Easily Transform Old Clothespins Into Adorable Mini Bird Feeders

Watching birds come to a new bird feeder for the first time can be an enjoyable experience. Imagine how much more fun it is if you made the feeder yourself! One extremely simple bird feeder you can make utilizes spring-loaded clothespins and scrap corrugated cardboard. Peanut butter is the secret substance that sticks the seeds to the cardboard. This is a fun DIY project from Little Pine Learners that can be fun for children to build, or help with if they're too young to cut out cardboard shapes. 

As for the seeds, different seed varieties you use might attract different birds. Black oil sunflower seed is a favorite for numerous birds, such as cardinals, finches, nuthatches, chickadees, and woodpeckers. White proso millet, which is a much smaller seed, attracts a wide variety of birds that don't want to break through sunflower hulls to get to the good stuff. A seed blend with has a high percentage of each is a good choice for your clothespin bird feeder. Not only does it provide variety for the birds, it allows you to get creative when designing this feeder.

For even more fun, do this craft in conjunction with a few other DIY bird feeders utilizing various materials to adorn your yard or patio. Transform an orange into a bird feeder you can hang off tree branches or a shepherd's hook. For surfaces on your patio or deck, make a tabletop bird feeder using a Mason jar and a baby chick feeder, a design that allows multiple birds to dine at the same time.

To start your clothespin bird feeder, draw several 2- to 3-inch heart shapes on sturdy cardboard. If you'd rather not freehand them, trace within a heart-shaped cookie cutter for consistency. Each clothespin gets its own heart shape, so feel free to make as many as you'd like for a chance to watch a bird feeding frenzy. Cutting hearts in different sizes adds variation once they're mounted. If you have other cookie cutter shapes, don't hesitate to make stars, circles, or Santas! 

Glue each cardboard creation onto the outside flat part of a clothespin over the area that normally grips the clothesline. Regular white glue works; just allow it to dry completely. Hot glue is great too. Once the glue sets, spread peanut butter liberally over the top of each cardboard cutout. Sprinkle a bunch of birdseed into a tray or atop a paper plate, then press the peanut butter-covered part of the heart into the seeds so the seeds stick. Consider starting with millet and other smaller seeds, lining the whole thing in black oil sunflower seeds for a charming design. 

Clip your cute bird feeders onto thin branches in an area where you can observe the birds in action. Your new feeders could get birds to flock to your yard. Take the feeders down if heavy rain is in the forecast, as rain will soak the cardboard. If you used white glue, you can compost whatever's left of the seeds and cardboard before making new versions.