We Like Making Our Own Stuff

The month of April has been a cold and snowy one here in Wisconsin, but finally, here in these last days of the month, Spring has finally decided to show her warm, sunny face.  With temperatures now hitting the sixties and seventies, I have taken to the outdoors and begun cleaning out my flower gardens.  I'm pleased to see some crocus bulbs coming up, and the green returning to my thyme.

Are you looking for ways to save money?  Who isn't nowadays? Every little thing you do helps and the small things really do add up.  Which is why I have a somewhat creepy tub of soap scraps in my bathroom. I admit, it seems a little weird to save soap scraps, but it wasn't always this way.  In fact, they used to have little contraptions for saving your soap scraps. But those days are gone.  Or are they? I think frugality is making a comeback--at least, it is around here, because I save all our soap scraps.  What do I do with them? Recycled Soap Scrap Bars If you are regular users of bar soap, a family of four can easily manage to get six additional bars of soap per year by saving soap scraps.  It doesn't seem like much, so I'll write it this way instead:  in ten years, that would be 60 bars of "free" soap.  There, that seems more impressive. Ingredients: Soap scraps Water Herbs (optional) 1.  Grate or fi...

This homemade body spray recipe is both simple to make and inexpensive. All you need are four ingredients and a little time. You will want to begin by eating some oranges.  In fact, make your whole family eat an orange, because you need some peels!  The peels will go into a pot with just enough water to barely cover them.  Be careful not to use too much water, or your orange fragrance will be too dilute. Bring the water to a boil, and then immediately cover the pot with its lid and remove from heat.  Allow the pot to sit for 12 to 24 hours. When you take the lid off the next day, you will see that a lot of the liquid is gone. If you dip your finger into the liquid, you may notice that it feels somewhat oily.  That's good!  It's orange oil, extracted from your peels. To get the most oil out of your peels, you'll want to squeeze the crap out of them.  Pour the liquid and peels into a cotton tea towel or jelly bag that you ...

I do not consider myself a shallow person.  I don't Botox or spend hundreds of dollars on anti-aging serums. But when I noticed a wrinkle beginning to form on my brow, three words popped into my head:  WTF!?  I'm only 31.  A wrinkle?  Really?  I used to hear older women complain about them, and would think to myself, big deal.  It's a natural part of aging.  Get over it already.  I'd like to go back in time and smack 25 year old me in the face. Still, I do not consider things like botox or plastic surgery as being options.  They just creep me out.  Therefore, I look for alternatives--something I can do myself at home that wont cost a fortune.  And that is how I stumbled upon a very simple idea:  baking soda. Baking soda is a cheap exfoliant, which means that you can use it often without breaking the bank, and it will remove dead skin cells, revealing the beautiful, healthy skin beneath. When you use baki...

The best gifts come from the heart and are built by our own hands.  This Valentine's Day, make your gift to the special man in your life something special, something homemade.  Following are some recipes and ideas for gifts you can make yourself to brighten your guy's Valentine's Day. Just treating the man in your life to a special evening where he is "King for the Night" is gift enough for most men.  Let him have his way on Valentine's Day, and make the effort to be extra nice (even if he gets home late or leaves his underwear lying on the floor next to the hamper) and attentive--don't spend time worrying about what he got for you, or what he will do to make your day special.  Think about what you can do to make his day special.  Men are usually pretty straight forward--give them love, and you will get it in return. Start the night off with a romantic dinner made by your very own hands, complete with a yummy dessert.  After dinner, give him a f...

Infusing dried herbs and spices in oil is a great way to preserve their therapeutic and aromatic properties.  Infused oils can be used in the kitchen and will add extra flavor to your recipe.  They can also be used for medicinal purposes, for beauty, and even to clean. Before you begin making an oil infusion, you will need to decide which herbs or spices you would like to use.  Following is a list of various herbs and spices that I have infused in the past, along with a short description of what I use them for: Calendula (aka Pot Marigold) ( Calendula officinalis ):   The dried flower of this plant makes a skin-soothing infused oil that can be used for dry skin, bug bites, rashes, and a myriad of other skin irritations.  In a past blog, I describe the procedure for making a skin soothing salve out of Calendula flowers. Catnip ( Nepeta Cataria ):   Catnip infused oil can be rubbed onto the skin for a mosquito repellent.  But beware if you...

In my last post , I described how to make your own "steam distilled" rose water.  In this post, I will suggest a few ways to use your rose water now that you have made a batch.  Rose water is great for the skin, so it has a variety of uses for skin care; rose water is also useful for hair care, and even has culinary uses. Using Rose Water for Skin Care Toner My favorite use for rose water is as a skin toner.  Rose water will help to improve your skin's tone and texture.  After I cleanse my skin with a mild soap or my oatmeal cleanser , I like to follow up with rose water as a toner.  Dab a cotton ball into the rose water, and apply it to your face, using short, upward strokes; do not rinse it off.  You can also get a little more creative if you'd like, and mix the rosewater with a splash of witch hazel or vodka.  This will create a mild astringent helpful for removing any dirt your cleanser may have missed and tightening...

These days, roses are best known as an ornamental garden plant, or as a gift between lovers.  But in years past, roses were much more than a young man’s means of wooing a pretty lady.  Roses were once used for medicine, decoration, beauty products, and even food. One easy way to make use of your roses is to make rose water, using a simple distillation method.  You won’t need any special equipment to do this, and chances are you have everything you need already. Note:  Please read my upcoming blog post to find out what to use your rose water for once it’s made . Homemade Rose Water Ingredients: Handful of rose petals 3 Quarts filtered water or rain water Ice or frozen cold packs* Equipment: Large Pot with rounded lid Large Rock with a flat top or a large, heavy glass bowl* Small glass bowl Process: 1.  Thoroughly wash the rock and place it into the pot.   2.  Scatter the rose petals around the rock...

No herb is better suited for first-aid uses than the cheery, golden flowers of Calendula officinalis. Calendula is easy to grow from seed and produces an abundant amount of flowers, which can be used in the kitchen, medicine cabinet, and for beauty products.  One of my favorite preparations to make out of Calendula blooms is Calendula Salve.  This salve is wonderful for skin health, and can be used for dry skin, cuts, scrapes, burns, eczema, blisters, and rashes.  So plant some Calendula , and begin harvesting the flowers as soon as they start to bloom, cutting off a few inches of stem along with it.  Hang them in bunches to dry, and keep them in jars or paper bags.  Alternatively, if you cannot grow Calendula yourself, find someone locally who can supply it or order it online . To make Calendula Salve, you will first need to make Calendula Infused Oil.  The oil is simple to make, and you can make extra for other uses besides the salve.  The inf...

Photo Credits  Pineapples are one of the world's favorite tropical fruits, coming in second only to bananas.  This sweet, juicy fruit is high in vitamin C, which is why it was carried by sailors in the days of old to protect them from scurvy.  Pineapples made it on the Environmental Working Group's " Clean 15 " list, since they are relatively low in pesticide residue.  If you do not have access to organically grown produce, pineapples are a good alternative to many fruits that are high in pesticide residue, such as apples and strawberries. Not only are pineapples a delicious food, but the juice of this fruit is a very useful commodity to have around the house.  When using pineapple juice, it is always best to use fresh, raw pineapple juice.  Canned or bottled juices have been pasteurized, and this heating renders one of pineapple's most useful components, bromelain, inactive. To get the juice out of your fresh pineapple, you can use a blender or food ...

Yeah, I might have chicken poop on my pants and dirt in my hair from working in the garden, but I still want to have lovely, glowing skin! In the United States, women spend an average of $100 a month on beauty products.  The fact is, there are simple, just as effective products that can be made at home for a fraction of the cost.  As long as the skin is properly cared for on a daily basis, most of us need not look further than our own kitchen pantries and gardens for skin care.  Today, I would like to share three of my favorite homemade skin recipes. Daily Skin Routine Before I get into the recipes, I'd like to explain my skin care routine.  There are three important steps to keeping clear and healthy skin:  cleansing, toning, and moisturizing.  The purpose of cleansing the skin is to remove makeup and the dirt, oils, and dead skin that accumulates during the day.  After cleansing, a toner applied to the skin will remove anything t...