How to Make a Bird Feeder from a Liquor Bottle

Anyone else have baby birds galore in their yard?  With lots of little mouths to feed, wouldn't it be nice to help out the adult birds with an extra feeder or two? I've been making and selling these fabulously upcycled bird feeders for two years now.  I only sell them at festivals, farmers markets and the like.  Because they are so expensive to ship, you won't find them in my Etsy shop anymore.  So I thought, why not show the rest of the world how I make them.  Check it out, I officially call them Booze Bottle Bird Feeders:

They're pretty easy to make once you get past the drilling a hole in glass part.  But, remember, I showed you how to do that in my last post.  You'll need just a few supplies:

1.  Wine or liquor bottle with the original cap or a cork
2.  A thrift store plate
3.  A 12-18" (ish) length of copper wire
4.  Vice Grip (best ten bucks I've spent in a long time!)
5.  Clear Silicone
6.  And if you don't already have one, a Diamond Hole Saw for drilling your holes in the bottle

Once you've drilled your holes in the "booze" bottle, you can use your vice grip to shape and coil the copper wire around the neck of the bottle to form your hanger.  Then simply add a solid bead of silicone adhesive to the bottom of your bottle and press it into place on your plate.  Set it aside to cure and in a short three hours time, you'll have your very own booze bottle bird feeder.  Now go raid your recycle bin...or the neighbors and get to it!

How to Drill a Hole in Glass...or Ceramic

I have such a bad habit of "forgetting" to blog during the summer months.  There's just so much to do, so many projects just a waitin' to be completed!  But I'm taking a breather, albeit a brief breather, to share a quickie how-to video that you can find on my YouTube channel.

Okay, so this project isn't exactly upcycled.  But once you know how to drill a hole in glass there are so many things that you can upcycle.  Not the least of which is my ever-popular Booze Bottle Bird Feeders...which by the way I will be showing you how to make next time.  Here's a sneak peek.

It's not that hard to drill a hole in glass IF you know the right way to do it and in my video, I not only show you how but I also show you how NOT to drill a hole in glass.  So gather up your supplies and meet me over on YouTube for the full instructions (and a little humor as you watch me screw up right before your very eyes).  Here's what you'll need:

• A glass or ceramic vessel of your choosing
• Diamond Hole Saw or, for those of you with far more patience than I....a Glass & Tile Drill Bit)
• Hand Drill or better yet, a Drill Press if you have it
• A tub of water just large enough to submerge your glass/ceramic vessel into
• And don't forget the Safety Glasses!