DIY Bird Seed Wreaths

Looking for a fun outdoor-related project with the kids that will help feed the birds, too?

I received a new Bundt® pan for Christmas. I needed to replace the one I had, which at least 40 years old. Since it was my mom’s, I wanted a way to repurpose it and the very next day I stumbled across a “recipe” for making bird seed wreaths.

The first instructions I read involved using lard, rendering and straining it through cheesecloth. However, the next site I found had simpler ingredients which I had in my cupboard. Don’t have a Bundt® pan? Use an angel food cake pan, a Jell-o mold (do people still use those?), a cookie sheet, wax paper, or even just mold it with your hands. You could use a round casserole dish and put an aluminum foil “tower” in the middle to create the hole.

This took 10 minutes to throw together, if even that, and is a GREAT project to do with young kids in the winter, while at the same time making an attractive, garden treat. Simply put a ribbon on it and hang it from a bird feeder yard hanger, bracket, or shepherd’s hook for the cardinals, juncos, black-capped chickadees, and the rest of the feathered gang. Also a GREAT gift idea!

Have fun!

Bird Seed Wreath

You will need:

    ¾ cup all-purpose flour
    ½ cup warm water
    3 tablespoons light corn syrup
    1 package unflavored gelatin
    4 cups wild bird seed  (Bass Pro Shops Altoona carries bird seed in the store - check with your local Bass Pro on availability)
    Bundt pan or other mold
    Non-stick cooking spray
Optional - Cranberries, walnuts

In a medium-sized mixing bowl, dissolve one package of the unflavored gelatin in the warm water. (Stir or whisk it to help it dissolve.) Add in the flour and light corn syrup and stir it all together to create your gooey paste that is going to hold everything together. Pour in the bird seed and mix it all together with a spoon until everything is coated. Spray your pan or mold with the non-stick cooking spray. You can add the cranberries and walnuts to the Bundt® pan first, if you’re using them, by placing them in the ridges in a decorative manner. You can also use them in whatever other mold you’re using, however, they may move around some. Add the bird seed mixture and press into place, distributed evenly throughout the pan.

Set the pan aside overnight. It will harden on its own. You can press it with your finger to make sure, but I just left mine sitting out overnight and it was solid. Turn it out gently onto a plate or newspaper. Attach some ribbon and hang it for the birds!

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