EDITED TO ADD: I know have these cute tags to go with these! Click HERE to grab ’em:
I kind of love these. They are so simple, but so sweet. I first saw them as a wedding favor idea. What a great idea, right?? I would love to get something like this at a wedding. (As a side note, a good friend of mine from college is getting married this summer, and I am now obsessing over wedding details.)
Anyway. Here’s the recipe:
- 3/4 a cup of flour
- 1/2 a cup of water
- 1 envelope unflavored gelatin (2.5 teaspoons)*
- 3 tbsp corn syrup
- 4 cups birdseed
Spray a spoon with cooking spray and then mix all the ingredients together in a large bowl, a la this
Yummy.
Next, spray the inside of your cookie cutter with cooking spray, and place it on a parchment lined baking sheet. Fill it with the birdseed mixture. Be sure to really pack it down. In retrospect, I wish I would have sprayed another spoon with cooking spray and used the back of it to help pack it down. It would have made for two smooth sides, instead of one.
Once you have your cookie cutter full, use something (we used a chop stick) to make a hole. Then, holding down the birdseed, pull off the cookie cutter. I had to respray the cookie cutter after every four and with a 2 1/2 inch cookie cutter, I made 12 feeders. I thought this would be something really fun to do with Gavin, but . . . I was wrong. It was a messy activity, and they are really fragile when you take off the cookie cutter. But this would probably be perfect to do with an eight or ten year old. That being said, Gavin did the chop stick part and really enjoyed it.
Let them firm up over night, and then they are ready to hang or give away.
This was my favorite part. When I told Gavin I was going to hang one up outside, he told me that he wanted to come with and that we should hang it on Elliot’s tree.
“This is for Elliot, Mom.” Oh little moose, you melt my heart. We love you, E. And we never stop thinking about you.
* In my grocery store, I found this in with all the Jell-o mixes. Though I spent a good chunk of time looking for it with the canning stuff.
Davina Galaway says
I just saw this ! I can’t wait to make them for my son Mayson to share as Valentine’s day gifts. What a great way to feed the birds and to give really cute gifts. Thank you so much .
Thanks Davina!
Stacy says
How long do these take to dry? I am looking for a craft to do during my son’s school party and these look like fun and also educational because of measuring. (Pre-K class) We are just limited because it is just a half a day class.
Hi Stacy! These would be really fun for a class project! I think it would be fine if the kids can take them home the next day. I know sometimes they do that in my daughter’s class. They do need overnight to dry.
Roberta Lukach says
Hi Lisa HELP I do not know what I am doing wrong mine fell apart could you please what I need and what do I need to spray, was I suppose to spray the parchment, I did the heart cookie cutter. Please I am trying to give as gifts. How do you make them hard Thanks.
Without me being there it’s really hard to know why they fell apart. You may have needed to push the mixture down more before removing the cookie cutters.
Katie says
Hi! Just wondering how many feeders will one recipe make??
Hi Katie! I made these so long ago that I’m not totally sure. It also depends on what size heart cutter you use and how much you fill them (i.e. you could only fill the cookie cutter half way up or you could fill it all the way and both would work).
Julia says
This looks wonderful! Thanks so much for posting.
Mary says
For anyone thinking of making these to send in to a school…most bird seed says “may contain peanuts”. Check with your child’s school before considering making them. We’re just going to use them for family :)
Missy Vance says
I just made these for my girlfriends as a Valentines’ gift. . Didn’t have a cookie cutter so I improvised and made one out of foil. A little larger, but turned out great. I’m making more to give to clients for Valentines’ Day. (Little smaller ones though) Thank you.
You’re welcome!
Kathy says
I just made these with my 4 year old daughter. I used wax paper for her to press them firmly into the cookie cutters. It worked great! No birdseed stuck to the wax paper, and she really enjoyed ‘”squishing” the birdseed into the heart before poking a hole for the ribbon. We can’t wait for these to dry!
Also, have you ever tried putting them in the oven on low heat (150-200F) for about an hour or so, to dry them quicker?
Toni says
Made these with my fourth graders for their Winter party. They had a blast. It went along great with our Bird adaptation unit. I will also be making them with my son’s kindergarten friends. It should be fun! Thank you.
I’m so glad to hear they worked well in a classroom setting Toni!
Alexson@Dress The Yard says
I really like the design of that valentine day bird feeder. It’s very much cute and I think bird will love to feed from it.