DIY Liquid Laundry Soap

Well I did it.  I succeeded in making my own liquid laundry soap with a recipe I found on www.thefamilyhomestead.com. Here is the recipe.
1/3 bar Fels Naptha or any other type of soap (if you use a soap other than Fels Naptha you need to use the whole bar-I used ivory)
1/2 cup washing soda
1/2 cup borax powder
*You will also need a 2 gallon bucket (or other container-I mixed in a bucket and then funneled the soap into some laundry detergent bottles I had saved)

All 3 items can be found in the laundry aisle of your grocery store.  Since I opted to use the ivory soap I found that in the soap/lotion aisle.


First you grate the bar of soap and put it in a saucepan.

Next you add 6 cups water and heat it until the soap melts. Add the washing soda and the borax and stir until it is dissolved.  Remove from heat.

Pour 4 cups hot water into the bucket.  Now add your soap mixture and stir.  Now add 1 gallon plus 6 cups of water and stir.  Let soap sit for about 24 hours and it will gel.  You use 1/2 cup per load.

Finished!  The bucket was almost full....this pic is after I had put it in other containers.

***The finished soap will not be a solid gel.  It is a watery gel.  It is a low sudsing soap so don't worry if you don't see suds. Suds don't clean....the ingredients do.***   You can add scent using 1/2-1 oz of essential oil or fragrance of your choice.  To me the mixture has a fresh scent anyway....may add a scent in my next batch.

Bottom line is....I paid 3.24 for a 55 oz box of Arm & Hammer washing soda, 3.28 for a 76oz box of 20 Mule Team borax and 1.24 for a 3 pack of Ivory soap.   This recipe made 2 gallons of soap and using 1/2 cup per load I will be able to wash 64 loads of laundry....all for the grand total of $0.81!! 


Michelle

Make your own wine!

Whether you consume an adult beverage or not is of no importance here.  What is of importance is that you can easily make your own alcohol for your own consumption or barter.  Barter, being that you can make it and trade it for goods and services in the event the need arises.  It is very simple to make with readily available items.  The recipe I used to make my first batch of "Homemade Wine" came from allrecipes.com .  Here is the link to the Homemade Wine Recipe that I specifically used for this project.  Apart from NOT using citrus concentrate, I think all of the other ingredients are fine to use store brand items etc. I personally used concord grape concentrate.   There are a lot of great suggestions when it comes to homemade wine making and I picked one of them that I agree completely with as it pertains to this recipe in particular.  Here it is:

The cork (a #6 cork fits a one gallon jug) and airlock is a very small price to pay for not having to deal with using a balloon and rubber band every time you go to make your wine, plus it is what professional home winemakers use themselves.  Mixing an extra can of concentrate into the mixture definitely makes it taste better.

 To be safe and not use an old milk jug that might not be completely clean,  I went ahead and bought a gallon of sterile distilled water and dumped the water out in a pitcher to use for later when I mixed it back in the jug.  After every thing was mixed up and put in the jug, I put the balloon and rubber band on the top and put it in my closet.   After about 2 weeks, what you see on the left is the wine fermenting nicely.  There are some people that say poke a needle hole in the top of the balloon, but I did not do that. 

After about 4 weeks in the balloon is beginning to deflate and in another week or two it will be completed.  At that point it is very important to filter the mixture in the jug to make sure you get all the yeast and any left over sugar out of the mixture before drinking.  Once you have filtered the mix you can taste it and add an additional can of concentrate if it is too strong of a taste.  And that's all there is to making homemade wine!!  Cheap and easy!  Give it a shot!  Just remember that if it doesn't taste right the first time, keep on experimenting until you have your own recipe and process that works for you and you turn out a great wine every time!
Happy Wine Making!!







Chris

My First Complete Sewing Project

Hi!  I'm Michelle...the other half of CooperCreativeConcepts.  I do mostly crafty things....well I attempt them anyway.  My first attempts at sewing were simple blankets....I mean....who can't sew four straight lines.  (Between you and me mine aren't exactly straight) but I'm trying and I am hoping to get better at it.  So it came time to start thinking of Christmas gifts and I was thinking of what I could make for our girls stepmother.  I knew I couldn't buy anything for her because honestly I really don't know what types of things she would like.  So I happened to come across a crochet needle holder on Favecrafts.com.  My lightbulb came on as she has taken to crocheting....not from pattern but more "freehand" I guess you could say and her things are beautiful!  Anyway.....I found out she was keeping her crochet needles in a baby wipes box....so a gift was born.

I deviated from the original pattern as I try to make things I do simpler.  I always try to start a project by thinking of what I already have on hand.  So I first found a satiny white patterned cloth napkin, a black pillowcase and a small black and white patterned ribbon that I had.  I am a sucker for the scrap bins at craft stores.  I found a pretty scrap of cotton material that was a white background with a dark pink and black damask pattern at Hobby Lobby in Aiken SC on a trip to see family at Thanksgiving.  I cut a square piece of black material from the pillowcase the same size as the cloth napkin and sewed the two together around the edges.  I then consulted the pattern and used the measurements for the "pouch" piece.  I cut it to the appropriate size and sewed it to the black side of my project.  I then sewed the pockets per each measurement.

My cutting and sewing wasn't exactly straight so I knew I had to find something to cover the edges.  I found a wide black and white damask ribbon that I attached to the edges with heat and bond. Love that stuff!!!  I then sewed the small ribbon on the outside for the tie and viola...project completed.  I was really really nervous that she would just think it was awful or goofy or something but she loves it.  I had actually forgotten to take pictures of it before I wrapped it so the pictures here are ones that she took and sent to me.

Michelle

FREE Books!!

If you are like my wife and, you enjoy reading or using the books to do research, gather ideas, and inspiration.  One way to do that and it doesn't cost you a dime, is Kindle for PC which allows you to download books and read them directly from your PC .

If you have a smartphone you can download the free Kindle app for your respective phone and sync your library to your phone as well.  There are THOUSANDS of FREE, yes FREE eBooks available for download on Amazon.com on all types of subjects.  Check it out!!  You will love it!
What does this have to do with our blog title? Anything you are able to get for FREE helps you to become a little more Self Sufficient!



Chris

Get Crafty!

With the economy the way it is right now, can you afford to spend hundreds of dollars for Christmas, Birthday, and other gift giving events?  Probably not!  Well we have the solution for you.  Get Crafty!  Use your imagination or the ideas of others to come up with one of a kind gifts for your loved ones.  They appreciate your hard work and effort much more than going to the store and picking up a gift card.  The next few pictures will show you a simple idea that I came up with for my step-daughters dad using recycled old wooden window frames based off an idea I saw online here.  Window Frame Project

Here is what the window frame looked like to start:

 It started out as a white window frame.  I sanded down the frame very good to start and made sure there were no rough areas.

 Next step was preliminary painting.  I had all intentions of leaving the glass in the frame and as you see here painting the frame this way.  Over spray was difficult to control so I just removed the glass from the frame which worked out a lot better.  Don't worry if you break a pane or two, you can easily get them replaced at Lowes, Home Depot, or you local hardware store like I did.

 The colors we chose were black and blue as this is his favorite colors.  Speaking with the paint crew at Lowes, they advised us that latex probably would not stick for a long time to glass, so what I did was take each pane of glass and use "Gallery Glass Crystal Clear Window Color" on each one completely.  This gave it a stained glass look and a texture for the latex to stick to. 

Next step was to let the texture dry and the following day it was time to have the girls put their hand prints and footprints on the glass panes.  The Silhouettes were create with card stock from profile pictures of the girls.  They were glued onto the panes with Decoupage glue.  After the paint and glue dried a couple coats of clear sealer was applied to the panes for protection and long life.

Final step was to reinstall the panes and caulk them back into place.
A picture hanging wire was added to the top bar for hanging.


Chris

Water Bath Canning is EASY

Water bath canning is so simple that anyone can do it!  Especially if I can do it!   The first thing to do is pick up a book on canning that has both recipes and instructions in it. There are many things you can preserve with the water bath method, but there are many things that could potentially kill you if you don't pressure can instead.   I would suggest  "Complete Book of Home Preserving" as seen on your right.  It is absolutely wonderful and full of great recipes and instructions on water bath and pressure canning.  After you have read through the process a little, it is time to purchase a water bath canner like the one below.











Following the recipes in the book and the preparation of the jars and you will turn out a wonderful product like I have here.  A dozen perfectly canned jars of HOT Fresh Vegetable Salsa!  My wife and I actually used home made salsa as wedding favors at our wedding.  We had 20 jars of Mild and 20 jars of HOT!  Everyone loved it!! 

Chris

Soap Making

Soap making is extremely easy with the kits and raw materials that are available from major craft stores such as Hobby Lobby and AC Moore.  This is the first batch of exfoliating soap I made in a Celtic design from such available resources.  Apricot seeds were used for the exfoliating agent in the soap as you can see by the specks in the soap.  A very simple and fun way to enjoy making something home made that is useful!

Chris

Hello! Welcome!

Welcome to my first ever blog. Wellllllll, at least the first one I will really try to keep up with.. lol.    I hope to share with you some things I am doing to become more self sufficient at home as well as some family fun things that are beneficial to the home.  I will also share some of my travels, thoughts,  and things I learn along the way.  I hope to update this daily but I am targeting 3 times weekly with a picture at least once a week.  Enjoy!


Chris