I’ve been looking for bird feeders to hang near my Potting Shed.
Inspired by a birdelier on Pinterest, original source here, I went to my local Habitat ReStore and found a chandelier to repurpose as a feeder.
Originally polished brass, I found one for $8
I thought would work, despite a bent cup and
broken arm which I could re-thread & reglue~
I took photos of the chandelier in its original state, but neglected to transfer them before my laptop died, but you can see the original brass finish peeking through in the photo below.
I removed the socket covers and sockets, snipped the wiring, and sprayed it with Rust-Oleum Professional Red Primer Spray, more rust in color when applied.
Wanting a verdigris finish that appeared oxidized & aged, I sprayed a coat of Rust-Oleum Universal Satin Espresso Brown over the primer coat. I had some green craft paint left from painting my corbels so I thinned the paint with water, using it as a wash, applying several coats. After it was dry, I sprayed a couple of light coats of Valspar Clear Satin Spray to protect the finish.
Bowls from my Staffordshire Bouquet Dish Garden picked up for a song, were the right size to serve seed, so I attached them to the chandelier cups using Liquid Nails Adhesive.
I hung it from a branch using the chain and a hook, near a feeder that the birds were already visiting, in hopes of attracting them more quickly~
And filled it with seed~
A Tufted Titmouse was one of the first visitors~
Followed by the Carolina Chickadee~
From Chandelier to Birdelier :)
What a brilliant idea! It looks awesome…!
Very pretty and practical! Thanks for sharing how you got such a great-looking finish on the chandy.
Now that’s some pretty fancy eating for the birds! Fun, fun, fun!!!
Love this idea and so glad you shared it. Love how the color turned out!
LOVE IT!!! Will be making one for my birds here in Michigan!!
I have an old chandelier! I’ll be trying this idea. Yours is fabulous, of course.
What a clever idea, super cute…I am dying to hang a chandy somewhere, never thought about outside! Your birds are certainly dining in style now!
Jenna
What a fabulous idea. Very lovely.
I love it…what a wonderful idea. I have to ask, though, how do you lower it for refilling and cleaning? It looks like it is hung high.
With a ladder in my potting shed.
How cute. Maybe hubby will let me do this to an old chandy.
What an amazing transformation, Mary!!!!! I’m astounded at the authenticity of your faux vertigris finish. Far & away, too pretty to let the birds POOP on it, though. LOL
just brilliant! I think I have an old chandelier I was wondering what to do with- I would love to do this!
Wonderful idea and it looks great! I will be keeping my eye open for a chandelier to refurbish…I sure enjoy you and your ideas.
After seeing this, I’m betting lots of us will be looking for a chandelier to convert into a birdfeeder. Love it!
Mary, I think you may have started a new craze!! It looks fabulous and you will have so much fun watching the birds. Linda
What a great idea!! So cute. Have to try it soon!!
How will you manage the bowls when it rains? Will you patiently clean each bowl and go from there?
This is fantastic, and I loved the step-by-step tutorial. I am very impressed with the shot you got of the titmouse- they are hard to photograph! :)
~Joy @ http://yesterfood.blogspot.com
The seed gets gone quickly… I have to fill the bowls daily between the birds & squirrels :)
What a very cute idea!!! That would be so cute out my kitchen window!! xo marlis
Darling idea! The squirrels around here would eat all the food before any birds could fly in. We have a real problem. I took my feeders down. Even the ones that were supposed to be squirrel proof didn’t deter those pesky critters.
This look is perfect for the potting shed. ‘-)
That is one of the cutest things that I have seen!!!…what a great idea!!…
This is so pretty and perfect for feeding the birds in style!
Mary, it is beautiful. What about rain and cleaning the bowls?
This is *brilliant* Mary!!!! *and* I have an old brass chandy collecting dust in our garage!!! :D
Yours turned out *great* I love it!
xo,
RJ
Oh, wow! This is wonderful and really thinking outside the box! Love it!
Sharing this!!!
such a darling idea, i just so happen to have an extra chandy i was going to use in my laundry room at sea dream, gots me rethinking!
That was such a brilliant idea and it turned out so beautifully. Good idea to file away for a later date. Must be some happy little tweety birds out there..Happy Monday..Judy
Very pretty Mary! I’m sure you’ll be getting many great birdie shots in no time:@)
Thanks everyone! This project was born from a love of repurposing, dishes and birds so it’s a feeder that is more about aesthetics rather than function, unlike our tube feeders. I top off our feeders every morning and spend a little time puttering in my Potting Shed so I wasn’t concerned about having to use a ladder to refill the bowls.The birds and squirrels make quick work of the seed and I knock the empty shells out of the bowls when I fill it or the squirrels do it for me, giving new meaning to the phrase “swinging from the chandelier” :)
I am just so in love with each and every photo you take and the story behind them. I look forward to your emails letting me you know you have a new blog entry!
What a clever use of the chandelier and I bet the birds will enjoy it.
So pretty! You just made it totally different. I love those bowls they’re lovely! Great job Mary!
That is so neat!! I think my Indiana Bluebirds would really feel royal eating from that !!
Mary, I look so forward to receiving your updated photos, everyone of them are just wonderful, and it lets me daydream for a few minutes!
THanks for sharing,
Paula
What a great idea – I just threw away a old brass chandler -ugh but ‘I will be on the look out for one. That is such a great idea and you did such a wonderful job. I know the birds think they are in a 5 star restaurant. Thanks for sharing. Have a super day.
Mary
What lucky birds reside at your house!!! I love this idea and was just at a Habitat restore the other day. Now I have something to look for:) XO, Pinky
Oh my goodness… this is such a darling idea! I have two chandy right now that I could use for this. I am putting this on my project list.
You think of the most marvelous things!!!! I love your blog… and you too!
Great idea! It’s pinned for spring.
Oh how cute! I’m pinning this. I have a chandy in my garage just waiting for a make-over. Thanks for the inspiration. Enjoy your day, Gail
What a wonderfully clever idea! Off to the ReStore!
Just love this idea. How clever. Sharing in my Weekly wow’s on Saturday.
U r amazing!! How cool that the 1st visitor was a gorgeous tit mouse!!
Your bird ar so lucky to have such a fancy feeder!
Just a wonderful project! I am going to start scouting the thrift shops today! Your birds must feel quite swanky :)
Hope you can stop by the enchanted oven to say hi.
xo,
Lisa
I love this and I have this light fixture in my garage! Thank you for sharing. Patti@OldThingsNew
I love this and I have a beautiful old chandelier in the garage I can use. Thanks for sharing.
Fabulous bird feeder!!
Mary Alice
I love this idea! You did a fantastic job with the verdigris finish!
Very sweet. I’m sure the birds appreciated it. In the warmer weather you could nestle candles in it and hang it above a table!
Great to have you be a part of Seasonal Sundays.
- The Tablescaper
What a cute feeding station! With the cold, snowy weather we have been having I am sure the birds would love it.
Brilliant! Enough said…
I love, love, love this! It’s so genius! Stopping in from Wow Us Wednesdays :)
At the risk of sounding like a commercial, I wanted to let you know that I’m a writer at Crafting a Green World. Every month we do a Green Crafts Showcase where we feature our readers’ green projects. This would be a PERFECT project to feature! I would love for you to share it! If you’re interested, here’s the link: http://craftingagreenworld.com/green-crafts/
-Bonnie @ Revolutionaries and Crafting a Green World
http://www.revolutionariesblog.com
This is lovely – I love creative ways to feed the birds – would make for a gorgeous photo. I do appreciate you sharing with Home and Garden Thursday,
Kathy
Very pretty! Love It!
Homa style is having an Inspire Me link party that just started!
I would love it if you linked up:)
Here’s the link
http://homastyle.com/wp/2013/02/27/inspire-me-link-party/
I do my best to help market all the inspiring projects through my social media sites.