Hand Felted Accessories

The Leatherdos is a hair clip that doubles as a multi-tool that combines 5 different tools in a tiny hair clip: screw-drivers, a wrench, a trolley coin, a ruler, and a cutting edge.

—->http://odditymall.com/leatherdos-is-a-hair-clip-multi-tool

i’ve long waited your arrival; welcome*

How about a Solarpunk moodboard 🌻🌍

solarpunk……good

solarpunk moodboard for anon

There’s this greenhouse not too far from my house that I fell in love with when I went for the first time last year. It’s so crowded, but all of the plants are very healthy and pest-free. They have 50+ year old cacti and a ton of exotic plants.

@eternity-in-your-eyes this is just amazing! I don’t know if I’d be able to leave a place like that once I have entered haha thank you for the submission as I could only imagine having a greenhouse like that some day.

DIY Laundry Detergent

GUYS, THIS WORKED. YOU DON’T EVEN KNOW HOW EXCITED I AM.

My first homesteading project was a roaring success! I know this probably means I’m doomed for failure in the future (ever the optimist, I am), but YAY for now.

!!

Okay, done squealing. Here’s what happened:

I used this recipe from Budget101.com. I had several detergent recipes pinned, but I’m partial to a liquid/non-powder detergent. Especially when said liquid is concentrated (you only need to use one tablespoon per load here).

I did this on Sunday as a weekend project with my mom, and was 90% convinced I was going to have a nasty, sudsy mess all over her stove. But instead, we made THESE:

Aren’t they gorgeous?

But I’m getting ahead of myself again.

Alright.

Ready?

Here’s what you need: 

1 cup Borax

1 cup Arm & Hammer Washing Soda

1 bar Fels Naptha 

4 cups water

2 1-quart Mason jars

Total cost for 128 loads of laundry: $1.76

Grate the bar of Fels Naptha using a cheese grater (yes, really). It’s super soft, and shouldn’t be too difficult. It will take about five or ten minutes, depending on your pressure and attention span.

Put the 4 cups of water in a LARGE pot (big enough to take on all the ingredients, plus room for a bit of foam) and set it to high, waiting for a boil.

Measure out the Borax and Washing Soda, mix together well in a bowl. 

Once the water begins to boil, add the grated Fels Naptha gently, and reduce the heat to medium. Stir constantly until the soap is completely dissolved, about 10-15 minutes. Be careful not to let this boil over, or you will end up with the sudsy mess I was anticipating. This is the extent of foam you should see:

Once the Fels Naptha has melted, remove the pot from the heat and add the blended Borax and Washing Soda. It’s essential you stir constantly here as well, lest you end up with an icky, grainy detergent that could leave residue on your clothes. Stir for about 5 minutes, or until you no longer feel graininess on the bottom of your pot.

Next, pour the detergent equally into your two Mason jars. Add water until the liquid reaches the “shoulders” of the jar (the rounded part near the top). There should be about 1.5 - 2 inches of air space at the top of the jar.

Put the lids on your jars and set them upside down. Leave them like this for 4-5 hours, so they can do their separation thang. Have a Netflix marathon, make a four-course dinner, go for a run, whatever. Just DON’T TOUCH THE JARS until those 4-5 hours are up!

When you come back, they’ll look like this:

Kinda nasty, eh? Just wait – your detergent is about to become oh-so-beautiful.

Grab a mixing bowl and your hand mixer, and empty out the contents of both jars into the bowl. Make sure you scrape the sides of the jar to get all the detergent out. Now whip it! Whip it good!

…until your detergent is light and fluffy.

Ta-da! Transfer back into your (rinsed and dried) jars, and you’re done!

To use, simply add one tablespoon of detergent per load of laundry. Add it directly in with the clothes, no matter what your machine says. Take a spoonful, and put it under the running water, allowing the detergent to run off the spoon onto your dirty clothes. Close the machine up and you’re done! 

Notes: Since the soaps are already dissolved in this detergent, it won’t leave any residue on your clothes like other DIY detergents can. Also, at $1.76 for 128 loads of laundry, this one is a real money saver!

Happy Laundering,

Becca, The Semi-Homesteader

Embroidery Wall Art and Brooches

Shimunia on Etsy

See our #Etsy or #Embroidery tags

I didn’t do the inktober this year, but I had fun with a tiny house :3 

Little things that help moods:

- getting enough sunshine - opening the curtains - eating regular meals - short walks with your favourite music - don’t stay up until 3am - don’t try to relate to tumblr text posts - get off tumblr/social media if it’s unhealthy - shower - don’t stay in bed the whole day - plan out your day - listen to music - change your clothes - set yourself small goals - say yes to fun events - drink water, it takes 5 seconds - talk to a close friend - remind yourself: a bad mood can lie to you - you’re not unwanted or hopeless - you deserve love so be nice to yourself

Speaking about alternative ways of growing things, have you seen the bottle tower gardens invented by Willem Van Cotthem? His youtube videos are a bit amateurish but the plant results look amazing. I prefer straight up recycling plastic bottles but that IS a neat upcycling idea and it's a water-efficient and space-efficent way of gardening 8D

Oh nice, I hadn’t seen these before, but they look ingenious!

A great way to repurpose waste plastic too, especially as not everywhere has plastic recycling facilities. The water efficient part is appealing too. Solutions like this would be helpful for people living in more arid climates!

Here’s a quick DIY guide for anyone who’s interested.