Month: March 2014

March Madness: Meow Mix Memory Wire Bracelet

Posted in crafts

I’ve mentioned Mr. Kitty’s Bead Bonanza bead packs in the past, and though I’ve only purchased a few of these, the amount of beads from them adds up quickly. The problem with these packs is that not all the beads have matches (so makes them a poor choice for earring pairs), such as the case with today’s selection.

Today’s bracelet I dub “Meow Mix“, in honor of Mr. Kitty’s awesome bonanzas!

Here’s what it all looked like during the planning stages! This entire storage container holds all my Mr. Kitty beads, too.

Discovering 2014: Angel Bites

Posted in food
Discovering 2014 is a personal goal to complete a daily project throughout the year!

Today’s project was Angel Bites, using this recipe from the Kitchen Trial and Error blog. I did have to modify the recipe some, which is detailed with the pictures below. The recipe is mainly low fat cream cheese and a lot of powdered sugar, flavored with mint (I used peppermint extract) and optionally dyed light yellow.

I started off using 3oz of low fat cream cheese and whipped it some, then added the 1/4 teaspoon peppermint extract and three drops of yellow food coloring, then mixed it together.

Then I started adding the confectioner’s sugar, 1/2 cup at a time, with the mixer going. As more and more got added I really got concerned that it was looking dry, but I decided to take it up to the 4.5 cups listed in the recipe. That was a mistake, and this was the result:

Well, that’s pretty useless, but thankfully I still had 1oz of cream cheese left. I added that (now the total is 4oz cream cheese) and this was the result:

While not perfect, it was much more malleable. I got a system set up and started rolling the tiny bites.

About 15 bites in I asked my husband to help out. Making these at 1/2 teaspoon takes a LONG time. We ended up making bigger ones after we went through my pre-scooped 1/2 teaspoon supply. The recipe states it’d only make 36 (3 dozen) at that size, but I honestly think you’d get at least 50, if not more, from it (but can’t say for sure since we went bigger partway in). As time went on these got harder to roll, so I think a bit less confectioner’s sugar would be better as well.

This is the modified recipe I propose:

  • 4 oz low fat cream cheese
  • 4 cups confectioner’s sugar
  • 1/4 teaspoon mint extract (or other flavoring)
  • 3 drops yellow food coloring (optional)
  • 1/4 cup granulated sugar (for coating)

Using that modified recipe the total calories of everything is 2200, then divide that by the number of bites you end up with for your calorie per Angel Bite! If you follow the original with 4.5 cups confectioner’s sugar and 4oz cream cheese then the total calorie count is 2440.

Store it in an airtight container (use wax paper between layers to avoid them sticking together) in the refrigerator and enjoy!

Tomorrow’s project is Faux Sea Glass!

March Madness: Cloudy Skies Memory Wire Bracelet

Posted in crafts

Every craft show I seem to be lamenting the fact that my bracelet selection has dwindled, and between offering earrings, necklaces and hair bows as well something ends up slipping through the cracks.

Yesterday I had a thought: why not just try to make one a day over the next month, then you’ll have 31 new bracelets to display! So here I am on March 1st, celebrating March Madness–crafter style. 🙂

I usually make memory wire bracelets; it was something I started back when all my kids were little ones who liked to pull on jewelry. There are a few more embroidery floss bracelets I want to try out from the book I picked up, but overall I’ll likely just be using memory wire.

Today’s bracelet I call “Cloudy Skies“. It is a double-wrap featuring chunky grey swirl lampwork beads with white and grey pearls (similar) on silver memory wire.

Discovering 2014: Egg Carton Ladybugs

Posted in crafts, kids
Discovering 2014 is a personal goal to complete a daily project throughout the year!

Us northerners are still stuck in the depths of this very long and cold winter, but it doesn’t mean we can’t dream of a nice spring day. Today was the first project of March: Egg Carton Ladybugs, inspired by this pin.

This one the kids can definitely get involved in; the only parts mine didn’t do were cutting up the egg carton and gluing at the end (because I got frustrated with school glue and used hot glue instead). You’ll need some egg carton cups (I used both scissors and an Exacto knife to cut mine out), paint (at least one bright color and black) and paint brushes, pompoms, chenille stems and googly eyes. How you want to glue it is your choice: I tried to use school glue but it wouldn’t keep for me, so I opted for hot glue, though that was a bit messier.

Once you have your egg cups, one layer of paint on the exterior should suffice. Let it sit a while to dry!

Next add your black spots and do touch-ups as necessary. I opted for large black spots while my kids both did smaller spots. Let it sit to dry again.

Finally, glue on the chenille stems (I curled the tops by wrapping it around my paint brush handle), pompoms and googly eyes. My daughter and I used the “girly” googly eyes, which ended up crazy looking for some reason, while my youngest son used the “boy eyes, because mine is a ninjabug, not a ladybug.”

Tomorrow’s project is Angel Bites!

February 2014 Project Recap

Posted in crafts
Here’s a recap of the February 2014 projects!

 

February   1: Embroidery Floss Wrapped Hair Comb
February   2: (none due to travel issues)
February   3: Flavored Salts
February   4: Flower Clippies
February   5: Bottlecap Candles | Incense Cone Update
February   6: Edible Glitter
February   7: Italian Lemon Drop Cookies (Anginetti)
February   8: Homemade Valentines
February   9: Homemade Cheez-Its
February 10: Bubble Wands
February 11: Whipped Cream Frosting
February 12: Sugar Sprinkles Cookies
February 13: Love Pendant
February 14: Crockpot Ranch Pork Chops & Garlic Cheddar Biscuits
February 15: Paper Bag Booklets
February 16: Homemade Nutter Butters
February 17: Fabric Covered Tin Cans
February 18: Tissue Paper Bowl and Yarn Egg
February 19: Plastic Bag Dispenser
February 20: Bottlecap Hair Bow
February 21: Crockpot Macaroni & Cheese
February 22: Taco Seasoning
February 23: Japanese Cheesecake
February 24: Cauliflower Cheesesticks | Whipped Cream Frosting Update
February 25: Cookie Bowls?
February 26: Flavored Marshmallows
February 27: Personalized Frames | Flavored Marshmallows: The Conclusion!
February 28: Dry Erase Frame