Some of the clothing we make here on the ranch

Here are some items from our hand painted line. We offer custom colors at no extra cost. Our sizes range from premie to XXXXL You tell us what you'd like & we'll create it for you. Price list will be posted tomorrow. (Pictures imported from our old blog). I'll update our "For Sale" page with pictures & prices in the next day or so. The first collage is of tie dyed clothing. We can do this with just about anything. The second collage (one with less pictures) is actually hand painted clothing. We can also do that with just about anything. Each type has a separate process, both make for great fun and the possibilities are endless.

Building Our Kingdom

one tire at a time? Well ok ... maybe not "our" kingdom ... but the tires will certainly lend themselves to animal houses, coops & such here on the ranch. They will make great walls and even greater pillars. From the simple to the more complex, it is free building materials that helps keep our landfills a little less full. 

Tire companies pay to recycle their tires. We could go in, haggle & come under the bid of who ever they pay ... but why? We're just blessed to receive FREE building materials!!!

We get tires delivered by the truck load thanks to a friend of ours. e makes sure to bring them as often as possible. In effort to ensure our place doesn't start looking like a junk yard, the tires are stacked, immediately ... according to size. We're thinking about all kinds of structures ... we even joked abut making a pool today. What? It could happen LOL

Are they safe to build with? Yes, contrary to what so many think. 

Fire safe? Yep .. because they are covered with natural materials made from the earth, they can be fire proof.

The pile in the picture looks small ... but ... it's only one half of one delivery. 

Things we'll be building:

• Barn
• Chicken Coop
• Storage Shed
• Hay "Covering"
• Pool (yes, you saw right ... a pool ... keep a watch for this one)
• A "foundation" for our house

Stay tuned!

Trial & Error

So we've been living our pioneer dreams for 5 months now. We LOVE it ... the lifestyle ... the work ... the feeling of accomplishment ... everything! We'd like to think we've learned a thing or two already. Some we've learned just by the amount of thinking we do before proceeding with a plan but some things we've learned through trial & error.


About our cabin:


1) As much as I LOVE my extended porch, I would NOT get it again. It cuts in to the very needed floor space. 
2) Get a window in each loft ... they create an incredible cross breeze for those who use them as their bedrooms!
3) Put a bulk of your windows on the side facing your rising sun. That way you can take advantage of passive solar when you need the heat & block it out if you don't. (You can also build mini solarium porches for each window)
4) Use a water sealant on every part of the cabin possible ... inside AND out! 
5) Lay a few extra ply boards up in each loft, the opposite way they are already laid. It just gives extra support. 


Something I thought about today ... we just built our solar water heater. One thing we should have done before starting (and will do on the next one) ... used a water sealant on the ply wood! Live and learn! 

DIY Solar Water Heater Part 1

Today's the day!!! Step by step instructions & pictures ... for your viewing pleasure:

Step One: Measure & cut all connectors for L pieces:

Step Two: Lay PVC Pipes on 6 - 8 ft. ply board

Step Three: Join PVC Pipes with connector pieces & L's: 

 



Step Four: Screw brackets in to hold PVC pipes in place









Step Five: Paint PVC Pipes & Board with flat black







That will do it for Part 1 of our DIY Solar Water Heater. Part 2 is coming soon, so keep checking back!

Recycle, Reuse & Re-purpose

We try not to waste anything in our family. If something has fulfilled it's purpose, we try to find other ways to use it. For example ... we have a broom that had broken. The broom part was ok but the handle had broken almost all the way down at the bottom. We also had a broken piece of PVC piping that would no longer work unless cut below the break. One of my son's decided to build a more sturdy broom, so we wouldn't have to go out & spend money on another broom .

We'll be posting more of our recycled tools, projects & resources later this week! What are some things you have done at your place?

One Day Closer

Normal morning here ... chores, school ... & then off in the distance I can hear a rumble. My heart starts racing .. as if I were a child about to open presents. Could it be? YES ... it is!!! The delivery truck carrying part of our future is coming up our road. I am so excited that I can hardly contain myself!!! Lumber, PVC pipe ...
<SCREEEEEEETCH> UGH ... that was the sound of dreams being put on hold yet again ... sigh. It seems that they didn't have everything we ordered, in the right quantity. We can build the framing ... but won't have the brackets ... which also means we can't build the worm bin we'd planned. We can build the shower but won't be able to install it ... because the elbows & connectors aren't all there.
Hurry up and wait. I'm tired of that!!! I just keep taking deep breaths & telling myself that it's not just about the destination ... but the journey as well!

It's the Little Things

He's gathering sticks. He's a little man on a mission. He plans on using them to build his dreams ... well, his current dreams. He has some BIG ideas and little sticks will help get him there. He gave up movie time to gather his supplies. Not only was the movie forfeit willingly, but he cried at the thought of stopping his work before daylight. He has a strong work ethic ... at such a young age. 

We, as a family will be doing things with the sticks as well. Soon our little sticks will become a handcrafted item & placed in our store. Crosses, boxes ... maybe even novelty stick figures. Come back soon, to check out our store :)

Supplies ordered

My husband, as I type ... is on his way home from the hardware store. They had everything we needed for the water heater project. He also bought all the lumber for framing the inside rooms. They didn't have the brackets to keep the frame in place though. We're having everything delivered on Monday morning. We'll get the brackets from another store before then. Because of work schedules, most of the room framing may have to wait until Thursday afternoon or early Friday morning ... but I think it's safe to say that by the 17th of this month, we will have our rooms framed, bathroom almost (if not completely) done and our new stove hooked up. YAY!!!

We've been going over plans, probably to a fault. We decide something & then time goes by before we're able to follow through ... and it seems like it's just long enough for us to rethink things & then change our minds. I'm going to look at that as a positive thing though. Time and living in the house have really shown us how some things we want, are spot on ... but others need to be reworked.

Something we're thinking about putting in to use near our barn (once it's built) ....