DIY Acorn Bird Feeder

By Kerri Sorrell on May 3, 2013 in Blog

Courtesy of http://www.designsponge.com/

We love acorns here at INHF so we were very excited when we stumbled across this DIY acorn bird feeder!

What you’ll need:

small wooden bowl
bird seed
plastic soda bottle (make sure the bottom fits inside the bowl)
scissors
sisal rope
gelatin (one packet)
cooking oil spray
drill

Instructions:

Measure four inches up from the bottom of the soda bottle and cut the bottle in half. Drill a hole into the bottle’s cap, making sure that it’s large enough that the rope can fit through it. Next take the cooking oil spray and coat the inside of the bottle.

Push the rope through the hole in the cap. About 5 inches should stick out of the cap and 12 inches out of the other end of the bottle. In the meantime, make the gelatin according to the directions on the box, using cold water. Add bird seed to the gelatin a little at a time and stir together so that the seed is covered in the gelatin mix and begins to stick together.

Courtesy of http://www.designsponge.com/

Make sure the cap side of the bottle is facing downward. Use one hand to keep the rope coming out of the cut side of the bottle centered and the other to pack birdseed into the bottle around the rope. Pack the seed down as you go. Continuing doing this until you fill the bottle.

Place the bottle in the fridge for a couple of hours, then remove and let sit in room temperature for another 2 hours. In the meantime, drill a hole in the center of the bowl’s bottom. When the mold is set and hard to the touch, carefully tap the bottle until it slides out. Taking off the lid and pushing gently may make it easier. Knot the rope at cap end of the mold. Place another knot about 2 inches above the base of the mold, slide the bowl onto the rope, and then place another, larger knot on the other side of the bowl.

Ta-da! You have an acorn bird feeder!