Squirrel Tea Party Time!

What happens when you have two adorable squirrels that live in your backyard who visit the little “Dora's Cafe” that you made just for them to feed them nuts and seeds every day and then suddenly, you have a Mayku FormBox vacuum former in your hands? Why, you make them special walnut-shaped seed cakes and throw them a squirrel tea party of course!

Meet Bill (black squirrel) and Ted (Grey and white squirrel). They started visiting my back porch shortly after I moved into my apartment back in October of 2021 and were coming up to the glass and actually appearing to…knock.

I caved to the “cute overload” and found myself investing way more money in nuts than I ever thought possible to hand out to them every day including freshly roasted walnuts in the shell.

I discovered an old Dora the Explorer dollhouse at the thrift store and brought it home and set up the only “Dora's Cafe” on the block, and after a few weeks of tossing expensive nuts into dishes for them, realized that I had an opportunity to do something super special for my favorite little buddies that would also save me a whole lot of money!

I realized that with the Mayku FormBox vacuum former, I could make little birdseed and nut treats for them, in the shape of walnuts! This would make my expensive nuts last longer and go further and well…it just seemed like fun!

Head to our Youtube channel or click on the video below to watch their fun little tea time story! Read on to see how I made the treats on the Mayku and learn a little bit more about the guests at the squirrel tea party!

Tea Party Fun with Bill and Ted!

Bill was the first to approach the squirrel tea party table. He wasn't too sure about the random stranger who dropped by and decided he would really prefer eating the treat placed in front of the stranger as he didn't trust that the one in front of him wasn't poisoned.

All in all, he seemed quite satisfied with the new menu choices at the cafe. After he and the stranger had an icebreaker conversation about how spring was coming and they were looking forward to getting off online dating apps and meeting all the “Single Lady Squirrels” in “real life,” Bill seemed much more at ease and finally ate his own treat.

Ted on the other hand, wanted nothing to do with sharing a table with a stranger so he refused to taste anything at all until the stranger left to go meet up with a Tinder date.

He much prefers to sit and savor his treats and enjoy every bite so that he can leave reviews later and give an honest opinion.

Make sure to watch the video above to find out what he thought of this new menu item!

Bonnie and Clyde (2 Stellar Blue Jays) and Moe (a sweet baby deer that lives in the backyard), both stopped by to check out the party too. Moe was not impressed with the new menu options and snubbed her nose at it before leaving without even saying hello.

Bonnie and Clyde flew in from down the street and had left their wallets at their last Airbnb so they did a good old dine and dash and each took a treat to go.

Everyone but Moe seemed to enjoy the party.

Squirrel Tea Party Treat Mold Making with the Mayku FormBox

I was really excited to use my Mayku FormBox vacuum former to create these special tea party treats for my little friends and couldn't wait to put them out for them.

I used the Mayku clear sheets to create my molds after I shelled the walnuts and used each half to create the molds.

I made 6 per sheet and I made 2 sheets worth of molds for this project which took mere minutes and cost less than $2 to make. I have re-used my molds numerous times since the original tea party, as my backyard friends seemed to like them and have come to expect them every day now!

Making the Seed Cakes with the Walnut Shaped Mold

The seed and nut cakes themselves were also really simple. I knew I wanted to use all-natural ingredients as much as possible to keep my furry and feathered friends healthy but also give them a little taste of something they don't normally get.

I took a good-sized scoop of coconut oil and melted it down until it was liquified and then mixed it with a big glob of natural peanut butter, which smelled delicious by the way!

Once I had my coconut oil and peanut butter base ready, I chopped up some hazelnuts, walnuts, pecans, and almonds and mixed those in as well as some birdseed.

The coconut oil was used to solidify the peanut butter and hold everything together so it wasn't as sticky and would stay in a solid-state after I put them into the refrigerator to set overnight.

The next morning, I removed the little treats from the mold. They popped right out with no trouble, as the Mayku clear sheets are not only food safe but also non-stick.

Then I set up the tea party and waited for my friends to arrive!

This was my absolute favorite project I have done with my Mayku besides the fly fishing mobile I made in honor of my grandpa who passed away last year. Having fun with my animal friends over the past few months has been nothing short of awesome!

If you are interested in learning more about vacuum formers, laser cutters or 3D printers, please visit our shop at shop3duniverse.com!

Behind the Scenes!

I had an awful lot of fun making this video with Bill and Ted and was not expecting to get the extra visitors that showed up to crash the party, nor was I prepared for how many times Bill and Ted would get curious and go sniff out the camera set up.

On more than one occasion, they both paused or stopped the video with their little noses or hands while trying to figure out what was out there with them. I snapped these cute photos of these two little critters that I used in the video for part of the little story I created for this project.

I also learned that you need to check for squirrel nose prints on the camera lens before resuming filming!

If you are interested in checking out their Facebook page, you can find that here at “Adventures of Bill and Ted!“