DIY 3 Ingredient Lotion Bars

Hi all! We've had a fierce little winter here in southern Ohio, and lots of cold, dry air with it. That means lots of chapped skin and eczema flare ups in my family. My mom and I have been making these lotion bars for about 2 years now to help out with the skin irritation. These things are amazing for eczema, chapped lips, dry or rough skin (elbows, hands, knees, feet), as well as a daily chapstick or moisturizer. They are amazingly soft and smooth on your skin, are all natural, non-toxic, and they smell wonderful.

Here's how we do it:
*   beeswax
*   grapeseed oil   
*   coconut oil
Equal parts of all three ingredients. It doesn't have to be exact, just close enough.

1. In a double boiler, melt beeswax on medium until it completely liquefies.

2. Add the coconut oil,  and melt until completely liquefied.

3. Add the grapeseed oil, and melt until all ingredients are completely liquefied. 

4. Spoon into silicone molds with a ladle and allow to cool completely at room temperature until set.

5. Pop out of the molds and relish the silky softness. Store in an air tight container in a cool, dry place.

6. To use, simply rub a bar on a troublesome rough spot.

Some tips and thoughts:

* Do not use these if you are allergic to bees or honey, and be careful with using them on babies unless you know they're not allergic.

* I don't have a double boiler. I just use a metal dog food bowl that is big enough to fit over a kettle. Not fancy. At all.

* These are awesome! They do not leave an oily residue on your skin, and  they're completely non-toxic and pet and baby safe if consumed.  

* I've only ever used silicone candy molds. I suppose these could be poured into anything as long as you covered it with plastic wrap or something. I love the silicone, because the lotion bars just pop right out and they are in cute little shapes.
* Save casted off chips and spilled pieces. These can be re-melted and reused.

* These make great gifts or party favors.

* These are awesome for eczema, bug bites, burns, etc.

If you have any questions, feel free to ask! Thanks for reading.

Old Fashioned Popcorn Garland

Hi all! Christmas is already upon us! It doesn't even seem possible. At any rate, I decided to make some old fashioned popcorn garland for our lovely tree. Here's how I did it:

Materials:
•   bulk white popcorn
•   dental floss
•   whole fresh cranberries (optional)
•   needle

1. Cook your popcorn. I chose white because of its nice bright color. I cooked about a whole cup which was 3 batches.
2. Allow the popcorn to cool completely in an airy spot. Pick a spot where it won't be disturbed. It will need to stay there for 8-24 hours to "stale up". Stale popcorn threads easier. I poured mine out on wax paper on the table.
3. Dry your cranberries.
4. Cut 9 foot lengths of dental floss to work with. My tree is pretty large, so it look about 7 strands.
5. Tie a knot (I do a cluster of knots) on one end of the floss. Thread the opposite end onto the needle. Be sure to leave tails on both ends for tying the stands together.
6. Pick a nice comfy spot on the couch, and find a good movie to watch. Older kids can help with this project if you trust them with a needle. Begin stringing your popcorn and cranberries. I strung in a pattern of 10 popcorn, 3 cranberries.
7. Once you are finished filling up the strand, tie some knots at the end. Go ahead and put the strand on the tree to see how much you'll need. As you progress, tie the strands together to make one large strand. 

It will be a bit delicate at first. The cranberries look like pretty little red beads. Enjoy your garland!

Thanks for reading!

My DIY Fodder System Set-Up

Hi all! In my last post, What The Fudge Is Fodder?, I talked about what fodder is and why you would want to use it for animal feed. Remember that when I say fodder, I'm actually referring to sprouted fodder, or sprouted grains.

This time I want to share some information about getting started with a homemade, small-scale fodder system. Most fodder systems currently available for purchase usually produce a minimum of 50-60lb of fodder daily, and cost upwards of $1000. That's a bit much for the homestead farm, but don't despair. A homemade fodder system is easy to put together and comes at a small price.

I first became interested in fodder systems while following my favorite YouTube Channel, Michigansnowpony. I've talked about this channel in other posts. This channel has been a driving force of inspiration for my homestead endeavors, so why should fodder be any different? I followed her source links to Sarah Cuthill's YouTube channel and blog (which are also phenomenal). I will be putting their links at the bottom of this post. If you're truly interested in pursuing or learning about these DIY fodder systems, I would check them out.

My DIY Fodder System Set-Up

Materials Needed:
    * Wire shelving
    * 7-9 Sturdy plastic containers
    * A drip pan/catcher
    * Soldering iron or nail & pliers or meat fork
   
1. Starting out, you need some wire or mesh shelving to hold your fodder containers. You can use anything as long as it fits your containers, has enough shelves and can drain water from shelf to shelf.  I've seen people use cooling racks, industrial shelving, garage shelving and more. I'm using the greenhouse shelving we bought earlier this spring with the greenhouse plastic taken off.

2. The next thing you'll need is sturdy plastic containers to hold and sprout your grains in. You can use basically anything. The preference seems to lie with square/rectangular containers, but if you have success using something round (like a butter bowl) I'd love to hear about it. I'm using some plastic casserole containers I bought at Wal-Mart.

3. Now, you need to poke some holes in one end of each container. (The woman at Wal-Mart balked when she found out what we were doing with the containers. She thought I was making some large meal for a get-together. Hehe. Well it is for a meal of sorts.) I started out using a nail that I held inside a pair of pliers. I only had a small nail on hand and was not terribly impressed with the size of the hole that it made. You want your holes to be large enough to drain water without being so large that the grains will slip through. You're looking for a happy medium. I ended up ditching the nail in favor of my kitchen meat fork. I have a cheap one that I rarely use and it was perfect. At any rate, you need to heat up the tool you use, whether it is a nail or a meat fork. I performed the operation next to my stove and it went along quickly. 

     Some Tips
       * be sure to heat up your tool completely. I heated mine for about 20-30 seconds and I was able to puncture 2-3 rows of holes.
       * the meat fork worked perfectly because I was able to poke two evenly spaced holes at a time.
       * don't force down on the plastic too hard. If it doesn't slide through like butter, it needs to be reheated. Trust me on this one. If your tool is too cold and you force it, you will crack your plastic. (Voice of experience!)
       * I made 5 closely spaced rows on mine. I'd say you want anywhere from 3-5 rows depending on the spacing. They don't have to cover half the container.

The picture on the bottom right is my original hole poked with a nail. 

4. On the opposite end of the holes you need to add something to keep the containers at an angle. It seems that 10º is suggested, but as Mitch points out, 10º is barely measurable. I think that as long as you don't have some drastic angle and everything is consistent, then any slight angle will do.  Michigansnowpony used shims for her set-up (awesome idea). Since I forgot to buy some and I was eager to get started I just used some glue sticks I had handy. I will be changing this very soon though.

5. You want to place your containers in a zig-zag like pattern on the shelving. This will aid in proper draining of the system.

For example:
The first container on the first shelf has its holes facing forward. The container directly below that will have its holes facing to the rear. The container below that one will have its holes facing front and so on.

6. The last shelf or the bottom of the shelving should have some kind of drip pan/catch basin for all of the water that will be draining off. I have a long shallow container that fits I under my shelving.

So, that's it. That is your basic set-up. To learn more you can check out the links below!  Thanks for reading.

Michigansnowpony

Sarah Cuthill

Sarah Cuthill's page and blog

DIY Play Dough

Hi all. As most of you know, I have a busy little toddler on my hands. We are trying to teach him many things, among them are his colors. I'm sure most of you have seen the recipes for homemade play dough floating around the blogosphere, facebook, and pinterest. Well, I saw it too! I decided I'd give it a whirl.

I can't link up to the recipe I used, so I'll just write it out here.

* 1 c. Flour

* 1 c. Water

* 1/4 c. Salt

* 1 Tbsp Veggie oil

* 2 tsp Cream of Tartar

* Food coloring (kool-aid can also be used)

Mix everything in a small kettle until most of the clumps are gone. Add as much or as little coloring as you desire. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly.  Mix until it reaches the consistency of play dough. It will look slightly dry and cooked. This happens in just a few minutes!  Be prepared to stir your arms off! Place on a plate to cool. Knead for a few minutes to fully disperse all ingredients and moisture.  Once completely cool, it can be stored in a sealed container for several months. 

I did not try using kool-aid myself, but I read that it can be used and smells yummy!  I used several drops of cheap food coloring.  Mine doesn't stain at all. This is non-toxic and totally edible (though not tasty). The first thing my son did was eat some!  I found it to be exactly like what you buy at the store. It was really fun to make!  

Thanks for reading!