Shaken not Stirred

When I was around two years old, we took a family vacation to Disneyland. Part of the trip included stopping to see an elderly aunt and uncle who lived in San Diego. They had never had children of their own, so I think the invasion of four nephews and nieces who ranged in age from two to seventeen took them by surprise. And as much as I hate to admit it, I was probably the most guilty of upsetting the apple cart at their house. You see, my aunt had a song bird that lived in an intriguing cage at the top of a very tall stand. At her command the feathered fellow would whistle and warble and be a regular show off. When not prompted to perform the tiny bird would hop about his cage in silence. I guess this silence disturbed my two year old sensibilities, so I took it upon my self to make the bird sing on my own. I accomplished this by grabbing the stand and giving the bird cage quite a shake. I don't think my aunt or that bird was ever quite the same again. Add a mark in the tally book next to my name for one of those events that lives on in family infamy.

So last year for my birthday my mother gave me this vintage bird cage, in part because I wanted one and partially because she wanted to tell this story again for an audience. Gotta love it right? Well, I've been moving things around a little bit here and there in my house these last couple of days and I decided I needed to revamp the little vignettes I had going on because you know, Easter is over with. Anyhoo, the bird cage was one of the items I relocated. I not only moved it, but I emptied out the mishmash of things I had on display inside it. The poor thing was standing around looking rather forlorn with not even a parakeet with a bad case of vertigo to call it home. That was until the mail arrived and I received this fabulous package from my amazingly talented friend Natalea.
My birthday is next month, but Miss Natalea is so on the ball with her generosity that she sent the package early for added enjoyment and to insure timely delivery. In addition to the darling cards, Natalea took the time to make me a gorgeous bird shaped flip book. Each page is wonderfully unique. Even the backside of each bird is beautifully embellished. Thank you so much Natalea! I love everything! After opening this wonderful present, I knew I had to think of a way to really showcase each individual bird. And what better place could there be for a bevy of beautiful birds than my bird cage?
I love the result. I think the whole vignette really sings now, and I didn't even have to shake it.