DIY Milk Carton Bird Feeder With Upcycled Mirrors

This easy DIY Milk Carton Bird Feeder is a fun craft that the whole family can enjoy making. If you are looking for a simple way to upcycle materials into a useful DIY bird feeder, this is the post for you.

This DIY feeder is easy to make and the birds will love it!

I go through a lot of almond milk in my house which has left me with a ton of milk cartons. I have always thought about doing something useful with them rather than just throwing them away but I haven’t gotten around to it until now.

This DIY feeder is the perfect craft to make with all of my old milk cartons and I am glad that I finally got around to making it. The best part about making an upcycled feeder for the birds is that even if you aren’t the best painter or most creative person, the birds will still love it! 

What You Need to Make this DIY Milk Carton Bird Feeder

• Empty Milk Carton
• Knife
• Scissors
• Glue Gun
• Paint
• Old CD
• Paint Brush 
• Twigs
• Fake Leaves
• String for Hanging
• Bird Seed 

Instructions

Step 1.

The first step in making your own DIY feeder from a milk carton is to find a milk carton, wash it out, and let it dry.

Step 2. 

When painting a milk carton, the outside may be shiny and hard to coat with regular paint. If this is the case, use a little sandpaper to rub off the outer layer before painting your milk carton bird feeder. 

Step 3. 

The next step is to paint the outside. You can paint your DIY feeder any color you would like although there are some colors that are known to attract certain types of birds. With a little research, you can target your favorite type of bird by painting your bird feeder the color that attracts them most.

I went with purple and as far as I know, there aren’t any birds in my area that are attracted to purple but I love it and had plenty on hand so that is the color of my bird feeder. 

Step 4. 

Let your bird feeder dry before moving on to the next step. Not only will this prevent any smudges but the glue will stick better to a dry surface than it will to wet paint.

Step 5. 

Gather some twigs from outside. I had plenty to choose from in my yard because the Derecho that hit our area last Summer knocked quite a few branches down and we have yet to pick up all of the smaller ones. Lucky for me, I was able to make use of what was left with this bird feeder project. 

Step 6. 

Measure the twigs to be roughly the same size, it doesn’t have to be exact, much like the paint, the birds will not care if it is a little off. Break down the larger ones and keep any smaller parts off to the side, you may want to fill in any gaps when done gluing the bigger ones on. Keep in mind that some of these twigs will be for the roof, some for the door, and some for the perches on three different sides. 

Step 7. 

Cut out the front window for your birds to enter the DIY feeder. 

Step 8. 

Get an old cd and use a pair of sharp scissors to cut mirrors out of it. I started by cutting a large triangle and then used the scissors to cut it down to a square to use for the windows. 

Step 9. 

Heat up the glue gun and begin adding the twigs horizontally on the top of the milk carton bird feeder. After you get a good layer covering the entire top of the milk carton, make a triangle pattern with them by gluing vertically but on a lean. This will create a nice roof that not only looks cute on the DIY bird feeder but will serve the purpose of protecting the top of the bird feeder from water. Depending on what type of paint you use, your bird feeder will most likely not be waterproof but a little protection will make your feeder last longer. 

Step 10. 

Use string or yarn to hang the milk carton bird feeder. I attached a piece of yarn to a stick and glued it into the roof, this allowed me to put quite a bit of glue on both the yarn and the sticks without having to see it in the finished project. 

Step 11. 

The next step is to glue the mirrors to the sides of the bird feeder. 

step 12

The next step in making this bird feeder is to use twigs to frame the door. 

step 14

You can also add some foliage to frame the door or mirrors, this is your bird feeder, make it how you want! 

Step 15

The last step in making your own bird feeder from a milk carton is to add perches for the bird to stand on. I cut a small hole into the sides under the mirror and one below the door. After putting the twigs through the holes you can add a little glue to keep them in place if you’d like but they should stay pretty snug if you keep the hole small. 

The last step is to add birdseed to your upcycled bird feeder and hang it up outside. 

Feel free to add any other decorations or perches to your birdhouse, it can be a lot of fun adding different elements that the birds may interact with. 

Some fun ideas to add to your milk carton bird feeder are bird toys like bells and blocks on a string or even more mirrors since birds seem to really like to look at themselves. Who can blame them? They are so beautfiul and now that you have made your own bird feeder from a milk carton, I hope it draws in lots of beautiful birds so you can look at them too.

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Leave me a comment letting me know that you stopped by and tell me about the kinds of birds that come to your area, I’d love to hear about them!