I think deep down, everyone wants a secret fairy garden.

Hydrangea and poppies and roses and jasmine. Mischievous gnomes hiding in the brush. A cypress tree for mystery and a weeping willow for majesty. And all of it lit by dim, string lights. Butterflies during the day and fireflies at night. Hummingbirds and finches and (if you live in Southern California) wild parrots.

Magical, no? And I want you to have it all! But first things first on the fairy garden to-do list… You must acquire the affections of the birds. And how do you capture anything’s heart? Food! So here, I’m going to show you how to make a simple, colorful bird feeder by repurposing an old soda can!

 What you’ll need:

Empty Wave Soda can
Scissors
Pliers
Hot glue gun
Twine or leather string
Scrap fabric
Bird feed

How you'll make it:

First, take your empty soda can and cut a straight line through the top of the can.

Next, use pliers to pull the aluminium off one side, leaving half of it in place.

Do the same on the other side. 

You’ll notice there are some jagged edges from the pliers. You don’t want any gore in your fairy garden, so cover it up with some fabric!

First, trace the outline of the top of the can twice on a piece of fabric. Cut those out, along with two little strips.

Use your hot glue gun to cover the metal edges.

Then you’re going to take your string and put it through both sides, tying a knot at the top so the can lies flat.

(Optional: if you’d like, cut some extra strips of fabric and tie them to your string for a little extra pizzazz.)

Fill’er up with bird seed!

All you have left to do is find the perfect place to hang it and watch your enchanted fairy garden begin to fill with magical creatures!