Natural Homemade Living

Every season I go wreath shopping and then decide I don't want to spend the money for something I could make myself. This year the fall wreath I liked was $170 (and that is a big no for me!) so my granddaughter and I decided to make our own wreaths. Even though I prefer soft, flowing materials I like the look of burlap for wreaths. We chose to make a few wreaths using burlap. You can make them different sizes and they are simply too cute! Supplies : Start with a 12, 14 or 16 inch metal wreath holder. (available at craft stores) 4 inch burlap, our came in a 9 ft roll. I used 4 rolls for a fluffy wreath and 3 for a thinner wreath. Floral wire for hanger on back - optional Bow or accessories of your choice - optional Directions: Choose the size of wreath you want to make. We used 16 inch metal wreath rings. We found the easiest way to start is to unroll the burlap. After you have in unrolled, hold the beginning of the burlap roll and place the end over the outside of th...

Happy fall everyone! I love this time of year when the temperatures are cooling down, the trees are so beautiful with all of their autumn colors, the apples and pumpkins are plentiful and the baking has begun! I had some extra apples so I decided to make some apple crisp. I made it gluten-free today but you can use all-purpose flour for all of you gluten lovers - haha!! I wish I could send the smell of my kitchen through this post, it smells wonderfully fall-like and spicy! Ingredients: 8-9 apples, peeled, cored and cut into chunks (I used honey crisp apples) 1-2T lemon juice 1/2 c white or organic cane sugar 1 tsp cinnamon Topping Ingredients 2/3 c flour (I used King Arthur gluten-free all purpose flour) 1/2 c brown sugar 2 T white or organic cane sugar 1 tsp cinnamon Pinch of nutmeg Pinch of cloves or allspice Pinch of salt 1/2 c cold butter, cut into small pieces 1 c Old-fashioned or quick-cooking oats Directions:  Wash, peel, core, and cut apples into chunk...

So you know how the big blogs have guest posts on their blogs sometimes? Well, we sort of have that going on today and I'm so excited that we have another creative crafter in the family! My granddaughter, Shya, completed a project using bottles purchased at a thrift store to use on a fireplace mantle or sofa table. She purchased 5 glass jars of different sizes and decorated each one differently. The project was inexpensive and she used items that we already had for decorating the bottles. Starting from left to the right, here is what she did: Mix 1 drop of blue food coloring into 1/3 cup Mod Podge and simply paint the outside of the bottle using a small paint brush. Let dry at least 3 hours. She let the bottle dry overnight then wrapped a piece of burlap ribbon around the outside and used hot glue to secure it to the bottle. Place a pearl strand (leftover from last year Christmas decorations) inside the bottle. You could use an old necklace or beads also. Place a strip of bu...

No Bake Chewy Granola Bars I wanted to repost this in case you missed it.  It's one of our most popular pins on Pinterest. My kids especially like chewy granola bars but they seem to be one of those things that just keep going up in price and I'm not sure how healthy they actually are. I have tried a gazillion recipes and my daughter repeatedly gave the thumbs down....until this recipe! This one actually tastes better than the store bought kind. YAY!!  It took me under 10 minutes to make them-love that!  I adapted this recipe from Two Peas and Their Pods. So here's what you need:   1/4 c unsalted butter 1/4 c brown sugar 1/4 c honey 1/4 c creamy peanut butter 1 tsp vanilla extract 2 cups oats, I use old fashioned oats, but the recipe calls for quick oats 1/2 c crispy rice cereal OPTIONAL: (3/4 c.) chopped pretzels, (1/4 c.) mini Reese's pieces, mini M&Ms, mini chocolate chips, ground flax seeds Spray pan or put a square of parchmen...

Happy Saturday everyone! It has been one of those crazy, busy weeks so we must apologize for not having a minute to get a new post ready. Sometimes we have a few posts ready and sometimes we have a few posts started but not quite ready. So that's what happened....had a few posts started but not ready. Needless to say, I am ready for the weekend and I am grateful for a little down time! This little DIY project is super simple and inexpensive. You can start with any dried flowers, weeds or grains (I used wheat), tie them together with floral wire. I also used an 8 inch piece of wire to wrap around the top, then made a loop with the hire so I would have a hanger on the back. I bought a wood letter for under a dollar and painted it. Made 2 bows from burlap ribbon using the directions from a previous post, Simply Make Your Own Bows , then I used floral wire to attach them to my wheat. You could also add some corn, sunflowers or anything you'd like to your Front Door Fall Dec...

I've been experimenting with my gluten-free pancakes and this is my favorite pancake mix. I mix the dry ingredients and store them in a glass jar. It's perfect for camping or just to have on hand. These pancakes also freeze well if you want to make them ahead and put them in the freezer. This is a great recipe for people that have an intolerance to gluten also. We warm our homemade syrup to pour over, here are our top favorites syrup recipes: Simply Apple Cider Syrup  Simply Homemade Pancake Syrup Pancake Mix 3 c white rice flour 1/3 c almond flour 1/3 c powdered milk 1/3 c organic cane sugar (or sugar of your choice) 1 tsp sea salt 1 T baking powder Whisk all of the dry ingredients together and place in a glass jar to use at a later time or mix in a bowl to use immediately. When you are ready to mix your batter, combine in a medium bowl : 1 cup pancake mix 1 egg 3/4 c water (you  may need more or less depending how thick you like your batter) 1 T coconut oil...

We are enjoying a cool, rainy day in the Midwest. It feels like the perfect day off to me. A day for crafts because I need to make a new fall wreath, baking because everyone is begging for treats and of course some cleaning. Today I am making two kinds of our favorite bars, Simply Homemade Pumpkin Bars and our mother-in-law's banana bars, they're the best! Ingredients 1 1/2 c sugar 1/2 c butter, softened but not melted 1 1/2 c mashed bananas, about 3 bananas 2 c all-purpose flour 1 tsp baking soda 1 c sour cream (I use plain Greek or thick homemade yogurt instead) 2 eggs 2 tsp vanilla 1 tsp salt Directions Mix sugar, butter, bananas and sour cream (or yogurt), then add eggs and vanilla. Add dry ingredients and stir.  Pour batter into either a greased and floured or parchment lined 9x13 pan. Bake 350F for 25-35 minutes. Test using a toothpick, if it comes out clean, the bars are done.  Place on a cooling rack until they have cooled then frost them using the...