Turn An Old Bottle Into The Cutest Mushroom Bird Feeder

Hydration is important, but plastic water bottles piling up can be a pain. If there's no more room in your recycling bin, it may be time to repurpose some of those bottles into a cute and useful bird feeder. There are plenty of benefits to putting a bird feeder in your garden, and upcycling old bottles allows you to reap those benefits without investing much time or money. By cutting a hole in the side and decorating the top, you can transform your old bottles into cute mushrooms, which will look even more darling when the birds visit. Don't worry if you don't have any water bottles, you can use other plastic bottles or containers. You could also try using glass bottles if you have glass cutting tools at your disposal.

Plastic bottles are already commonly used for repurposed kitchen item bird feeders, so you may already be familiar with the basics. The bottle holds the seeds, and it's generally light enough to be hung from a tree, post, or hook somewhere in your yard. What makes this version so charming is the decoration. Bottles are already shaped like mushroom stems, so all you need to add is the mushroom cap. Depending on the size of your bottle and the type of mushroom you're trying to create, you could use a bowl, cup, the top half of a larger bottle, or even crafting materials like clay to form the cap. You'll likely also need paint, string or ribbon, and scissors or a craft knife.

Start by deciding what type of mushroom to make. A classic fairytale mushroom with a colorful cap and white dots would be sweet, and you could even add details like flowers or painted-on windows for a mushroom fairy house. If that's not your style, take a look at other mushrooms for inspiration. Keep things cute by modeling it after a button mushroom (Agaricus bisporus), or lean into the weirder nature of mushrooms with an inkcap (Coprinopsis atramentaria) or urchin earthfan (Thelephora penicillata).

Cut a hole in the side of the bottle so that the birds have easy access to the seeds, leaving enough of a lip to stop the seeds from spilling. If you don't have a bowl or other item to use as the mushroom cap, you can actually use the top portion of the bottle, if it is slightly wider than the middle. Cut it off, remove some of the middle section of the bottle, and glue it back on to give it that classic mushroom shape. If you're using another item, you can glue it onto the lid of the bottle instead. Decorate the cap with paint or add texture with hot glue, paper, or beads. Add holes to the top and bottom or sides for your string to fit through, and tie knots at the end to prevent it from slipping off. Consider adding a twig or spoon to the front of the bottle for birds to perch on, then hang it up and add seeds or use oats in your bird feeder.