Make your own Bird Feeders

Recently, a good friend of mine told me about a cute bird feeder her daughter made at Preschool using a toilet paper roll, peanut butter (or shortening if you have nut allergies), and bird seed.  I thought it would be a fun activity to do with my boys... and it was!

In fact, it was such a success that we decided to make two other variations:  Cheerio bird feeders and bird feeders using pine cones we found in our yard. 

Here's how you can make three different kinds of bird feeders:

1)  Gather the supplies (pipe cleaners, pine cones, toilet paper rolls, string, bird seed, peanut butter, and Cheerios).

2)  To make the Cheerio feeders, all you need to do is bend one end of pipe cleaner (so the Cheerios don't fall off), and then thread the Cheerios on.  To finish, make a loop at the top to hang it on the tree.  {My two year old loved this one, and he was able to do it all by himself, which made him super-proud.}

3)  To make the Toilet Paper Roll feeder:

     a)  Use a hole punch to make two holes at the top of your toilet paper roll.  (This is where you will be attaching the pipe cleaner.)

     b)  Cover the toilet paper roll with peanut butter, and then roll it in bird seed until it is completely covered.  (This part is a bit messy.)

     c)  Attach a pipe cleaner, and you're done!

4)  To make the pine cone bird feeder, simply cover the pine cone in peanut butter, roll it in birdseed, and attach a string.  Easy!

We have already attracted a lot of birds with our bird feeders.  Let me know how it works for you.

♥ 

Gina Bell (aka East Coast Mommy)

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Nature Walk {Milk Carton Basket}

Today, my boys and I went on a really fun "nature walk" -- so easy, and so wonderful to spend some time outside while the weather was still nice.  We had a great time exploring and collecting things in our homemade buckets.



My handsome boys heading out on our nature walk.

Here's how we made our buckets:

Step 1:  We cleaned out some old milk cartons.

Step 2:  We cut the tops off the milk cartons.

Step 3:  We used a hole punch to make holes in the sides and inserted a pipe cleaner handle.

Didn't they turn out cute???

We had such a great time discovering new things in our neighborhood.  What a great way to spend an afternoon. 

Here are a few pictures of our walk:

Examining some bugs.

 

Showing off the blackberries we picked for lunch.

 

Some of the treasures we found.

 

Doesn't it just make you want to put on your rubber boots and head outside?  :-)

♥ 

Gina Bell (aka East Coast Mommy)

Tissue Box Easter Bunny Baskets

Doesn't every mom with little ones go through a ton of tissue boxes?  Why not turn your trash into this adorable tissue box bunny basket? It's the perfect Easter craft for kids!

Don't you just LOVE this simple Easter craft?

You’ll need:  tissue box, white paint & a paint brush, black marker or black paint, googly eyes, pompom or cotton ball, a button, pipe cleaner, card stock, and scissors.

Here's what you do:

 

1)  Paint the tissue box white.  Then, use one end of the box to create a face.  Glue on googly eyes and a button nose, and draw or paint a mouth and whiskers.

2)  Glue a pompom onto the opposite end of the box.  This is the bunny’s tail.

3)  To make the basket handle, use a hole punch to make a hole on each side of the box.  Thread a pipe cleaner through the holes and secure the ends by twisting. 

4)  To finish… cut out bunny ear shapes, fold the bottom to make a little tab, and glue onto the box.

That’s it!  Isn't this tissue box Easter basket adorable? The only thing left to do is fill your adorable basket with yummy Easter goodies. Happy Easter!

♥ 

Gina Bell (aka East Coast Mommy)

PS (You can find more easy and inexpensive Easter ideas and DIYs here.)