Instructions for Teapot Bird Feeders

Prepare to drill a hole on one side of the teapot that will be large enough for the birds to peck at the feed and large enough for you to replenish the bird feed, but not so large that the feed will spill out. Cover your work surface with newspaper. Place masking tape over the area that you will be drilling and draw a circle on top of the tape the size you would like the final hole to be. Mark the center of the circle with a dot.

Insert the smallest ceramic/diamond drill bit you have into the drill. Place the point of the drill bit on the dot. Begin drilling at a slow speed, approximately 100 to 200 revolutions per minute, to drill a pilot hole. Insert bits of increasingly larger diameters into the drill to gradually enlarge the hole. Continue drilling at the same speed. The website Ask the Builder recommends having cutting oil on hand to dip the drill bits into if you smell that the bits are heating up too much. If you do drip your drill bits in oil, wipe them off with a rag before resuming the drilling process.

Drill two small holes on either side of the teapot under the cover if there are not holes or a handle already.

Sand the interior edges of your drilled hole to make them smooth. Dump out any of the drilling residue that is inside the teapot onto the newspaper.

Glue a matching saucer to the bottom of the teapot that will serve as a tray to catch falling bird seed. Use a silicone sealant or other nontoxic adhesive. Glue the cover of the teapot in place. Allow the saucer and cover to dry for up to 24 hours or the time noted on the adhesive's packaging.

Glue a metal spoon using the same non-toxic adhesive so that the eating portion of the utensil is inside the drilled hole and the handle is sticking out of the hole to act as a perch. Allow this to dry.

Form a handle for your bird feeder if the teapot does not already have one. Connect wire from the two drilled holes on top of the teapot to form a handle. Place the bird seed inside the teapot and hang the feeder on a tree branch.