How to Make a Homemade Snow Globe

Make a DIY Chicken-Themed Snow Globe to Celebrate Your Flock

Handmade snow globes are popular these days for good reason. They are one of the most rustic and versatile crafts you can make. Both adults and kids love them. They can be themed any way you like. And you can make them with or without water.

If you're going to make snow globes, it's a good idea to look for your ingredients early on because they can get hard to find the closer you get to the big day. Items like glitter, faux snow and miniature figurines sell out. On the other hand, the closer you get to Christmas, the more discounted some of your items will be at the craft store. Shop early for the basic items and those you can't live without. And shop often because you never know where you'll find a fabulous DIY snow globe item.

DIY Snow Globes With Water

Here's what you'll need to get started:

• Glass jar with lid
• Plastic figurines to make a scene inside the jar
• Distilled water
• Glycerin
• Fine glitter of any color you'd like
• Epoxy glue (waterproof) 

First things first, you'll need to pick out your jar. Any empty jar with a lid will do, from baby food jars to pickle jars and mason jars. The jar you pick out will dictate the figurines you choose since they will have to fit on the inside of your lid. That's why it's nice to have a little more lid space by using a wide-mouthed jar. 

For me, chickens are always front and center. Heading to the craft store a little later in the season, I was able to find some chicken-themed figurines to make my snow globe last through the winter. I found a large white rooster, a set with a rooster and hen plus a chicken-themed weather vane. I rounded my vignette off with a green evergreen tree.  

Quick Tip: For evergreen figurines, wash off excess green by placing your trees in a jar of water and shaking it. Do this several times, replacing the water each time, until the water remains clear after shaking. 

Once you're all set with a jar and figurines, it's easy to put everything together. Glue the figurines to the inside of your jar lid. Follow the instructions on your glue and make sure that it's completely dry before moving forward. 

Add as much glitter as you'd like to your empty glass jar. Then fill the jar with distilled water, making sure to leave a little room since the water will displace once you add your figurines.  Add just a drop or two of glycerin to the water. This will ensure your glitter falls evenly when the snow globe is shaken. 

Quick Tip: You can practice making the water/glitter/glycerin combination before putting it in your final jar. 

One your water is set and your vignette is completely dry, go ahead and place your lid on the jar. For the moment, your figurines will be upside down. If you're using a mason jar, make sure you add the rim and tighten it well. 

Quick Tip: You can adjust the water level in your jar as needed by reopening the jar and adding small amounts. 

Once you're satisfied with your water level and the lid has been tightened, turn your jar upside down with the lid on the bottom. Your snow globe vignette will be right-side-up and you can shake the jar to create a snowy scene.

DIY Snow Globes Without Water

For storing and long-term keeping, sometimes it's easiest not to deal with a jar full of water. That's where dry snow globes come in handy.

No, you don't get to see suspended snowflakes gently fall over your winter vignette, but you also don't have to worry about your items degrading in water and you can easily make changes inside the scene if the fancy strikes.

Here's what you'll need to get started:

• Glass jar with lid
• Plastic figurines to make a scene inside the jar
• Faux snow
• Glue 

Layout your figurines on the inside portion of your jar lid so you know where everything will eventually go. You may want to vary heights to allow more snow and easier viewing. I used old wine corks to add height and made sure to add enough snow to cover the corks.

Glue everything in place and allow to dry. Add faux snow into your jar.

*If you find everything doesn't fit on your lid, you can stand your jar upright with the opening pointing up. Then you can affix your figurines inside the bottom of the jar.

Insert your lid onto your jar so the figures are hanging upside down. Gently tighten the lid, then turn the jar upside down so it's sitting on its lid.

You'll have a dry snow globe and a snowy winter scene. You can open the jar and adjust your snow amount as needed.

That's it! It couldn't be easier to make a homemade snow globe with or without water.

With a small amount of crafting skill and lots of creativity, you can make your own unique snow globes. Consider Christmas themes or winter themes so your globes can be displayed throughout the cold months.

Enjoy your DIY snow globes!

Molting Chickens Explained

It's Ok if Chickens Molt Late in the Season

Molting is a natural process that chickens go through at different times in their lives. A chicken's first molts take place as it grows from a baby chick to an adult. Because they're babies, we tend to think of this as a process of growing up, and it is, but it's technically molting.

As adult chickens, molting takes place in late summer and fall when birds replace old feathers with new plumage. 

If you observe your birds toward the end of summer, their feathers are starting to look a little ragged. Some may be broken or missing bits and pieces. This is normal. your chickens are outside in the elements each day and hard at work scratching and pecking for food. Feathers get a little worn out after all this activity!

Molt timing is critical because feathers equal warmth. As birds enter the cold, winter months with feathers that are new and in nice shape, they are best prepared to stay warm.

Easy DIY Thanksgiving Decorations

Thanksgiving decorations don't have to be hard to make or require tons of craft supplies. For easy DIY Thanksgiving decorations, look no farther than your pantry. No need to stress over decor!

Depending on the glass piece you use, this can be a beautiful decoration for a living room table or a fireplace mantle. You can also use it for a centerpiece for your Thanksgiving spread. Maybe make a few and line them in the middle of your table as a decorative accent with candlelight to boot.

Keeping Potted Rosemary Healthy All Year

In the language of herbs, the rosemary plant is known for remembrance. And if you’ve ever smelled the fresh piney scent of rosemary, it’s not likely something you’ll forget. Most herb gardeners grow this must-have plant in their gardens during the spring, summer and early fall. But what do you do with a healthy rosemary plant over the winter if you live in the north? 

Growing rosemary in a northern garden isn’t like growing other perennial herbs, such as thyme and parsley, that can be overwintered and will come back in spring. In the United States, rosemary is grown as a perennial in warmer climes (zones 6 to 10). In fact, rosemary hedges grace the walkways of Charleston, South Carolina and many other Southern cities, year round. But in the north, the rosemary plant is either treated as an annual or moved indoors into containers before the first frost.

Rosemary is an evergreen perennial herb that’s a member of the mint family and is native to the Mediterranean. If you’re like me, you like to use rosemary all year for cooking and crafting. Plus, it makes great hostess and teacher gifts. Rosemary graces the garden centers during the holidays shaped like a Christmas tree.

DIY Spooky Halloween Bottles

Yes, Halloween's about costumes and candy, but you've got to dress up more than yourself. Raid your recycling bin and make these adorable, spooky bottles to dress up your house. They're easy to make and they'll last forever. 

I originally got this idea when my mom gave me an article from her Woman’s Day magazine about wine bottle spirits. It was such a cute idea that I jumped at the chance to make this craft. I think these spooky Halloween bottles make unique decorations and provide the perfect excuse to enjoy an adult beverage; not a bonus you get with many crafts. You can actually make them with any bottles you've got on hand. The round pumpkin pictured in the instructions is an old pickle jar. But beware; if you want to make lots of these, you’ll probably have to ask friends and family for their extra bottles.

7 Tips for Successfully Buying Chicks From the Feed Store

Make Sure You're Prepared Before You Get to the Feed Store

For a few months each spring, when you walk into your local feed store, you're greeted to the chorus of tiny chicken chirps as the annual chick season tempts so many shoppers. If you're not sure of where to buy baby chicks, this is a great place to pick up your first flock members or add to your existing flock of backyard chickens. It's local. It's immediate. And it's fun.

Here are some tips to make the process easier on you and your new flock members.

How to Make Marbled & Tie-Dyed Easter Eggs

Why make Easter decorating hard on yourself or expensive? You can make marbled eggs and tie-dyed eggs with everyday ingredients from your pantry including food coloring. These techniques produce beautiful eggs that look like they came from a fancy egg dyeing kit. Both you and your kids are sure to love them!

If you have backyard chickens, you may have white egg laying chickens. I have a Brown Leghorn and I hoard her eggs before Easter. If you have chickens that lay brown eggs or colored eggs, this is good too. When I first started dyeing my backyard eggs, I worried the brown and colored eggs wouldn't work well. That's a myth! Those eggs produce a deeper and richer tone than white eggs. Just use some common sense, a brown egg is not going to dye well with a pink color, but it will take a stronger color like red.

Marbled Egg Ingredients

• Food Coloring
• Vinegar
• Vegetable Oil
• Water

For this, you can start out with a plain hard boiled egg or an egg already dyed in one color. To get the swirls, add food coloring, vinegar, and vegetable oil to warm water. Swirl the mixture and then quickly drop your egg into the mixture. Quickly pull the egg back out of the mixture. You'll see beautiful swirls of color.

Marbled Eggs