strawberry cheesecake cupcakes

I am surprised I have not yet shared this cheesecake recipe - it is a family favorite. I got it from my mom, who got it from her sister, my crafty Aunt Nancy, who got it from .... who knows. I wouldn't be shocked if she came up with the recipe herself. Nancy has many talents and is a great cook (I posted her unbelievable dinner roll recipe here).

Crust:
1 3/4 C graham cracker crumbs
1/2 C sugar
1 stick of butter, melted

Combine and press into a spring-form pan (bottom and about an inch up the side).
Bake at 350 degrees for 8-10 minutes, or until it starts to brown.

Filling:
3 eight oz. packages of cream cheese - cream until soft in mixer
add 5 large eggs and beat until smooth
Add: 1 C sugar, 1 tsp vanilla and a dash of salt

Mix until well combined. The recipe says to beat at least 10 minutes, which I know breaks the cardinal rule of making cheesecakes (don't overbeat the batter). However, I'm not one to argue with family recipes - I beat it for 10-15 minutes or until my arm is about to fall off, whichever happens first.

Pour into the cooled crust. Bake at 350 degrees for 40-45 minutes or until the top browns and the center isn't jiggly. Check often after the 45 minute mark, but try to resist checking earlier. Cool for about 20 minutes.

Sour cream topping:
Mix 1 1/2 C sour cream, 1/3 C sugar and 1 tsp vanilla
Pour on top of the cheesecake and bake an additional 10 minutes.

Chill at least 4 hours, but overnight is best. Top with your favorite fruit and devour.

I typically use a large springform pan (12 inches, I think??), but for the cheesecake pictured above, I used a small, 8" pan. This left a lot of extra crust and batter ... perfect to experiment with cheesecake cupcakes!

I followed all the same steps, and surprisingly did not have to reduce the baking time by much. I just kept watching until the top was browning.


Pretty darn cute, right? I think these would be fun to serve at a baby shower/bridal shower/[insert your excuse to party here].

Happy Nie Nie Day

I don't know the Nielsons, but have been brought to tears reading about their family's tragic accident and road to recovery. Design Mom declared today Nie Nie day, and asked the blogging community to spread the word.

Last week Christian and Stephanie Nielson were in a very serious plane crash. They are a young couple with four children under the age of six. They are in critical condition. Stephanie has third degree burns covering 80% of her body and Christian has third degree burns over 30% of his body. The recovery will be very long and very expensive.

If you are able, please consider contributing to this fund that will go directly to the family: Nie Recovery.

Today, several websites are auctioning off items for their benefit. Go here to see the comprehensive list: Design Mom.

Updates about Stephanie and Christian here on her sister's blog.

custom curtains on the cheap

This isn't the greatest photo, but I've been holding onto this Better Homes & Gardens article since it came out in the February 2007 issue - it's all about how to customize curtains. (p.s. don't you love the turquoise curtain/paint? I totally wish I would have copied the color palate)

When we moved to a new apartment in July, I pulled it out of my notebook and got to work. I found and a zinnia stencil on Michael's website that looks a lot like the BGH stencil... and since we don't have a Michael's store in Manhattan, I made my own.

I bought a plain sheet of stencil "paper" (I don't know what else to call it. It is more like a thin sheet of plastic) at Lee's Art Shop, traced the printed-out zinnia graphic using a permanant marker, and started cutting away, scherenschnitte style.

Using fabric paint, I stenciled a sheer white Ikea curtain panel.


Yep, that is panel, singular. I have yet to do the other one.

I picked a sheer curtain due to my dark, alley-facing kitchen window. I need all the light I can get! If you are using sheer panels (or any thickness, really), make sure you cover your work surface with cardboard to protect it from the excess paint that seeps through.

bird mobile

You've probably seen this bird mobile floating around the blogosphere ... it is really popular right now.

When I saw it for the first time on Craftzine, I knew I had to make one. First step - make a bunch of cute birds from the Spool Sewing pattern.




Step two, go to the park and find some nice branches. We headed to Riverside Park in Manhattan and Jared proved to be an extra-good stick finder. I'm not sure what kind of tree they came from, but the bark peeled off easily to reveal a nice, smooth interior (a branch with bark would look good, too). You'll also need thread and screw eyes from the hardware store.

Next, sew the birds to the branches - I used yellow thread to look like feet. Sew through the underbelly of the bird and around the branch several times. In the end, my birds were still sliding around a little, so I secured them with a small amount of hot glue.


Screw in the eye hooks to the branches and hang each tier from thread - this took a lot of experimenting to get the balance right (mine's still a tad crooked). Start from the bottom and work your way up.


Lastly, act crazy-proud of your new bird mobile, which cost all of $2.50 and scrap fabric.

See some other great examples of these mobiles here, here and here.