Hallelujah Tree

A few years ago, my daughter and I decided to decorate one of our cedar trees for the birds.

We called it our Hallelujah tree.

The Hallelujah tree has now grown tall and spindly and will no longer work for a bird tree.

This year, we decided to decorate a new tree that I had planted a few years ago outside of my kitchen window.  

It was the perfect size for a Bird Tree.

If nothing else, it made for some great pictures.

Our decorations came from leftover Christmas foods.

We cut out circles from stale bread, spread on egg whites, then sprinkled on bird seed.  

A hole was made in the top of the bread with a straw, and then the bread treats were baked in a 200 degree oven for about 30 minutes.  

The next day, we added string for hanging.

 We sliced a few oranges that were beginning to go bad and baked these on a cookie rack in the oven for about 3 hours at 200 degrees.  

I was just as happy with the oranges that we did not bake, but simply sliced and threaded on a string.

We made several stringers with leftover store bought popcorn, oranges, cranberries, and dried fruit from a trail mix.

These were easily strung with a large needle and some heavy red thread.

The decorations that were probably the most fun to make were the bird seed creations.  We mixed 2 packages unflavored gelatin with 1 cup hot water.  Then, we added 6 tablespoons light corn syrup and 1 1/2 cups plain flour. 

 Last we added 8 cups of bird seed.  

This gooey concoction was put in cookie cutters and muffin tins to create shapes to hang on the tree.  

We used a straw to add a hole to the top of the cookie cutter ornaments.  

The muffin time ornaments, we placed a sting in the middle of the goo and let them dry with the string inside.  These just needed to 

dry overnight.

 I love that I can see this tree from my kitchen window. Now, we are just waiting for the birds to come and enjoy!