Pumpkin cheesecake Recipe and a coupon!

This is a recipe I adapted from allrecipes.com. It is super yummy. I'll be running a sale from Black Friday to Cyber Monday. For 15% off your order, please use the code: PUMPKINBLOG
Happy Thanksgiving!

Ingredients

• 2 (8 ounce) packages cream cheese, softened - I used Philadelphia Cream Cheese 1/3 Less Fat
  
• 1/2 cup white sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2 eggs
• 1/2 c sour cream - I used a light one
  
• 1 (9 inch) prepared graham cracker crust
• 1/2 cup pumpkin pie filling
  
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1 pinch ground cloves
• 1 pinch ground nutmeg
• 1/2 cup frozen whipped topping, thawed

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (about 146 degrees C)
   
2. In a large bowl, beat cream cheese. Add sugar and vanilla and beat until smooth. Blend in eggs one at a time. Fold in the sour cream. Remove 1 cup of batter and spread into bottom of crust; set aside.
3. Add pumpkin, cinnamon, cloves and nutmeg to the remaining batter and stir gently until well blended. Carefully spread over the batter in the crust.
4. Bake in preheated oven in a water bath* for 60 minutes, or until center is almost set. Allow to sit in the turned off oven with the door open for another hour, then refrigerate for 3 hours or overnight. Cover with whipped topping before serving.

* A water bath is just a pan of water placed into an oven. The hot water provides a constant, steady heat source and ensures even, slow cooking for recipes that call for a water bath.

The best type of pan to use for a water bath is a roasting pan or other pan with sides at least 1-1/2 to 2 inches high. That will allow you to put enough water into the pan so it won't all evaporate before your pudding or cheesecake has baked.

Put your pudding or cheesecake into the roasting pan, place the pan into the oven, and add enough hot water to reach halfway up the pan.

change is good

Today I decided to discontinue a few made to order pieces. I never want to end up hating a design I've come up with and it was fast approaching that point with my beloved spiders and my kalimba collection. Maybe if the mood strikes I'll make some more but if I don't love it anymore, it won't get made with good vibes. And that's not how I roll, so I bid a fond farewell to my spiders and my kalimba pieces!

it's been a long time!

I shouldn't have left you without a dope beat to step to. step to. step to....

To make up for it, here are some photos of new work and just for kicks (ha!) one of Young Master.

fancy initial medallion

tie tack Mr. Beads was gracious enough to model

cufflinks

Initial ring that hasn't left my finger since creation!!!!

Kia! That's what Young Master says with this kick

Silhouette - Digital Cutting Machine Giveaway

OK. I just saw the coolest thing and I WANT it. Like For Real, FOR REAL!!!! It's a vinyl cutting machine and it MUST be mine!!!

I'm trying to win it here and you can try too:

http://www.bystephanielynn.com/2010/08/over-300-giveaway-santa-has-arrived.html

What would you make with it if you won? There are sooooo many endless possibilities and you all know how I LOVE possibilities!!!!

Good Luck to you and me!

In jewelry news, I couldn't help myself. I got these AMAZING beads that I'm not quite sure what I'm doing with yet. Several have already been spoken for by family members that saw them Saturday at a birthday party. lol. My mother-in-law doesn't even want me to make anything with the one she bought. She said she felt a connection to it and had to have it. They are THAT HOT!

I also made a new initial piece I'm thinking of putting in the shop. More on that later.

Personality!

So when Young Master was about 3 months old I bought this great book (for 50 cents!) at a library book sale called "Nurture by Nature." Basically it is a personality type assessment (utilizing Myers-Briggs) book that deals with children and puts forth the premise that one-size parenting does not fit all because all children are different. Too true as my sisters and I are not carbon copies of one another by any stretch and what worked for one, invariably did not work for another.

Anyway, the book is to help you figure out what personality best describes your child or children and offers some insight into how their minds work and how to best work with them. It also gives insight into your personality and how it affects your interactions with your child. Young Master has not really been old enough to assess on all points of the scale until this year and even then it's a bit of guesswork. But first let's talk about my personality and then relate it to his.

The books say that I am an ESFP. One aspect of that personality type that I OWN is that ESFPs love spontaneity and being impulsive. I don't like being tied down to a schedule and I start to feel caged in with too many appointments and dates on my calendar. Even if it's mostly fun things on the calendar! I got married at the justice of the peace in part because the thought of having to plan a wedding gave me anxiety attacks.

Turns out the boy is an ESTJ ie. he loves structure and a well laid out plan. Oops! As you can imagine, this can be a problem. He wakes up in the morning wanting to know the plan for the day and I really try to have one all laid out (OK. I don't really try to. It just so happens sometimes I have a plan). It's much easier for me during the school year because half the day is planned out anyway. If there is no plan laid out, he will try to make one. lol.

Well, I love my son more than I love spontaneity so I'm trying to work it out. The book suggested something he might enjoy as an ESTJ is cooking. I'd noticed in the past when we cooked, he'd enjoyed it but the book took it to another level. It was saying that ESTJ children enjoy it because when you have a recipe, you are following a plan and introducing structure! Well that I can get on board with no problem in the cooking realm.

Why is that you ask? A little history for you. My mom never taught us to cook because she didn't want us to end up being in her words "some man's cook!" I appreciate her sentiment but it didn't really hold me in good stead in college when I couldn't even make ramen noodles. All my life I grew up with the mentality of not being "some man's cook" so like any logical person would do, I made it one of my goals in life as a youngster to marry a chef so I'd never have to cook. That didn't quite work out. lol. So one of my goals now is to make sure my son knows how to cook so he won't be dependent on "some woman to do it for him!" <--- my words that he can quote when he's grown.

The other day I was at TJ Maxx and found the cutest little cooking set with kid-sized utensils, a small apron and a small laminated recipe book (to account for spills!). It's from the Playful Chef (http://playfulinc.com). So you know it was on! So far from the cookbook we've made:

Honey Yogurt Dip
Fruit Smoothies
Pancakes
Sugar Cookies

We've yet to tackle the chicken nuggets or pita pizza but I've planned ahead and already purchased the ingredients for the nuggets. Pow! We've also made some other recipes not in the book.

The great thing about this is we are enjoying one another's company and have something to show for it at the end. Also, he is getting to work within his personality's comfort zone and I'm working to better accommodate my child and therefore growing. All in all I'd say that's delicious!

Young Master helping me with dinner. He's not mad, he's concentrating!:

How I'm spending my summer vacation

You all may have noticed I'm even more absent than usual. It's summer vacay for Young Master Beads and someone didn't think to sign him up for camp (not even one week! I tend to be impulsive. More on that later - see next post.) So I have been mom and camp counselor in one. Guess who won't be making the same mistake next year. It is a bit draining to keep up with this very active four year old particularly when it's so hot outside. There have only been like 3 days under 90 degrees all summer. Mama Beads doesn't do heat.

Here are a few photos of what we've been up to:

Children's museum in Raleigh, NC

Using mommy's tools to make a sword as he rides his mount (ie. bopper)

Children's museum in Baltimore, MD

Nature walk in local park. We saw deer and a chipmunk!

Fun with mustache crayons we got from Auntie Andrea

Drinking water to beat the heat

Oh and lest I forget, we also experienced an earthquake! Look at the damage it did!

picture was received in a forward about the massive destruction to our area. ;D

Hope you all are having a great summer!

xo,
Nina

Diffused light is your friend and can be done inexpensively!

Ohhh Emmm Geee!

Has it really been THAT long since I've written. Actually let me stop playing. I know it's been that long and I have definitely thought about my blog at least twice a week since April. Mostly feeling guilty that I haven't updated it. I'm sorry guys. Busy Busy Busy AND not much of a blog writer. I find the best blogs are written by those who have an actual passion for writing. I just kind of goof around with it but all my favorite reads are people who excel at the craft and love it. So I give what I have and it ain't much. lol. Thanks for sticking with me.

Since I've been gone so long I just wanted to show you a photo I took today that shows the importance of lighting. For my husband's friend's wedding I decided to make a little charm to hang from the bridal bouquet as a keepsake for the couple. And I wanted to try out gold-filled metal and this gave me the perfect excuse to purchase some as their wedding colors apparently involve warm colors.


The picture on the left was taken in front of a window without anything to diffuse the light and make it softer. The picture on the left utilizes diffused light. Big difference right?!??!?! I could explain what diffusing the light does but I think the picture does a waaaay better job than I could do typing it out.

Now you're wondering, Nina, how did you do that?!!? I wiggled my nose of course and *poof!* great shot! Just kidding. You can diffuse light in different ways. The way I used here was to just stick it in a professional light box.

Right photo courtesy of ezcube.com

This was the first time I'd used mine (as evidenced by my not knowing how to keep it from collapsing without the use of a pencil sharpener). The fabric that is used for the box acts a natural light filter. Before I got all *fancy* and got a light box, (ie. my big sister bought one and decided she didn't want it anymore. It's how I get a lot of things. hee hee) I used other means to diffuse the light. Here are two other things you can use!

1. I used to have a handmade light box made from cardboard (it was the saddest looking thing you guys. Really. But it worked really well!) and I used Fusible Interfacing. What is that? Something used in sewing to make fabric stiffer. You can get it really cheaply at the fabric store and at Michael's. It's like $2.00 for a yard. And cardboard boxes are all over the place for free.

Photo courtesy of Amazon.com

I happened to have both on hand at the time. Here is a great tutorial on how to make your own lightbox and it's how I made my first one: http://strobist.blogspot.com/2006/07/how-to-diy-10-macro-photo-studio.html


2. Those cheapo light filtering shades available at Home Depot and other places. They are awesome because you can just set small items in front of them and you're done! No need to construct a light box! We upgraded our window treatments so this option is no longer available. *tear* It's my favorite option as it involves the least amount of set up.

Photo courtesy of JustBlinds.com

So there you have it! Three options for diffusing light. And one day I will learn how to use my fancy light box correctly. But until then, I hope someone out there who does small object photography finds this useful!

xo,
Nina

Getting my Martha on - Pillow Cover Tutorial

Hi peeps!

I finally, finally, finally got around to breaking out the sewing machine and whipping up my pillow covers, knocking another thing off the list. The first thing I had to do was build a table for my sewing machine. I used to sew at the dining room table but that's not really an option any longer. So first Young Master Beads and I made a trip to IKEA and made and assembled a couple of $20 tables. It was really fun having him help me put it together. I think I'll have to do something like that more often with him. Young Master also likes to help me cook and I find it really enjoyable too. :D

So here they are! I made five pillow covers in total using a fabulous tutorial I found here.


Hubby was a little sad to see his Georgetown Hoya pillow was covered up but he has somehow found the strength to carry on. Plus it's totally removable so he can take it off when he has a jones to see the doggy. ;P

I know you are all like Nina where did you get that sweet orange patterned fabric? Well from this fab seller who I've talked about before on the blog, Jenny of HomeSweet. I got the fabric last summer at Crafty Bastards in DC and have been holding onto it since then. :D

In this last picture is what I call my home decor book cover. That is if I ever were to write a book. lol!

Since I opened the shop back up I have been slowly filling it with new, ready to ship goodies. Once I stopped beating myself up for taking a vacation rather than a working vacation, I actually did some work...You can find these lovelies in the ready to ship section of the store.

UNMOTIVATED

Sorry you guys for being gone so long. I forget that some of you actually READ my blog. Shout out to Cape Town and Pittsburgh!!!! I have been feeling totally unmotivated recently. I closed the shop last week for some r&r and with the hopes that I would take the time to work on some new pieces that are in my head.

But no such thing has occurred. I'm a little disgusted with myself to be honest. Maybe I'll keep it closed this week and really get to work.

Though I am not feeling inspired, perhaps these pictures I took down in DC during the Cherry Blossom Festival, might inspire some of you!

xo,
Nina








*EDITED FOR UPDATE* I forgot that I did end up making another pair of "XOXO" cuff links (referencing past post here) that I forgot to show you guys. I used a different texture for the raised edge that I'm really happy about. If you click the photo, you can see it in the shop even though the shop is closed.


Oh and I also made a pair of rose gold studs that I haven't photographed yet, and I have sort of been working on a pet project involving metal, so maybe I should cut myself a little slack. *smooches*

Giveaway Time!

First we had Treasury Time and now we have giveaway time. :D Pop over to the GetTogetha Blog and enter for your chance to win your very own Spiral Horn Necklace!

Click the picture to be taken to the entry.



Have a great weekend!
Smooches,
Nina

Treasury Time

I love making treasuries on Etsy. Being a curator is so much fun but it is sooo tricky getting a treasury. There is talk that in the future I won't have to give myself a heart attack trying to snag at least one a month. That's good because I'd surely do more if I didn't have to give up my first born to make one. Here is my latest collection. I hope you like it! It will be up for one more day on Etsy but up here FOREVA!!!! ;D Click the link to see it on Etsy.

I've gone Mini!

Click the top pic to be taken to the listing in the shop!

why the second pic? Why not? A gal's just got to do a good face scrunch sometimes.

I survived and I win!

Hi everyone! I just want to let you know that I did NOT get mauled by Girl Scouts and in fact had a wonderful time! It was a treat to be around hoards of excited young girls. Not to mention the Girl Scout cookies involved. Yum!!!

In other news, my friend Carolyn over at Autumnleavesjewelry was hosting a giveaway and this was the BEST kind! It's the kind where you can actually win based on merit as opposed to randomness. At least I know I have a better shot if I can sort of control my destiny. :D Care is participating in the Washington Post's Peep Diorama contest. She has been hinting about her diorama for weeks and showed a sneek peepk (he he he) the other day. Her contest involved telling her what scene from what movie was depicted and who the major players were in her scene as well as providing other information.

Well guess what? I WON and in large part due to my friend Jon and my husband! I had not seen the movie but Care gave great clues so I was able to figure out what the movie was. My movie buff friend helped me with some specifics and my husband checked to see if I'd given the right answer while I was out running errands. Well do you know I was wrong by ONE question and so Mr. Beads kept pursuing the right answers until I he found it and I WON! I'd like to thank my team for their help. It was clearly a group effort which as far as I can tell was not against the rules. Yay!!!!!!

And I'm uber excited that I'm going to get one of her fabulous Spinner Rings!!!

Have a fantastic weekend!

"Local artisan mauled by a pack of Girl Scouts"

This is the headline running through my mind right now for my afternoon tomorrow. That's right. And it's not because I took all their yummy girl scout cookies without paying. Beads in the Belfry is going to be doing a jewelry workshop for a local Girl Scouts troop. Wish me luck! It is to help them get a merit badge. Which one I can't remember. Probably something along the lines of arts and crafts.

I was a Girl Scout and one of my fondest memories is learning how to make friendship bracelets. Don't you know that as soon as I did, I begged my mom to get me a kit and then I went on to sell some of my creations to classmates? lol. And so it comes full circle. :D

I'm surprisingly not nervous about the teaching aspect as I have worked with large groups of children before in a teaching capacity. I'm also not nervous about the project which I have done hundreds of times. I'm going to do a workshop on how to make my tree necklaces with them. It will be slightly modified to make it easier (I hope!) for smaller people. What I'm nervous about is the fact that I'm not actually nervous. Which makes me slightly crazy I think.

Anyway, wish me luck! And not the kind that involves something like this...

;P. Why couldn't the headline in my head read "Girl Scouts shower local artisan with praise in the form of Samoas?"

Cuff links galore

So I've been doing cuff links for a while now and I'm really enjoying the different ways people have had me personalize them. All of these below hold certain meaning for me as well. Here is a little review of sorts of some of the different things I've done. I love how creative people get with these...


1. I realize I never actually put a pic up on the blog of the original pair (top left) that I did for a friend that started the whole craze!

2. I was uncertain (and nervous) with how the first monogrammed pair would look but I was so in love with them when I was done! Fortunately the customer was too.

3. I love how there are secret messages that I have no clue about (like the K+C squared pair) but must mean so much to the recipient.

4. I enjoyed doing the Bible scripture because it had me so curious that I had to go look it up. You can feel free to do the same. ;P This is a scrap one that I had. I don't have a picture of the final pair that went out.

5. And who can resist an army of cuff links? This was the first ever wedding party that I did. I was super nervous about doing so many at once but it was DEFINITELY great practice and totally improved my technique.


I wish that I'd been a little bit better at documenting all the styles I've done but it is what it is. I did these really cool "XOXO" ones for someone for Valentine's Day that I just *knew* I took a photo of, but alas no. I may do another pair just for fun for the hubby. And then I'll get him a French cuff shirt to go with them. ;D

I WANT

I'm having a slight attack of the "I WANTS."

I want:
*Summer to come. That's right let's just skip Spring this year.
*Some bright colored clothes to counteract these dreary gray days.
*Oranges. yummy oranges' cloying scent stuck to my fingers.
*Ocean waves in shades of teal blue.

I want these that remind me of all this. All beautiful handmade items.

Organic draped sleeve t-shirt in teal Sandmaiden $76.00
Elessa bag in orange Milloo $72.00
Orange belt buckle belt $180.00
Turquoise circle of leaves ring mirthmarket $12.00

Just My Luck

Coming to my shop later today! :D

Thanks to the lovely Tameka of PrettyinPeace for helping me decide
what to put on the unfortunate clover!
Check her blog out over here at http://teanhoneybread.blogspot.com/.
She is a prolific writer.

Olympic favorite!

OMG guys! My Fallen Maple Leaves Ring has been featured in Etsy's blog, The Storque! Not only was it featured, it was the BIG picture!!! I am over the moon! If you love it, please go vote for it as your Olympic favorite here! There are many cool items to choose from in that list so I'm sure you'll find something you love!

I made an Olympic treasury the other day after finding some awesome items to feature. Here it is! My absolute favorite is the cereal bowl with rings in it.

Snowver it!

OMG. Hi everyone! I am sooo done with the snow. We hit a new record here in the DC Metro area and I've pretty much been in the house for 6 days. Wait. Not true. The Beads household braved the weather to drive to a relative's house to watch the Superbowl. It was a fun adventure to be sure and Young Master Beads got to hang with his cousins and Mr. Beads got to conquer nature and grill in the snow.

A good time was had by all! But I wouldn't be lying to say I'd be happy to wave bye bye to the snow like Young Master Beads is here:


I have been reading and baking (this picture looks great but the muffins were eh)


and I did knock at least one thing off my list since last we met. This was in large part due to Young Master wanting to help plant.


Woot!

Hope all is well with you guys!