How to: Make a bluebird feeder

  

We had a lovely bluebird family nest near our garden last month and I was so excited to hear their little babies start to chirp for the first time a few weeks ago.  Unfortunately, the bird house was ripped down by a raccoon and the little blue birds didn't make it.  I want to encourage more blue birds to come nest here though once we get a proper house up so we decided to make a blue bird feeder.  Here's how we did it.

Materials:

4 1"x1" pieces of wood that are 7" long

1 8"x8" piece of plywood

2 pieces of wire 25" each

1 piece of wire 15" long

4 eye hooks

Hammer

8 Small nails

Directions:

Arrange your 4 1"x1" pieces of wood on the edges of your plywood and using a hammer and nails, attach the two together from the bottom like so:

Next, add the 4 eye hooks to the corners of the feeder:

Bending your 25" pieces of wire in half, twist them on the eye hooks in opposite corners, crisscrossing them at the top center:

Lastly, with your 15" piece wire fold this in half through the top center of the other wires and twist it together.  This will make a hook so you can hang your new feeder:

I filled our new platform feeder with blue bird suet balls which I found at our local Tractor Supply Store and dried meal worms which I found at Lowes.  So far it has attracted bluebirds and cardinals!

How to: Make a Niddy Noddy

Since getting my new spinning wheel I've wanted to make a niddy noddy.  You can pick up a niddy noddy up for around $20.00 but I thought if you can make one for less why not.  This is a very basic niddy noddy that Lewie helped me make.

Materials:

Large 1/2" wooden dowel
Hand saw or table saw
Two wood screws
Drill

Directions:

1. Cut your wooden dowel into three pieces: two 12" pieces and one 17" piece

2. Using your screws and drill, attach the 12" pieces to the ends of the 17" piece in opposite directions.
3. That's it!  You can then sand down the edges if you need to and or stain it.

Because the dowel is 1/2" in width the whole niddy noddy will measure 18" which is half a yard so one time around with yarn will measure 1 yard.

Now that I have a niddy noddy I can make skeins with the yarn I've been spinning.  I put the first batch on and measured it last week:  about 66 yards total.  I need over 300 yards for the pattern I want to knit!  I better get spinning!

How to: Make an Easter Tree

Growing up, we always had an Easter tree around Easter which consisted of decorated chicken eggs.  I wanted to continue this tradition in our house.  We are bless with about 4-6 eggs a day from our chickens.  Lewie sells some at work, but I've been saving some of the neat ones for the past few months for our Easter tree.  I didn't want to decorate them or paint them in any way because some of them are so pretty just as is.  Each one is different.  Some are white with brown speckles, some are brown with white speckles, others short and some tall.

To make our egg tree I simply made a hole in each end of a raw egg then blew out the egg by blowing through one hole.  We cooked with the egg I blew out then I rinsed the empty egg and saved it until I had enough to add ribbons.  To make the ribbon attachment I cut several strands of ribbon and taped the two ends to a toothpick I cut in half.  Then I rolled part of the ribbon and tape around the toothpick and put it in the top hole of the egg.  Once the toothpick is inside the egg I let the toothpick slide up the egg until it stuck.  When done right the ribbon flows out of the top of the egg making a perfect hanger.  I gather some branches from our woods and used a mason jar with glass beads to make the tree.

Our Easter tree is a simple reminder of spring and how thankful I am of our chickens.

How to: Make your own chicken stock

One of my favorite things to make is homemade chicken stock.  Homemade chicken stock is better for you then store bought (less sodium), often in my opinion tastes better, is cheaper than store bought and it makes use of kitchen scraps.  This is how I make our chicken stock:

• First, throughout the month while cooking, save any left over kitchen scraps that would otherwise be thrown out or composted, i.e. left over chicken bones, whole chicken carcasses, ends of carrots, ends of celery, ends of onions.  Freeze these until ready for use.
• When you have enough scraps (at least one left over 'whole' chicken, several carrots, celery and onion) take them out of the freezer and add to a large stockpot.
• Add enough water to cover your veggies and bones.  
• Add salt and or pepper, and any kind of seasoning that you desire such as poultry seasoning or thyme and rosemary.
• Bring to a boil and then reduce to a simmer.  Allow this to cook for at least 4 hours.  Add more water if necessary to keep your veggies and meat just under water.  The longer you cook it the better it will be.  
• Taste and add more seasoning throughout cooking it to your desired taste.
• When done, let cool.  
• Remove veggies and meat.   
• Using a fine sieve, pour stock into freezer containers.
• Label and freeze.

  The best 'chicken' stock I've ever made was from our Thanksgiving turkey this year.  It was wonderful and I made turkey noodle soup with it.  I always try to keep some stock in the freezer because it's great in soups, pastas, and other homemade dishes.

How to: Make reusable Christmas wrapping paper

This size is perfect for gift cards and closes with a button

My mom started this when I was growing up: making reusable Christmas bags for presents.  It is the eco-friendly way to celebrate Christmas gift exchanges, it is economical in the long run, and it involves being crafty which is always a plus.  You don't have to buy Christmas wrapping paper, then mess with cutting and taping or the time to wrap them.  Simply make a few bags throughout each month and by next Christmas you'll have enough bags for the whole family that will last you forever.  This is a great time of year to get holiday fabrics to stock up on material too.

My mom made super fancy ones with wonderful sewn on edges and drawstrings:

My mom's super fancy reusable bags

I'm not as crafty however so mine have tended to be more simple like just two pieces of fabric sewn together on the sides and bottom with the top being the selvage edge (that way you don't have to finish it), tied together with a pretty string:

 I did make a few that are simply large pockets.  Cut the fabric in a large rectangle.  Fold the bottom of the rectangle 2/3 the way up.  Sew the sides.  Fold over the top and add Velcro or a button to close.  With these I was able to experiment with a few decorative stitches that I never get to use like my mountain stitch which looks like mountains with snow on top - prefect for Christmas!

Mountain stitch!

How to: Build a three bin compost system

I was pretty determined to build a composting system before the new year.  We need it because we're working on our first garden right now and compost will help the soil in the years to come.  Also we have chickens now and composting their manure is a really good way to clean our their pen.  I saw a three bin composting system in a magazine with directions on how to build one.  This required a trip to the hardware store in which I learned it would cost nearly $250.00 to build it.  I decided it wasn't worth it and took Lewie's advice on how to build it out of recycled materials and this past weekend we built one that was almost FREE.  We like free and we like recycling. 

Supplies:

7 wood pallets

Heavy gage wire

Wire cuters

Hardware clothe

Staples / staple gun

Directions:

First, you have to get seven wood pallets.  We got them for free and all we had to do was ask.  Almost every store has skids lying around somewhere.  We got ours from home improvement stores.  Just ask the manager, they are usually willing to give you a few.  If they are beat up or missing planks, that's fine because the second you start using it it will start rotting.  It doesn't have to be perfect.

Stand your pallets up so that you have two that meet and form a corner.  Using your wire, wire these together.  We did one wire at the top and one wire at the bottom.  It may seem unsteady at first but pallets are heavy and when the whole thing it put together it's not going anywhere.

Next, you'll use two pieces: one pallet to continue down the row and another in the middle of those two to form the next wall on your first compartment.  Again, put them together with wire.  It should look like this:

Continue to build it in this way completing two more sections using a total of seven pallets.  Then start stapling your hardware clothe.  I used 1/4" hardware clothe and was able to buy it in a big roll at a home improvement store.  This will be the most expensive thing you buy for the compost bin but it's worth it to keep all your precious compost from spilling out everywhere.  Starting on the inside of one bin wrap your hardware clothe all the way around the bin on the inside only.  Staple it in place.  Continue to do this in every section.

Your three bin compost system should look like this when it's done:

This video is great if you want more information on how to use the three bin system.  We may end up adding doors in the future on the front so we got a few more pallets then needed just in case.  It's so nice to have a place to put our kitchen scraps now and it was fun to make.  It also turned out to be a family event because we had no less then two cats climbing trees around us for a better vantage point to our construction:

How to: Build a diamond shaped wine rack

With Thanksgiving coming up, we recently stocked up on wine and ended up with no where to put it.  So, I started researching wine racks.  I wanted something small, something that went with the feel of our house and something easy on the wallet.  All the wine racks I found where either too small, made in China, or way over our budget.  This lead me to try and make our own.  I found a great website tutorial on HomeBrew on how to make a diamond shaped rack and I fell in love with it.  It reminds me of an old wine cellar and looks so natural in our house.  It was made by us, it cost us nothing (because we used what we had here) and it holds just the right amount of wine.  Here's how we did it:

Supplies:

14' of 1" x 10" - we used old barn wood that was on the property
Miter saw or hand saw
Chisel
8 screws
Drill, for pre-drilled holes
Screwdriver
Square

Instructions:

We were lucky enough to have old barn wood on the property that was just over 14' in length, but if you don't, you can just use pine or oak or whatever they have at your local lumber yard.  Either way, you'll have to start by cutting four 2' pieces like so:

Next you'll want to pre-drill holes for your screws. I drilled two holes on one end 2" from each side. Then, on the next board drill two holes on top of the board, again 2" from each side. This will allow your boards to fit together using your screws. I used screws we had in the barn already - 1 1/2" drywall screws.  Screwing all your boards together will make the square of your wine rack.

After your square is complete, you'll need to measure the inside diagonals.  They should be about 32".  Ours were a little different because the wood we used was old and parts of it were warped.  Measure yours just to be sure.  When you have your measurements, cut two more pieces out of your remaining wood the size of your diagonals.  Laying your square rack on the floor, slide your diagonal pieces in and using a straightedge or square mark where the boards meet in the middle.  Where the boards meet you'll need to take out the thickness of one board.  Only take out this amount half of the width of each board.  This will create a slot in each board halfway through that will allow your boards to fit together.  You may need a chisel to get the last bit out.

Slide your inside pieces together and then put them in your wooden square and you should now have a diamond shaped wine rack that holds about 45-50 bottles of wine!

How to: Make Thanksgiving patch napkins

I was inspired by The Purl Bee to make these quilted patch Thanksgiving napkins.  They will be a nice touch to our organic and farm fresh feast.  I used my Ash Tree Organics napkins and some leftover scraps from a quilt that I made a few years ago. They aren't perfect, but sort of folksy and I'm glad we won't be using paper napkins that we'll just throw away this Thanksgiving.  I'd love to make the table runner that matches it, but I don't know if I'll have time. Maybe the table runner will be next years project!

Supplies:

Napkins (either bought or make your own)
Sissors
Sewing machine (or by hand)
Scrap fabric
Thread
Fusible interfacing


Instructions:

First, I cut the patch pieces out of scrap fabric.  For mine, I made 2 1/2" triangles.  Then I sewed two triangles together to make a square.  Press the seem open on the back like this:

After you have pressed all your seems on your patches, trim off the overhang.  Next, cut squares the same size as your patches out of fusible interfacing.

Aline your patch and interfacing so that the front of the patch and the fusible side of your interfacing face toward each other (see photo above on right).  Sew around your patch now, leaving a small gap on one side.  Turn your patch inside out, making sure to push out the corners.  Your patch should now look like this:

Next, iron your patch onto your napkins as directed on the interfacing packaging.  Let cool.  Then, sew your patch on in whatever quilt pattern you desire.  I just sewed around the patch and then down the center, 'in the ditch'.



Tis' the season for holiday crafts!

How to: Make a magnetic spice rack

Spices are pretty neat.  They make boring bland dishes, great yummy ones.  Egyptians used to bury their dead with precious spices and cinnamon was once considered as valuable as gold in Rome.  With this is mind, spices don't belong behind a closed pantry door, they belong in the kitchen in plain site ready to use!  At least, this was my excuse for creating my magnetic spice rack.  It's been a few years in the making, slowly collecting the magnetic containers and finding the perfect magnetic board to hold them on, but now it has a permanent place in our new house so I thought I'd share how I did it.  

First, I got the magnetic board at Ikea.  Second, I've been getting the spice containers that are also magnetic at World Market.  They are different from the office ones because they have twist holes on the sides so you don't have to open it to get spices out, you can just shake it, or pour if you use the larger opening.  

Thirdly, I made labels for them using Avery Print Or Write Permanent Filing Labels in size 5202.  The font I used was Claritty which I just think is so pretty.  I have attached a template here.

After printing on the labels, I had to cut them down on the side to fit in the clear top.  I peeled them off and stuck them on after they were the right size.  It is easier to apply them if you pop the clear top out of the lid.   

When the label was on, I popped the clear top back in the lid and filled up my containers.  

And there you go, a nice convenient spice rack in arms reach to the stove. 

How to: Repaint an old wheel barrel

This old wheel barrel came with our house.  It was in a sad state when we arrived.  It was left to rust behind the barn.  So, with gardening on my mind, I decided it needed saved.  I started by taking the whole thing apart and hosing everything down.

 

 

After it dried I used a wire brush and gave it a good scrub.  I tried to remove all the old paint and the rust, making a nice smooth finish.  Then I washed it again and let it dry.

The next day I started to paint.  I picked Rust-Oleum Gloss Protective Enamel spray paint in a nice blue.  The only hard part was the wheel which I had to tape out as not to get the entire wheel covered in paint.  I let everything dry and applied a second coat the next day.

Here is the finished product.  After two coats of rust stopping spray paint and then putting it back together the wheel barrel is ready to go.  I mainly did all this to stop the rust from eating it away, but I have to admit I think it looks really nice.  You can't beat a wheel barrel makeover for under $5 because new ones are pretty pricey!  I know that it will get good use because we have already started planning out our garden and talked about building a compost pile - now it's ready to do the job!