This afternoon, we have Mel’s sweet birdseed favors! Mel originally found these for sale on Etsy by a US seller, but knew they wouldn’t clear customs into Australia so she set out to make them herself!
I made these to use as wedding favours for my upcoming wedding. They’re super easy to make and super cheap!
What you’ll need:
Silicon molds (I used heart shaped cupcake molds)
Edible gelatine powder
Wild birdseed (Find a mix for your local birds – I used a mix for Aussie parrots)
Metal bowl
Twine and Scissors
What to do:
Boil up some water – put about 100mL in a metal bowl and sprinkle in 25g of gelatin and stir until it’s completely dissolved.
Let it cool for a few minutes (don’t let it set – if it does just heat it over the stove again) then mix through 400g of birdseed.
Press a heaped teaspoon of the mix in the mold and flatten.
Place a knotted loop of twine on so the loop sticks out the top and cover with more birdseed mix and press in to push out all the air bubbles.
Place in the fridge overnight to set, then carefully push out of the molds and hang in a dry place so the gelatin completely dries out and hardens. Whalla!
To display, hang some on a branch in a pot and bag the rest in little stamped muslin bags. Perfect!
Mel also made this sweet little sign for the favor table
Thank you for sharing your favors on Polka Dot Bride Mel! You can check out Mel’s blog The Crafty DIY Bride for more treats and her Etsy store Paper & Ribbons! Mel will be back to visit us again soon!
Want more? Check out these posts from the archives
February 18, 2010 at 3:17 pm
these are adorable! and the sweet bags to put them in, just gorgeous
February 18, 2010 at 8:36 pm
LOVE your blog – what great ideas!!
February 19, 2010 at 1:37 am
Great idea. Thank you for your blog!
February 19, 2010 at 2:03 am
What a lovely idea! ~and personalized to the birds in the area…. love it! The sweet bags give it a sort of vintage feel too.
February 19, 2010 at 7:08 am
This is such a great idea, that peaple will actually use!
February 19, 2010 at 9:18 am
I had a question on my blog about the muslin bags:
The muslin bags were found online in this Etsy store:
http://www.etsy.com/shop/CelestialGifts
The seller is really lovely and will do a custom listing for however many you need.
I stamped the bags myself using brown ink and stamps from the “short and sweet” set by Stampin Up!
March 22, 2010 at 1:16 pm
I love this idea! Would be great for Christmas Party favors too, to give the birds a little treat in the winter.
April 16, 2010 at 4:48 am
[...] {heart} these DIY birdfeeders from Polkadot [...]
May 7, 2010 at 4:54 am
I tried this and after a few days they started to grow mold on them. Has anyone else had this problem?
May 7, 2010 at 7:52 am
You have to let them dry out completely, hanging somewhere dry and warm. Once they’re dry store in an airtight container. I let mine dry for about 2 days hanging in my lounge room. A few months on and they’re still perfect.
May 19, 2010 at 4:25 am
I just have to say… THANK YOU! I have been looking for a recipe for these since I spotted them on etsy for MY wedding as well and nothing seemed to be working. This appears to be exactly what we’re looking for, I’m so glad you were willing to share your recipe and where you got the bags.
May 19, 2010 at 8:11 am
I actually have 35 seed hearts left over already bagged up – if anyone’s interested:
http://unofficialfiction.blogspot.com/2010/05/for-sale-birdseed-favours.html
-Mel
May 28, 2010 at 1:58 am
This is great! I am planning a wedding in the summer and I just love this idea! thank you so much for sharing!
June 9, 2010 at 12:59 pm
thanks so much for posting this!
but is the gelatin really safe for our feathered friends? i’d hate to feed them bad things
August 24, 2010 at 6:17 am
Where did you get the little thank you bags?
August 24, 2010 at 7:50 am
Hi Leah – I purchased the muslin bags from a store on Etsy:
http://www.etsy.com/shop/CelestialGifts
September 17, 2010 at 7:59 am
Hi Brianna – I don’t see why you couldn’t put them on racks. As long as it’s really dry and there’s enough air circulating around them it’s fine. They should dry within 24 hours.
September 17, 2010 at 1:40 am
I’m a high school student-one of the “clubs” I’m in is planning a fall dance-I’m in charge of the favors for our event.
I think this would be gr8-wondered-could the ornaments be placed on wire racks to dry (instead of hanging)? I’m limited for space and the racks can be stacked & air still circulate around them.
September 20, 2010 at 9:07 pm
Hi Brianna – I don’t see why you couldn’t put them on racks. As long as it’s really dry and there’s enough air circulating around them it’s fine. They should dry within 24 hours.
October 5, 2010 at 12:05 pm
Has anyone tried using a dehydrator to dry them?
January 19, 2011 at 2:34 pm
[...] a bird seed cake. Examples here, here, or [...]
February 8, 2011 at 4:39 am
Hi There,
Did anyone have an issue with these getting mouldy?
Maybe it’s because I put them in a plastic bag after they hardened….
February 8, 2011 at 8:29 am
Re: getting mouldy.
I stored them in an open basket in a cupboard until I needed them. Any hint of moisture will be taken up by the gelatine and make them mouldy.
I hope you can make another batch!
March 10, 2011 at 9:52 am
Hi Mel,
Just wondering what size of the little bags you used from the etsy store, and what size the little heart molds were? Thanks!
March 10, 2011 at 10:54 am
Hi there,
The muslin bags I used were 1 3/4″ x 4″ but I’ll haev to check on the mould sizes. They weren’t much smaller than the bags so I found I needed to make the shapes not too thick or they wouldn’t fit easily.
March 12, 2011 at 3:07 am
Thank you! Love the idea, so original and inexpensive. I’m totally using it for my July wedding.
March 25, 2011 at 3:36 am
[...] Birdseed favor DIY [...]
April 12, 2011 at 2:29 am
[...] Birdseed favor DIY [...]
February 21, 2012 at 3:05 pm
[...] of October, at a very outdoorsy place, and being the very outdoorsy kinda girl she is, she found a super cute idea for an (outdoorsy) wedding [...]
March 3, 2012 at 5:07 am
Where do you get Edible Gelatin?
March 3, 2012 at 10:21 am
Hi Jessica – edible gelatin is just the gelatin you buy at the supermarket in the baking aisle.
March 22, 2012 at 5:17 am
hi there! Can anyone tell me how long these will hold up? I want to make them for my girlfriends wedding a month ahead of time. any advice?
thanks!
joey
March 22, 2012 at 9:29 am
Hi Joey,
I made these more than one month ahead of time and they were still perfect about 12 months afterwards. Just make sure you dry them very very well!
March 24, 2012 at 6:16 am
After they are dried would it work to put them in the freezer or is there a chance of them getting moist and molding? Where are the heart shaped cupcake liners sold? Has anyone price these out? They sell for $1.40 on Etsy. Thanks so much!
March 24, 2012 at 10:23 am
Hi Nancy,
I just stored them in a cupboard with some of those freshness packets you get in your shoeboxes or medications. They will most likely get moist in the freezer.
I bought the latex cupcake liners in the Reject Shop for $2 a packet. You’d most likely find them in any cookware store as well.
April 16, 2012 at 10:59 am
LooKs heaps awesome! Lovely idea
How much is 25g of gelatin approx worth in teaspoons?
Thanks
April 17, 2012 at 3:37 pm
Hi Trish- I just searched and it says 5 teaspoons. Always best to measure with scales though! (Or look for a pack that is measured in grams)