Top 10 Posts Of All Time...

9:58 am - 21 degrees - 25-30 mph winds with 65-70 mph wind gusts...

I’ve written over 487 blog posts, and it’s always interesting to me to see which ones are the top posts.

Today I am sharing with you the top 10 posts from Off-Grid Home Sweet Home.

1. Log Reindeer... from October 2013 {click here}

2. Kids Handprint Stepping Stone... from May 2011 {click here}

3. Board and Batten Siding... from July 2012 {click here}

4. Off-Grid Power {Generators}... from July 2013 {click here}

5. One-Pan Skillet Cookie... from December 2011 {click here}

6. Swedish Torch... from June 2013 {clickhere}

7. Alaskan Chainsaw Mill... from May 2013 {click here}

8. Off-Grid Power {Battery Bank}... from March 2013 {click here}

9. Questions and Answers... from October 2013 {click here}

10. Gravity Fed Water System {Water Storage}...  From January 2012 {click here}

Sponge Water Bombs...

10:35 am - 55 degrees - raining...

I’m getting ready for summer even though looking out the windows today it’s just another cold rainy day.  Summer is on its way and should be here any day now... the weatherman said so!

When I think of summer, I think of two things:  BBQ’s and water fights!  So when I found these sponge water bombs on Pinterest I just had to make them!

 

 

Step 1 – Cut all sponges into fourths length-wise.

Step 2 – Stack 2 layers of 4 sponges.  Tie fishing line around sponges as tightly as possible.

Step 3 - Soak.  Squish.  Throw.  Play.  It’s that easy!

 

Sponge Water Bombs + Buckets of Water = Summer Fun for Kids!

 

Even cleanup is easy.  Just stuff them in a mesh bad and hand them out to dry.  And if by chance they get dirty, just wash them in the washing machine and hang them out to dry.

Spring Break...

5:37 pm - 39 degrees - light snow/rain mix

Break’s over – now where’s my normal? 

 

Spring break was very busy...  The week started off with some really gorgeous weather.  The snow had finally all melted off and we were able to get outside and do some work out in the yard, which we really enjoy.  In prepping for our pond {click here} Tony has been doing a lot of clearing and burning, while I was doing some winter clean up around the yard. 

Of course the kids got to have some fun also.  We went on several hikes around the mountain, had a picnic and made fairy houses with our Girl Scout troop.

This is Caitlyn's Fariy House... with some help from Mom. 

Then it was time to get away from the mountain and take a little road trip to the beach!  The beach property is our go-to get-away anytime we need a mini vacation away from the mountain {click here, here, here and here}.  Unfortunately the weather wasn’t so nice there; it was cold, windy and raining for the majority of the trip.  We did have a few breaks in the weather where we got to go out and enjoy the beach before it was time to head on home.

Jack decided to ride his sister's bike to show us that he doesn't need training
 wheels anymore while Caitlyn was learning how to drive the 4-wheeler.

We’re now back home and I think we brought the nasty weather with us.  It has been a crazy mix of rain, sleet and snow which has been ranging from light to heavy all day long.  I can’t wait for the warmer days to hurry up and get here!

Crafts For Kids – Snow Painting...

32 degrees - 4:13 pm - cloudy...

The flurry of snowflakes has temporarily stopped so I took full advantage and got to do something that I have wanted to try out for a while now... Snow Painting!  And the cooped up kiddos loved it!

I can’t claim this as my own idea but I can tell you that if you aren’t apart of Pinterest then you really need to get on there!  It is a great resource to get a TON of good ideas, like this one.  (Don’t know what Pinterest is?  Click Here)

What You Need:

- plastic squeeze bottles (spray bottles would probably work also)
- water
- liquid food coloring
- snow
- excited kids

All you have to do is fill the bottles with water and add some food coloring until you get the desired color you want, then take them outside and let the fun begin.

Pumpkin Spiders…

62 degrees - 10:13 am - clear blue sky...

Yes it’s that time of year.  Halloween and Christmas are my two favorite holidays and the only two holidays that I truly decorate for.  So with Halloween only a month and a half away (yes, I am a planner), it is time to start coming up with some super cute decorating ideas, and this is one of them…

Pumpkin Spider Votives – a fun kid-friendly craft project that I thought was pretty cute and clever.

Just take a few mini pumpkins, cut holes big enough for a votive candle, cut up some black pipe cleaners to size and attach with a hot glue gun, and voilá, you have super cute Halloween pumpkin spiders.

These are so fun and the kids love them!

photo/idea credit: Good Housekeeping

Crafts For Kids – Rock Painting…

54 degrees oustide - 9:01 pm - cloudy...

Our kids like to collect pretty rocks where every they go.  So I thought it would be a cute idea to make a little rock garden for them, where they can put all their little treasures that they find.  I have wanted to paint some of the big smooth rocks that we have found for a while now.  And, we finally got around to doing it.

It was so nice out this weekend that my sister brought her kids up to paint rocks with us.  We set out all the rocks, that I had already cleaned and dried, and gave the kids their own paper plates with paint and paintbrushes and let their creativeness flow.

I love how they turned out.  I still have to spray them with a sealant so the rain won’t wash the paint away.  Then we can add them to the rock garden!

We had fun, the kids had fun, what a great afternoon.

Kids Handprint Stepping Stones…

44 degrees outside - 11:56 am - cloudy...

What grandmother wouldn’t want their grandchild’s handprint?  For Mother’s Day our kids are making handprint stepping stones for their Grandmas.  A good Mother’s Day craft needs two simple ingredients to melt a mom’s heart: a child’s handprint and their homemade touch.  This idea has both!  It’s also a fun kid project and a great keepsake.

I bought two reusable 12-inch round stepping stone molds at the local craft store along with some letter and number stone stamps.  I mixed up some concrete and poured it into the molds.  After letting the concrete set up a little, the kids had fun squishing their hands into the concrete mix.  They got to do this several times since the first two tries the concrete was still a little to wet and their handprints disappeared. 

After they made their handprints and washed up, next came stamping their names and date into the concrete.  Now they have to dry for 24-48 hours and they should be ready just in time for Mother’s Day on Sunday.

Note:  If you're looking for stone letter stamps and/or round stepping stone mold {click here}.

Little Off-Grid Garden – Eggshell Seed Starters…

38 degrees - 8:37 am - yesterday 'April Showers' brought us 4" of snow, which is now being slowly washed away by the rain...

Did you know that back in the days before commercial peat pots and plastic trays people used half of an eggshell to start seedlings?  That’s right.  An eggshell is a great container to sow seeds in.  Eggshells are small, lightweight, porous, earth friendly, readily available and loaded with nutrients that can provide a healthy dose of growing energy to your little seedlings. 

Here’s the way to use eggshells for seed pots: 
Crack the egg high up on the small end.  Empty the contents of the egg and rinse out the shell.  Poke 2 or 3 small holes in the bottom of the shell, I used a toothpick.  Fill half the shell with seed starter soil and sow a seed.  Cut an egg carton on the fold so it will fit on a windowsill.  Replace eggshells in egg carton, put on a sunny windowsill and cover lightly with plastic wrap until seed begin to sprout. 

When it’s time to plant the seedlings in the garden:
Gently crush the eggshell, dig a small hole, place the pieces directly into the garden soil along with your seedlings and backfill.  Pretty simple.

Little Off-Grid Garden - What's Growing…

40 degrees outside - 11:08 am - still raining...

While Tony is busy getting the garden ready outside, the kids and I are getting the garden ready inside.  Rain or not, if we plan on having a garden, now is as good a time as any to start planting some garden starts.  A small packet of seeds will yield a complete tray of seedlings for the same price that you would pay for just a few retail plant starts.  Another advantage of starting our garden with seeds is that in a few short weeks the kids will get to witness one of the most exciting times for little gardeners, the birth of new seedlings as they emerge from the soil.

This morning the kids and I got out some of the little plastic pudding containers that we have been saving, Chives and Sweet Basil seed packets, a bag of potting soil, and laid plastic down over the table.  We were now ready to plant our garden starts.  The kids had fun planting and watering their tiny seeds.  We put the cups up on the highest south-facing windowsill (so our 2 year old wont “try” to help them grow) to get the most sunshine possible.  The kids are now eager to see the first green shoots sprout from the dirt.

Crafts For Kids - Pinecone Bird Feeder

42 degrees outside - 9:17 am - cloudy, foggy, light rain...

Pinecone Bird Feeder

Yesterday my sister and her two children came over to visit and work on a kid’s craft.  One of the sloppiest bird-treat projects, the pinecone bird feeder, is also one of the most fun.  It combines foods that wild birds love, peanut butter, birdseed and pinecones.

Wild birds are attracted to the tiny seeds that are hidden deep inside the pinecones, which are held there by peanut butter.  Peanut butter could be considered the perfect bird food.  It is high in fat and full of protein.  These are food qualities that are important to wild birds any time of the year.  This is especially true in the winter when birds really need the boost.

To make the pinecone bird feeder, you will need: pinecones, peanut butter, birdseed and string.  My sister and I gave the kids a paper plate with a glob of peanut butter and a plastic knife to spread and push the peanut butter into all the openings.  Once the pinecone was coated in peanut butter to their satisfaction, they rolled and pressed it around in birdseed, then we tied a string to the top so it could be hung outside.

  

The pinecone bird feeder is one of the kid’s favorite crafts.  I like it for several reasons, it is cheap, easy to make, attracts many birds and the most important reason – it keeps my kids interested in backyard bird watching.

he couldn't resist tasting some of the peanut butter



spreading peanut butter onto the pinecone



rolling and pressing seed into the pinecone