Gratitude Sunday 4-28-2013

Welcome to Gratitude Sunday, a weekly link-up hosted by Taryn at Wooly Moss Roots. On Sundays we take the time to reflect back over the last week and all we have to be grateful for. The last few weeks have been challenging and filled with tears at times but through it all I am reminded that we have so much to be grateful for.

-Allowing myself to take time away from our Etsy shop and blogging as we've struggled with a crisis with our family out of state. It is very hard for me to step away from our small business because I work so hard to grow our business but I realize that sometimes other things in life are more important.

-Speaking the truth.

-Working in our gardens. So simple yet so therapeutic.

Simply Natural Saturdays 4-27-2013

Simply Natural Saturdays 4-20-2013

Simply Natural Saturdays 4-13-13

Our New Creations Inspired by Nature

Typical of a Montana spring, we had a few warm and sunny days in the last month but this week has been a return to gray, dreary days. We've been getting some much needed rain so I cannot complain although it is challenging to be cooped up in the house again, especially when I look out the window and see the half dug new garden expansion in the yard.

One of the best things about being cooped up in the house and not out adventuring is that we've had time to finish up some creations we have been working on the last month.  The majority of the creations we make to sell in our Etsy shop are inspired by the beautiful nature around us and some of our latest creations can attest to that!

Here are a few of our newest creations:

Children's nature themed reclaimed oak memory game set.

Earth Friendly Babies Giveaway

Welcome to the Earth Friendly Babies Giveaway hosted by Organic Eco Baby, Going Green with the Grizls and So Easy Being Green. We have teamed up with a bunch of eco-friendly bloggers to give you the chance to win a $200 gift certificate from Organic Eco Baby. You can use your certificate to buy cloth diapers, organic clothes, safe bath products, non-toxic crib mattresses, green toys and goodies for Mama. Some of the brands you will find are; Naturepedic, SoftBums, Green Toys, Keekaroo, Smart Bottoms and more!

Earth Day Giveaway

In honor of Earth Day 2013, members of the Homestead Bloggers Network have teamed up with BuyGreen.com to make green living easier! BuyGreen.com is offering a generous gift card for $250 to help one lucky winner live a greener lifestyle!

So what all can you find at BuyGreen.com? I think the question should be, "what can't you find at BuyGreen.com?" From eco-friendly kitchen supplies to bath and body products, clothing and even composting, they've got you covered! BuyGreen.com believes that the power to make a change rests with consumers. Take a stand and demand healthier, greener products as a BuyGreen.com customer and let's make a change together. 

Additional prizes are offered by participating blogs:

• Unpaper Towels from Montana Solar Creations
• Gardening Books from Chris McLaughlin
• Two Magazine Subscriptions from Lille Punkin

Simply Natural Saturdays 4-6-2013

Our First Camping Trip of the 2013 Season

Living in Montana means long, cold winters and fully embracing the first glimmer of warm spring weather. In these parts, as soon as the temperature starts creeping up into the 50's it is quite common to start seeing people out in shorts and flip flops since for us those temps feel like a heat wave.

Last weekend the weather forecast called for daytime temperatures in the upper 50's and sunshine so we went on our first camping trip of the season. We've been working so hard to stock our Etsy shop that we haven't been giving ourselves too many breaks so a weekend in the woods sounded perfect.

We have a well loved slide in Four Wheel truck camper we use for early and late season cool weather camping so it didn't matter to us that it was to be in low 30's at night. My husband lived out of the camper for a few months in Alaska the year before we met so it is all decked out with a solar panel on top that runs a heater at night to keep us warm.

How to Start Garden Seeds Indoors

Since we live in a cold climate with a short growing season, starting some of our garden seeds indoors is a must if we want to maximize our harvest. Last week I shared about selecting garden seeds that grow well in cold climates so this week I’m going to share how to start seeds indoors.

Most seed packs recommend you sow your seeds indoors 6-8 weeks before the last frost. The general rule of thumb where we live is to plant your less hearty crops outside after Memorial Day. This means that we try to get our seeds started indoors by early April.

When deciding which seeds to start indoors, pick out the plant seeds that are not cold hearty and have a longer period of days to harvest time. A lot of seed packs will say if the plants do well being started indoors and then planted out as seedlings.

MontanaSolarCreations April 2013 Blog Sponsors

This month we have several new blog sponsors to introduce to you. Throughout the month we will be sharing more about them but here is a brief introduction so be sure to visit their shops and blogs.

-Blessed in Homemaking Etsy Shop: "Blessed In Homemaking offers organic and all natural body care products, gentle baby care products, herbal products, crocheted items, and more, for your healthy lifestyle." Also be sure to visit the Blessed in Homemaking blog.

-Armadillo Dreams Etsy Shop: "Armadillo Dreams makes waldorf inspired handmade wooden toys. Our handcrafted wood toys include baby toys, toddler toys and kids toys. Waldorf toys for all ages!"
Be sure to visit their blog Wild Armadillos.