Decorating Birdhouses
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Decorating Birdhouses with Edible Birdseed Glue is such a fun craft. I also think this would be a great craft for fairy parties. Not to mention a great gift for Mother’s Day, Father’s Day, and Christmas. Perfect for bird lovers.
Decorate a Birdhouse with Edible Birdseed Glue
This is a great craft for kids, teens, and adults. It’s also the perfect gift for bird lovers. If you love nature like I do, and crafting with the birds in mind, then check out my post on making a pinecone birdfeeder . If you are making birdfeeders for winter, then you’ll love these Birdfeeder Ice Wreaths
Bird Seed Glue Ingredients:
- 3/4 cup of all-purpose flour
- 1/2 cup of water
- 3 Tbsp. corn syrup
- one package of Knox Unflavored Gelatine
Instructions for making birdseed glue:
- In a large bowl, pour in your flour
- Add the water and mix in
- Add corn syrup and mix
- Finally, stir in your gelatine – whisk together until the lumps have smoothed out
Suggested Berries and Fruit for Birds
Small berries, like fresh raspberries, cranberries, blackberries, strawberries, and mulberries, are great for birds.
Other fruits are apples and orange slices.
*Note – Fresh cranberries are usually only available during the holiday season. You can store them in your refrigerator for several weeks, so I suggest buying a bag at Christmas time and storing them in the refrigerator. Don’t forget to decorate your birdhouses before they go bad. Try using them within four weeks from purchase
Expert Tips for Birdhouses and Decorating Ideas:
- I found my birdhouses and moss at Michael’s Craft Store
- Don’t forget birdseed – I like to get black sunflower seeds and wild bird food mix
- Fresh Berries are always great for adding color, and birds can eat them.
- Black sunflower seed is a great seed for songbirds like cardinals and tufted titmouses
- Birds also love certain berries and fruits. These also add a pop of color to your birdhouses.
- Do not use frozen fruit or berries
Crafting these birdhouses with the kids
If you are making this with kids, it’s a great idea to have a divider tray with some edible birdseed glue, seeds, paintbrushes, and other edible decorations for the birds ready to go for each child
FAQs
Small berries are great for birds like raspberries, cranberries, blackberries, strawberries, and mulberries. Other fruits are apples and orange slices. Most songbirds love black sunflower seeds.
The birdseed glue will even last through normal rain. I’m not sure about the really rough weather. Ours have been sitting outside on a rainy day, and they are still intact.
I would not suggest using frozen fruit. As the fruit thaws water will seep out and you will have a big mess on your hands that will not stick to the glue
Decorating Birdhouses:
Preparation Idea for making a homemade birdhouse with the kids:
- Before you hand out the supplies, you might even want to spread a plastic tablecloth on your surface. That would make clean-up a snap.
- Give each child a birdhouse and a tray of various bird seeds and berries
- Scoop out some glue for each child – if you don’t have the handy dandy divider trays (found at Walmart), then bowls and cups will do the trick.
- Let the kids use plastic or butter knives to spread a good amount of glue onto their birdhouses (we started with paint brushes but quickly moved on to spreading utensils)
Decorating with Edible Glue
- Spread glue onto the birdhouse – Use a liberal amount so it is thick
- Decorate with seeds, moss, evergreens, and fruits that birds can eat.
You can probably tell by the pictures, but we spread the glue on pretty thick.
Examples of decorated birdhouses are below:
This is my 5-year-old’s creation from 2012. Adding a ribbon is another cute touch
Lighthouse Birdhouse
Here’s another kid creation.
More Crafts You’ll Enjoy
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Printable Instructions
Decorating Birdhouses
Equipment
- 1 paint brush or spreading utensil
- 1 divider tray
Materials
- ¾ cup all-purpose flour
- ½ cup water
- 3 Tbsp. corn syrup
- 1 package Knox Unflavored Gelatine
Instructions
- In a large bowl, pour in flour
- Add water and mix well
- Mix in corn syrup
- Finally, add the Gelatine and mix
Notes
-
- you can make homemade birdhouses or buy wooden birdhouses at a local craft store
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- Black sunflower seed is a great seed for songbirds like cardinals and tufted titmouses
-
- Birds also love certain berries and fruits like blueberries, raspberries, mulberries, blackberries, strawberries (do not cut), and orange slices. These also add a pop of color to your birdhouses
-
- Fresh Cranberries are usually only in season around the holidays, so grab a bag and store it in your fridge for up to one month
- If you are making this with kids, it’s a great idea to have a divider tray with some edible birdseed glue, seeds, paintbrushes, and other edible decorations for the birds ready to go for each child to use on their house.
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Melissa – KidFriendlyThingsToDo.Com
Did you have to let one side dry before turning it to do another side?
Oh boy…it’s been a while, but I believe (after I took my photo of the cranberries) I stood the house up so it was upright, and just did it all at one time. The paste is nice and thick. You can really lather it on, and it will hold a lot of seeds and other fun fruit like orange wedges! If you are worried that your decorations will be too heavy, and drop down…then I would do it in stages. I am impatient, so I know I did not do that. This is such a fun thing to do with or without the kids. As you can see…I got a little carried away with my creation! 🙂 I hope you enjoy this recipe and activity. Good luck! 🙂
I’m using frozen cranberries. Unfortunately they are both heavy and wet. So many of them keep falling off. I’m going to buy a few bags and root through for the smallest berries. But if you have and tips on how to dry the berries, I’m all ears.
Oh no! How frustrating. I know that fresh cranberries are hard to find after the holidays. I know they won’t look as beautiful, but you can dehydrate the cranberries. You’ll need to bake them low and slow. Place them on a baking sheet that is parchment lined. Set your temperature to 150 degrees F./65 degrees C. and cook them all day long – for 10-12 hours. They will shrink up a bit, but they will not be wet. I know it’s not what you were going for, but the color will still be beautiful.
how can I make a bird seed glue waterproof for outdoors use?
Hi Terry. That’s a good idea. I found an article that might be helpful. Here it is: http://www.wikihow.com/Make-a-Waterproof-Glaze-for-Painted-Bird-Feeders I hope this helps! ~Melissa
Wow, this is a really cool idea for birdhouses. My grandmother loves watching birds flying around in her yard. Having an eatable birdhouse would probably bring even more birds to her home. I wonder if you can buy ones like this online.
We gave ours to my dad who is an avid bird watcher. He loved them. He set out immediately placing them near his picture window, and made a follow up call to say Thanks. You can buy them online! I found them on Amazon, and I’ll include the link to them, above for you. hmm…maybe I should start selling them too. 🙂