After seeing how much birdseed ornaments cost at Red Envelope, I decided that we would make our own! It turns out that it is not very hard at all. These are great little outdoor decorations and make cute present toppers. This is also an idea for Heartfelt Holidays and homemade gifts!
Birdseed Ornaments
4 Cups Birdseed
3/4 Cup Flour
3 Tablespoons Corn Syrup
1/2 Cup Hot Water
1 Envelope Knox Gelatin
Non-Stick Cooking Spray
Cookie Cutters
Wax Paper
Twine
In a large bowl mix birdseed with flour. In a separate bowl add Knox gelatin to hot water. Wisk until Knox is dissolved. Add corn syrup to the Knox mixture. Pour the Knox mixture over the birdseed mixture and stir until moistened.
Place wax paper on a cookie sheet. Spray the cookie cutters with non-stick cooking spray. Use a spoon to pack birdseed mixture into the cookie cutters. If you want to add twine hangers, place a small amount of birdseed in the cookie cutter and then add twine. Continue to fill the cookie cutter with birdseed mixture over top of the twine. If you want to add the twine hanger later, just use a pencil to make a hole in the ornament to hang by.
Let the birdseed mixture set in the cookie cutters for 2 hours. Carefully remove cookie cutters and let birdseed ornaments dry on wax paper for 1-2 days.
An alternative would be to use a muffin tin. I would suggest only filling the muffin cup about halfway though. I filled it all of the way up the first time and the ornaments are pretty heavy.
We decorated a Christmas tree that we have sitting on our deck. The boys had fun placing the homemade ornaments on the tree!
Linked at Tatertots & Jello
Renae Chiovaro
Renae is a married working mom of two handsome boys. She works as a registered dental hygienist by day and blogs here at How to Have it All by night. She enjoys cooking from scratch, working in her vegetable garden and functional training.
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These ornaments turned out beautiful! So glad that your boys enjoyed making them! It’s our turn to try…….looking forward to a fun filled weekend making them this December!
These are so rustic and lovely. I bet they are fun to make too. Might just have to add to the list of handmade ornaments to try. Great job.
I would love for you to stop by and link up your ornaments to my 25 Days of Christmas Ornaments linky party.
http://singingthreelittlebirds.blogspot.com/2011/11/25-days-of-christmas-ornaments-linky.html
Thanks,
Julie
Julie recently posted..25 Days of Christmas Ornaments: Day 3
Are these edible for the outside birds once made?
Hi Lisa,
Yes they are edible for the birds! My chickens got the scraps from the project and loved it!
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Anyone know about how many ornaments does a batch make?
Hi Katt,
It really depends on the size of the cookie cutter you are using. Out of this one batch I got 15- BUT that included 7 in the muffin tin. At that time I filled the muffin tin up all of the way which resulted in a heavy ornament. So really I should have only filled them about halfway. Hope that helps!
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Great job, the ornaments look great. I wish I could see your tree setting on your porch. I bet the boys had fun.
What size (weight) envelope did you use for gelatin?
It is the small envelope. The envelope did not have a weight but I think it was .25 oz. since the whole box said 1 oz and there are 4 packets.