Tag Archives: make-It-yourself

Our favorite MIY – Make-it-yourself articles posted on TexasHomesteader.com

Homemade Cold-Process Soap: Morning Motivation MINT!

by Texas Homesteader ~
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I was recently asked to give a talk to a delightful women’s group about the procedures of homemade cold-process soap. Of course there’s no way for me to actually make the soap as part of the presentation.

Not only would mixing lye not be wise in an unknown setting but start to finish it takes about 2 hours to make the soap. (although once the lye & oils are combined it comes together in only about 20 minutes) 

What??!  You don’t think I could be entertaining enough to engage a group of strangers for 2 whole hours??  LOL

So RancherMan & I decided to make the soap in advance. That way the soap could cure for 6 weeks before the presentation. We would be able to send everyone home with a sample of the finished soap all ready to use. But what soap shall we make??

After pondering a bit I decided to put that rambunctious mint to good use and make a mint-scented soap. I think I’ll call it “Morning-Motivation Mint”!  Come see how we did it.

This is a very easy recipe for a good homemade cold process soap. Morning-Motivation Mint Cold-Process Soap - Refreshing! #TexasHomesteader

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How To Make A Rustic Cedar Log Solar Light

by Texas Homesteader ~
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Right next to the house lies our barn paddock. It is a small paddock that features our amazing 1880’s barn as well as a small fenced area. This paddock is used often to wean calves, work the herd or separate specific cows for whatever reason.

In this paddock was a huge, very old cedar tree. I loved that thing, it was massive!

But last year it died and RancherMan had to pull it down. Broke my heart, y’all! The once-beautiful tree was hauled in large pieces to our burn pile.

But with our annual family reunion coming up I panicked. In a few days that bonfire will be lit & it’ll be gone forever! 

So I asked RancherMan to salvage some of that beautiful wood. And I specifically asked him to go to the burn pile & cut off about 5 ft of that huge tree. Puzzled, he still placated me…

I made a cute rustic 3-tier cedar log solar light feature for my home's front walk. I love the way it turned out and it was inexpensive #TexasHomesteader

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Homestead Hack: Cute Container For Herb Cuttings

by Texas Homesteader ~

The herbs are going well in my Edible Landscape so I thought I’d take a few cuttings & try to root them in my kitchen window. I have a repurposed short, squatty, wide-mouth glass jar that I can use. 

But I’ve always heard that when you’re rooting cuttings, a see-through jar can cause problems. It’s said that inside the jar should be dark. A dark jar keeps algae from growing in the water and also helps the roots do their thaaaang.

Some suggestions are to paint the jar or to wrap it in scrapbooking paper or something similar.  Hummm…

So what did I decide to do? Say it with me kids: “Use Whatcha Got!”  That’s right. đŸ™‚ Check out this Homestead Hack.

I took some herb cuttings to root in my kitchen window. But the jar needs to be kept dark. Check out this cute Homestead Hack idea! #TexasHomesteader

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Creating Delicious Rosemary Crackers with Olive Oil and Garlic