Beeswax is a popular product. It is used in balms, lotions, soaps, as well as candles. Even if you are not a beekeeper, it is easy to come by. Major craft store chains carry it year-round as well as it being readily available online from suppliers. But once you get a block of beeswax, do […]
Homestead How-Tos
How to Safely Dispose of Fireplace Ash
A wood burning fireplace (or wood burning stove for that matter) is a wonderful item to enjoy during the fall and winter months. The snap and crackle of burning wood. The orange glow through the fireplace glass. The warmth that permeates the room. A wood fire feels homey and comforting. Yet as fires are built […]
DIY Eggshell Candles
There is something about special events that bring out the DIY’er in me. It doesn’t matter if it is birthdays, anniversaries, or holidays… the stash of materials come out of the drawers and closets while the dining room table is turned into a workstation. But it gets even better. Since I have a flock of […]
Beyond Castile: A Soothing Soap
As a soap maker, I regularly create bar soap. In the basement I have a collection of oils, butters, containers, and tools for making soap. But lately, I have been in a rut and found myself making batch after batch of castile soap. Now there is nothing wrong with castile soap (in fact, I am […]
Chocolate Scented Lip Balm
As someone who grew up in a household that used a name brand, commercially produced lip balm, I vowed to make my own some day. The store-bought brand left me yearning for something better. The store brand? You know the one. Plastic tube. Came in plain and later in cherry scented varieties. It left your […]
20 Homestead Activities to Share with Young Children
People around the country are returning to their roots. They are becoming modern homesteaders and joining the legion of others who want to cook meals from scratch, garden organically, raise backyard chickens, and learn the art of preserving. But much as we are returning to our roots, what about the next generation? Are we encouraging […]