Christmas is expensive enough without having to buy every. single. thing. Handmade gifts are a great way to hold costs down, and so is making homemade gift wrap from things like newspaper, grocery bags, and the back of gift wrap you hate. Still, when we hand make everything, we don't want the whole gift to scream "I AM CHEAP"! Here are some ideas for embellishing your handmade ...
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How to Make Your Own DIY Sugar Scrub
Spa and body care products can be super expensive, and the truth is, some of them are so inexpensive to make at home and they don't take long at all! This DIY sugar scrub will take 15 minutes tops, and you may already have everything you need to make a batch for yourself, with some extra to give away as holiday gifts! This scrub would be a really nice addition to a bath ...
How to Bottle Your Homemade Fruit Wine {4 Ways}
Making homemade wine is an excellent way to use up a burgeoning fruit harvest, and it's easy! This is step five in my fruit wine making series, and in this step, you will learn 4 different ways to bottle the wine you worked so hard to make. Steps for Bottling Your Homemade Wine Before we get started, you'll want to choose a bottling vessel. There are a few good ...
How to Make and Can Super Easy Salsa
If you love salsa, but don't have all the ingredients needed to make it from all fresh, you will love this recipe! It tastes great, has a lot less prep time, and comes together in a snap! Here's how to make and can the easiest salsa ever! Part of the goodness of having a tomato harvest is that you can make so many different products out of them. With your ripe tomatoes, ...
How to Make and Can Cherry BBQ Sauce
When you think of cherries, maybe what comes to mind is eating them fresh, in a pie, or even as a jam. All of those are wonderful, but once you discover cherry bbq sauce, you will never forget it! Cherry BBQ Sauce to the Rescue Last year, Todd and I tried peach bbq sauce and fell in love. The marriage of fruity sweetness with the smoky and spicy herbs tasted perfect, ...
How to Make and Can Delicious Peach BBQ Sauce
Whether you are purchasing peaches from the store or using your peach harvest, you may not have thought of making something savory with them. After you've made your jam, fruit leather, and wine, make sure to save a few lbs to make peach bbq sauce! Barbecue is some of the best food on earth, thank God it's so easy to do! Todd and I ran across this recipe when we were trying ...
Make This Easy Fruit Leather Recipe with Any Fruit!
If you have your own fruit trees or partake in loss leader deals at the store, you may find yourself with lots of extra fruit on hand during the summer. Rather than letting your overripe fruit go into the compost pile, why not take advantage of the sweetness of fruit at this stage and try this fruit leather recipe? It's nature's candy! So you've made your strawberry jam, ...
How to “Handmake” Your Christmas with a Holiday Planner
It's within a few months of the holidays and your mind turns to Christmas shopping...only you don't want to think about Christmas shopping because that means spending a TON of money, and you don't have a ton of money. You have some crafting and cooking skills, but it seems so overwhelming to make everyone's gifts. What would I make? Do I have the time? How will I get everything ...
Holiday Gift Guide: How to Buy for the Homesteader in Your Life!
The holidays are just around the corner, and for some reason, they always surprise us (well, most of us, anyway)! In this holiday gift guide, I've curated some fun gift ideas for the homesteader in your life who is into canning and preserving or gardening that they will LOVE. You'll be a Christmas gift-giving super hero! For those of you notoriously caught ...
How to Make Easy Thick & Hearty Chili + Other Fall Soups
In the fall, soup and hearty stews are especially delicious on those days that keep feet wanting more than one pair of socks, and hands wanting a good pair of fleece gloves. Receiving a warm bowl of some of this thick and hearty chili recipe is like receiving a warm hug from the kitchen after a long day at work, or out in the garden. Two Thick and Hearty Soups The ...
How to Make Homemade Strawberry Jam {Safe and Easy}
It's strawberry season and the fruit is fresh, sweet, and delicious! Making wine, syrup or just eaten raw, they are a wonderful summer treat! But don't forget to bring summer to the table with homemade strawberry jam--fill your shelves for the year! Homemade Strawberry Jam is Super Easy Making jam is a great place to start if you are new to canning. It's quick and ...
How to Make Bone Broth in Your Crock Pot Express
There aren't many things more comforting than a good mug of soup on a cold day, and a good soup's game is upped when you use this pressure cooker bone broth in it. Whether you have the Crock Pot Express or some other pressure cooker, you can have your bone broth in under two hours! The Crock Pot Express Multi-Cooker is pretty much my favorite appliance to use for beans, ...