Reuse your Art ~ From Hat to Hut ~ Gibert's New Birdy Snuggle Hut!

Happy Wednesday Everyone!

It is me...

Gilbert!

I am here to show you the wonderful birdy snuggle hut my momma just made for me!

I love to take naps in the afternoon and sometimes like to relax without having to hold onto a perch!

I have always liked to be held and even lay down on my parents when they watch tv.

They just put me on their chest or lap and cover me with their hand lightly, and I fall right asleep!

My momma calls me her blob-y bird!

Yesterday she surprised me with this wonderful hut she made for me complete with a removable fleece bed inside for warmth & easy cleaning!

I thanked her by actually snuggling up to it and making a "purring" noise if you can believe it! :)

Here it is upclose before she hung it in my cage...

This is the bottom of it!

She made me a granny circle!

...and here it is hanging in my cage for me!

I will let her take over the post now to show you how she reused R-Chee's very first Barkclava made from her own design.

He only weighed 5 lbs when she made this for him and his head was tiny!

It does not fit him anymore and now it is MINE all MINE!

Hi everyone!

I am so excited to show you how I reused R-Chee's Barkclava Hat and made it into a bird hut for Gilbert!

I was inspired by watching Gilbert fall asleep on his perch and actually watch him try and lay down on it!

He would keep nodding off and tilt forward like when we fall asleep in a movie or class lecture and then keep waking up!

It is so cute to see him really want to snuggle, and I wanted to get him a soft hut he felt warm and safe in.

I have seen many styles online and in catalogs, but they are all about $15 or $20 and there is no way to know if he will even crawl into them as many of the openings were kind of small with the hut being a bit big for the space I actually have in his cage for it.

Feeling a bit frustrated with the choices I found, I thought to myself I bet I can make him one!

I knew I wanted it to be more covered on top than an actual basket-nest shape  but have a bigger, oval hole in the front that was more inviting than a 2" circle.

I closed my eyes and starting trying to imagine what that would look like and then I thought... 

Oooooo! I know... it looks just like a Barkclava Hat, but with an insert that is lined with something soft and removable for easy washing.

I also wanted to make the bottom stiff so that he did not feel like he was sagging into a hammock as he rested.

So I pulled out R-Chee's very first Barkclava that was now too small for him, but the PERFECT size for a birdy snuggle hut!

All I did to convert it was... 

1. Make a Granny Circle from this FREE Pattern.
2. Sew it onto the bottom of the Barkclava.
3. Insert a blank CD in to provide a lightweight yet sturdy plastic bottom.
4. Shove in his fleece bed I had for him that I got at PetSmart awhile ago.
5. and hang it in his cage!

The whole project literally took me about 30 minutes to create and both I and Gilbert could not be happier! :)

I love being able to reuse and repurpose things I make into new creations!

What projects have you changed or upcycled that you now enjoy in a whole new way?

Please leave us a note and let us know!

I would love to hear all about it!

xoxoxoxo

Melissa, Gilbert & R-Chee