Category: diy

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One Minute Latte

Cozy Homespun

Save glass jars with lids. I like Mason jars. I have a good supply of them and the deer decimated our tomato crop so I am not expecting to do a whole lot of canning any time soon. Microwave milk. This is very important: WITHOUT THE LID. Do not microwave metal unless your intent is to ruin your microwave and start a fire in one fell swoop. Shake jar. This is also very important: WITH THE LID. Add coffee or espresso or cocoa or tea and maple syrup or agave or cinnamon or nutmeg or other flavorings to taste. Drink … Continue reading One Minute Latte

Crafting, Creative, diy, gardening, ProjectLeave a comment

Flower Pressing

Cozy Homespun

During the lockdown and stay-at-home orders, a lot of us suddenly found ourselves with a lot more time at home. A forced slow down. When it comes to art in our lives, we particularly enjoy art that we made ourselves or that was made by a local artist or a friend. We have a couple of lovely small canvases from friends. We have a large digital collection of nature photos and landscapes from our travels and day-to-day life. This spring, we tried pressing flowers, a catmint (catnip) flower and an iris, with mixed results. Pick flowers Allow the flowers to … Continue reading Flower Pressing

Creative, diy, frugal green, Project3 Comments

Haircuts at Home

Cozy Homespun

A step towards minimalism, inspired by necessity and the pandemic… My husband has been cutting his own hair for years. We already had clippers. I bought a new pair of hair cutting scissors. I wanted a new, sharp pair. My hair is quite long. I had not had a haircut in at least 6 months. In that time, I had started to trim the ends myself. Then my bangs. But overall, I was feeling more and more shaggy. My hair tangled easily and the ends were pretty damaged. I watched YouTube videos and started gathering my courage. Finally, I convinced … Continue reading Haircuts at Home

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Backyard Berries

Cozy Homespun

Raspberry and Blackberry. These are hardy and productive, and they can create large wild brambles. They can be susceptible to viral diseases, especially if they receive too much moisture. I have seen conflicting advice regarding applying mulch. The biggest thing I have found helpful: Know your varieties. Many plants grow by producing a primicane, or first year cane, that just grows the first year, then becomes the productive cane the second year. The deer ate the top off of the primicane last year, which led it to send out a bunch of lateral branches. The lateral branches are the ones … Continue reading Backyard Berries

diy, emergency preparedness, frugal green, gardening, green household1 Comment

15 Garden Ideas

Cozy Homespun

I titled this post last winter, but never published it, and now it is summer. Here are the 15 garden ideas that actually were implemented this spring. Put up the fence. Simple wire fence with t-posts that we take down at the end of the growing season. With the addition of an electric fence along the top to keep the deer out. 2. Fixed an old bird feeder and added it to the other two. 3. Added compost to the top of the straw bale planter, and planted onions, garlic, and peppers. (This is where the tomatoes were last year.) … Continue reading 15 Garden Ideas

diy, emergency preparedness, gardening, green household2 Comments

Tomato Heaven

Cozy Homespun

Late frost. Very late frost. Goodbye, promising young vines planted in too timely a fashion. So, we bought seedlings. Lovingly, I planted those. Plenty of room. Then, three of the original tomato plants re-sprouted from the roots. I planted Early Girl, Best Boy, Better Boy, a yellow heirloom variety and cherry tomatoes. Oh dear. We are going to be in tomato heaven! Next up, summer squash apocalypse. Continue reading Tomato Heaven

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Did you panic-buy dried beans? Here’s what to do with them

Cozy Homespun

Here are some ways to use them: Traditional cooking. Soak overnight, slow cook. There are good recipes online. But a few pounds of dried beans goes a looooong way. Grow bean sprouts. Yes, these are the same as fresh sprouts you would get at a sandwich shop or add to a noodle soup. Takes a few days, and provides a fresh crunchy green vegetable full of micronutrients. Incidentally, you would want to use food grade seeds for any sprouts; commercial garden seeds are often treated with substances to prevent spoilage and enhance germination. Alternate source of greens. I would not … Continue reading Did you panic-buy dried beans? Here’s what to do with them

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Foraged: Hickory Nuts

Cozy Homespun

In our area, wild hickory trees are abundant. Like many nut trees, the harvest seems to be somewhat cyclical, with a bumper crop every 2-3 years and more modest crops in between. Unlike many other such trees, hickory trees simply drop all the hickories in autumn. We picked them up a handful at a time over the last few months. They have an outer shell that starts out green, then slowly turns dark brown. When there were several dozen, we used the workbench vise to crack the outer shell and remove it. Next we subjected all the hickories to the … Continue reading Foraged: Hickory Nuts

Crafting, diy, frugal green, green household, Project, UncategorizedLeave a comment

Indoor Clothesline

Cozy Homespun

Easy project. I bought two different versions of this on Amazon, and ended up keeping both. If we ever move, I would certainly consider an outdoor clothesline or hanger. Not all neighborhoods allow outdoor clotheslines. Also, some climates are very humid and rainy in the summer. We use air conditioning and the indoor air stays quite dry for that reason. This particular project also helps the house stay cooler in summer because I am not running the dryer.  Then we are also not paying for the electricity to run the dryer. Both lines are retractable. So easy. Would you hang … Continue reading Indoor Clothesline