Glass Jar Homemade Hummingbird Feeder
Updated: Apr. 24, 2020
Attracting hummingbirds is easy and fun with this homemade hummingbird feeder made with a baby food jar.
Attracting hummingbirds to your yard is easy. All you need is a feeder and some sugar water! There’s no need to spend a lot of money on a fancy feeder, though. This homemade hummingbird feeder cost me just pennies – I used an empty baby food jar and some craft supplies I already had lying around. This is a fun project you can finish in just a few hours, and it’s great for kids, too.
Materials:
- Shallow jar with lid
- Polymer clay (including red)
- Flower-shaped cookie cutters
- 16-gauge galvanized wire
- Drill
- Needle-nose pliers
- Rolling pin
- Glass beads
Step-By-Step Instructions:
Step 1
Clean out your jar thoroughly. I used a baby food jar, but you can recycle anything you have around the kitchen. Shallow jars are the easiest to keep clean and filled.
Step 2
Use a rolling pin to flatten the clay. I like to use three different colors. Take whatever color you want to be the base of your flower and press the top of the jar lid into it to remove any air pockets. Then trim any excess clay away and smooth clay down the sides of the lid.
Step 3
Using the other clay colors, design the flower to go on top of this base. Have fun rolling out the colors and playing with different shapes and designs. You can use cookie cutters if you’d like, or just freestyle it. Just remember that hummingbirds are attracted to the color red, so be sure that’s part of your palette.
Step 4
After you’ve cut out the clay, experiment with layering. This helps give the illusion of a real flower, which will bring in the hummingbirds. Gently press the layers of clay onto the lid base. You don’t want to push too hard because it will smudge your design, but you do want the layers of clay to fuse when you bake them.
Step 5
Bake according to the directions on the clay you are using. A good approximation is to bake at 275° for 15 minutes.  Allow the clay to cool, and then drill a small hole through the top of the clay flower. This will give the hummingbirds access to the nectar.
Step 6
Cut about 32 in. of wire, and then fold in half, leaving a loop at the top. Make a larger loop with each end of the wire, then bring them together and twist about eight times. Play with the shape of the loops until you have a design you like. Wrap each end of the wire around the jar, bringing them together and twisting three times, making a tight loop to hold the feeder. Trim away the excess wire, leaving about 1/4 in. for a loop to add beads if you like.
