Sharing the Love with some Feathered Friends

Is it just us folks with small kids that seem to drag out every holiday and celebrate for days or weeks ahead of time to milk every ounce of fun out of it?  I don't remember being so "holiday themed" crazy before becoming a mommy.  So much so that the Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Years events with two little wild men seemed to wear me out and leave me a bit uninspired after prepping and decorating every square inch of our little space we call home.  But alas, I digress, and I am back to my old tricks with a fun family craft that's both green, and good for your hungry feathered friends. 

It's easy.  It can be SO VERY MESSY!  Do as I say and not as I do, it's for your own good, trust me.  If at all possible I'd put these Valentine Bird Feeders together outside, and far away from the reach of helping husbands who are bound to knock the teeny tiny seeds all over your kitchen and breakfast area.  If you can keep your toddlers from eating all of the bird seed than it's a fun Valentine's Day themed craft to do that won't take much time and my two and a half year old seemed thrilled to do.  Of course, he loves the little birdies in our yard.  They are his friends, so he was super excited when I stole this idea from one of his Highlights magazines as a fun thing for us to share, and to add a little decoration outside.  He informed me tonight that we were also to make one for his favorite golfing buddy Mr. Bill, so if you see him, don't spill the bird seed, it's a surprise. 

His plan is a good one; these sweet little bird feeders would make cute do-it-yourself gifts and they are inexpensive and will hopefully bring more birds by our windows during play time.

What do you need? 

• card board
• Crisco
• bird seed
• ribbon
• hole punch

We used part of an old cardboard diaper box and luckily had a ton of Crisco on hand.  An adult should cut out heart shapes from the card board and hole punch where you'll want to tie your ribbon.  Spread a LOT of Crisco onto your cardboard heart and sprinkle on bird seed.  Don't be shy with the Crisco because that is what holds the seeds on.  And don't be surprised if little hands smear Crisco all over the place!!!  Flip it over and coat the other side with Crisco and then seeds, tie them up with a ribbon and your done.  See, easy.  Messy.  Which equals big fun with the kiddos. 

 If you try this and find a way to make the ribbons less messy, please share it with me in the comments section.  This was our first try at these bird feeder hearts and my son truly loved it but I would like to find a way to make them cuter, especially if we are going to be handing them out as gifts.  If you like this idea, please, share the love with your friends, feathered or not.