MORE book flowers.

I guess I got on a roll.

Now, I think these are super cute, but I haven't decided if I would like them for a tree... I just don't know. I think I might like them more than the other flowers I made. Hmm... What do you think?

Well, anyway, here's how you make them, in case you're wondering. First, get a perfectly square piece of paper.

Fold in half

Fold in the ends to make a square

Then fold the little flappies in half so it looks like this.

Fold out the little flappies so it looks like a kite.

Fold the point on the kite inward (so they're inside, as shown)

...so it will look like this.

Fold the flappies in half inward again

It'll look like this!

Now just roll it up and glue it together!

You'll need at least 5 cones.

Just glue them together an you're done! I also made a few with little rolled up paper middles. I think I like these ones better. Well... Once I decide if I'm even going to use them maybe I'll make some more, haha.

book page christmas decorations

How cute would these look on a Christmas tree?

Very, in my opinion.

So here's how to make them.  First, you need a big ol' book.  I got mine from DI for $3. It's HUGE and I only needed like 10 pages to do alllll of the birds and flowers- but I have another craft in mind that will need a ton of pages. I'm looking forward to it! Anyway, you can use any book, but be aware that you can still see the words.  I noticed a couple of awkward things on some of the pieces I cut out so I put those ones as bottom layers, haha.  I think a dictionary would be super cute to use, or a nice narrative!

Birdies

 Trace a bunch of birds and wings onto a page, then cut them out. To save time, do several pages stacked together.

Distress the edges if you would like. I just used some gold that I had on hand.

 Curl the tails and the wings

 Glue two of the body cutouts together and two or three of the wings together.

You can also add some sticks in their beaks and some little feet :) I still need to add the string to hang them though. I'm thinking either brown twine or some thin lace. Cute, yes?

Cute, yes?

Flowers

Cut out a whole bunch of circles and distress the edges

Curl the circles around a pen. Then use one flat one as a base and glue five or six circles around the edge.

 Just keep gluing them on, getting closer to the middle.

So I found this part of a necklace on the ground the other day. Being the hobo (or resourceful person) that I am, I grabbed it to use as the middles of the flowers. I also used some buttons.

Ta da!

I still need to put something on everything to hand them. I'm thinking brown twine or some thin lace. When I pick that stuff up, I'll also pick up the supplies for my other decorations. I'm super excited about the other ones! I need to get a move on though so that everything is done for when we get out tree!

I love a good card

I love getting things like Christmas cards, wedding announcements, baby pictures, and all that sort of thing- and I love looking at them on the fridges and walls of other people.  It's even more fun to look at family pictures or Christmas cards from year to year.  Things change so much- especially with new families.  I love the idea of sending Christmas cards- which is why I'm super excited about this offer from Shutterfly!  They're sending me 50 free custom Christmas cards just for posting about their great features. How great is that!? We even have some leftover stamps from the wedding announcements- so this is going to be a great deal!

The cards for Christmas 2010 are seriously SO cute.  I've been looking at them for ages, and the only problem with this offer is that I actually have to decide which one to use! These are just a few of my favourites. They also have cute light blue ones, pretty mosaic ones, story ones, and little snowman ones! Way too adorable, eh?

this?

maybe this?

or just straight up go for this?

The second problem is deciding which picture to use. I like llama face.  Sam doesn't think that's a good idea though. I haven't got the slightest idea why not! Cast your vote!

Decisions, decisions!

Anyway, Shutterfly has a lot of sweet stuff. They have the Christmas photo cards, personalized calenders, birth announcements (holy stinkin' cute!), and more!  I for reals recommend it :) No but seriously- I'm thinking Canada reception invites and future Christmas cards from here, perhaps? Just sayin'. Big fan.

Anyway, if you have a blog and want in on this, go HERE.

I love a good break

After a very, very hectic and stressful week and a half of assignments and tests, Thanksgiving break was very appreciated.  It's nice to be done most of the big projects.  Now I basically just need to study for finals!

Because of the theoretical blizzard, I didn't have to work Wednesday, so Sam and I just hung out for the day.  Then we went and visited my Aunt Kelly and Uncle Kevin who were down for vacation and went to Mom and Dad White's house.

 Can I just say that after this weekend, instead of 'ASDF' on the keyboard, my fingers automatically go to 'QWER'.  If you don't know what that means, I'm not telling you. I'm ashamed.

Thanksgiving Day I made a bunch of pies while Momma White and Kiersten made dinner.  I'm always afraid of making things like that for a big event.  Who knows how they'll turn out! How embarrassing if they're awful. I made the mistake of doubling the crust recipe and then trying to mix it all at once. Makes for a tougher crust with all that mixing. Oh well, live and learn. Dinner was great though! I'm so happy to be a part of that wonderful family! It was the first time in years that everyone was together for Thanksgiving :) We also decorated for Christmas (though I heard a lot of complaining, mostly from the boys' end ;))

I hadn't ever been a fan of Boxing Day shopping or the idea of Black Friday. I'd rather not be trampled, thanks.  But last year I went out on Boxing Day with Jennifer and it wasn't as bad as I had expected.  This year was the first time I was in the States for Black Friday.  Some of us went out to Cabelas and it was kind of a gong show, and we were going to go to a movie but it was sold out all afternoon.  So, pretty crowded on the retail front. But then Momma White and I decided to go shopping. Given that my runners have a 3 inch long hole in the side/toe and my feet get soaked and freezing when I walk to school, I figured I could brave the crowds to find some shoes.  We sure lucked out! Going later in the day made a difference, I think, and the fact that we weren't trying to buy electronics.  We got some sweet deals and some good stuff! All of the family also went to Tangled- which was pretty good! I recommend it.

Friday we just hung out some more, Saturday Sam and I saw Harry Potter (we decided that it was Harry Potter and the Endless Camping Trip), and Sunday was a family friend's mission farewell. I was so impressed by him- he's going to do so great!

Anyway, it's back to school today.  Only a couple of weeks of classes, a week of finals, and it's home-free for another good break!

Oh, and I started on the ornaments for our tree! I'll post pictures later. Here's a sneak peak:

We sent it!

Well, we finally sent off my first round of immigration papers!  It was a LOT of time, work, and money. (Thank you Mom and Dad White for helping us get them all done!).  But it's pretty worth it I guess-- you know, staying in the same country as my husband and stuff.  No but seriously- I realllly hope we did everything right and that things get worked out- I can't even go back to Canada yet!  Because I'm in the process of becoming a citizen, I have to apply for travel allowances every time I want to leave, which takes at least 2 months to go through (if you're lucky).  No impulsive trips home for us!  The possibility of getting caught and charged a huge fine/getting deported isn't something we're going to risk.  I did just apply to be able to come home for a week in April, though- so hopefully I'll see you guys then!  Hopefully we're going to throw another wedding party for you Canadians who couldn't come down to Utah! And my American family can come see how awesome it is in Canada (hopefully we don't have a random April blizzard.  Bad first impression, eh?). But in my opinion, we can pull off both!  Sledding in April is cool- and if a chinook comes along you can just go bridge jumping later that day anyway.

waterton: beautiful ALL seasons!

jennifer or sean took this one

double layer pumpkin cheesecake

Let it be known that I don't (normally) make like 4 cakes/pies a week.  Sometimes I just have old pictures of my stuff to post along with recipes, or I give stuff away at staff meetings/to visiting teachees, take to family stuff, etc.  I wouldn't be able to handle eating as much as it probably seems that I do. I don't run enough for that- and even if I did try run enough for that, I would be so unhealthy from eating all that baking that I wouldn't be able to run enough. Hence, can't do it. Anywho- I really did make this last night. I had pumpkin left over from making something for a staff meeting and Sam came home from the store with sale cream cheese- so what was I supposed to do?

Double Layer Pumpkin Cheesecake

2 (8oz) packages cream cheese

1/2 cup white sugar

1/2 tsp vanilla extract

2 eggs

1/2 cup pumpkin puree

1/2 tsp ground cinnamon

1 pinch ground cloves

1 pinch ground nutmeg

1 (9 inch) graham cracker crust

Preheat oven to 325F.

 Combine cream cheese, sugar, and vanilla. Beat until smooth. Blend in eggs one at a time.  

Remove 1 cup of batter and spread it in the bottom of crust.

Add pumpkin and spices to remaining batter and stir gently until well blended. Carefully spread over first layer of batter in crust.

 Bake for 35-40 minutes in preheated oven in a water bath.  Allow to cool then refrigerate 3 hours or overnight. 

Whip up some whipped cream, lick the beaters, then eat some cheesecake!

sorry, my fork beat my camera to the slice

Italian Creme Layer Cake

I have been making this cake for a while, and it always gets rave reviews. When Sam and I were just dating, right before I went home to Canada for the summer, he had a really nasty accounting final. I got up crazy early that morning to make this cake in a cupcake version then booked it to his work to leave him a cupcake and a good luck note so that he would have it when he got in. And there you have it: how I won him over ;)

If you like coconut, this cake is to die for. Even if you don't like coconut, this cake might just make you a fan!

The official recipe calls for a lot of pecans- but I like to half that amount and add a whackload (yes, that is a technical cooking measurement) of coconut. And for the frosting I omit pecans and just put toasted coconut on the outside with a few whole pecans. But whatever floats your boat. I'll post the official recipe and you can do with it as you please. Annnnd two round cake pans is a lot easier than three, if you aren't into spending the extra time preventing collapse.  It's also awesome with almonds instead of pecans.

Italian Creme Layer Cake

• 1 cup buttermilk
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 2 cups white sugar
• 1/2 cup butter
• 1/2 cup vegetable oil
• 1/2 cup shortening
• 4 egg yolks
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 4 egg whites
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 (3.5 ounce) package flaked coconut
• 1 cup chopped pecans

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C). Grease three 9 inch, round cake pans. Combine soda and buttermilk, and let stand a few minutes.
2. In a large bowl, cream sugar, 1/2 cup butter, 1/2 cup oil and shortening. Add egg yolks one at a time, beating well after each addition. Mix buttermilk mixture alternately with flour into creamed mixture. Stir in 1 teaspoon vanilla.
3. In a large glass or metal mixing bowl, beat egg whites until stiff peaks form. Fold 1/3 of the whites into the batter, then quickly fold in remaining whites until no streaks remain. Gently stir in 1 cup pecans and coconut.
4. Pour batter into prepared pans. Bake in the preheated oven for 25 to 30 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean. Allow to cool.

Cream Cheese Frosting

• 1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese, softened
•  1/2 cup margarine, softened
• 4 cups confectioners' sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 cup chopped pecans

Beat together cream cheese,  butter or margarine, vanilla, and confectioners' sugar. Stir in chopped pecans. Frost and fill cooled cake with cream cheese frosting.

Try it. For reals.