This month’s Lowe’s Creative Ideas blogger challenge was all about the birds! And, with spring most definitely here, it was a fitting challenge. As always, the toughest part was just figuring out what to do. We decided that we liked the idea of a bird feeder better than a bird house–and we wanted something small enough that hopefully pigeons wouldn’t think they were invited to the party (we had a pigeon issue when we first moved into this house and while I like cute little birds, I loathe rats with wings pigeons)! So, here’s what we came up with:
Can you tell what they’re made from? They were easy to do–even something the kiddos can help with! And, I love the pop of color we have outside now.
Here’s the bird challenge supplies we picked up at Lowe’s:
– 3 small paint cans, a 3/16″ wooden dowel, finch food, a Hummingbird feeder & Hummingbird food! Now, of course, the hummingbird stuff wasn’t part of our DIY project. But, since we were thinking of our little feathered friends, we had to get something for our beautiful desert hummingbirds–like this guy:
Hopefully they’ll come around even more often now that we have a new feeder!
Ok, now back to our project….
We started by cutting part of the dowel into 4 inch pieces (one for each paint can). Then Big Brother & I got to work on sprucing up the paint cans. Because I already had it, we just used paints from the Martha Stewart line.
I set out a bunch of colors and took a huge risk in letting Big Brother pick out which ones to use! But, I was very please with his choices–red, blue, and green. Together, we painted the three cans and I painted the dowel pieces brown.
Once those had a good while to dry, I put a little bead of hot glue on the inside grove of the top of each paint can (where the lid would snap into) and I stuck a dowel piece in. Then, we needed something to hang them. Originally, we had just planned to use twine. But, a quick look through my bin of ribbons revealed some of just the right colors! I thought those would be more fun for a pop of extra color. We tied those on and I put a couple of dabs of hot glue under the ribbon to help secure it. Then, we went out by the garden, tied them to one of our mulberry trees, and filled them with finch food!
The project was quick & easy, but provides such a cute look out by our garden. And, here’s the best part…our fine feathered friends have already taken notice! Here’s what we saw when we came downstairs this morning:
“Build it and they will come!” 😉
For more great ideas, check out Lowe’s CreÂative Ideas on FB or the Lowe’s CreÂative Ideas blog where you just may recÂogÂnize one (or more) of the faces there! 
DisÂcloÂsure: I am a memÂber of the Lowe’s CreÂative Ideas CreÂators & InfluÂencers NetÂwork and received Lowe’s gift cards to comÂplete my projects. All photos, opinÂions, and expeÂriÂences are my own.
Linked to: *Skip to My Lou, * Get Your Craft On, *Tip Junkie, *Oopsey Daisy, *Tatertots & Jello
56 Responses
Those are SO cute! I just love them. Great idea!
Thanks, Randi! 🙂
Such a cute idea! =)
Thanks, Melissa! 🙂
These are so fun! I bet the kids would have fun painting the cans, too. Thanks for the inspiration!
Krissy–yes, they would love it! My oldest was so eager to help and is now so excited about the birds coming to the feeders! 🙂
So cute! This months challenge was fun! Off to share your link on FB!
Thanks for stopping by, Becca! And for sharing on FB! 🙂 This one was fun–the kids loved it! I can’t wait for this next month’s challenge–and can’t wait for SNAP! 🙂 See you then!
These bird feeders are absolutely adorable! These would be a great project for my girls to make this summer. Thanks for sharing!
Thanks, Sarah! Great name by the way! 🙂 I bet your girls will love making this! Have fun!
I love this! We were going to do something similar using old formula canisters, but I was worried that they wouldn’t hold up in the weather. Using paint cans is a perfect solution – Thanks for the inspiration! 🙂
Thanks, Heidi! The formula cans is definitely an idea that might work! I’m always looking for a way to reuse those! 🙂 Thanks for stopping by!
How did I miss this ost? I think they look great hanging in your yard and apperantly so do the Finch. I hope your hummer comes to your feeder and brings along some friends. We spent endless hour enjoying the humming birds last summer. The 1st year I was succesful at atracting them. Hugs….
Thanks, Carol! Yes, the birds are loving it! Haven’t caught glimpse of a hummingbird yet, but so hoping they come around! 🙂 They test my photography skills with trying to capture them! 🙂
These look so cheerful hanging in the tree!! I saw this first on Pinterest and added it to my Outdoor Inspirations board…but then I saw you again on TT&J’s Weekend Wrap-Up. What a great project : )
Thanks, Jaimee! They were such a simple project, but do add such cheeriness to the backyard! Plus, the boys love watching for birds to come!
How brilliant! These are so cheery and pretty. I hope you will link this to my Hippity Hop Easter Project Hop.
http://www.itsybitsypaperblog.com
Such a clever and creative idea! Pinned it!
Your hummingbird photo is exceptional!
Jenn
Very easy to make and cute too! Repinnned.
Hugs,
Carmen
Such cute simple idea that will be fun for both the kiddos & grownup alike. Not to even mention the low cost on these! Thanks!
Please don’t use the red dyed hummingbird stuff! It’s bad for them! You can make your own quite simply: http://www.worldofhummingbirds.com/nectar.php
LOVE these! So cute, bright and cheerful!
Great job!
These are adorable. I shared a link to your tutorial on my blog. Can’t wait to make my own this weekend. 🙂
Were u able to buy empty paint cans from lowes too?
Yep, Tonya! I forget now where in the store they were. But, just ask someone! 🙂
Did you use pints or 1/2 pint tin cans? Thanks!
Hi K_D, just checked and they are actually quart-sized paint cans!
Did you remove the old paint from the cans or buy them empty?
I actually bought them empty & new like that at Lowe’s! 🙂
Love the look, but what about squirrels? I would think these cans would be an easy hit for them.
Ha! Probably true, but where I live (in the deserts of Arizona), we don’t have any squirrels to contend with. So, it works great for us! 🙂
Just a quick safety tip…the red in your hummingbird feeder is poison to them. They will still be attracted to the nectar without the coloring. Espectially if the feeder itself is red.
Thanks, Cindy! A few others have mentioned that and I’ve looked into it!
I love this idea! i’m featuring you on Creative Green Living today.
Wow! I love the idea…..will definitely try it with my kiddo this weekend. Repinned it!
super cute! my son and I will be taking this on for a school project. thanks! 🙂
Awesome! Hope you enjoy, Luann!! 🙂
Do you think you could use empty aluminum cans for this or would they be too small?? I want to do this with my Girl Scout troop but I don’t want to have to buy 12 empty paint cans. We are all about reusing what we already have! 😉
Hi Carol,
I think you could absolutely try it. There wouldn’t be a nice groove for the perch to fit into nicely, but otherwise, I think it’s definitely worth a shot!
I bought the same hummingbird feeder and they love it! Am going to try the paint can feeders…great idea!
Love your idea and have the same reason for needing something to keep the pigeons out. Please tell me how you got rid of the pigeons!! We are desperate to get rid of them, so we can have small birds again!
Ha, Nancy! I’m not entirely sure I have a good answer. We still have pigeons. But, they’ve left the feeders alone (the feeders are still in the exact same place as in those photos). We had to put some chicken wire in some strategic places in our roof as they were trying to nest up there. But, once we did that, the pigeons stopped nesting on our house.
What a great idea! The kids and I are planning to make several different types of bird feeders and then watch them to see which ones the birds like best. We’re also hoping to attract a wider variety of birds by using different types of feeders. We will have to add your idea to the project! Thanks for sharing!
Hi Sara! Just wanted to let you know that I featured this post on my Facebook page during April and people loved it. It was actually the highest liked post for April! I do a round up of the top 20, so today I’ve featured you on my blog today as well (link below). Thanks for such an awesome post! http://craftsbyamanda.com/2014/05/great-craft-ideas-may-2014.html
that is cool! could you use like little soup cans for this instead????????
Such an awesome idea!!! I’m definitely going to give this a try since my garden is already Bird Hotel. They’re spoiled – they get seed, suet, fruit, nuts and watered cat kibble! See…. told you they’re spoiled. But now you’re idea will add some “cuteness” to my garden.
Thank you!
Good Morning — this is an absolutely brilliant idea for feeding my garden’s birds – will get some paints today and instead of washing out my used tins then recycling them – I’m going to get creative with them and I know my little feathered friends will thoroughly enjoy using them. Thank you, Kingoodie Village, Perthshire, Scotland
Good and fantastico