For the (Humming)Birds

We have a deep fondness for winged creatures here. The children argue over who gets to haul bird food out to our feeders, even in the dead of winter with snow up to their waists. But there has been a gap in our bird feeder collection for awhile now. You see, we had yet to procure a hummingbird feeder. Today, my industrious little ones decided to remedy that situation, and thus was born this humble offering to the birds:



Nothing fancy, I assure you. Artisan blown glass it is not, but it was fun to make! First, we scouted our house for anything brightly colored that might attract our most elusive visitors. We used two red plastic party cups, one plastic drinking straw, a length of red cotton yarn, and our imaginations. Here's how we did it:

Step 1: Using a pair of sharp scissors, stab four small holes toward the bottom of the cup, spacing them evenly around the perimeter. (Adult supervision required with sharp scissors!)

Step 2: Stab two small halls near the top of the cup, spacing them evenly around the perimeter with your scissors. This is where you will hang your string.

Step 3: Using the other plastic cup, cut out four flower shapes. Poke a small hole into the center of each flower, large enough to fit a drinking straw through.

Step 4: Cut your drinking straw into four equal pieces.

Step 5: Insert each drinking straw piece into the center of a flower piece, then push it through one of the holes at the bottom of your cup. Be sure that your straws are pushed downward into the cup, meaning that the end inside the cup is touching the bottom. You may even want to carefully hot glue the straws to the bottom of the cup. If the straws are not facing downwards, you will have a sugar water fountain on your hands!

Step 6: Draw your string through one hole near the top of the cup, pull it through to the other hole, draw it through again, then tie the two ends at the top to make a hanger.

Step 7: Mix 1/4 cup of sugar into a full cup of warm water and stir until the sugar is dissolved.

Step 8: Fill your cup with the sugar/water mixture and hang in a place outdoors, away from predators (like cats!).