DIY: How To Make Homemade Bird Feeders #MIKidsCan
Emily Martinez
| 3 min read
The beginning of summer brings a lot of excitement. School has come to an end, flowers are blooming and wild life has an extra pep in their step.
This is the perfect time to get kids exposed to local Michigan wild life. Attracting birds to your house can be an inexpensive and rewarding activity for both you and your kids. Here is a step-by-step guide on how to construct your own creative bird feeder suing a milk or juice carton. This DIY is inspired by REDTEDArt.
What you’ll need:
- Large juice or milk carton
- Paint (that dries to a glossy finish)
- Googly eyes for decoration
- Knife
- Plastic bottle lids (two pairs, one larger than the other)
- Wooden craft stick (optional)
- Strong glue or a hot glue gun
- Bird food (generic bird seeds will do)
Average Milk Carton
- Paint your carton from head to toe. You’ll want to make sure the paint you are using will last throughout the summer. If you’re using an acrylic paint without using a water proof top coat, it’ll wash away. Depending on what carton you are using, it could require a couple coats of paint as well.
- Cut out the wings and body. After your paint has completely dried, take your knife (parents you might want to step in here) and on two sides of the carton cut a long “U” shape, making sure to leave the top part connected as shown below. These will be the wings. Then on the front of the carton cut out an upside down “U” with a straight line connecting the legs, also shown below. This will be the tummy. Use the tummy to cut into a triangle for the beak.
- Glue on the eyes. I used two large orange plastic lids and two smaller white lids. After that, take your googly eyes and glue them on the small, white lids.
- Optional: Attach the wooden stick. To give the birds a place to chill, glue the wooden stick under the tummy so that it sticks straight out, parallel to the ground. This gives the birds a place to perch while enjoying their food.
Homemade Milk Carton Bird Feeder
To complete your creation, now place some bird food inside of the tummy and you’re done. You could also poke a hole in the top of the carton to hang hang freely around your yard. Look for spots near the windows of your house so you can see who comes and goes.
For more creative ideas for your kids, check out the posts below and leave a comment on which is your favorite.
Photo Credit: Valerie Ballard via Flickr (feature), Emily Martinez, A Healthier Michigan (insets)
Do you know a child who deserves to be recognized for their commitment to living a healthy, active lifestyle? Nominate them http://ahealthiermichigan.org/mikidscan.
