Monday, January 27, 2014

Bird seed ornaments

Way back over Christmas break, Blockette and I made these Birdseed ornaments.  I made them with the intention that the squirrels would eat them. 

You see, we had a bird feeder in our backyard growing up.  Those darn squirrels ate every last drop of seed from the feeder.  And when they ate all the birdseed?  Do you know what those little devils did? 

They ate the feeder.

Yes.

The squirrels gnawed off the plastic top of the feeder.

Thus ended the feeding of the birds and/or squirrels.  The squirrels are such ruiners.

So I hung these birdseed ornaments off these weird hooks on what used to be the inside of our 3 season room, now covered patio.

Yeah...I know this picture is horrible, but it was cold out and my camera hates taking pictures through the screen.  I also hate being in the cold and was too lazy to put on my coat.

I made the ornaments in a mini bundt pan.  The pan has 6 mini bundts and this recipe from saltwater- kids filled the entire pan up perfectly.  The little bundts just lent themselves to being hung as ornaments.

So far, the squirrels have only figured out how to get one of the birdseed dealies down.  Everytime we get a new layer of snow I can see all these squirrel tracks all around the post they are hanging near.

Could it be that I have finally outsmarted the squirrels?

We'll have to let the rest of the winter progress to find out.

Squirrel (or not) Birdseed feeder ornaments from Saltwater-Kids
3/4 cup flour
1/2 cup water
1 envelope unflavored gelatin
3 tbsp. corn syrup
4 cups birdseed
molds (muffin tin, cookie cutters, etc.) 
straw
yarn or twine

Combine flour, water, gelatin and corn syrup in large mixing bowl. Stir until well-combined. Add birdseed, stir until well coated. Spray mold(s) with cooking spray, and spoon birdseed mixture into each mold. Use bottom of measuring cup to pack it down, and make the top smooth. If needed, poke a hole through top of each birdseed mold using a drinking straw, making sure it goes all the way through. Leave birdseed mixture in molds for 2-3hrs. Then, remove straws and lay out a sheet of waxed paper. Gently remove hardened ornaments from mold, and place on wax paper upside down. Allow to dry overnight.Thread those bad boys and hang them up outside where you can watch the animal antics.

No comments:

Post a Comment

Please leave me a little comment. Comments are like candy. Tasty tasty validating candy!