Master class on decoupage and painting techniques. "New Year's bird feeder"
Bird feeders
Timosha and I all day long,
We saw and pound
My fingers are already hurting
From such work.
We are making a feeding trough,
The cold has arrived
We need to feed the birds
So that you don't go hungry.
That's it, the work is finished,
Found the branch
We tied the feeder
Well, they didn’t take the food.
Timosha ran into the house,
I took millet and crumbs,
Just like that, and at the feeding trough,
The cat settled down.
On the clothesline,
The cat won't get it,
A sparrow from the feeder,
I've already eaten crumbs.
In my opinion, this is the easiest and most fun way to achieve amazing results by creating unique, spectacular objects with your own hands. Therefore, this master class will be useful not only for teachers, parents, schoolchildren, but also for middle-aged and older preschoolers.
As part of the “Feed the Birds in Winter” project, we invited parents of students to take part in making bird feeders. The blank for this master class was a bird feeder made of wood and plywood. I suggest watching her transformation, which was done using the decoupage technique.
For this we need: decoration item (feeder), three-layer napkins with New Year's motifs, white interior paint (water-based), gouache, brushes, varnish, PVA glue.
First, let's prepare New Year's motifs with which we are going to decorate the feeder. Take a napkin and separate the layers so that only the top layer with the pattern remains in your hands.
Then we tear off the fragment we like, the picture. I don't use scissors, as the uneven edges will later be smoothed out, and then this will give the composition a "liveness".
After we have prepared the napkins, we need to prime the surface. To do this, we will use water-based paint.
Now we prepare PVA glue. It needs to be poured in a small amount into a cup and diluted with water 1:1. This way the glue will not be too thick, it will become more transparent, and it will better saturate the napkins.
We take a fragment of a napkin, apply it to the surface of the feeder and, using a brush, apply diluted PVA glue to the napkin. Apply glue over the ornament, from the center to the edges. Gradually, the napkin is completely moistened and covers the surface with a thin layer.
Feeders hung on the property of a private house are not only support for birds in the cold winter, but also a beautiful decoration for the yard. Of course, when you hear the word feeder, your memory brings to mind a nondescript wooden structure, completely different from a decorative element. However, you can do original feeder, which is both comfortable for birds and pleasing to the eyes.
- The structure must perform its functions, and not just hang on a branch. Therefore, when creating it, you need to take into account several important nuances.
- Consider what birds live in your area.
- The structure must be suitable for the size of the animal. An excessively small feeder is inconvenient, but an excessively large one has its disadvantages. Other species of birds can take food from a large tit feeder.
- The food must be suitable.
- Place inside those types of food that are suitable for the birds that come to your garden. The food should be easy to get out; if the grains are large, the holes must be made large enough.
- When decorating the product, you should not use too bright colors.
- These animals see many more colors than humans. If the design is of overly saturated shades, the bird may avoid it, since it does not look like natural shades. It is better if its color imitates the plants that are usually seen on your site.
- The roof and sides are important for food safety.
- If snow and rain fall on it, mold may form that is dangerous to the health of the birds.
- The material of the product must be strong and moisture resistant.
- The better the material is selected, the longer the feeder will please the owners of the site and their feathered guests.
- For the safety of your little children, you should not leave sharp edges on the structure.
- The product should hang high so that birds do not become prey for cats.
Easy ways to make a feeder
Below are several options on how to easily make a bird feeder.
Coconut feeder
- This option is suitable for small animals.
- The contents are pulled out of the coconut, leaving only the shell.
- Make one or more holes in the sides of the shell.
- Attach a rope with which the structure will be attached to the branch.
- Add grain and the feeder is ready.
Mesh feeder for fruits
Supermarkets often sell tangerines or apples in nets. This item will be useful for creating a feeder. Difficulties arise with placing food in it. Regular grains fall out of the mesh easily.
It is better to place peanuts or peeled ones in such a mesh feeder. walnuts. It is advisable to place a roof made of a piece of plywood, board or plastic over the mesh.
Plastic construction
Bird feeder made of plastic bottle It's very easy to do. You just need to cut holes in the bottle and attach it to a branch, tying a wire to the neck. Using the same method, you can make a feeder from a cardboard juice or milk bag.
Wooden product
Small wooden sticks and boards are glued to each other with waterproof glue. The structure should have a bottom, sides at the edges, a roof and 4 vertical sticks holding the top and bottom together.
Vertical fastenings can be replaced with strong ropes. If you can’t fasten with glue, small screws or nails will do.
More complex designs
The ideas for decorative bird feeders are not much different from the simple options described above. Any of the listed methods is taken as a basis and decorated with elements suitable for accessories in the garden.
You can cut out and decorate elegant elements in the form of flowers or abstract decorations from plastic. In big wooden feeder Additional perches will look nice.
To add functionality, you can attach a container with a small hole inside the structure. When the food runs out, the next portion of treats will pour out from the reserves.
Photos of bird feeders and visual instructions on how to improve them can inspire you to come up with some interesting ideas. There are many drawings on the Internet that indicate down to the centimeter the exact parameters for creating products with your own hands. For a creative person they will help you make a unique and useful decoration for your yard.
Photos of bird feeders
Actually, it's all in the title. We made a feeder. My father claims that it cannot be painted or varnished. They say that the birds will smell the paint and will not come to eat. The husband claims that this is all nonsense, and it can be painted or varnished. Who to believe?
Well, how it all started, and what came of it.
We have a holiday today. After a long break, Ksenya and Kolya went to kindergarten. And then we were taken aback: “We need to make a feeding trough.” Well, it’s necessary, it’s necessary.
I’m not looking for simple ways, I took out the plywood I had jealously stocked for unknown reasons. She took out two hacksaws, a file, slats, a screwdriver and pliers. The idea of what a feeder should be was born to me right away. Having quickly marked the material, I began sawing. In the end, my father (grandfather), unable to bear my torment, began to saw everything himself. At this moment Polinka was filing the boards. Kolya was sawing some wood nearby (by the way, he almost succeeded). I helped my father, either hand him a pencil or something else. Grandma is on hand for tea and coffee. And Ksenya, for whom we actually all tried, played with dolls: “Work, work. Do, make my feeding trough.”
Then, when dad came home from work, we included him in the process. Well, that's what happened. 
I'm probably being picky, but it seems to me that my men approached the matter without creative approach according to the principle “it will do.” Well, I’m not entirely happy with the result; they could have done it more beautifully or at least more evenly. That’s why I’m wondering if this masterpiece can be painted somehow in order to refine it.
How to make a bird feeder
Bird feeders – great topic, both for bird lovers and for inventors of small architectural forms. How to do simple or sophisticated feeder from cardboard boxes, from plastic bottles, from tin cans, from a wooden block or mayonnaise bucket, as well as from cake packaging and everything else, what to feed tits and what sparrows eat, look and read, - ideas fly in the air and land on this page.
The cutest and most beautiful “cafe” for birds
What a beauty! Master Class
1. Using a hot knife, cut the bottle in two places according to the mark. See for yourself what width of strip to cut, there are no exact dimensions.
Cut according to the basting 2.See the picture below. If you cut a wider strip, you will get a more squat figure; if you cut less, the product will be taller.
The height of the feeder depends on the height of the cut piece 3. At the bottom of the bottle, cut a hole for birds to land in, as shown in the photo. Don't forget to run a hot knife along the edge of the window so as to melt the cut and make it not sharp. The bird will sit on the edge of the window with its paws and should not cut itself.
To prevent birds from cutting their paws Paint the bottom of the bottle with acrylic paint.
4.When the paint is dry, make two holes with a hole punch (or a hot nail) in the bottom of the bottle, on either side of the entrance to the feeder at the same distance.
A hole punch makes holes neater than a nail. 5. Symmetrical holes must be made in the upper part of the bottle; twine will be threaded through these holes, with the help of which the upper and lower parts of the bottle will be connected and this beauty will be suspended.
Connect the bottom and top of the structure with twine 6.Color the top of the bottle and don’t forget the cork. Let dry.
7. The twine will be threaded according to the scheme:
The twine connects the top and bottom of the feeder, and the knots are pulled up through the hole in the plug 8Make a hole in the cork, take the knots and pull the two ends of the twine by the knots through the hole in the cork.
Thread the twine through the hole in the cork 9Decorative detail. Make additional holes, as shown in the photo, on the bottom and top of the bottle and fasten the parts with decorative rivets. This will additionally hold the parts together and give the appearance of a “branded item”.
Holes for rivets 
Align the rivet holes at the bottom of the product with the same holes at the top
Rivets are especially decorative 
Raffia palm twine bow And these bottles would also make funny feeders.
Minion Feeder From cardboard boxes.
Any cardboard box with a hole cut out, hung, and filled with food is a feeder. For example, a box from Rafaelo or boxes from New Year's children's gifts, of which every home accumulates in abundance after the New Year.
We use milk cartons, paint and decorate with buttons and twigs. Glue with a glue gun using silicone glue. (I bought myself a glue gun at hardware store, it was 3 times cheaper there than in a handicraft store).
Milk carton feeder with buttons 
Feeder from cardboard box
Box from Raffaello 
New Year gift boxes By the way, if there is no balcony, but only a window, then the cardboard device will be very useful; it will not break the window when you lower it outside the window onto the windowsill. I'm just afraid that in this house the neighbors are not happy about feeding pigeons so close to cars. The hole in the box should have been made small, then the pigeons would not have been able to feed on the windowsill, but the tits would scurry back and forth and delight the child and kitten with their bustle. And so it is It’s kind of boring to look at a pigeon’s butt sticking out of a box.
A girl hangs a feeder outside the window (So much effort, but you can only see the pigeon’s butt). Bird bistros made from tin cans
Feeders made from tin cans 
To prevent birds from cutting themselves, smooth the landing edge of the feeder. Baby formula jars are very convenient for birds.
Lauren Martin, a French gardener, has created an entire feeding garden.
From plastic bottles - simple.
The simplest homemade bird canteen, which allows you to pour a full bottle of seeds, since the small hole does not allow the seeds to spill out.
The simplest bird feeder We do this according to the scheme:
How to make the most a simple feeder from a plastic bottle 
Easy to do From other available materials.
From cake packaging.
Cake for tits Wooden bar idea
Bird bar idea From plastic buckets for mayonnaise.
Bird bucket1 
Bird bucket2 Wooden blocks
It’s quite difficult to do, but it looks very eco-friendly Made from whole coconut.
When the holiday is over and the coconut pulp is eaten, the capacity of the coconut feeder will be filled with simple food in the form of seeds and the exotic restaurant will turn into a budget canteen.
Two options for one technology:
How and where to place fertilizer.
This is actually an important question. After all, we live among people and our interests or the interests of our feathered friends should not conflict with the interests of the people around us.
If the droppings of birds that we attract to our window or balcony regularly fall on the lower balconies or on our neighbors’ cars, expect trouble. Do we need it?
The solution to this problem is simple. There are a few things you need to know.
1 Feed pigeons only on the ground, away from parking lots, balconies and window sills, so that pigeon droppings do not cause damage to us and our neighbors.
2 Sparrows, unlike tits, do not fly away immediately as soon as they take food, they sit in the same place where there is food and poop there and throw the husks from the seeds there. Such a fellow will sit on the edge of a bottle or perch, take the seeds, peck them and throw the husk back into the seeds or nearby. The brat will spit all around. The tits are afraid of him and wait, sitting on the branches nearby, for him to eat. Therefore, the container with seeds should be hung away from the wall of the house,
1.at least look at how my neighbors did it in the video.
This is a brambling that has settled down; they spend the winter with us. These birds are like sparrows, they sit until they are full and try not to let the tits in, but the tits fly up, take a seed and put it on a branch to peck the seed from the seed.
2.Or place it inside the balcony so you can clean up after your guests.
Krmushka on the balcony 
Tits love lard 
Serious feeder 
Titmouse on the window slope 
Attach the feeder using a dowel 
Feeder with a lid - very convenient for filling with seeds 
"Hleboprovod" A child living in this house called this structure a “bread pipeline”
What do tits eat
For feeding tits, unroasted sunflower seeds, unsalted lard, fat, nuts (chopped, with soft flesh, such as walnuts) and an exotic option - sawn coconut suspended on a string - are suitable.
What not to give to birds
You can't give salted lard roasted sunflower seeds, smoked meats, rye bread.
Tits will not eat buckwheat, millet, or rice.
But sparrows will eat millet and crushed grains and raisins.
By the way, wild grape berries () on your balcony will also attract birds. An Alpine jackdaw is flying to us, watch the video at the end of the article.
Lard treat
Treats for birds Lard can simply be hung on a thread or cut into pieces and placed in a vegetable net, I am on my feeder, which is also an observation platform for my cats in summer time, made such a design.
