Making a Homemade Bird Feeder for Outdoor Enjoyment

Being inventive, I enjoy putting ideas together and creating something you do not see everyday. I believe coming up with inventive ideas has always been an adventurous way of thinking. I created this bird feeder through many items I found in a craft box, a few items I bought at Old Time Pottery, and a ceramic piece that I made in my class. In order to put the bird feeder together, you will need a basket, a plastic plate, some stones from the craft store, scissors, artificial flowers, glue gun, Gorilla glue, and some miniature craft pieces you could add to it. The hardest part of putting the bird feeder together, is making sure everything is glued on securely so the items may not be removed by the birds or possibly squirrels. It can be done, you just have to make it strong and secure all around.

You begin this bird feeder project by taking the basket, smooth stones, glue gun, and the plate. For the basket to stay weighted down, you need to put the stones inside the basket. The stones will put more weight on the basket and be less likely to fall when the birds land on it to eat the seeds. The more stones you can add, the better your basket will stay for the birds. You can fill the whole basket if needed. After the stones are placed in, you need to take the plastic plate and use the glue gun to attach it to the basket. In the picture, you can see how much glue is used to keep it securely attached to the basket. The bottom part of the bird feeder can be decorated according to your own ideas.

When I decorated the bottom of the bird feeder, I used artificial flowers, scissors, glue gun, miniature craft pieces, soft wired beads, spools of thread, glass stones, and buttons. For the artificial flowers and soft wired beads, I used scissors to cut the right length of soft wire or to cut the stems off the flowers. I took the glue gun and placed the design around the basket. When I was finished, I made sure that everything was attached tight and securely so the items would stay where they were placed. The basket was decorated to attract the interest and curiousity of the birds and squirrels. I was happy when I saw what I put together.

The last part, of the bird feeder project, was to glue the ceramic piece on top of the plate. The ceramic bird feeder was a heavy object. It put more weight on the basket along with the craft store stones. In order to glue the ceramic piece, I used Gorilla glue to set it in place. The ceramic bird feeder needed to dry overnight and it could be used the next morning. Ceramic pieces are great for outdoors as long as they have been fired and glazed. They last for a very long time and it comes as another part of the homemade aspect of the project. You can put ceramics together with your own hands-on ideas.

After the bird feeder is finished, you have one last item to add- the birdseed! For this feeder, I poured the seeds in the inside of the ceramic piece and the outside on the plate. I bought a miniature table to place the bird feeder on outside of my back porch. If I looked out the window at the right moment, I would see the birds sitting on the feeder and enjoying the seeds around the table. Watching the birds eat the seeds at different times, makes the project more worthwhile. It is a very useful item to have outdoors and birds are great to look out for on a sunny day. You can hear them tweeting as well. Trying inventive ideas makes crafts more challenging, but it makes it more exciting as well. Can you come up with a new way to make a bird feeder? I hope you have the opportunity.