This is a really simple design and it doesn’t involve any precision techniques so I can confidently say that if you don’t make a mess of superglue, this project is suitable for any skill level.  The clasp is a glue-on end cap that you attach with jewelry glue, so as long as you can manage that, the beading itself is extremely easy.

What you will need:

• A focal bead that gets attention.  Yes, mine is quite a large fish.  Somehow when I ordered it from Consumer Crafts, I thought it would be small… I don’t know why?  But I LOVE it even more when I saw it was over an inch long!
• Hemp, cotton, or linen twine in any color you like.  I used a combination of two – waxed linen and hemp.  I will talk more about working with each below.  Also a pair of scissors.
• Small, coordinating beads.  I used seed beads that were size 6/0 and 8/0 from my stash in colors that looked beachy to me.  Not all seed beads will fit all sizes of cord out there so you may have to experiment a little.
• Glue-on end caps and Aleene’s Jewelry glue.  It doesn’t have to be Aleene’s but that is what I use and swear by so that is what I will recommend.  You may experiment with other types or brands if you want.  My end caps also come with an “s” hook clasp but I like to use an actual lobster clasp instead for more security.

I like waxed linen when I bead layered bracelets like this because it doesn’t unravel while you work with it.  It really does have a coat of wax on it, making it really nice to thread beads.  Size 8/0 seed beads fit on it and it was nice for the fish.  But, on its own, it’s a little thin looking.  So, I complement with a fatter twine and use hemp too.  But it’s totally up to you.  Both are really inexpensive, but hemp is a lot easier to find (it’s even at dollar stores and every craft store carries it).  You just have to use larger-hole beads to work strictly with hemp, and often you won’t know what works until you’re sitting down with it trying to fit a bead on.

Anyway – beginning with the linen cord – I centered my fish, and tied a knot at each end of it to keep it from sliding all over my bracelet.  If you don’t mind if it moves, the knots aren’t necessary.  I jut want my beads to stay in approximately the same places as I put them, so they don’t all just slide to the bottom of the bracelet.  The waxed linen also helps with this – they won’t slide much as the wax is just sticky enough to keep it from sliding a lot (but not to sticky that you actually feel it when you wear it).

For the rest of the beads, I did the same thing: added a few, then tied a knot to keep them in that area.  There was no real pattern or measurement, sometimes it was 3 beads or 6 beads, sometimes the knot was an inch away from the last one, sometimes it was 1/2 inch or two inches.  By keeping it random, your knots are less likely to “pile up” and will be offset within the bracelet.  Keep your two end/final knots just under 6″ apart.  Knots right at the end will actually make it more difficult to glue on your end caps.  My recommendation is to bead about 5 1/2 inches.

Once you have your fish strand done, take a moment to see how many strands will fit in your end caps.  This size accommodates about 8 strands, I think they are 4mm end caps.  Once you know, bead that many strands.  You can add as many or as few beads as you like.  I like the hemp and cotton to show through – it lends a more earthy feel – so I leave plenty of open space on my strands.

We are going to cut all these cords down to approximately 6 inches.  (If you have a larger or smaller wrist, you will want to make adjustments to this).  The end caps and clasp will add nearly an inch to your length, so keep that in mind.  I’m aiming for a 7″ bracelet.  The only one you have to be cautious of is to keep the one with your focal bead (my fish) centered.

Now, add some glue to your cap, and glue all the strands into one side.  Give it about a minute to dry, it dries quickly.  Then, arrange your remaining cords kind of how you want them, make sure they’re trimmed off evenly on the other side, and glue on the other side.  You just want to make sure any giant tangles aren’t there before gluing it.  A little bit of crossing over is fine though.

Now attach your final clasp, and it’s ready to wear!  I confess… I originally made this one for my sister, but once I put it on… now I can’t part with it.  (Fortunately there are still 4 more fish beads left… I can make her another, haha!)

I hope you’re not getting tired of all the jewelry projects lately… nearly EVERYTHING in my craft stash is packed right now!  I managed to save just a couple little bins to get my craft on, and I picked my jewelry supplies because they’re all small enough not to disrupt our move.  We will be closing on our NEW house later this week, and moving this weekend or early next week.  It’s so exciting!  It just doesn’t allow for as much crafting as I normally enjoy – so bear with me the next couple weeks as we get moved and settled.

How’s your summer starting out?  Have you been up to any creative fun?

I guest-posted over there on Thursday with a short interview and this cute and simple Father’s Day card.  You can check out my full post here if you would like to read more!  If you read here often already, you may remember that Raya isn’t a fan of getting messy, so while we don’t have the mess to manage… she is slow to warm up to crafting with me sometimes.  (Yes, the girl breaks my crafty heart some days, haha!)

This craft plays up what she does enjoy – paper, tracing, cutting (eep!) and gluing.  I have just learned that she has her own preferences and doesn’t like to touch her mediums directly.  She does love to use tools, like paintbrushes, stamps, rollers, etc.

Sometimes, I just have to be patient.  Which is okay too.  When I don’t force her, she nearly always comes around.

Even her favorite activities require frequent breaks – which is okay too.

And I let her do things her own way when I can.  For today’s craft, we are making hand-tracings.  Because she won’t TOUCH fingerpaints, haha!  But she wanted it to be a two-way street, so I let her trace mine too.  Even if she does get pen all over me, LOL.

Let me give you the quick how-to for how we made the card – all you need are your basic paper crafting supplies: paper, scissors, and some glue.  To make the motion that goes along with the “I Love You” sign, we also added a small brad to the base of the hand.  This is optional; the hand sign itself is fairly well-recognized even without the motion.

Now, paper will allow you to do 3-dimensional projects – like a sign language craft!  You can also take a look at some of the other top words and phrases that kids can learn easily, or you can use individual letters to spell your message.  I know I’m not the only one who has thought of this – I actually spotted some other sign language projects after we made ours.  But it is easy to do, and adorable at that.

First, trace your child’s hand.  To get the “look” we used, I used 2 different colors of paper to emphasize the contrast between the front and back of the hand.  Cut out 2 hands just the same, and glue them together.  Using a heavier cardstock will help to keep the handprint from drooping over time.

Now, glue down the two middle fingers to create the “I love you” sign.  We turned our little hand into a flower, and attached it to a green wrist-and-forearm stem with a brad, so that you can move the hand like the “I love you” sign.

And that’s it!  We made this one for my husband for Father’s Day, but this would be a great handmade grandparent or caregiver gift, too!

Now – in full disclosure… we crafted together, but of course since my daughter is 2, I made the more detailed card, and she worked on her own masterpiece.  I cut various shapes from different colors of cardstock, and let her identify them and glue them to her own paper.  So we still cut and glued together, even if we worked on two separate projects.  In the coming years, I don’t plan to make things for her, I will let her do her own – but I really didn’t think that a toddler’s cut-and-paste tutorial would be all that fun to share, haha.  Here’s her handiwork:

Dad will be getting both of these this year.

So what do you like to do to craft with your kiddos? Would you like to win a fun kit for crafting with your kids?  Well CraftProjectideas.com and some of my favorite bloggers want to help you have a crafty summer with your kids and they’re offering a reader their own “Made by Me” Ultimate Box of Projects!

Rafflecopter will walk you through entering ~ good luck and have a happy Father’s Day this weekend!!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

I mentioned last week that I have a co-host joining me, my friend Nancy at Do Small Things With Love!  Nancy is a really talented blogger and a lot of fun, and we are joining forces to share all your awesome posts at both our blogs by linking to the party.  So each week, you may visit either one of us to link up and get twice the exposure.

In addition to that, we’re making a couple other fun changes.  Features will now be posted on Thursday mornings in a separate post – because we’re going to do a lot more of them!  And to make things even more fun (and to give you something to share even if you’ve taken a week off blogging) – each week, Happy Hour Friday will have a theme!

You may still feel free to share anything new you have been working on – it’s still an anything-goes party as long as you’re keeping things family friendly!  But in addition to what’s new, we will be posting a round-up the following week based on the party theme.  We’re giving you a shot at being featured in each week’s collection by raiding your archives for posts that fit the theme of the week.  This week’s theme is:

DIY Weddings

So dig out all your wedding tips, decor, and DIY posts, and be sure to share them in addition to whatever else you’ve been up to this week for your chance to be part of next Thursday’s DIY Wedding round up!

Feel free to grab a new button if you want to, and at the risk of sounding repetitive – let’s recap, and get this party started!

Are you part of the HGTVGardens Community?  I had the chance to check it out recently, and I am HOOKED!  A lot of you know – the big move happens in a couple weeks!  We have loved our condo and our little patio garden, but I am SO looking forward to having an *actual yard* again.  I can hardly wait to get a little vegetable garden in the backyard, I have sorely missed having fresh veggies straight from the plant.

The thing is… I’ve honestly never truly gardened on my own.  Does that surprise you?  My dad had a vegetable garden when I was growing up that several of our neighbors helped with.  See, my dad was blind, so gardening wasn’t exactly a hobby he could embrace, but he did have a large yard and the same desire for fresh veggies that my whole family shares.  So he arranged a deal with several of our neighbors: our yard was open for gardening.  He arranged to have it tilled each year, he invested in plants and seeds, and anyone was welcome to come anytime and help themselves to fresh tomatoes, cucumbers, snow peas, green peppers, green beans, swiss chard, rhubarb, zucchini, strawberries, raspberries, herbs, and other veggies and fruits we tried in different years – as long as they helped weed, water, and bring a few things into his kitchen for dinner a night or two a week.

Not all of our neighbors had the space or time to dedicate to a garden, so it was an arrangement that worked really well!  I learned a lot from several ladies in my childhood neighborhood about gardening, harvesting, and preserving.  But it was always something that people worked on together, and I had a built-in network of people to ask questions and get information from.  My dad has since passed away and it’s been several years since I’ve connected with anyone in the gardening community, so finding an online garden community to talk to has been a wonderful way for me to get excited about having the opportunity again to get out in the yard and pursue the daunting task of managing a garden – even a small one – all on my own.

If you’re not already part of the HGTVGardens community, it’s easy to get started!  Just create a profile, and within a few minutes you can share photos of your own garden, get tips for your region, and connect with other members to ask questions and share what you know!  (Note – if you are curious to know more, just click on any of the screen shots I’ve included.  It will direct you right to my favorite areas at HGTV Gardens!)

There are different areas for getting ideas and tips.  I LOVE that they have a craft section!

I also spent lots of time ogling posts in the Edibles area.  I wish I could get started right now!  (At least it will be soon!)

If you’re having trouble finding the exact information you’re looking for, or you just want to share in a more personal way, you can check into the Ask & Share Community anytime!

This is the feature I’m most excited about; this is just the way I was hoping to connect when I have questions or can’t quite remember what I should do to care for my garden.

The HGTVGardens website has it all – there is an extensive plant finder tool that you can tailor to your region and conditions, and informative articles on ALL aspects of gardening, from veggies to flowers to backyard chickens!  You can access the full site on your computer or from your iPhone or Android phone, and the communities are full of photos, ideas, and discussions of real members’ gardens.  Check out my profile, and if you’re a member, be sure to share your profile with me!  I’d love to see you over there!

Brought to you by the gardening crew at HGTV.

So I shared with you earlier this week that I got a chance to bake – finally! I made up a little healthier version of classic Monkey Bread by adding some fruit to my normal recipe, and using I Can’t Believe It’s Not Butter!® That added some fiber and cut down on the overall calories that went into the recipe – not that Monkey Bread is ever going to be considered “health food”, haha – but hey, if I can make small changes to feel better about indulging, I will!

The recipe turned out DELICIOUS and I can’t wait to share!

5.0 from 1 reviews

Print

Apple Raisin Monkey Bread

Author: Happy Hour Projects

Prep time:  10 mins

Cook time:  20 mins

Total time:  30 mins

Serves: 6

 

Ingredients

• One 10-ct. can refrigerated biscuit dough
• ½ c. I Can’t Believe It’s Not Butter!®
• ⅓ c. brown sugar
• 1 apple, peeled and diced (about 1 cup)
• 1 oz. raisins (an individually-sized box) – about 2 Tbsp.
• ½ c. sugar
• 1 tsp. cinnamon

Instructions

1. Preheat your oven to 350F and spray a muffin pan with cooking spray.
2. Open tube of biscuit dough and separate biscuits – cut each into 4-6 pieces.
3. Plump raisins by placing them in a microwave-safe dish and covering them with water. Microwave for 30 seconds, then drain and set aside.
4. Melt I Can’t Believe It’s Not Butter!® on medium heat in a small saucepan. Once completely melted, stir in brown sugar and heat for about one minute until sugar begins to melt and the mixture is well-blended. Remove from heat.
5. In a sealable bag, combine sugar and cinnamon.
6. Dip or stir biscuit pieces in the I Can’t Believe It’s Not Butter!® and brown sugar mixture until they are coated.
7. Toss coated biscuit pieces and diced apple pieces into the cinnamon-sugar mixture and shake until well-coated.
8. Place sugar-coated pieces in your muffin tin, alternating dough and apple slices. Periodically add raisins to each muffin cup.
9. Press each cup until well-packed, and bake.
10. For bread pan – bake 25-30 minutes. For jumbo muffins, 18-20 minutes, and for normal muffins, 14-16 minutes. Cool at least 10 minutes in pan before removing. Serves 6.

3.2.1596

If anything in these directions seems unclear, I also shared a short video outlining the steps for baking in my previous post – so be sure to check that out!

Using I Can’t Believe It’s Not Butter!® was no different than when I make up the recipe with real butter, so it was an easy change to make! I even bought the sticks, so we have been using it just as we would real butter. My husband is the die-hard butter lover in our house, and even he was fine with the switch. If you haven’t tried the substitute yet, I think you would be pleasantly surprised!

I Can’t Believe It’s Not Butter!® is made with 70% less saturated fat and 30% fewer calories than butter, and doesn’t contain cholesterol or hydrogenated oils – which means 0g trans fat per serving. Just like I Can’t Believe It’s Not Butter!®, Country Crock® spread also has 70% less saturated fat than butter and 30% fewer calories with amazing taste.  Both are available right at Walmart, making it easy for me to pick some up on my weekly shopping trip.

In fact – right now through June 20th, there is also a giveaway for a $50 Walmart gift card going on so you can try I Can’t Believe It’s Not Butter!® or Country crock in your cooking and baking so be sure to drop by and enter that – and try cooking with spreads for yourself if you don’t already!

Cooking your favorite recipes using Unilever buttery spreads is a deliciously smart move. With 0g trans fats per serving, less saturated fat and fewer calories than butter, cholesterol-free spreads are a better option.

Visit itsgoodtoknow.com for more information and recipe ideas now!

This is a sponsored post written by me on behalf of Unilever.

I’ll share links to the beads I used in case you’d like to check it out, but today’s post isn’t sponsored by Happy Mango Beads.  I’m just a new fan. If you like earthy, ethnic, or rustic kinds of beads, I think you would love them too!

What you will need for a similar design:

• Recycled Glass Pendant – this one is pale green but they have some other colors available too!
• 25mm recycled glass beads in a coordinating color.  I got a whole strand, so I’ll be able to make a gorgeous bracelet with my leftovers!
• Vintaj Brass wire, chain, and clasp – I really like using 18 or 20 gauge chain, but I made do with what I had, which is 22 gauge (a thinner wire).  Each gauge will work up a little differently.  The chain is some bulk Vintaj Brass rollo chain I’ve had in my stash for a while, I used around 16 inches.  You can use more or less depending on the length you like, and how many beads you want to add.
• Round-nosed pliers and wire cutters

First things first – I wanted to add a bit of wire to my pendant to make my own bail, since I’m using a thicker chain.  I cut off about 10 inches or so of wire, and used my round-nosed pliers to make a loop for the bail.

To do that, first, I looped it around my round pliers in the center of the wire.  Because of the thinner gauge, I looped it 3 times to make sure its stays nice and strong.

Then, I fed the tail ends through the drilled hole in the pendant.  I centered the loop over the top and left a short little “neck” to wrap my wire tails around.  I just wrapped up all the remaining wire, but if you find you have a lot of excess, you can trim it off.  I just want to make sure mine is plenty secure!

At this point, I was thinking I’d just add it to the chain and be done, but it looked a little plain on its own.  So I added a couple of those barrel-shaped beads.  Any beads would work, but these were the beauties I had ordered that I couldn’t wait to use in a bracelet, and they worked out really nicely!  But, since you can’t string beads directly onto chain this thick, I needed to make each bead into a charm with two loops.

I cut a couple of 3-4 inch lengths of wire – one for each bead.

I made a loop on the first end with my round-nosed pliers by looping it around the pliers close to the end, and then wrapping the short tail around the wire.  This ensures that it can’t inadvertently open up… and lose my bead.  Once I had one end finished, I added the bead, and did the same thing on the other side of the wire.  Just nip off any excess wire once you’ve wrapped your wire 3 or 4 times.

Next, I just needed to assemble it.  I cut about 2 inches or so of chain for my center part of the necklace, where my pendant will be.

You can open the links of the chain, or use jump rings to attach the beads to the chain after stringing on the pendant.  I just opened the existing chain links.  Then, I added equal lengths of chain to the opposite sides of each bead to finish off the necklace (in my case, two lengths about 7 inches each to give me a total length of about 18 inches.  This will vary depending on the size of your beads and how many you choose to use), and added a clasp on each end to finish it off.

My daughter immediately claimed it as her own.  She even stuffed it in the couch when I told her it was bedtime – that’s her favorite place to hide things she wants to save for later.  Little stinker!

But I know her tricks, so it was easy to reclaim, haha.  I just LOVE how it turned out!  And best of all, it only took me about 15 minutes to put together.

What are you wearing this summer?  Any handmade jewelry of your own?

I’ve been itching to bake something sweet and simple, and it’s been AGES since I made Monkey Bread.  I made a few adjustments to the recipe to make it a little more healthy (I’m not about to call it health food since there is still plenty of sugar in this recipe, but I added apples and raisins, and I also substituted I Can’t Believe It’s Not Butter!® for the real thing).

The addition of naturally sweet fruits at least gave my recipe a little extra fiber, and I Can’t Believe It’s Not Butter!® is made with 70% less saturated fat and 30% fewer calories than butter, and doesn’t contain cholesterol or hydrogenated oils – which means 0g trans fat per serving.  I figure if I’m going to indulge – there are a few ways to make it a little bit better for me!

(Another thing I love about this recipe is that it’s small – it makes up 6 jumbo-sized muffins (or 12 regular sized ones) so there aren’t a LOT of leftovers to keep tempting me, haha!)

Cooking with spreads is an easy substitute to make.  It bakes just like butter, and just like I Can’t Believe It’s Not Butter!®, Country Crock® spread also has 70% less saturated fat than butter and 30% fewer calories with a great buttery taste.  Both are available right at Walmart, making it easy for me to pick some up on my weekly shopping trip.

Here’s a little video to give you a preview of my baking experience!  I wish you could smell the smells coming out of my oven – they were amazing! I’ll be sharing the full recipe in just a couple of days, so stay tuned!

Have you tried cooking with spreads?  Want to give it a shot?  I have a great giveaway today for a $50 Walmart Gift Card, so that you can pick up some I Can’t Believe It’s Not Butter!® or Country Crock® to try in your next recipe – not to mention maybe a new pot, pan, or dish to whip it up in!  The giveaway is open to my U.S. readers age 18 and up, and runs through 11:59 pm EST June 20, 2013.  Rafflecopter will walk you through how to enter!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Cooking your favorite recipes using Unilever buttery spreads is a deliciously smart move. With 0g trans fats per serving, less saturated fat and fewer calories than butter, cholesterol-free spreads are a better option.

Visit itsgoodtoknow.com for more information and recipe ideas now!

This is a sponsored post written by me on behalf of Unilever.

Today I’m celebrating with one of my best bloggy friends Kadie from Seven Alive! She is kicking off Kids’ Craft Week at her blog (and hint hint, be on the lookout this week for a project from ME over there)!  It’s a great theme week full of boredom busters for your kids now that they are out of school for the summer.

Anyway, while you can get all kinds of ideas to craft with your Kids, Pick Your Plum is actually putting supplies into one lucky winner’s hands with a $75 Plum Box!  Have you ever gotten a Plum Box before?  I ADORE them.  I’m even an affiliate for Pick Your Plum – you can scope out their daily deal right here while you do your blog reading every day! I have had the opportunity to work with all kinds of daily deal sites, but Pick Your Plum is far and away my favorite!

You don’t know what’s going to be in your Plum Box until it arrives, but it’s $75 worth of crafty goodness for your projects!  There’s no guarantee of which supplies will be in the winning box, but let me show you some examples of what’s gone out in recent boxes:

a Rafflecopter giveaway

I teamed up with some other great bloggers to bring you the chance to win and Instax Mini and film pack.  These little cuties are so fun – my friend Kimberly over at A Night Owl blog just reviewed one if you would like to know more – she loved it so much she wanted to pool together and give one away to our readers!

Rafflecopter will walk you through the entry process – good luck!!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

TERMS & CONDITIONS: Giveaway is open to US residents ages 18 and over and ends at 11:59pm EST on June 22nd, 2013. By entering you give the right to use your name and likeness. Number of entries received determines the odds of winning. Approximate retail value is $99.00. One winner will be selected. This is a giveaway sponsored as a group buy, which means the bloggers pooled their money together to purchase this product for you. All liabilities and responsibilities with product is directly responsible by FujiFilm. Winner will drawn by random.org from all verified entries, contacted by email provided, and announced on this page at the end of the contest. Winner has 48 hours to respond or prize will be redrawn. Entrant is responsible for the email address they provide, whether through typing it directly or through the Facebook entry method. A Night Owl is not responsible for lost or misdirected emails. All prizes will be awarded. No prize substitutions allowed. This promotion is in no way sponsored, endorsed, administered by, or associated with Facebook and we hereby release Facebook of any liability. Information is provided to A Night Owl, not to Facebook and your information is never sold or shared. Facebook and Target are not a sponsor of this giveaway. Prize is mailed directly by Kimberly Sneed of A Night Owl and requires confirmation of delivery. Protected tweets do not count as an entry method for tweeting. Tweets must come from a public account. Bloggers in this group giveaway and their immediate family members in their household cannot enter or win the giveaway. No purchase necessary. Void where prohibited by law.

This link party has been going strong for going on TWO years now!  I can hardly believe it.  As much as I love it – I also think that we’re due for a little bit of change around here – but I think you’re really going to like it!

My good friend Nancy from Do Small Things With Love will be joining the party next week as my co-host.  So starting next week, when you link up, you will be getting double the exposure you are right now!  Featured projects will also move to Thursday mornings – because we’re going to be spotlighting a lot more projects, we will need a whole post to show them all off!

There will be more details next week, but the “heart” of the party won’t be changing.  It’s still an anything-goes party to share what you’ve been up to at your blog.  We won’t require any special hoops to jump through just to link up or to be featured (though I do hope you stop by and visit Nancy’s blog to get to know her a little better!)  All we are doing is trying to give back more than what I’m doing by myself right now, because I don’t have as much time as I would like to visit your amazing posts and put more of you in the spotlight by myself.  So stay tuned to see what we’re adding to the party very soon!

Meanwhile – I am still going to spotlight a few of my favorites from last week right here:

Flower Button Earrings at Jewelry Making Journal

Ranch Pesto Rigatoni Bake at Mostly Homemade Mom

Stripes and Ruffles for Little Ladies at Handmade Frenzy

Summer Fruit Tart Recipe at Mums Make Lists

Stone Fruit Sangria at Living Better Together

I can’t wait to see what you’ve been up to this week!