To celebrate the last week of National Bird Feeding Month, L and I made these adorable TIN CAN BIRD FEEDERS! They are really easy to make, look beautiful and cost nothing…just go digging through your recyclables! Not only will the birds love this winter treat, this bird feeder would make a fantastic gift for your children to make for a friend, parent or grandparent!
Materials needed:
- tin can w/ lid
- wooden paint stirrer
- pliers
- acrylic paints
- hot glue gun
- string
- glossy sealant (optional)
- church key can and bottle opener (optional)
- bird seed
First, make sure your can is clean and remove the label.
Using your hands, carefully bend the lid of the can in half. Using pliers, squeeze it flat.
Using the hot glue gun, glue the paint stirrer inside the can. You can break the stirrer if it’s too long. This will be the birds’ perch.
Next, glue the bent lid back into the can as pictured. Try not to make a huge mess with the hot glue gun, but if the glue shows it is no big deal…you will paint over it next.
Paint the can any way you like.
After the paint dries, you can use the can opener to make holes in the can from where you’ll hang it on a string. On one of our cans I placed two holes on the top…this bird feeder will hang from an old clothes line end.
On our second can I made holes in the back of the bird feeder…this one we will tie onto a fence. I was careful to put the holes in the can after we painted it, because I wanted to avoid any sharp edges while L was handling the bird feeder.
If you’d like your bird feeder to have a shiny, glossy finish, spray the can with a glossy sealant. It only takes 15-30 min to dry and will help protect the paint as well!
Thread string through the holes of the bird feeder and fill with bird seed!
Now, find the perfect spot to hang your TIN CAN BIRD FEEDER! We placed one of ours right outside our kitchen window…the girls will love watching their little wildlife friends snack throughout the day! Enjoy!
In case you missed it, here’s the first DIY TIN CAN BIRD FEEDER we made! Another fun nature craft!
