by: Danyelle of Dandee Designs
We all know how important it is to keep toddler hands busy and engaged, especially this time of year when the weather is cooler and little ones can easily go stir crazy without the extra stimulation. My two youngest children and I recently spent a morning creating these little bird feeders, and we thought we would share the how to with you.
Gather the supplies:
Bird seed, flour, water, gelatin, corn syrup, bowl, cookie sheet, wooden spoon, cookie cutters, measuring cups + spoons, non-stick spray, drinking straw, twine.
In a bowl mix:
3/4 C. flour
1/2 C. water
1 envelope unflavored gelatin
3 TBS corn syrup
Stir until well combined.
Next, add 4 cups bird seed and mix well. Spray your cookie sheet with the non-stick cooking spray and pour the seed mixture onto the cookie sheet.
Flatten out the seed mixture.
Use cookie cutters to cut different shapes from the seed mixture. I didn’t have a triangle cookie cutter so I made one with some scrap cardboard.
Use a drinking straw make a little hole in the bird feeder. Once the bird feeders are dry (usually takes overnight) string twine through the hole.
While creating these bird feeders my children and I discussed shapes, birds, cooking, and measuring. Not to mention the fun we had while placing the bird feeders on bush and tree branches on our afternoon walk!
honeydew / 7968 posts
very creative! i’d be afraid that my babies would want to eat it lol
hostess / wonderful honeydew / 32460 posts
Such a cute craft! I adore baby hands… just wanna gobble them up!
kiwi / 525 posts
That’s deadly, and it’d be like decorating the trees nearly, the feeders are so cute!
@tequiero21: I’d say if you made up your own seed mix of just sunflower, pumpkin and poppy seeds, maybe, it wouldn’t matter if the babas did eat some!
wonderful pear / 26210 posts
Cute, and so simple!!!! Is the gelatin the powdered kind, I don’t use it on a regular basis.
kiwi / 718 posts
super cute idea. I love the pudgy little hands pressing the seeds down
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Found you via Pinterest. I LOVE this idea!
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Thank you for this idea and tutorial!! We just finished making these on a very snowy afternoon. Just waiting for them to dry and hang up tomorrow!
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Super fun
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I love this post because I also working with bird food business.
Lesley Smith
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If corn syrup is terrible for humans to consume then I can just imagine how it affects a bird. What would be a good substitute?
apple seed / 2 posts
Love this take on making bird feeders!
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My niece (age 2) and I had a great time making these bird ornaments. Thanks for the great tutorial. I made a few variations, but I’m not sure I’d recommend either. 1) We used honey instead of corn syrup. They hardened up mostly but are still pretty fragile – not sure if corn syrup would have hardened more. 2) I bought gourmet bird food with lots of big nuts in it — I think the smaller seeds is a better way to go as they would be easier to cut through and would hold together better. Our attempt: http://tictactangle.blogspot.com/2013/01/family-time.html Thanks again for the tutorial!
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My question is does this hold shape even when it warms up. We are suppose to be seeing mid-40’s this week all they way up to maybe 50 degrees F. ! I’m glad spring is coming but at the same time I’m a little worried that I will do something fun with the kids only to see it turn into a complete flop!
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@Elizabeth – I think it would hold up ok. When we made them, we let them air dry in the house (so about 70F) and they hardened up just fine. Worst case if they do start to fall apart, you can put them on a bird feeder or something, it would still be a fun experience for the kids to make.
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such an awesome idea! I’ve been trying to find a good recipe. All I could come up with was a recipe with only gelatin. Love the flour water mixture that’s sure to hold it together.
You should check out “homemade gak” it’s super easy and so fun. My 6 year old loved it and we are sending it for a Valentines day gift instead of candy.
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How many does this make? I am planning these to hand out as class valentines. Thanks for the great idea!
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Found this on pinterest two hours ago and just came back from Walmart with all the supplies. I’m a nanny for a two and a half year old and she’s going to LOVE this!
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We used this recipe at the school where I teach and rather than wait over night we baked them on greased cookie sheets at 275 degrees for 15 minutes and they hardened right up. It worked perfectly!
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This is fabulous! It’s not necessarily a craft for toddlers, either. I think that any kid would love doing it.
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I love this craft and I’m hoping to make it with my Kindergarten class – one problem: Peanut allergies. All of the birdseed I can find seems to have peanut chunks in it. Your’s doesn’t look like it has peanuts though.. can you tell me what kind of seed you used?
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How many feeders does the recipe make? I want to make these with my pre schoolers
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How much bird seed do I use? I will be making this with my 5th grade students. Love your idea…hope we are successful!
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OOPS! I see 4 cups of bird sees. About how many bird feeders will it make? I need to make enough fro 40 students.
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wondering how many bird feeders this recipe will make?
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Brides using peanut butter, gelatins, lard etc… what else can you use?