Bird Seed Ornaments

How to Make The Best Birdseed Ornaments, Homemade Birdseed treats make the perfect family activity, DIY Bird feeders are a great craft for you and your kids.  This shop has been compensated by Collective Bias, Inc. and its advertisers.  All opinions are mine alone for Bird Seed Ornaments #Dial2in1 #DialCompletesUs #2in1 #CollectiveBias 

Our bird feeder is one of my favorite features of our backyard.  Before we got it we made this DIY Bird Feeder from a milk carton.  It was a fun project, but it only lasted a couple of weeks.  I had no idea that we had Cardinals and Blue Jays living so close to us.  I love it so much that I even moved my desk next to the window so I can watch the birds all day long.  When Kurt gets home B loves to tell him about what birds we got to see that day.  Who knew bird watching was so much fun! If you have a bird feeder or not these bird seed ornaments are the perfect craft for you to do with your family.  I wonder what birds you will have in your backyard!

Bird Seed Ornaments 

We have a large collection of cookie cutters so we love trying crafts that include them.  For this project I let B select her favorites.  We ended up with a nice variety.  The great part of these bird seed ornaments is that you can use any cookie cutter shape you want.  I would recommend shapes that are wider to make sure the ornaments stick together.  We wanted to try a flamingo, but we worried the long skinny legs would easily pop off when taking it out of the cookie cutter or once a bird had some of the seed.

When we went to Publix to get all our ingredients and I let B pick out the bird seed she wanted.  She picked the wild bird version which makes me happy!  I cannot wait to see what birds we will get in the backyard.

This project had it challenges.  We learned bird seed ornaments work best in colder less humid environments than South Florida.  My 6th variation of the recipe was finally a success.   Peanut butter to the rescue!  And instead of hanging them you can also place them in a tree if you are still having an issue with them staying together.

Here are some of the mistakes we made so you can avoid making them.  We originally used song bird blend which had mostly large pieces the shapes did not stay together when I added the string.   I think the smaller birdseed works better since the gelatin mixture binds it together.  During my first attempt we had some leftover birdseed mixture made with gelatin so I placed into a plastic bag overnight before trying some additional shapes.  The next day I shaped them in a cookie cutter.  After a day of sitting out to dry they were covered in mold.  I decreased the amount of the mixture to make about 4-6 ornaments so that you do not have the same issue.   If you want to make more just double the recipe.

Ingredients to Make Bird Seed Ornaments

• 2 cups birdseed, your choice, but I recommend smaller pieces in the mixture.
• 6 cookie cutters, your choice on the shapes
• ¼ water, boiling
• 1-½ Tablespoons natural peanut butter
• 1 package of unflavored gelatin mix
• 1 Tablespoon corn syrup
• 3 straws, cut in half
• Twine or string

How to Make Bird Seed Ornaments

1. Boil water and add to a bowl.
2. Mix in gelatin and then, corn syrup and peanut butter.
3. Once they are combined add in the bird seed to the gelatin mixture and mix completely. 
4. Add the bird seed mixture into the cookie cutters on wax paper covered baking sheet 
5. 
6. When the cookie cutters are filled place the third of a straw where you want to add the twine. 
7. Wash your hands and refrigerate overnight to harden them. 
8. Push the ornaments out of the cookie cutters and add twine or string. 
9. Hang them and wait for the bird to come to enjoy them. 

Clean Up Time

We love to get messy when we are cooking or when we are crafting!!  Thank you to Dial for helping so I don't have to stress about how we will clean up after.  To clean up from this project we used a combo of the NEW! Dial Complete® 2 in 1 Moisturizing & Antibacterial Beauty Bar
and the NEW! Dial Complete® 2 in 1 Moisturizing & Antibacterial Foaming Hand Wash

Since B has very sensitive skin I am always caution about the products we use.  Dial is introducing a breakthrough new line-up, Dial Complete® 2 in 1 Moisturizing & Antibacterial Beauty Bar and Foaming Hand Wash.  They are both antibacterial and moisturizing, hence the 2 in 1.  Dial Complete® 2 in 1 Foaming Hand Wash gives you soft, smooth hands, with 2x moisturizing ingredients. Even after repeated washing. It kills 99.99% of bacteria* 

• Buy the Dial® 2 in 1 Moisturizing & Antibacterial Foaming Hand Wash and receive $0.75 off
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Pin for Later: Bird Seed Ornaments

 

*encountered in common household settings