Tuesday 28 February 2012

This One's For the Birds.

Hello, hello!
I cannot believe how long it's taken me to get this post up and out to you.
My apologies, I'm not ignoring you, I promise!
We've just been suuuuuper busy around here lately with painting, painting, painting and more painting! My little kiddies have been watching a lot of kiddie shows and movies lately (not that they seemed to mind one bit), while their mama and daddy attacked the walls, trim, banisters...you name it.
Eventually it will all be finished and I'll have the fun of showing you some before & after's!!!

However, last week there was a rather special holiday here in Alberta called Family Day.
I think it's one of my favorite things about living in Alberta. Daddy was away at work, but I was determined to put down the paint brushes and have a little fun with the kiddos, so we gathered up the supplies and made some bird seed ornaments to hang in the trees in our back yard. Our kids have fun watching the birds in these trees during the summer, so I thought this would be a fun project for us and maybe we would see a few of them come back.


I found a great recipe over at Saltwater Kids although hers are much prettier than ours, so you should definitely go check it out.


So first we gathered up the supplies and then paused for a picture.
Not an easy task with a near 2 & 3 year old. : )

3/4 cup flour
1/2 cup water
1 pkg. unflavored gelatin (not shown - oops)
3 Tbsp. corn syrup
4 cups birdseed


First we dumped in the flour and the water.
My perfectionistic self took a deep breath or several and let my three year old do the "dumping" and just told myself to forget about the mess. Whew...yay me!


Then the corn syrup...


And then my lil chubby cheeked almost two year old did the very important job of adding the gelatin...


Mix it all together...


Then add the birdseed and mix some more...
Maybe have a little taste test when Mommy isn't looking too.


Next I sprayed some cooking spray into a mini muffin pan.
You can really use any kind of mould you want for this, but I thought the muffin pan would be the simplest for us.


Press the seed mixture down firmly into the moulds and take another mouthful of birdseed while Mommy is busy taking pictures...


Then insert straws all the way through, wiggling them to make sure they go all the way to the bottom.
Let them dry for a few hours in the mould with the straws in place, then remove the straws and gently pry them out of the mould, flip them over and let dry for a few more hours, or overnight if you can wait that long!


I threaded some jute twine through the holes and tied them off with some knots and then we headed out into the great outdoors...otherwise known as our backyard.


Visions of birdies eating the birdseed ornaments were dancing through their heads, I'm sure.




Of course the majority of them were all hung on the bottom three branches....


The lure of the playset pulled them away eventually at which point I did a little OCD rearranging, but they haven't forgotten and every now and then we have a little peek out the window to see if there have been any takers.
We haven't seen any visitors yet, and who knows maybe it's the wrong time of year, but really...in the end that doesn't matter. We had a great time making something...messes included...and spent Family Day having fun together...just like it should be.

Next year I hope to make new ones with the kiddies to hang on the evergreens as outdoor Christmas ornaments. Stars...bells...gingerbread men...fun, fun!

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Feathered Nest Friday



Funky Junk's Saturday Nite Special



Weekend Bloggy Reading

The DIY Show Off

Tip Junkie handmade projects

I Heart Nap Time

UndertheTableandDreaming

To see the other great parties I'm linking up to, click HERE!

21 comments:

  1. Wow this is so beautiful and you took alot efforts for that, i like it and your blog very much, keep posting...

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  2. They look so fun to make and your photos are lovely, thanks!

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  3. This is such a creative idea! I would love for you to link up at my Linky Party via: www.ourdelightfulhome.blogspot.com

    PS: I am your newest Linky Follower!

    Mrs. Delightful
    www.ourdelightfulhome.blogspot.com

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  4. What a cute project, especially for the kiddos! Thank you for sharing at Potpourri Friday!

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  5. What a fun project with your little helpers.
    I'm your newest follower and hope you'll stop by.
    Mary Alice

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  6. Oh I just love those - what a NEAT idea, and to do with little ones!

    We have 7 birdfeeders but can't do these because we have such a deer overpopulation and they would take them - or squirrels. Critters. Everywhere in our back yard that butts up to a big wooded area.

    Birdfeeders it is, for us, anyway.

    But really love your tutorial, thanks - had no idea I could make them, I have all that in the pantry (well the seed is in a metal canister in the garage but you get my drift.)

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  7. We've always made our seed balls with fat as the binder, because the birds need that in the winter. Never even occurred to me that you could also do them this way.

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  8. So clever. I'm totally doing this with Molly on our next "mom, it's boring today" day. we have so many trees now too. Thanks for linking it up!

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  9. What a great idea, and awesome tutorial. Visiting you from Inspiration Friday. Following you via LF.

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  10. Great idea! I love feeding the birds and watching them year round. My girls do, too. They are 11 and 8 and holler, "momma! The finches are here!" So fun to do these simple things with the kids.

    ~Shanon

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  11. What a fun project to do with the kids and a wonderful treat for the birds. Thanks for sharing at this week's BFF Open House!

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  12. How cute this is, I love feeding the birds! Thank you for sharing.

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  13. I'm always looking at recipes for us, I never thought about a recipe for nature - thanks so much for the inspiration! I have a 4 year old who would love this!

    Would love for you to link up http://iamaddictedtorecipes.blogspot.com/p/link-party.html

    Have a great weekend!

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  14. These are adorable and so are your helpers! Please stop over and share this clever idea at Mix it up Monday:

    http://flourmewithlove.blogspot.com/2012/03/mix-it-up-monday.html

    I hope to see you soon :)

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  15. Great project! I'll have to remember this to do with my son! Thanks for sharing at Shine on Fridays!

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  16. I love it!! So doggone sweet! Sounds like a fantastic holiday and I love projects that connect children to nature. Bravo!
    Igottacreate.blogspot.com
    "Kiss Me I'm Irish" linky party open.

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  17. Those little bird-lovin' helpers are so precious!!!!!!!! I bet the birds will like these treats even better because of the little hands of love that made them!
    I'm going to give this recipe a try... I use suet in my birdseed balls, but I think I like yours much better!
    Thanks for this delightful post!
    Yvonne

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  18. Great idea and such cute assistants. Thanks for sharing at Wow.

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  19. This is so sweet! I know your kiddos loved helping and watching the fruits of their labor!! Would love for you to share at our Uncommonly Yours party! Bonnie ;)

    www.uncommondesignsonline.com

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  20. Great idea. The kids would sure love that!

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