Valentine’s Day Crafts – All Natural DIY Gelatin Heart-Shaped Bird Feeder
I have wanted to make an easy bird feeder with my son for ages. However, the problem? All the recipes I knew how to do or did in the past, use peanut butter. My son isn’t allergic, but he is completely repulsed by the smell. So when I found this natural DIY one on Pinterest and saw that it used gelatine, I squealed (yes really) and added gelatine to my grocery list immediately. After making the bird feeders, we had some gelatine left over, so we made some yummy all natural gummy treats too. Two easy heart-shaped Valentine’s Day Crafts made with one box of gelatine, that’s rad!
- We doubled the recipe that Bargain Hoot uses. And instead of cookie cutters, we used a silicon mold.
- They had fun mixing. I had fun vacuuming after they were finished. Trust me! It’s easier to vacuum up the bird seed than sweeping them up. Those little seeds roll and hurt to step on!
- Press the mixture into the mold. We filled it halfway, popped our string in, then filled in the rest of the mold.
- A few hours later – voila!
The best part of this activity wasn’t making the bird feeder. The best part was trying to find the right spots in our yard to place them.
We put them in the apple trees in the front yard, the pine trees in the back and some random bushes too. Clearly, I am not a gardener! Since we hung them up we have gone outside every day to see which ones have had birds nibble away at them. It’s been fun to see my son concerned about the birds and I think the hearts add some natural sparkle to our wintery yard. Just today we noticed the birds (or perhaps raccoons?) already have a favorite. We will continue to observe them in the upcoming weeks.
Gelatin Heart Jellies
After we hung those up, we noticed a recipe on the back of the Knox Gelatine box, adjusted it for our serving size and made some heart jellies! Why haven’t we been making these for years? My son loved helping me make them, and I loved that there are no artificial colors like the store bought gelatin desserts.
- Gather your materials. You will need two envelopes of gelatine, 1/2 cup of cold juice, 1.5 cups of juice brought to a boil and a dash of sugar. You will also need a heart cookie cutter, a saucepan, casserole dish (ours is 8x8x2), a spoon and a big bowl for mixing.
- Pour the cold juice into the bowl and drizzle the gelatin on.
- Boil the other juice.
- Pour into the bowl and mix.
I add just a dash of sugar since the juice we used was already low sugar. I had my son gently mix, and I got the bottom bits. Once dissolved let the gelatin cool for 2-3 hours. - Using the cookie cutter make heart shapes.
- He loved the leftovers!
Note about the juices we used – we used mostly natural lemonade with just enough natural strawberry kiwi to make it red. Any juice works, though. I plan to hit up the natural market for some pomegranate juice before Valentine’s Day.
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Megan Sheakoski says
Love this idea! Can’t wait to try it out…mainly because I think it will be so cozy to look out and see all those hearts hanging around. Thanks!
Jill @ Traveling Homeschool says
My kids are going to love this! My son has made 2 wooden bird houses. I know he’ll especially love making these treats and checking them every day to see what has been eaten. 🙂 I also love the natural “jello.” We avoid food dye, HFCS, etc. This will be a lot of fun for Valentine’s. 🙂
admin says
I was seriously giddy when he loved them because I am so mean about him not having food dye. It really does a number on him so I am pretty strict. These were so good I hope your kids like them too!
Helen says
My girls are REALLY into feeding the birds right now – they will love this idea!
The Monko says
these are great, what a fab idea
Terry says
Gelatin contains animal byproducts. A worthy attempt, but there are plenty of veggie/plant-oriented recipes out there…
admin says
You are right it does – but gelatin is still natural. If you are looking for a vegetarian option you could make ones with peanut butter. Just be sure to check your birdseed most include suet which is animal fat.
melissa says
They sell grass fed gelatin on amazon. Thank you for the recipe.
Jessica @ A Humble Creation says
Thanks for the tip with gelatin. My daughter is allergic to PB, so it’s great to have an alternative. I’m pinning it!
nancy says
I can’t wait to do this with my grand babies they will love it. Tha for sharingnk you
American Greetings says
Hey–we loved your craft and included it in a roundup of awesome Valentine’s Day crafts on our blog!
Check it out:
http://stayinspired365.com/2014/02/06/easy-adorable-valentines-day-crafts-2-6-14/
Tab says
I will definately be doing the bird seed project- it’s brilliant. We have threaded cheerios through pipe cleaners and made bird feeder garlands, and we make plastic bird feeders but we always fill one with short strands rather than food so we can attract birds to use it to nest in our yard.
We make a simular gummy treat by cooking berries until very liquidy and then slowly adding gelatin. Run through the blender because it may be a bit lumpy, pour into molds or set for 20-30 min on a cookie sheet then cut into cubes.
Laura says
I wan to make this but cannot get the recipe off the link you included. Can you send the recipe to me?
Allison McDonald says
It’s working now!
anita says
Can colored, flavored jello be used so that I could use what I already have and not buy gelatin?
Allison McDonald says
you bet but it will have artificial color that way.
Amy says
This is such a great idea. We’re going to make them with my son for the Valentines he gives at pre-school this year. I’m thinking it’s a nice alternative to all the candy and junky gifts from Oriental Trading that we tend to get each year! I think I’ll try to put each one in a paper Valentine treat bag and just loosely staple it closed to keep the air flowing and try to avoid the mold issue?
Allison McDonald says
I would freeze them until you hand the out!
horny stop says
This arrivals was quite helpful! I think some feedback for you though, would be finding more outdoor activities when it’s winter? because I really liked the ideas but My family prefers outdoor activities.?