DIY Reed Diffuser

This post came about from people always asking me, 

"How can you afford to travel all over the world?".

My answer is always, "It's the little things!".

If you can save money on many of the small aspects

of your life, you would be amazed how much that

can add up.  So many people spend exorbitant amounts

of money on what is wax and chemical scents in candles 

and wax melts.  There had to be a better answer.

What really prompted me to try something new was this 

ceiling!  This is the ceiling in what was my daughter's 

bedroom.  She loved to burn scented candles during her

later high school and college years.  These were high 

quality (read costly) candles from that nicely scented store 

in the mall and from a company that I can only call a

candle empire.  It wasn't until we cleared out the room to

paint it that we really noticed how filthy the ceiling looked

from the soot from the candles, we were shocked.

This is what it looked like after vigorous scrubbing ~ not

much better.  Luckily with two coats of paint, it was 

covered and looks great now but it really made me rethink

the use of scented candles in my home.  Like many other 

people I do like a nicely scented home and I had used reed

diffusers many times but again, every time I purchased one

the cost was from $10 to $25 and that just seemed like a 

waste of money.

So I did a little research online and found out it is 

extremely easy to make your own liquid for your

bottle/reed diffusers.

Everything I needed for this DIY was already in 

my house:

1/4 cup hot tap water

1/4 cup alcohol (rubbing or vodka)

essential oil (I used a botanical, 

non-synthetic oil)

new reeds

I recycled a bottle from a purchased diffuser

This method will evaporate faster than an oil based

method but I didn't have the proper oils in my home.

I will try that method once I have purchased the oil.

I poured the water and vodka into a plastic cup 

and swirled it together.  I then poured this mixture

into a glass bottle with a shallow neck.  

I added 25 drops of essential oil to the jar and 

swirled the liquid around.  The new reeds I 

purchased had straight reeds and more decorative 

ones that have swirls at the end.  The straight reeds

should be turned around a few times a week to add

more scent to the room.

I used a sweet orange oil that smells so clean and

beautiful.  Sometimes the scents from candles or

wax melts can make me feel a bit sick but this scent 

is fresh and lovely.

Give it a try! And remember, it's the little things!

Port of Call: Aruba

We were traveling on the Coral Princess from Fort 

Lauderdale.  Aruba was our first port and after being

at sea for two and a half days we were ready to get 

off the ship and do some exploring.

On our cruise, we were only in port for a few hours

from about 7am until noon.  We are not big on excursions 

and generally like to explore on our own.  After reading

up on the island we found out that there are tours that take 

you to visit the Natural Bridge and then tell you that the

Natural Bridge was destroyed in a storm in 2005, they do 

show you a smaller version of a natural bridge but we knew

 this sort of tour would not be for us.

The ship docks at the Aruba Cruise Terminal and it is

just a short walk to get outside the terminal to taxis and

the main shopping area.  Aruba is one of the countries of

the Kingdom of the Netherlands and you can see the 

Dutch influence in the facades of the buildings on the

main drag, though with a pastel Caribbean vibe.  There

are casinos, restaurants and bars and the typical 

shopping venues found in most island ports such as

Diamonds International and stores of that type.

We exited the cruise terminal and approached the 

line of taxis.  There are fixed prices in Aruba and we

knew it would be $10 to get to our destination but 

we told the driver where we wanted to go he told us

the was a Sunday surcharge and now the fare would

be $13 each way for a 3 mile trip.  I really hate being

ripped off when I travel and prefer to walk away when

it happens.  I walked onto the main street and just 

behind the stores is the bus station, a few local guys

told me I could get to the beach easily and cheaply.

We could pay with US dollars on the bus since the

ticket booth was closed.  The bus arrived in a few

minutes and we hopped on, for a few dollars each we

rode the local bus and the driver told us when we

had reached our destination.

We chose to visit Eagle Beach during our time in Aruba.

This beach is often rated as one of the best in the islands.

And it is beautiful, a lovely wide beach with turquoise blue

waters.  

We didn't have wifi on the ship so we needed to find a spot

on the beach with wifi so we could check our emails and

get a little work done.  We paid a guy for a few lounge chairs

under a palapa and settled in for what we thought would

be a few hours of rest and relaxation.  Very soon we were

slapping and scratching from some small insects that were

biting us.  We wrapped towels around ourselves and checked

our most important emails and then high tailed it out of 

there before we were devoured by the insects.

We said farewell to the beach and hopped back on

the bus to town.

We strolled over the the Wharfside Flea Market and met

up with a few friends from the ship who told us all the

stuff there were cheap souvenirs or other trinkets that

are brought over from Haiti.  By this point we had seen

enough, we headed back to the ship.  

Happy 6th Birthday American Homestead Blog!

Today marks the 6th birthday of the American Homestead

blog and it is also my birthday but I'm older than 6!

I have been a bad blogger this year, in fact, I have only

posted 12 times in the whole year.  It seemed like blogging

was falling by the wayside but lately I am happy to see many

bloggers returning from long breaks.  So hopefully with the

New Year I will try to blog more often.  I do have so many

stories I would love to tell, things about my travels, the 

things I make, the things I eat, the things I collect, etc.

I do post everyday on Instagram:  @americanhomestead1

There are rumors that there may be some new technology

coming my way for my birthday so hopefully that will make

blogging a bit easier.  I take so many photos with my phone

these days, there are so many pieces of equipment it can be

hard to get them to work together in an easy way.

This blog started just as I was about to go on a big adventure

and that is still going on.  I travel a lot!  And I love it.  I have

traveled to 7 foreign countries this year, 6 of them are new

to me.  I leave next week to set sail to South America and I

will visit five new countries on my world list.

What is my World List you may ask?  Well, there are a few

milestones that travelers like to meet.  One is to

circumnavigate the globe, I've done that twice.  Another

milestone is to visit 100 countries ~ I'm working on that!

I am almost halfway to my goal.

So please stay tuned to see what the New Year brings.

I hope everyone enjoys the upcoming holidays no

matter what holiday you may celebrate.  Just be happy!

All the best,

~ Ellen

Before and After Silver Haul

I had a meeting in a town about an hour and a

quarter away from my house earlier this week

and on the way home I stopped at a thrift shop

for a look around and found a pile of old silver.

I imagine a family emptied out someone's home

and sent it all to the thrift shop.  Probably many

of these pieces were wedding gifts back when

people got silver for their weddings.  There were

so many cool pieces, a huge circular tray that

must have been 2' across, coffee pots, creamers,

footed water pitchers...  and I didn't buy anything.

NOT ONE THING!  I thought, oh, you have so

much already, where will you put it?

And then I regretted it.  I thought about it all

week.  I really wanted the huge tray.

This was our wedding anniversary weekend and we

were out of state all day on Saturday so I made a deal

with Mr. Wonderful.  I said if we got up early on Sunday

 and got all of our outdoor chores done, could we head

back down south and see if any silver was left?  He was

up for it and off we went.  Of course many of the good

pieces were gone, including the huge tray.  But I did

pick up 10 pieces.  And I got it all for $20 which is the

weekend limit I usually set for myself.  So it was a score!

I polished it all as I was watching the final Lewis on

Masterpiece and now it is all packed away in the china

closet.  I think we will have a silver themed Thanksgiving

and Christmas this year!

Sint Maarten

Sint Maarten is a popular port for cruises.  Sint Maarten

is a constituent country of the Netherlands and shares this

small Caribbean island with the French Saint-Martin. The

capital, Philipsburg is where the big cruise ships dock.  It is

a very quick and affordable water taxi ride from the dock to

the town.  We were told to be sure to have the taxi drop us at

the Police Station but we didn't have a choice, we were just 

told to get on the taxi and were dropped off at another dock.

It is not terribly far away from the shops and restaurants

though.

This is what you see when you leave the taxi dock,

it is a very clean, shaded area and you can see why 

the locals would want visitors to see this area first

as it is very inviting.  

The palm shaded area is flanked by these colorful buildings

 that house many shops.  Unfortunately these shops were not

open on a Sunday morning.  We considered taking a taxi to

the French side of the islands but were told most places are

closed there on Sundays.

We strolled along the cobblestone streets toward the more 

populated area of the town.  We passed by local homes

near the quieter end of town.

Many of the locals were in church since it was a Sunday

morning when we first arrived.

The capital's courthouse is a beautiful old building.

There are many colorfully painted building selling

jewelry, alcohol, souvenirs and quite a few selling

Delft since this is a Dutch holding.  We purchased

some sea salt since this island was once named the

Land of Salt, we also purchased some local spice

mix and vanilla extract.  We love to buy local food

products and then cook with them back home, it is

a way to bring your vacation home with you.

After a nice walk and some shopping we walked to the

beach and rented a few chairs and an umbrella for the

day.  The prices can vary from one vendor to another

but all the prices were quite reasonable.  The people 

working on the beach will bring you drinks if you wish 

or you can just walk up to one of the bars on the street

that runs alongside the beach.

When you have had enough surf and sand, just walk

over to the police station and hop a water taxi for the 

short ride back to the ship.

We had a nice relaxing day in Sint Maarten.  It was easy

and affordable to get to a beach, bars and shopping.  The

locals were friendly and nice though a few people in the 

shops seemed very bored and they did not get any of our

money.  The guy who rented us our chairs and umbrella

was very friendly and he had a deal for chairs, umbrella

and 6 beers for a decent price. When I told him I don't

drink beer, he reduced the price and said he would get

me anything I would want to drink from a local bar, it 

was all very simple, relaxing and easy.

Quiltmaker's 1000 Blocks Book Mystery

A while back someone had told me I was a 

part of this book but I had not heard from

the publisher so I wasn't sure.  A few weeks

ago I visited Lolly's Fabrics in Shipshewanna,

Indiana and noticed they had the book so I

took a peek.

On one of the opening pages showing some

of the blocks, there was one of mine.  It's the

top row, second from the left.  I checked the

index and my name and two page numbers 

were listed but when I visited those pages,  my

blocks were not there.  I thought maybe it is not

the page number but the block number ~ tried

that and nope, that didn't work either.

So when I got home I contacted the publisher 

and found out I am indeed in the book but there

was an editing problem with the page numbers

which will be corrected in future issues.

Here is one of the blocks called Dutch Treat,

it says it is on page 85 but it's really on 87.

This is my other block called Felicity, it says 

it is on page 77 but it is on page 79.

This is the quilt I made using the Dutch Treat

block, I call it Going Dutch.

This is the quilt I made using the Felicity block,

I call it Felicidad.

If your guild or shop would be interested in a class

for either of these quilts, send me an email:

ellen.americanhomestead@gmail.com

Homecoming

A package arrived from California today.

The projects from my next book came back from

the publisher.  They left me last July and have 

been hanging out in Cali having their photos taken.

It was nice to see them again.

In 3 weeks we will be leaving for our big

trip ~ 3 weeks!  And by the time I get back

home sometime in July, it will be time for

my book to be released. 

Something to look forward to!

Remember you can pre-order right now on 

Amazon so you can get your copy ASAP.  

Then you can get  busy making fun projects

for Christmas... or anytime.

Your can pre-order it here.

It's beginning to look alot like Christmas

around my American Homestead!

The Easter Tree

It is Easter week and one of our little bunnies

will make it home from college to celebrate, the

other one has to work.  Growing up and getting a

job can put such a glitch in your plans for fun...

Today I gathered some branches from the crab

apple tree in the front garden and collected some

of my embroidered ornaments, some decorated 

eggs, some mini blue Christmas balls, a few wreaths

I made as a young bride many years ago and some

prisms from old chandeliers and decorated a tree for 

our dining room table.  Mr. Wonderful  and I rarely

eat in the dining room nowadays, the table seems

too big and empty with just the two of us.  We put 

a smaller table in our family room ~ another sign

of our empty nest honeymoon cottage.

Though it was chilly this morning and we still had

frost, it has turned into a beautiful Spring day.  The

windows in the studio are open and a gentle breeze 

is floating in.  I was able to go out on a hike today

and met up with this beauty.

Yesterday Mr. Wonderful took me out to lunch 

at our new favorite Indian restaurant.

It is close to Trader Joe's so when we eat there

we always stop at TJ's and find something

special.

I left with armloads of flowers and filled the

house with blooms.  For now, we will still have

to buy our flowers but from the look of the 

daffodil bulbs that I divided last Fall, we should 

have a bumper crop in a few weeks.