Summer crafts for kids. Part 1.

The brand of crafting that is summer crafting is my favorite. You craft outside in the shade and get messy. What could be better?

This blog post and the next will focus on fun summer crafts for the kiddos. For this installation (Pt. 1), we’re going to stick with our July theme of birds. With all the beautiful bird friends we have in Napa, and all the beautiful children out of school with nothing to do but grow their minds in the backyard and “get bored” to the point of fully engaging their creative noggins, why not put it all together? Let’s get the kids busy and messy, whilst inviting our winged neighbors into our yards.

And we’ll start with the upcycled tea cup. It is tricky deciding what to do with chipped, precious china. Especially when it’s very pretty. And especially when it belonged to your beloved great-grandmother. Do you toss it? Do you keep it in the cabinet? A less tricky decision to make is to upcycle it, give it a second life of a different kind. In this post, we’ll learn how to make old tea cups into bird feeders.

How to make a Teacup Bird Feeder [1]:

Materials:

Teacup & saucer

Super glue (I suggest a ceramic glue, like WoldoClean’s Superglue Ceramic)

String or twine

Birdseed

Instructions:

1. Orient the teacup onto its side with the handle sticking up. Mess around to see where on the saucer you’d like to glue it. You’ll want to place the back edge of the teacup near an edge of the saucer, so that there’s plenty of room for the birdseed at the front. 
2. Apply glue to the spots on the teacup where it touches the saucer. This is likely at the bottom edge and somewhere along its round middle. 
3. Use painter’s tape to hold the teacup in place until the glue dries.
4. Once the glue is dry and the cup is secured to the saucer, tie your piece of string or twine around the handle of the teacup, and then to a tree or shepherd’s hook in the yard.
5. Fill the cup and saucer with a type of birdseed that will draw the specific birds you’re interested in.
6. Sit back & enjoy the bird friends!

Another fun craft for the kids is to make bird treats (which is possibly the cutest combination of words in the English language) for the wild birds. This tutorial is simple and sweet, perfect for littles.

How to make a Pinecone & Peanut Butter Bird Treat [2]:

Materials:

Pinecones

Spatula

String or twine

Small bowl

Cookie sheet

Aluminum foil

Ingredients:

Peanut butter

Wild bird seed

Black oiled sunflower seeds

Instructions:

1. Tie the string or twine around the top of the pinecone & form a loop.
2. Pour some bird seed & sunflower seeds into the bowl.
3. Spread aluminum foil over the cookie sheet.
4. Cover the pinecone in peanut butter using the spatula.
5. Roll & press the peanut butter-y pinecone in the seeds.
6. Set the seedy pinecones on the cookie sheet & put them in the freezer for an hour or so.
7. Hang from a tree! Make sure you hang it where there is somewhere for the birds to perch underneath the pinecone while they snack.
8. Sit back & enjoy the birds!

I hope these crafts bring a little joy to your day, and a little birdie to your window! Happy birding!

[1] https://lifeatbellaterra.com/how-to-upcycle-a-teacup-for-a-diy-bird-feeder/

[2] https://ourlittlesuburbanfarmhouse.com/wild-birds-treats/