how to make bird feeders – Our Beautifully Messy House

DIY Bird Nesting Kit

February 12, 2016February 12, 2016 Porter Leave a comment

The “DIY Bird Nesting Kit” is the perfect project for little hands and little helpers! L and I made three kits this week: two gifts and one to hang in our own backyard, next to our DIY Tin Can Bird Feeder. It took less than a day for our feathered-friends to find it and start picking away, flying bits of string home to cozy-up their nests! The DIY Bird Nesting Kit costs only $2.50 to make (I’m not kidding!) and it’s a wonderful project to help teach kids about giving, sharing, and caring for the world around us….aaand about birds and the various types of nests they make of course!

Before making our Bird Nesting Kits, the girls and I read “Mama Built a Little Nest” by Jennifer Ward and Steven Jenkins. It is fascinating book with beautiful, collage-like illustrations, depicting all kinds of birds, their families, and the homes they build. (It’s best to read in a pile of beach towels, swirled around on the floor into your own nest.) I highly recommend it!

Materials needed:

Wired bird suet holder
yarn scraps
scissors
ruler (optional)

First, have your little one cut the yarn scraps up into pieces about 3-5 inches long. You don’t have to measure them, but your little one might want to with the ruler!

After you have a nice pile of yarn pieces, it’s time to stuff them into the suet holder. Then, close the suet holder up and it’s all done. It’s that easy!

Now, time to find the perfect place outside to hang your Bird Nesting Kit…someplace where the birds will find it and you can spy them doing so is best!

If you’re giving your Bird Nesting Kit away as a gift, you may want to include a little card inside explaining what it is. Your friends will be sure to love such a colorful, quirky, and fun gift! Enjoy!!!

DIY Tin Can Bird Feeder #2

February 26, 2015December 3, 2015 Porter Leave a comment

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!

Bird Feeder Garland and Bird Feeder Ornaments

February 10, 2015November 23, 2015 Porter Leave a comment

The BIRD FEEDER GARLAND is one of my favorite Winter crafts. It’s fun to make and even more fun to watch the wildlife activity that arises in our backyard after we hang it up! This week we’ve watched birds nibbling, followed by squirrels chasing the birds, then snacking themselves, and lastly, we observed four neighborhood cats stalk the squirrels for two days straight. Easy Winter entertainment…the girls and I have been glued to our kitchen window! The BIRD FEEDER GARLAND itself looks beautiful hanging in a tree, around a bush, or along a fence!

Materials needed:

dental floss
unsalted peanuts in their shells
old apples, oranges, cranberries and/or raisins
embroidery needle
cardboard

Thread the dental floss into the needle. I use dental floss for lots of projects, because it’s always on hand and is super-sturdy! Using the needle, string the peanuts onto the dental floss. Having cardboard under the peanuts, makes it easier to push the needle through. Tie a knot after you string the first peanut to hold the rest on!

You can cut an apple into small pieces to string as well. If you have dried fruit, you can string that along with the peanuts too.

My helper squirreling away some apple bits…

Once the peanuts are all strung, find the perfect place to hang your BIRD FEEDER GARLAND!

The BIRD FEEDER GARLAND looks great on it’s own, but to really give the birds a treat, add some BIRD FEEDER ORNAMENTS as well! Kids love helping with this part!

Materials needed:

dental floss
pinecones
peanut butter
bird seed
butter knife
2 plates

First, tie the dental floss in a knot or two around the top of the pinecone.

Using a butter knife, slather on some peanut butter.

Pour some bird seed out on a plate and let your little one roll the peanut butter-covered pinecone through the bird seed.

Hang the pinecones from your BIRD FEEDER GARLAND!

You can also slice some apples and/or oranges to hang from the garland. And if you make these DIY Cereal Bird Feeders, you can add them as well! Enjoy!!!