Valentine's Day Brooches

Surprisingly, I owe nothing red or pink in my wardrobe, so I don't have anything to wear for Valentine's day. Being a poor student, I'm on a budget, so instead of going out to buy v-day accessories I decided to make them myself! :-)

Heart Brooches.

I found a crochet heart pattern from Little Birdie's Secret and made a couple hearts to transform them into brooches.  I added layered buttons and ribbons for some cute accents, and on the back, I hot glued a piece of felt with the brooch finding. They turned out so cute, I love them! They were fast and easy to make, but the best part is, I didn't have to spend a single penny since I had all the supplies in hand! Yes!

The back.

On me! :-)

I can't wait to wear one for Valentine's day! Make these for your loved ones so they can wear one too!

Also my 100 follower giveaway is ending on valentines day, 2/14/12. If you haven't entered please do so, since we only have a little over a week left!

Happy Holidays to You!

Happy holidays to all of my followers! Thank you for reading my blog! I hope you have a safe and wonderful time with your family!

This card is designed by my very talented little sister. Check out her website and her comic.

Tutorial: Pine Cone Christmas Tree

This time of the year, you start to feel the pressure because you see and hear Christmas everywhere and people are talking about gifts!  You better start getting ready now, because it's just around the corner! Next time you know it, you will be stressing over the last minute gifts and decorations. So, let me make your life a little easier with this tutorial.

Mini xmas tree.

Here is a great craft idea that is easy, simple, and cheap.  Pine Cone Christmas Tree! I vividly remember making this in kindergarden with my teacher. I remember painting it white with multi-colored glitters and giving it to my mom.

You will need:

• Pine cone
• green acrylic paint
• glitter
• hot glue
• regular glue or Modge Podge
• mini terra cotta pot (i got one from Michaels' for 69 cents)
• mini star (optional) I used a wooden star but you can use star shaped buttons or cut out a yellow foam sheet.

Simply, paint the pine cone with green paint and let it dry. Apply some regular glue on the edge of each spine on the pine cone and sprinkle some glitter. Once it's dry, hot glue the pine cone to the terra cotta pot and glue the star on top. Super easy and it's a great craft project to do with your kids!

I painted white on the tips of the "pedals" of the pine cone to give a "snow" effect. Too bad you can't really see the glitter on the snow in the photos. I also applied glitter on the star.

You can get creative with the decorations. Use different paint colors, rhinestones, sequins, beads, fluff balls, ribbons, etc. Go crazy with them and have fun!

Happy Holidays and Happy Crafting!

Layered Pumpkin Cheesecake

I found this recipe on allrecipe.com and I decided to give it a try. I made a lot of changes after I read the reviews from others.

Layered Pumpkin Cheesecake

Layered Pumpkin Cheesecake (makes one 9 inch cheesecake)

• Ready-made 9 inch graham cracker crust or you can make your own.
• 2 1/2 (12 oz) block cream cheese
• 1/2 C. + 2 T sugar
• 3/4 C. pumpkin pie filling (not pumpkin puree)
• 1/2 tsp of cinnamon
• 1 tsp of vanilla
• a pinch of salt
• 2 eggs 

Method:
Preheat oven to 325 degrees.

Beat together cream cheese, sugar, and vanilla. Add and mix in the eggs and salt. Fill 1 1/2 C of the cream cheese batter into the graham cracker crust and spread it out evenly. Add and stir the pumpkin pie filling into the rest of the cream cheese batter and carefully spread over the batter in the crust.

Place the cheesecake into the oven and place a pan of hot water on the shelf below the cheesecake. Bake for 50 minutes, turn off the heat and leave it in the oven for an hour. And let it cool completely in room temperature.

Crack kills!

Chill in the fridge for at least 4 hours before you serve. Serve it with whipped cream or whipped topping.

I made my own crust in a spring form pan. My cheesecake cracked a little because I overbaked it just a tad bit. I should've stopped the cooking at 50 minutes, but I kept going for another 5 minutes since I wasn't sure if it was ready or not. Other than that, it was perfect; it was so delicious! I'm definitely making this again for Thanksgiving and you should too! It's a great change from the traditional pumpkin pie. I hope you and your guests will enjoy it as much as I did!

Have a Happy Thanksgiving!

'Tis the Season

I'm sad that summer is over, but happy that fall has arrived. I love fall flavors like cinnamon, nutmeg, and cloves; it reminds me of the holidays. Also, fall means pumpkin season! I love when stores start selling pumpkin pie, pumpkin bread, pumpkin pancakes, pumpkin lattes, pumpkin beer, and etc. I'm also excited to bake with pumpkin! So, to start off the season, I made pumpkin cupcakes with cream cheese frosting for my Love's birthday.

Pumpkin Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting

Pumpkin Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting

adapted from joyofbaking.com

For the cake:

• 1 1/2 C flour
• 1 tsp. baking soda
• 1 tsp. ground cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp. ground ginger
• 1/8 tsp. nutmeg
• 1/4 tsp. allspice
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1/2 C butter at room temp
• 1 C. sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1 tsp. vanilla
• 3/4 C. pumpkin puree
• Chopped pecans or walnuts (optional)

For the Frosting

• 4 oz. cream cheese at room temp
• 2 T. butter at room temp
• 1 1/2 C. confectioner's sugar, sifted
• 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 350 F. Combine and whisk flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, allspice, and salt in a bowl.

In another bowl, cream butter and sugar together until light and fluffy. Add the vanilla extract and beat in the eggs one at a time.

Alternately add the pumpkin puree and the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients in 3 additions on low speed, scraping the sides of the bowl.

Using 1/4 measuring cup, scoop the batter into a lined muffin pan. You should be able to fill all 12 cups. Bake in the oven for 18-20 minutes. Cool in the pan for 5 minutes before moving them to a cooling rack.

For the frosting, cream the butter and cream cheese until combined, add the vanilla and the confectioner's sugar. Frost the cupcakes and top them with chopped nuts when they are completely cooled.

Enjoy and happy baking!