I've adorned them with wire and beads and when a container is placed on top you can either have a birdbath or feeder. When flipped over you can curl the ends which are normally poked into the ground with a pair of pliers and add little bells. It is an interesting piece of garden art that "jingles" in the wind, rain, or when the birdies land on it.

Hi mamabirrd - This sounds really neat. Would love to see a picture of one of your creations. They sound very whimsical and very different and this is what our group tries to come up with. Thanks so much.

Sure! I wish I had a picture to send, and a scanner to send it with! Sorry, you will have to use your imagination but I can assure you that it's quite simple. Just go to the craft store and look for embelleshments. I like all kinds of beads, be it glass or wooden, but there are so many different things you could attach. And as far as the wire goes, a local home improvement store should sell all kinds. I've even used a thin, copper wire that looked nice. And don't forget about paint. You could paint the cage any color using Krylon paint suitable for metal. I need to work on getting a scanner hooked up, as I have so many pics I'd like to post. Maybe if I wasn't so busy growing plants and doing craft projects I'd get it done, lol! Well, give it a go and let me know how it turns out. Have fun!

Sorry, forgot to mention that you can use terra cotta pot saucers (which also can be painted) for the birdbath or feeder, depending on the size of the cage. Happy new year.

On the msn forum there is a pic of a birdbath made with a tomato cage and a light fixture that is stunning. Hopefully you don't have to be a member to view it.
ann
http://groups.msn.com/GardenJunk/birdbaths.msnw?Page=5

Had a look at the site - Super!! Many thanks

I recently took out all my shrubs in the front yard and had nothing to hang Christmas lights on this year. I took tomato cages, put them upside down with the wide base at the bottom, and wrapped with garland (took 24 feet) and mini lights. Bought some tent stakes and staked in my front flower bed. They looked great!

A few years ago, everyone around here was making angels with the tomato cages. The krinkly craft paper that you unroll was used for the skirt, wings and arms...a paper covered ball was used for the head and the hair was moss...the tomato cage was the skirt

I've wrapped wild grapevine vines around & around tomato cages, wiring as I go, if necessary, to keep the vine wrapped tightly. Then, when done, I scroll-saw a very primitive wooden star, drill a hole in the star & hot-glue it to the top of my grapevine 'tree'...and then wrap the tree with very showy clear mini lights for night time magic. I've used miniature tomato cages to make table-top sized trees, as well. The mini ones sold like hotcakes!

Thanks for all your great ideas.