The first version we did of this feeder was an epic fail. I won’t go into the details of it all. Let’s just say sometimes I’m glad Lucy couldn’t care less about crafts because when something she makes falls apart, she doesn’t give it a second thought. But I learned from that feeder and put that knowledge to good use by finding one that would work to suit our needs. I had big plans to have Lucy try again with bird feeder 2.0 but then the plague swept our house and it’s hard enough to get her to sit to do a craft when she’s feeling good but it’s a lost cause to attempt it when she’s feeling gross. So I had to do this one solo in order to get it to you on time but when she’s feeling more up to it, she will be making these as her gifts this year.

I’ve combined methods of the two feeders for this one. I liked the container of the orange but since we are gifting it to people who will be traveling, I wanted the feed inside to bind together just enough that it wouldn’t send seeds flying all over the place on the trip home hence the agar agar. Agar agar is a vegan version of gelatin. Feel free to Google it if you want more details on it. I got mine from Whole Foods a while back for that week I was determined to make homemade coconut milk yogurt. I now know you can usually find it at health food stores and Asian markets. Other feeder versions just use unflavored gelatin but due to not knowing what the living conditions of the animal’s whose bi-products went into it, I like to stick to agar agar for my gelatin purposes. (Darn you, Food, Inc. and all that animal treatment information you seared into my brain!)

Anyway, here are the instructions…

Orange Cup Bird Feeders (makes 8)
Materials
1 tablespoon agar agar powder (can substitute with 3 tablespoons of agar agar flakes)
3/4 cup water
2 cups bird seed (I traded out 1/2 cup of this for some craisins I had on hand)
4 oranges
natural jute twine
pencil

Instructions:
– Cut the oranges in half.
– Juice all the orange halves to enjoy some lovely fresh squeezed orange juice OR Using a grapefruit knife or serrated citrus knife or paring knife or citrus spoon, slice and scoop the innards out of the oranges. You can use the insides to make fruit salad or just eat on their own. This second method will give you a cleaner cup and more space for seed if that is your intent.
– Poke 3 holes equidistant around the orange with a pencil and tie 3 pieces of jute twine through them to make a hanging basket.
– Bring 1 cup of water to rolling boil and dissolve agar agar and stir for about 3 minutes while continuing to boil.
– Pour 2 cups of bird seed into a bowl. Add the agar agar solution to this and stir.
– With a spoon, scoop the bird seed into the orange cups, and using the back of the spoon, press down as firmly as you can without breaking the orange to pack it in.
– Place them in the refrigerator for a few hours to set then remove them and let them sit out overnight to dry.

I haven’t figured out the best way to wrap them for my purposes and without making more waste so I don’t have much to offer you in that way but no matter how you present them, they will bring cheer to both humans and birds this winter season.

Thanks for following along with me while I made as many gifts as possible while spending the least amount of money and creating the least amount of waste. I hope all your gift giving this season brings joy to many loved ones.