Milk Bottle Bird Feeder

Next week our school is having an upcycling week and each class will make a few items that they can sell at the end of the week. Whoopee! This has given me the ideal excuse for a range of crafty diversions as I support art in two classrooms - meaning this will be the first of at least three posts! 

In class 3/4 we've decided to make bird feeders out of plastic milk bottles and 2 litre pop bottles. Some of the examples I've seen using a small pop bottle, sticks or spoons, are good enough but don't have too much for the children to do. Instead I'm going to try using bottles which the children can paint and decorate to look a little like bird houses.

First I needed to wash out the milk bottles and cut windows in the bottom - starting far enough up for a layer of seed to go in the bottom. I've cut the top of a 2 litre pop bottle to use as a roof. You could use the top for a mushroom bird feeder - next post. Keep the milk bottle lid but you won't need the pop bottle lid (save it for something else too).

Next - painting! Plastic is notoriously difficult to paint. Many sites say don't bother - you can't. Well these aren't supposed to last forever but I'd rather the paint doesn't flake off straight away. I've decided to try using emulsion paints mainly because we have lots of tester pots at school and it is about repurposing.

I've experimented with emulsion and this is what I've found out:

Hints and Tips - Painting onto plastic milk bottles.

Tip 1 - It's a bit of trial and error!
Different paint and different plastic will give different results!
Tip 2 - Specialised paints
Thick gloopy paint for metal or wood seemed to work well (see Mushroom Bird Feeders - next post). As did Lifeproof paints - they must have something in them which makes them more flexible. Also a paint with a sheen or silk will work better than a matt emulsion.
Tip 3 - Denser plastic
Paint seems to last better on harder plastics so it is easier to paint small plastic milk bottles (1pt) where as a proportion of the bottle there is more dense plastic, around the neck and the edges. So see how easy it is to squidge the bottle (not very technical I know). 

With the 2pt/1 litre bottles the one the left has more ridges on the corners and was denser around the neck - this seemed to take the paint better  and was less 'squidgy'. 

Tip 4 - Sanding
A light sanding of the plastic definitely seems to help - you can tell the different when you apply it. However I didn't need to do this with the wood/metal paint or the Lifeproof brand.
Tip 5 - PVA
Again using PVA blended with normal emulsion paint will help the paint to adhere.
Tip 6 - Car Lacquer
Spraying with a cheap car lacquer seems to stop the paint from flaking even if it splits (not sure how safe for birds though).

So I painted my small milk bottle with some light brown Lifeproof emulsion. I've used a normal emulsion for the plastic bottle. So far that seems to be working ok (just luck?) but I would still suggest using the same tips as for plastic milk bottles.

I pierced two holes in the milk bottle lid, threaded string through it and then slipped the plastic roof on top.

Finally, I hotglued some twigs to make windowsills and used permanent marker (and a bit more paint) to add details.

Quite cute I think!