

2. You will need to make two wreaths.  I like to make free-form wreaths for all my projects, but you may use a wreath form, if you prefer.  A form will improve the sturdiness of these wreaths, since it will hang flat (horizontally), instead of the way a door wreath does (vertically).

 3. For each, pick three handfuls of lavender stems approximately 8 inches in length.

4. Lay the stems in a line, overlapping each by 1 inch.

5. Beginning at one end, tightly wrap nylon fishing cord around the lavender.

6. When you come to the end, form the piece into a circle by overlapping the beginning and the end by 2 inches.

Lavender Wreath Base

7. Continue wrapping the cord to fasten the ends securely together.

8.  Add more lavender to bulk up the wreath, which gives it strength and sturdiness.

Adding Bulk to the Wreath

Finished Wreath--You Need to Make 2 of These

9. Make another wreath the same size (about 6 inches in diameter).  They never turn out exactly the same and the wreaths are pliable, so you don't have to worry about making one smaller than the other in order to fit them together.  You can make them in any size, depending on the amount of lavender you use.

10. Next, put one wreath inside the other, and wire them together at the top and bottom.



11. Attach loops of narrow satin picot ribbon at the bottom.

12. Attach a bow and hanger fashioned from wider stain picot ribbon at the top.

Finished Position in which your "Birdcage" will Hang

13. Make a nest out of German statice and place it within the "cage".

Real Hummingbird Nest for Scale

14. Add a hummingbird and flowers for decoration.

The fragrance is wonderful, especially when a breeze drifts through!

I haven't made one of these in a very long time, so I don't have pictures of my own for the finished project.  As soon as I can get some more lavender (probably not until next summer, now), I will make one of these and post the finished photos here for you.

Source:

Shaudys, Phyllis. The Pleasure of Herbs. Pownal: Storey Communications, 1986. Print.

Photo Credits:

Lavender Wreath Construction:  Photo Credits:  Anna Patricia Designs from http://annapatriciadesigns.blogspot.com/2010/08/lavender-wreath.html;  

Lavender Wreath Hanging Flat:  Photo Credit:  http://www.deerpearlflowers.com/65-loveliest-lavender-wedding-ideas-you-will-love/rustic-wedding-decor-ideas-lavender-wreath/

Real Hummingbird Nest:  Photo credit: Alex Popovkin, Bahia, Brazil via Visualhunt.com / CC BY