Are you ready for spring yet? The weather is starting to warm up and I can’t wait to get back outside and start gardening. In the meantime, I’m just happy to hear the birds chirping again, so I decided to make a homemade bird feeder to try to entice them to stay in our yard, even with the crazy puppy running around. Today I’m going to show you how to make a teacup bird feeder; it’s so simple and easy to make, and ends up being a super cute garden decoration!
How To Make A Teacup Bird Feeder
Here’s what you need to make your own teacup bird feeder: (affiliate links below to products I use and recommend)
- an old teacup and saucer
- ceramic glue (I recommend either E6000 craft adhesive or DAP clear silicone adhesive)
- twine
- birdseed
- a bird feeder hanger (this is the one we bought, and I love it; it’s squirrel proof!)
Start by gluing the teacup to the saucer. Place a line of glue on the teacup from the rim to the bottom, exactly opposite the handle. Then, holding the teacup by the handle, press the cup down into the saucer. Make sure the cup is at the back half of the saucer so there is room for the birdseed to “spill out” in front of the cup.
Both E6000 craft adhesive and DAP clear silicone adhesive are nice and thick, and the cup will probably stand up on its own after about a minute. But if it starts to tip over, just prop it up while the glue dries. Double check the instructions, but these adhesives usually take about an hour or two to really dry.
Once the adhesive is dry, it’s time to hang your teacup bird feeder! If you pick up the teacup by the handle, and the saucer hangs nice and flat, then this part is super easy: just tie a piece of twine around the handle and hang it from a tree or a bird feeder hanger. If you pick up the teacup by the handle and the saucer is tipped one way or the other, don’t worry! You can still hang it perfectly flat, it will just take a little more twine and glue. 🙂
Start by cutting three long pieces of twine, about two feet long. Knot all three strands together near one end, then glue the knot onto the bottom of the saucer, right in the middle. Make sure you spread out the three strands a little before gluing the knot down.
Then pull all three strands out to the sides of the saucer, making sure they are as evenly spaced as possible. Glue these strands down onto the saucer near the rim. If you want, you can use a dot of hot glue to temporarily tack the twine to the saucer and hold it in place while the adhesive dries. Hot glue will hold the twine pretty firmly in place, but I would still use the other ceramic adhesive as well. I don’t trust the hot glue to hold the weight of the cup and saucer and birdseed, and I’m not sure it would hold up all that well after being outside for a while.
Once the glue on the saucer is dry, take the three strands of twine and gather them above the teacup, holding the weight of the teacup and saucer. Adjust the three strands until the saucer hangs perfectly level, then tie the three strands together in a knot above the teacup.
Now go hang your teacup bird feeder outside! Hang it from a tree or a bird feeder hanger, adding more twine if you need it to hang lower. Once your teacup is hanging, add some birdseed, then stand back and enjoy the birds!
Do you have birds in your yard?
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If you liked this project, check out these other simple garden and outdoor crafts!
Sara Zettlemoyer says
I absolutely LOVE this idea and want to try to make some to resell at a craft show. But, I was thinking, how does the bird’s weight not tip the feeder over, or swing the feeder spilling all the seeds?
Jessi Wohlwend says
Birds are super lightweight, so I haven’t noticed an issue. But I did sort of create a “cradle” with the twine under the saucer with three strands coming up to hang it to keep it stable; it can’t really tip because of the three pieces of twine on all sides.
Sandy Sugerman says
THIS IS A REALLY CUTE IDEA. I COULD NOT FIND THE ICON TO PRINT IT OUT AND FOUND IT FRUSTRATING TO FIND THE INFORMATION IMBEDDED WITH THE PICTURES I LIKE SEEING THE PICTURES, BUT I AM A STEP BY STEP PERSON WHO HAS A HARD TIME WITH PRINT ENMEDDED WITH THE PICTURES. I WOULD LIKE TO PRINT THIS PROJECT OUT FOR MY GIRL SCOUTS. IS THERE A WAY TO DO THAT? THANK YOU..
Note: I had caps on. I apologize…I really was not yelling.
Jessi Wohlwend says
Hey Sandy, I’m working on adding printable versions to all of my posts, but it’s kinda slow going because there are over 1000 of them! For now you can try just selecting the text and photos and copying and pasting it into a text editor like Word or Google Docs, that should grab both text and images and you can delete any ads that are copied. I’ll let you know as soon as I get the printable version of this post done!
Irma Ali says
Like the idea ??? thank you for sharing?
LeAnn says
Love the idea and want to make a few but just a observation… A white teacup against a white background is hard to see.
Jessi Wohlwend says
Yeah unfortunately that’s the color of my craft desk!
nicole says
That’s very cute but you must take it down daily or you will have every rat/squirrel/mouse in your neighborhood in your yard. They’ll chew through the string and it will end up on the ground.
Jessi Wohlwend says
It’s been up in our yard since April of last year, and we haven’t had any issues! We already have every critter in the neighborhood in our yard because of my vegetable garden, but the squirrels can’t climb out onto the teacup because the hanger we used hangs it far enough away from the fence. The whole thing is still hanging and there are even birds out there eating from it today!
Katie says
Now that is just the coolest! I’ve wanted a bird feeder so my cats can bird watch (one of them chirps when she sees them, it’s way too cute) and this is perfect. Thanks for sharing it!
Ruth Anne says
I love your cute idea for a birdfeeder! Glad to learn about the DAP sealant that can be used like glue–not too crazy about the smell of E6000, but I do use it.
Jessi Wohlwend says
The DAP adhesive is great, especially for anything that needs to be watertight or food-safe!
Kristina says
Oh! What a great idea!! I’m totally pinning this. I just got rid of half my teacups. Looks like I need to head to goodwill to pick up a set. This is absolutely the cutest thing!