Last month we had a sleepover with our grandchildren. Every time they come over we like to sit down and do a quick & easy craft project. This DIY Upcycled Bird Feeder is really easy to make. You can have it completed in less than 1 hour and you only need a few basic supplies to make it. The kids had a great time making them and personalizing them for the season.
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You can use just about any small plastic container: large yogurt cups, single-serve oatmeal bowls, just crack an egg plastic cups, small margarine and butter bowls, etc. Look around your kitchen at some of those small plastic bowls that you often toss away.
Kid’s Crafts: DIY Upcycled Bird Feeder
Small Upcycled Plastic Bowl
Jute or Rope
Scissors
Acrylic Paint Pens or Markers
Bird Seed
Clear Acrylic Spray Sealer (optional)
We upcycled an empty Just Crack An Egg plastic container. Wash and dry your container before beginning the project. If you want to preserve the painted surface against the elements of the weather you’ll need to coat the painted design (once the paint is dry) with 1-2 coats of a clear acrylic spray sealer. Keep that in mind as you work on this project.
The kids used acrylic paint pens with medium and fine tips to paint the designs around the outside of the bowls. The one shown in the photos was made by my 11 year old granddaughter. She painted a purple tulip, a sun, a red daisy flower and a ladybug around the sides of her container. You will need to let this dry for one hour before proceeding to the next step or until the paint has fully dried.
Use the tip of your scissors to poke four evenly spaced holes around the upper edge of the container. The holes need to be big enough to thread the rope or jute through them. We opted to make 4 holes so that our bird feeder wouldn’t easily tip when it was breezy outside. It gives it a little more stability than just using two holes. Cut the jute rope to your desired length. We cut two pieces and threaded them criss-cross through the holes knotting the ends inside each hole of the bowl to help hide the ends. You can use a smaller piece to knot together the hanging portion at the top to make a loop for hanging.
Pour your bird seed inside filling it 75% of the way full. We used a wild bird seed mixture in our feeders. Hang them from a hook on your back porch, from a tree limb, etc. This would be an easy project to do with a school group or scouting troop too!
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I love the idea of recycling containers for bird feeders. I know that my grandchildren would love to decorate them and then watch the birds come to feed.
Wonderful to see such neat crafts using recycled containers. I bet the birds appreciated their new feeder.
I do like this idea for This DIY Upcycled Bird Feeder. I do want to make one. My cat enjoys looking at the birds through our sliding door and would love to attract some more birds near our trees.
This is a great idea. The girls just moved into a new house. They would love to make these.
Using the four holes is a very good idea. You want the birds to be able to perch on the bowl.