DIY Teacup or Dish Bird Feeder

You might remember a previous post where I reused a repaired coffee mug as an herb planter in the kitchen.  Well this year I decided to transform that mug one more time into a little bird feeder for a focal point in the flower garden.  

Supplies & How-to:   

The supply list really couldn't be more simple - all you need is a mug, bowl, or plate, a wooden dowel, a rubber cap, and some super glue!  That's it!  

I had my husband paint the wooden dowel with a couple coats of white outdoor paint first (normally I would have painted it, but the outdoor paint isn't recommended to be used by pregnant women).  I wanted it painted to give a bit more of a finished look and to help make sure the dowel lasts longer outdoors.  

Then with a little bit of Super Glue, I attached the rubber cap to the bottom of the ceramic mug.

By having the mug be removable from the dowel, you can easily pound the dowel sturdily into the ground with a small mallet or hammer then add the feeder once the dowel is in place.  It also makes it easy to clean out the feeder regularly.  

Since we've had bears frequent our neighborhood lately, I will just be filling the mug with water for now for birds and butterflies to drink from.  Once the bears go into hibernation again I will be able to safely fill it with bird seed for our feathered friends.  

Overall I'm happy with how this simple project came out - it adds the perfect touch to our flower bed!  

Kitchen Herb Garden in a Mug

Ever have a favorite mug but the handle broke?  :(  Well that very thing happened to this great Salmon Falls Chowder Mug I have.  I superglued it back together and while the repair looked pretty good I didn't dare trust it to hold a piping hot cup of soup or coffee over my lap anymore.  I was thinking of tossing it but decided to repurpose it into a little herb planter for the kitchen instead.  

The first step was to fill the bottom with some gravel so my herbs won't sit directly in water.  Alternatively, you could drill a hole in the bottom for drainage and put a saucer underneath, but since I don't have anything to put under the mug that matches I decided to use it as-is.  

Then I filled it with dirt and added an Italian Chive plant I picked up at the local garden center and it was done!  (Pretty easy, right?)  Depending on the size of your mug and your plants, you could add more than one type of herb in it.  You could also grow your herbs from seed.  

Now I just need to keep it on a sunny windowsill and water it very carefully as needed.  Keep in mind since there's no drainage hole at the bottom and it's a small container, it would be very easy to over-water a plant like this.