I don’t usually think about decorating for Easter until Holy Saturday. The weeks leading up to Easter are kept fairly simple in our home, and we try to let that quietness remain until the day actually arrives.

When Easter does come, we celebrate it slowly. Rather than marking it for a single day, w...

Down on our farm, spring gatherings tend to revolve around the table more than the calendar. Easter, Mother’s Day, and early garden days all seem to call for food that feels a little more complete without becoming complicated. I usually find myself in the kitchen with a mixing bowl and some fresh he...

Every year, I barter a gift basket for our Christmas tree. It’s one of my very favorite traditions — not just because of the tree, but because I get to gather goodies, thrift for a creative container, and doll it up to look festive. Some baskets I make are for individuals — a teacher, a friend, or e...

It seems I am always missing one person right near Christmas. Maybe the gift did not arrive on time. Maybe there is a last-minute invitation, and I suddenly need a hostess gift. Or maybe I simply forgot someone in the busyness of December.

What is a homesteader to do?

Dive into the pantry, of cour...

There’s something special about preparing for Christmas in a way that’s both simple and steeped in tradition. Advent has always been my favorite time of year — a time to prepare our hearts and homes for the coming of the Savior. And when Christmas finally arrives, there’s nothing that warms my heart...

There’s something wonderful about walking into a home that smells like Christmas.

The first time I ever made a simmer pot was when I was a young mom, just learning how to cook from scratch. A pot of orange peels and cinnamon sticks gently simmering on the stove became part of that journey—a humble ...

It’s the end of fall, and winter is near. The pumpkins are soon going into the compost, and the last leaves have fallen from the trees. The color is mostly gone from the landscape. The summer flowers are long past the point of bringing those daily bouquets into the house. It's sad, I know, but here ...

There was a time when there was no Hobby Lobby. I know… isn’t that horrible? But it’s true, no craft stores with pre-made decorations for every season. It wasn’t really that long ago, but I can still remember when the craft stores only had materials to make your own decorations. Yes, I’m that old. 

Growing up, my room was filled with all sorts of crafts, usually involving paper of any and every kind. I had glue, glitter, paints, colored pencils, fancy scissors that cut all sorts of shapes, and rubber stamps galore. Hello 80s! 

While all of those things are fun tools for a crafty person to ...

Fall is hands down my favorite time of year. It’s the harvest season after the hard winter, the rush of spring, and the hot summer have all passed. To me, it’s the perfect time of year because it isn’t too hot or too cold, and the nights are not too short yet either. Best of all, it means that Chris...

Food dyes have been front and center in the news lately because of the harmful side effects they have on our bodies. The dye known as Red 3 has even been linked to cancer! It’s important to keep chemicals like these out of our diet.

We’ve got some good news for you, though… You can make your own...

Did you know you can make stunning floral arrangements year-round using flowers planted in a cutting garden? Bouquets from homegrown flowers are just as beautiful as those from a store or florist — or, dare we say, even more beautiful? — for a fraction of the cost. We’ve been growing flowers in a cu...