Just curious who else is living super frugal

[Nofowlplay]

HEre is one I have been experiementing with. 2tsp vanilla extract mixed with water to make 8 oz. We have ben trying it to repel mosquitos and the effect is iffy. Seems to work on me for a while, then when the onslaught of dusk brings the blood suckers it doesn't work. When my ankles had become vitimized by fleas, I rubbed on the solution, and they left me alone. ( WE are tring to find a reasonable method to deal with fleas other than the full on chemical poisons. Some of the IFGs apparently are no longer working like frontline.Probably not everywhere, depends on the exposure levels comminity to community. )

I stopped using the spot on flea meds.....it's just poison and my cat had a neurological reaction......she's ok now. There is a spray product made with cedar oil I am going to use . Made by Wondercide....it's called. Evolv.

 

[perchie.girl]

my friends make a fly spray for the horses using Avon's Skin So soft, Vinegar and a couple of other things..... I will have to dig up the recipe...

Oh never mind here is a link to a bunch of them. LOL

http://www.moniteausaddleclub.com/flyspray_recipes.htm

Also remember Mosquitos are attracted by Carbon Dioxide. So NO HEAVY BREATHING.... he he

um Hee

WRT fleas.... Best to bite the bullet and spray and get it over with. Then Spray again to kill off emerging larvae.... Worm the dogs and cats too and either dust and spray them.... Treat the house bedding and yard.... To achieve a clean slate. Then use the herbals afterward as a prophylactic ... I am a non insectiside user... have been for a very long time. But Fleas cause too many problems to have them running rampant.

Yes they are brought in by wild life and the visiting neighbor cat.... I am of the same opinion with treating for mites. Slam dunk the critters and fortify herbally after the war.

deb

 

[Wasson6Pack]

My mom did not use cones and I learned how to fold when I was very young.  THe cones seem to be more int he way.  She taught a few classes  on her living room table and I remember the newbies using the cones.  My mom just used clothes pins instead of the cones.  She  did use a special lacing needle and special thread.  I  have a few of the rugs she made and her mother made. I keept hem in the upstairs to reduce the wear. 

I would love to know how to make those rugs. I purchased some hoola hoops to make rugs with. I use the kids stained or no longer fitting shirts and cut into strips. You put a few around the hoop and then weave the rest around. All the rugs come out circular, but it uses scraps to make something useful.

 

[vintagegem]

Eek! That's highway robbery. The last box of borax I bought was 3.99$ Now I use a recipe that uses soap and washing soda and it seems to do the job with a vinegar rinse. I've started making my own soap too (facial/body and then a recipe for all purpose cleaning). Have any of you tried that yet? I infuse my olive or grape seed oil with herbs over a few weeks with low heat and the soaps are so awesome and customizable. I get about 5lbs of soap for as many dollars. It's pretty cool, especially knowing exactly what is in the products I'm using. Saves a lot of cash in the end for my family, as I use it for dish washer detergent and laundry detergent. 5lbs lasts me about 7 months (after giving away a large portion to family and friends for Christmas presents, etc)

Your soap sounds amazing! would you be able to give me the list of ingredients and the process you use? I've been wanting to make my own soap for ages, thanks

 

[Arielle]

Quote: I learned braided rugs-- understand it has been some 40 years since she made them. She would buy white wool cloth of a black and white weave, and worked out a color pattern and then dy the pounds of wool needed for the project. Piles of rolled strips in the kitchen!! lol

To start in the middle if round, THe ends were folded and then stiched as I remember and the braiding was done to create a curve -- Round, or oval all created by when the curve was needed. (For straight sections , as in n an oval, the braid is right left right left. Right right left right left right right left roght right left starts a curve. I would bet the curve is eyeballed to fit as the closer to the center the tighter the turn than when the rug is 4 feet from center. MOther was always testing the turns to make sure it worked, often undoing and rebraiding.

Grandmother had a beauty that was a huge rectanlel I have wondered who got that one. I would think the same method would work with your choice of material. Each coil is sewed carefully to the main section to hide the thread. No thread is visible as it is pulled tight.

Not sure I am making much sense. . . .

 

[PlaidBattleAxe]

Your soap sounds amazing! would you be able to give me the list of ingredients and the process you use? I've been wanting to make my own soap for ages, thanks

Sure! I love playing around with recipes and making new combinations in products. It's super easy----I use hot process instead of cold process. So that means everything is done in a crock pot vs on the stove, and since the crockpot allows the lye and the fats/oils to blend at a specific temperature, they saponify immediately so you can use the soap (I usually wait 12-24 hours for it to cool and hold its shape in the box) without curing it the month that cold process requires (otherwise you can get lye burns----nasty painful business!).
Here is the link to the step by step process I use for the soap: http://chickensintheroad.com/house/crafts/hot-process-soap-in-a-crock-pot/

I've got two batches that I love and everyone I gave it to uses the most:
The first I used actual lard in that I rendered from the deer I shot last fall (there are no preservatives in it that way, like the stuff from the store). I used it in place of the Crisco. There was no smell of lard in the soap at all once finished. Toward the end of the process I added 1/2 cup of French green clay and stirred it in, which gave it a gorgeous moss green swirled color. I added lemon essential oil and rose essential oil to it. It was the best smell ever!
The second one I used the same process except I didn't use any lard but instead substituted my infused grapeseed oils. I didn't add any clay, but I did add 1/4 cup of bee pollen (I bought supplements at the pharmacy and opened up the tablets). I added jasmine and rose essential oils to it and it wound up curing into a beautiful opaque golden color.

I infuse my oils in two ways. I prefer to use grapeseed oil for it's multitude of health benefits. It's very healing to the skin and full of antioxidants that you can absorb in the skin. Big key to infusing is you need heat, but not anything that would be too hot to the touch as it will destroy the beneficial properties of the herbs. I pick herbs and then dry them either on a rack or hang them for a day or two until there is almost no to none of the moisture left in them (you can use chickweed, mallow, plantain, peppermint, lemonbalm, etc). Then you can simply crush up the herbs by tearing them with your hands into a mason jar or something else similar and clean (I typically sterilize mine in the dish washer) and fill with olive or grapeseed oil until the herb is covered. (I now use my blender and blend the oil and herbs together to make sure I'm getting as much of the internal properties of the herbs as I can) You can put them in a warm area (not in direct sunlight) for 2 weeks and wait, shaking the jars a few times a day to stir things up----OR you can put them in a crockpot on warm or the lowest setting you have for a day. Make sure the lids are on secure, as you don't want any water getting into your oil/herb mixture.
Then, once the infusion is complete, you can strain it into a clean container through a cheese cloth. Squeeze the mixture like you would a teabag to get all the oil and goodness that the herb mash soaked up. Store in a cool dark area for a few months. I use mine right away so that it's fresh, and once you use it in soap, it's not going to spoil (the less water you've let get into the mixture the less the likelihood of spoilage during storage ---like the drier the herbs, the jar being dry, etc).
Here are a few great links I like with ideas and instructions: http://thenerdyfarmwife.com/diy-herbals-vinegars/
http://rootsandflowers.blogspot.com/2010/01/making-herbal-infused-oils.html

 

[PlaidBattleAxe]

I learned braided rugs-- understand it has been some 40 years since she made them. She would buy white wool cloth of a black and white weave, and worked out a color pattern and then dy the pounds of wool needed for the project. Piles of rolled strips in the kitchen!! lol

To start in the middle if round, THe ends were folded and then stiched as I remember and the braiding was done to create a curve -- Round, or oval all created by when the curve was needed. (For straight sections , as in n an oval, the braid is right left right left. Right right left right left right right left roght right left starts a curve. I would bet the curve is eyeballed to fit as the closer to the center the tighter the turn than when the rug is 4 feet from center. MOther was always testing the turns to make sure it worked, often undoing and rebraiding.

Grandmother had a beauty that was a huge rectanlel I have wondered who got that one. I would think the same method would work with your choice of material. Each coil is sewed carefully to the main section to hide the thread. No thread is visible as it is pulled tight.

Not sure I am making much sense. . . .

My mom used to have some beautiful rugs of this style in the round form when I was growing up. I've got lots of fabric--I think I might just give this a go. That's a great skill you have! I always wanted to take a class in something like this, but no one ever puts anything on like that here----it's always knitting and crocheting classes, and those I can't do to save my life, even with instruction

 

[Arielle]

Quote: Just takes practice . . . .

My mom is from a time when the women made time to get together at church or with friends . Lots of house work certainly ( Grandma had no dish washer, and a wringer washer and hung up to dry then iron) but they took art classes together making lovely things our of raw material. I have a wooden plate that she painted; my mother has the 3D framed floral arrangement, made from things like painted cones ( taken apart,a nd each" petal" apinted with many coats of paint) then glued into position to make a rose or chrysanthanimum. Grand mas and her sister both made one, and look different. I feel like those thimes are gone when women got together regularly for support, moral and ideas on everything--- though actually that's what we are doing!! lol

 

[PlaidBattleAxe]

Just takes practice . . . .

My mom is from a time when the women made time to get together at church or with friends . Lots of house work certainly ( Grandma had no dish washer, and a wringer washer and hung up to dry then iron) but they took art classes together making lovely things our of raw material. I have a wooden plate that she painted; my mother has the 3D framed floral arrangement, made from things like painted cones ( taken apart,a nd each" petal" apinted with many coats of paint) then glued into position to make a rose or chrysanthanimum. Grand mas and her sister both made one, and look different. I feel like those thimes are gone when women got together regularly for support, moral and ideas on everything--- though actually that's what we are doing!! lol

I always loved that era. I've got quilts from my family that've been passed down to me from just after the Revolutionary War. They're more like rags now, but I've got them in a box in my attic until I can figure out how to display and preserve them.. but I think holding onto that art history of our families is huge. I can quilt and sew and doodle a little, but I always wanted to be in those Sunday circles where people bake together and make bread one time and work on a huge quilt or barn raising,etc. This is the next best thing though!!

 

[Arielle]

People to people time is important.

TO be more frugal this year, the broodies are doing more of the heavy lifting. ANd the incubator is full too. Planning to sell a group of medium olive egger chicks to make some money.