Vintage Snack Set Bird Feeder

I run across these vintage glass snack sets at the thrift stores. All. The. Time.

The day I picked this one up, I had at least 40 to choose from. It was a regular glass-a-palooza.

They were made by Hazel Atlas, Federal Glass, Anchor Hocking and probably every other glass type company back in the day. Every self respecting mid-century hostess had her glass snack set and a glass punch bowl in her party planning arsenal.

(Whoa Nelly, little Miss Bluebird is either the cutest bluebird or the tackiest. Depending on what side of the kitsch perch you sit on).
I decided I wanted to repurpose my snack set into a snack set for the birds. Real birds, not china ones with sparkly eyes.

A place where a bird could sit and relax, have a little nosh and chat with a few friends. Doing so, all the while, in the lap of 1950's luxury.

Nothing but the best for my House Of Hawthornes bird friends.

Supplies:

• Vintage glass snack set
• Piece of 1/2" wide copper pipe - mine was roughly 3 1/2 feet long
• A 1/2" copper adapter
• Waterproof epoxy or glass glue
• Tomato stake or similar stake to pound into the ground (has to be thin enough to fit inside the copper pipe)

Depending on where you buy the pipe, it may come in the correct length already. If not, have the ever helpful plumbing department specialist (who worked at Taco Bell last week) cut the pipe to length for you. I wanted mine to sit just over my peony bushes, so 3 1/2 foot worked for me.

Wash and thoroughly dry glass tray and cup.

Apply glue to the rim of the larger part of the copper adapter and adhere to the bottom of the tray. Let dry thoroughly.

The adapter I used is called a 1/2" Copper C X FPT Adapter and you can see what it looks like up close on the Home Depot site HERE. It's a plumbing supply. No, I have no idea what the C, X or FPT means, nor do I want to.

Note: I used LocTite Glass Glue to adhere the cup to the saucer and then J-B Weld to adhere the copper adapter to the bottom of the plate.

I wasn't planning on using two different glues, but the LocTite was just was not adhering to the pipe as well as I wanted and I didn't want the whole thing to come crashing down onto the ground when one of those fat robins sat on it.

You could also use E6000 glue or the Dap Clear Silicone Rubber Sealant For Doors and Windows that I used in my Penny Bowling Ball Garden Art.

Am I the only one who has fourteen different types of glue hanging around?

Apply glue to the bottom ring of the cup and adhere it to the designated cup area of the tray (the trays have indented areas to keep your beverages away from your cucumber sandwiches). Let dry thoroughly.

If you like, you can drill a small hole in the bottom of the cup so excess water can drain from the seed cup. You will need a Glass And Tile Bit Set for this. Totally optional as you can just as easily change out the birdseed if it gets too wet.

Fill the cup with seeds.

Pound stake firmly into the ground and slide copper pipe over the stake.

Slide your snack plate with copper adapter over the top of the pipe.

I also added water to the tray area, so they could have a little sip or swim while they were there.

Then sit back and watch your birds have a fancier lunch that you are having.

And for all you bird lovers out there, I just used the flowers to pretty up the photos. Totally not necessary.

Your birds won't hate you if you leave out the flowers.

Haven't had enough glass snackware or bird feeding shenanigans?

Sherry at Back 2 Vintage collects vintage snack sets, so you can check out some different styles.

And recently Dawn at We Call It Junkin showed how she uses her vintage snack sets for everyday food. No paper plates at her house!

Yvonne at StoneGable has a nice tutorial on making similar feeders with china cups and saucers too. I actually found the idea to use copper pipe from her tutorial, because I had been planning on using cast iron pipe. Copper is so much cheaper and easier to have cut.

OK, get off the computer and feed those birds!

Linking with Wow Us Wednesday, Be Inspired, Party Junk

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