Make a Chicken Coop from a Garden Shed! The day I brought home the first two chicks, I went against all the advice I give to people thinking about getting chickens. We had a farm but had no chicken coop or really any plan to build one. But two chicks followed me home from work at a feed store and the future was changed forever. Not long after, twelve more chicks arrived to keep the first two chicks company. We now had fourteen baby chicks growing up in our … [Read more...]
How to Make a Christmas Stocking
Handmade Christmas Stocking Homestead Style Last year I finally made our family the Christmas stocking I always wanted them to have. Each member of the family received a new Christmas stocking that was handmade and personally styled for them. The Christmas stockings all coordinated. The Christmas stocking pattern I used was easy to follow and each one worked up quickly. With our family growing, marrying and bringing on the next generation, I was happy to have a plan … [Read more...]
5 Easy Gift Wrap Ideas
Easy Alternative Ways to Wrap Your Gifts Here we are down to the wire on the Christmas preparations. I bet most of us still need easy gift wrap ideas. If you run out of wrapping paper are you really going to want to run out to the store at this point? Have you seen any easy alternative gift wrap ideas? What if the thought of all that wrapping paper, that can't be composted or burned, piling up in your living room is too much to bear? When wrapping gifts I love to think outside the … [Read more...]
Recycled Nest Boxes – DIY Makeover
Recycled nest boxes can come from the flea market! If you spy a good sturdy box or shelf. with some DIY makeover magic it can become a recycled nest box! I make no secret of the fact that I am a flea market addict. The love for picking through the stalls set up with other people's treasures gets creative thoughts flowing. I am always on the lookout for things we can use around our farm and have found many used dog crates, rabbit hutches and other animal enclosures for just a few … [Read more...]
Self Sustaining Living -Reusing Chicken Coop Trash
Self Sustaining Living on our farm means I try to reduce the amount of waste that the farm sends to the landfill. It's not always easy and I try to think creatively in order to reduce the waste. Every week our chicken coop residents eat through two fifty pound bags of feed. Every week that is two poly bags that end up in the refuse pile waiting for trash pickup. The longer we farm, the more conscious I am of how much waste we produce. I doubt I will ever get it down … [Read more...]
