This is a fun and easy way to make a loom that works just spiffy! I found a wooden spatula at the local thrift store for $1 and instantly thought "drill a few holes and I have a loom!" Amazing, right? Take a ruler and mark across the center of the slots in the spatula. … Continue reading DIY Wooden spatula tape/belt loom
Since the first batch of soap didn't seem to be curing properly, I got to thinking: "what am I doing differently from how the pioneers would have processed their soap?" Then it came to me! They probably would have cured their soap in the cellar house /root cellar. The average temperatures for a cellar house … Continue reading Wood ash lye soap experiment update #3
I'm one of those people that have more hobbies than time lol. I love to learn new skills! Useful skills that will give me a product to show off when I'm done. Who has time to watch TV and couch surf when you have so many things you want to try out!?!?! But where to … Continue reading So you want to learn a skill but don’t know where to start?
So it's been 6 weeks of curing time and the homemade ash lye soap we made 6 weeks ago has transformed and actually smells like soap! Which is super cool! However lesson learned on the curing process. I placed the soap in a container wrapped in parchment paper with the top exposed to air in … Continue reading Ash lye soap experiment update 1
Today was spent having lots of fun and getting lots of work done at SCRaP in downtown Billings MT. We went to get some help at the awesome woodshop to repair and replace some missing and broken parts to an antique table top weaving loom and to convert a Navajo weaving loom I purchased at … Continue reading SCRaP woodshop: fixing some looms
We have a sliding glass door in our house, and if you have pets you know regular hanging curtains will just become a hassle with pets (or small kids) pulling them down (and with cats they like to claw at hanging curtains). So big shout out to my cousin for this idea! We found a … Continue reading Designer, pet/kid friendly, window treatment
Chenille blankets were the brain child of 15 year old Catherine Evans Whitener in 1895 who invented the technique. She received so many orders for her new style blanket that she began producing them in larger orders. Eventually manufactures copied the blankets she invented and they kept quite a few Georgia families from starving during … Continue reading Hand made chenille blankets: a lost art
I've always wanted to make some real pioneer style wood ash lye soap! So I'm going to give it a try. I've done a bit of research using a ton of different books and websites so I can't exactly reference any one specific recipe or site... so I'm making this up as I go along … Continue reading Pioneer style wood ash lye, peppermint soap: a living history experiment
Well we have been super busy here, but we did take time out for a visit to the local pioneer village museum to purchase some absolutely huge pumpkins to carve, toast seeds, and make some yummy pumpkin treats (pumpkin pie, pumpkin bread, pumpkin cheesecake etc). 'Tis the season for everything pumpkin! Next we cleaned out … Continue reading Fall farm chores to prepare for winter living, and husking some black walnuts!
Today we are making some hand made dish scrubbys! Much more economical than buying a pack at the store and these work great! One small skein of yarn makes quite a few dish scrubbys so make some for yourself and then a few to give to friends and family. They are very simple to make. … Continue reading Easy Handmade dish scrubby mitt
Conestoga Chuck 