Tuesday, January 5, 2010

Bird Friendly Hanging Ornaments

Bird Friendly Hanging Ornaments


Before we move on to our Bird Friendly Hanging Ornaments, I want to draw your attention to some more fun kids crafts and other beginner crafts you may enjoy. You can go and have a look at Beginner Scrapbooking, Mosaic Crafts for Beginners and Alex Toys Super Knot A Quilt.

OK, so on to our craft for today:

During the holiday season, we are eager to make decorations and buy gifts to make our families and friends happy. But what about our friends in nature? They add lots of beauty to our surroundings, so it's only fitting that we should give them a little something, too.

Making edible ornaments for birds is a great way to do something for our feathered friends. And it also attracts them to our yards for us to enjoy watching. Here are some simple yet beautiful edible ornament recipes that you can make.

Birdseed Pine Cones

What You Need

* Large pine cone
* Peanut butter
* Birdseed
* Butter knife
* Pie plate
* Yarn or raffia
* Scissors

Instructions

1. Pour a generous amount of birdseed into the pie plate.
2. Using the butter knife, spread peanut butter all over the pine cone.
3. Roll the pine cone in the birdseed until it is thoroughly covered.
4. Cut a piece of yarn or raffia and tie it to the top of the pine cone. Hang from an outdoor tree.

Hard Suet Ornaments

What You Need

* 1 cup peanut butter
* 3 cups suet (can be found in the grocery store's meat department or deli)
* 3 cups cornmeal
* Christmas cookie cutter
* Raffia or yarn
* Scissors
* Birdseed
* Pie plate

Instructions

1. Pour some birdseed into a pie plate.
2. Mix the peanut butter, suet and cornmeal thoroughly in a bowl.
3. Use the cookie cutter to form the suet into a festive shape.
4. Dip the shape into the birdseed, covering thoroughly.
5. Cut a piece of yarn or raffia and use it to hang the ornament on an outdoor tree.





Soft Suet Ornaments

What You Need

* 1 cup peanut butter
* 1 cup shortening
* 3 cups cornmeal
* Sliced bread
* Cookie cutter
* Butter knife
* Birdseed
* Raffia or yarn
* Scissors

Instructions

1. In a bowl, mix the peanut butter, shortening and cornmeal together to form a paste.
2. Use the cookie cutter to cut a festive shape out of a piece of bread. Let the bread sit out overnight to harden.
3. Spread the suet mixture onto one side of the bread and decorate with seeds. Repeat with the other side.
4. Cut a piece of yarn or raffia and use it to hang the ornament on an outside tree.

Notes

* Suet ornaments should not be used in areas where the temperature exceeds 70 degrees Fahrenheit. The suet will melt in high temperatures, and it could get in the birds' feathers and hinder their flying.

* Another way to make hard suet ornaments is to cut an orange in half, remove the fruit, and fill each piece of peel with suet. Cover the top with lots of seeds, and hang the ornament sideways.

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