Birdseed Feeder & Ornament

The one thing I can honestly say that I hate about having a kid is how much stuff I've acquired. For someone constantly striving to simplify, this has been torture. There is just stuff everywhere! I take full responsibility, as I could clear out a bit more than I have, but I'm still in the learning phase of what I actually need and what I feel guilty about purging. But I digress. All this stuff, had me thinking about how to handle the holiday's with a kiddo in regards to gift giving. Luckily she is a mere 5 months old, so we get to use this year as a bit of a trial and error ;)

In big picture terms, I want to create memories more than I'd like to acquire things - and I hope to pass that on to my daughter. I try to lead by example, thus I'd like to get in the habit of creating homemade gifts that are thoughtful, useful, and if they can be adorable, well that is just the icing on the cake! 

Now, are you ready for the DIY gift of the year?!?!
Ok, so really these aren't all that special, aside from being ridiculously adorable, incredibly simple, and budget friendly to boot (at least they were for me, as all of the ingredients were things I had on hand anyway). I love simple crafts/gifts like these and hopefully my friend's and family appreciate them as well...

Birdseed Feeder & Ornament (makes 4-5 ornaments, depending on the size you choose)

Ingredients

• 1 cup mixed birdseed
• 1/8 cup flour
• 1/8 cup water (plus a little more if needed)
• 2 tsp corn syrup (how/why I had this in the cupboard, I'm not really sure, but there it was!)
• Kitchen twine or string

Directions
Mix all ingredients together in a medium sized bowl. Line cookie sheet with parchment paper. Place a cookie cutter on the paper and fill it with the birdseed mixture about halfway, then gently pat down. With a straw (or a chopstick) create a little hole somewhere toward the top. Gently lift the cookie cutter up, and repeat the process until all of the mixture has been used.

Leave them to dry overnight, flip (if needed) to continue to dry through (mine took roughly 15 hours to completely dry out, in a cool room as our house is cold). Once the ornaments are throughly dried out, tie a small piece of string/ kitchen twine through the hole. Now get outside and hang these puppies up!