Now that your tree is decorated in ornaments, garlands, and lights, it's time to make some ornaments for the trees outside your window.
These adorable ornaments are for the birds -- made from birdseed and a special holiday treat to entice those colorful birds to your backyard.
{birdseed ornaments}
Ingredients:
1/4 cup water
1/2 cup flour
2 cups birdseed
3 tbsp corn syrup
Cookie cutters or mold
String
This recipe calls for a simple mix of birdseed that you can pick up from a pet store, but I was lazy and didn't feel like running to the store, so I made my own, instead!
My birdseed recipe: a two-cup mix of chopped peanuts, stale bread crumbs, raisins, and dried apple bits.
Mix the birdseed, water, flour, and corn syrup together until it forms a paste.
Fill your cookie cutters with the paste, making sure to pack it down tightly. Use a straw or a spoon end to poke a hole through the center of the paste, not too close to the edge of the ornament. (One of mine broke this way)
Let ornament dry overnight, or for several days if your paste is particularly goopy. My bread crumbs turned into a sticky paste, so it took about three days for everything to dry out properly. Make sure you're flipping your ornament frequently to allow it to dry on both sides.
At this point, when the ornaments had been sitting out for a while, Tanner noticed them on the counter and cried, "OOOO cookies!" then studied them for a second in confusion, and asked, "....granola cookies?" Haha, nice try, babe.
Push the birdseed mold out of the cookie cutter and allow edges to dry.
Tie string through the hole and hang in a tree for the birds to enjoy!
(Note: is it just me, or do you find it funny that I refused to purchase a set of cookie cutters for my Christmas cookies, but now that I'm making birdseed ornaments, it suddenly becomes an essential buy?)