My sister's kids did the peanut butter pine cone one time. They dropped it before they got where they were going and their cat ate the whole thing!!! It was so funny. My sister kept her eye on the cat. I am sure it had digestion problems for a few days but it was ok.

I don't see why criso wouldn't work. The feed should stick to it pretty good. For more ideas try www.holidayspot.com.

Melted Marshmallows with Rice Crispies and the seeds.
There's also the Fluff (Marshmallow) that goes with FluffinNutters, if your from the UpperEast Coast.

Just make sure the lard isn't handled too much as it gets kinda funky. I should explain, as a kid Grandma made all her pie crust with lard and if it was a hot summer day (like they all are in Iowa) the lard starts to melt and is hard to handle.

I remeber my oldest daughter making garland of cherios to hang outside for the birds and squirrels.

How fun! We made projects like this in scouts in the past, using pinecones or day-old bagels as the base. I vaguely remember the Crisco vs lard being an issue with some. Here's a whole webpage on it!
The Great Crisco Debate" - The Suet vs. Lard vs. Shortening question

Bottom Line - experts disagree since this is only supplemental feeding and not core sustinance. But the evidence seems to weigh in on avoiding the vegetable shortning (Crisco).

You might try lard instead of Crisco. We feed suet to our birds which is a mixture of rendered beef fat combined with seeds and fruit. I think the lard might be better for them.

My son was in headstart last year, and they did that same project. They used crisco. Ours was gone in 2 days!