Photo Credit: Wojtek Kryczka/iStock DCL

The earliest record of the use of aloe vera goes all the way back to Cleopatra and ancient Egypt. The plant has some pretty potent properties: it kills mold, bacteria, viruses and fungus.

Jessica has collected 40 different uses for this amazing plant. She includes both topical and internal uses. (Please note her recommendations on consulting a doctor before use and also the type of aloe vera to use if you take it orally.) Some of the uses also include short recipes.

Click the 40 Amazing Uses for Aloe Vera! link below to read the entire article.

40 Amazing Uses for Aloe Vera!

theownerbuildernetwork.co

This article may appeal to just a small group of people, but I thought it was interesting.  It shows the various stages in building a cedar smokehouse for smoking fish and meat.

It’s not a tutorial with a material list and step-by-step directions. But it’s interesting to watch the slideshow as they build the smokehouse.

Click on the How to Make a DIY Cedar Smokehouse  link below to read the complete article.

How to Make a DIY Cedar Smokehouse

onegoodthingbyjillee.com

These were so unusual and cute I had to feature them! Jonie explains how to make beautiful, cupcake-shaped gift boxes. You can put a wrapped gift inside. You can also make smaller cupcake boxes and put jewelry inside as a gift.

The cupcake boxes are surprisingly easy to make since they use paper mache boxes as the base. Jonie includes a number of examples and explains how she made them. Neat project!

To see the complete project,  click on the How to Make Homemade Cupcake Gift Boxes link below to see Jonie’s tutorial.

How to Make Homemade Cupcake-Shaped Gift Boxes

thenerdyfarmwife.com

This is an excellent post. Forsythia is a fragrant, spring flowering bush that is bright yellow. It also has antiviral properties. In this article, Jan explains how to make forsythia soap. If you don’t have forsythia blooms in your garden, Jan provides a source where you can buy the flowers.

The recipe uses a forsythia infusion and also forsythia-infused oil. Jan also includes a variety of oils, mango butter, a perfect essential oil and other ingredients. It’s a really nice recipe with very clear instructions.

Jan provides a link to Soap Making 101 which explains the cold process soap making method. She also shares an outstanding online tool that calculates the amount of essential oils that you need for any natural beauty recipe.

Click on the How to Make Forsythia Soap link below to see Jan’s recipe.

How to Make Forsythia Soap

abeautifulmess.com

I saw this DIY coffee table and really loved it. It has a nice rustic look. It’s made out of cut-to-size 2×4 boards that you can get cut to size when you buy the wood.

This is a well-organized tutorial. There’s a Supplies and Tools list. The tutorial assumed you’re cutting the 2x4s yourself and gives you 3 different lengths. (But you can also use this as your cut list when you buy the wood).

The tutorial explains how to build each layer of the table, use cross beams and notches for horizontal support, insert the legs, sand and seal the wood.

I also like the alternative build method of cutting all of the boards to one size and assembling the table using wood glue.

Click the Super Neat DIY Wooden Coffee Table link below to see this terrific tutorial.

Super Neat DIY Wooden Coffee Table

stacysrandomthoughts.com

This is a recipe for apple wine that does require time to make and time to allow the wine to mature. But it’s well worth the effort. As the author, Stacy, says:

“Making Apple Winefrom fresh apples can be labor-intensive, but the end result has been more than rewarding.  Since Mother Nature messed with the production of apples on our apple tree this year, and my 5-on-1 apple tree is too young yet to produce very many apples, I was in a bit of a conundrum about how I was going to make this year’s apple wine with little or no apples.  So I bought Granny Smith apples.”

So you can make apple wine with apples that you grow yourself, or apples that you buy. Stacy explains which apples make the best wine.

Her recipe is a wonderful mixture of apples, raisins, cinnamon, and other ingredients. She includes each step in the winemaking process and also has some nice photographs.

However, you do need some equipment and a knowledge of the process. For example, she mentions racking wine, carboys and airlocks. Click here to see a demonstration of racking wine.

This is an example of a 5-gallon glass carboy and these are plastic airlocks.

Click the How to Make Apple Wine from Fresh Apples link below to see the complete recipe.

How to Make Sassy Homemade Wine – Apple Wine from Fresh Apples

craftsunleashed.com

This is such a cute Valentine’s gift, especially for kids. It’s a small bottle of soap bubbles with a cute tag, charm and Baker’s twine. Love it!

Shaunte provides a supply list with links to places where you can buy any supplies you don’t have. There’s a printable PDF for the tag and message. Excellent job and fun craft for Valentine’s Day. Click the How to Make Easy & Cute “Don’t Burst My Bubble” Valentine Crafts link below to see Shaunte’s tutorial.

How to Make Easy & Cute “Don’t Burst My Bubble” Valentine Crafts

craftsunleashed.com

I think this is a wonderful idea for a gift for Valentine’s Day. It can be a romantic gift for that someone special in your life. Or it can be a sweet gift for your kids.

Angie (Crafts Unleashed) explains how to roll up a personal Valentine’s message in a small bottle. Add some heart-shape confetti, a pretty tag and charm and you have the perfect gift. Click on the Handmade Message in a Bottle Valentines link below to see this simple tutorial.

Handmade Message in a Bottle Valentines

dukesandduchesses.com

This is Randi’s recipe for homemade bacon dog biscuits. It’s like making a cookie for your dog. The ingredients are all-natural and the recipe is very simple. Randi also includes a link to a bone-shapes cookie cutter.

These biscuits are great for your dog or can be made as presents for your friends who have dogs. You can store the biscuits in an airtight container for up to a month. Even better, you can freeze them.

After reading the recipe, my thought was that they’d be tasty for humans too!

Click on the How to Make Bacon Dog Treats link below to see the recipe.

How to Make Bacon Dog Biscuits

handsoccupied.com

These stacked ombre heart candles are perfect for Valentine’s Day. BUT they are also perfect for a special birthday gift, for Mother’s or Father’s Day or any other occasion where you want to tell someone you love them.

This is really a pretty easy project. Heidi explains the best way to melt the soy wax, color it red and stamp the individual heart candles. Tabbed candle wicks make it easy to stack the different hearts. In the end you have a beautiful and unique candle. Yes, you can burn the candle like any other candle. Heidi explains why this works. Click on the How to Make Stacked Ombre Heart Candles link below to see the tutorial.

How to Make Stacked Ombre Heart Candles