How to Make Birdseed Cutout Ornaments for the Wild Birds

By Shayleia

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Spend a fun rainy afternoon with your kids by making birdseed and peanut butter ornaments for your backyard birds.

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Instructions

Difficulty: Easy

Things You’ll Need:

Jar of either crunchy or regular peanut butter, birdseed, cardboard box,(or heavy cardstock) string, scissors, paper hole punch, large cookie cutters, pencils, damp washcloth, plastic or plastic table

Step1

Cover your table or work area with a plastic table cloth. Dampen some washcloths and leave handy for the kids to periodically wipe clean their hands.

Step2

Open a jar of peanut butter and get out a few plastic knifes for the kids to use then pour birdseed into a large bowl and set in aside until ready to use.

Step3

Use flattened out cardboard boxes, poster paper or thick cardstock and let the kids use pencils to trace the outside shapes from large cookie cutters or let them draw out their own shapes to cut out.

Step4

Supervise and let the older kids cut out the traced out shapes with scissors and punch a hole in the top and let the kids tie a long sting through the cutouts and set aside until all shapes are cutout and strung with string.

Step5

Let the kids spread both sides of the cutout with the peanut butter. This is messy, so have the washcloths handy for the occasional hand cleaning.

Step6

After each cutout is slathered with the peanut butter let the kids place them in the bowl of birdseed and coat both sides with the seed until no more will stick to it. Place on wax paper or in a box to let dry overnight.

Step7

After the cutouts have dried overnight let the kids take them outside and place in your backyard. Hang them at different levels through the trees and shrubs in view of your windows so you can watch the birds and squirrels pick away at them.

Tips & Warnings

Be sure to have plenty of space around your table for easy cleanup and have the broom and dustpan ready for floor clean up. This is a messy project but that is probably why the kids love it so much.
Always supervise the cutting out of the cardboard carefully and use safety scissors.
Be sure to mark your peanut butter jar for use only for this project afterwards as there will be lots of birdseed in it after the kids are done. You can save it in a project area for later use if not all used up in this project.