Julekort / Christmas cards

Da har jeg fått laget noen julekort.

Har forelsket meg helt i disse litt gammeldagse bildene. Syns de passer så godt til julekort og gaveesker. Har funnet disse bildene på nettet og skrevet dem ut på skriveren min.

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I've made some christmas cards.

I've fallen completely in love with vintage pictures, that you'll find all over the internet. I just think they are so suitable for christmas cards and giftboxes. I have printed these out at home.

LSS

The Losties har gjort det igjen! Vi har hatt en ny runde me hemmelig venn, og min hemmelige søster denne gangen var Barb! Hun skjemte meg skikkelig bort med en pakke som var TUNG! Den inneholdt så mye at jeg ble nesten helt svimmel!

Pakken inneholdt:

Sløyfer og silkebånd i mengder!
Juletrepynt formet som staten Texas MED cowboyhatt og lasso!
En søt liten pute det står KLEM på
En nøkkelring med en stor J på og bling!
En Basic Grey Notch and Die punch!!
Metall pynt i eske fra SU
Masse Vellum og mønsterark
En Halloween bord
Masse forskjellig garn
En drøss av pynteblomster, BLING, og masse annet pynt.
Noe av pynten avr i en liten verktøyeske, og der var det også en sammenleggbar saks
Kaffe med peppermynte smak! (Viste ikke at det fantes, men den var nyyyydelig!)
Crystal lights!! (sukkerfri saft, som finnes i masse forskjellige gode smaker)
Pastiller
En embossing folder fra Cuttlebug
3 stempler og 3 stempel sett!
En søt liten krans
Et nydelig kort
Kalender med flotte motiv fra Texas, selvfølgelig!

Alt sammen var også så nydelig pakket inn. Hun hadde også brukt silkepapir med sølvsnøkystaller på. Jeg visste ikke at det fantes slikt silkepapir engang!

Tuusen tusen takk Barb! Dette var en fantastisk pakke som jeg gleder meg til å dykke ned i!
Jeg legger ved bilder av innholdet, men siden vi åpnet pakkene klokka 3 natt til i dag, var jeg så trøtt at jeg ikke tenkte på å ta bilde av alt samlet, men tok istedet av en og en ting...hihi

Jeg har derfor laget et lite slideshow nederst i innlegget.
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The LOSTIES did it again! We've had a new LSS round, and my secret sis this time was BARB! She spoiled me rotten with this HEAVY box!!! There was so much inside the box, that i got all dizzy!

This is what was inside:

A big box filled with ribbon
An Ornament shaped like Texas
A cute little pillow that says Hugs
A key chain with the letter J and BLING on it
Basic Grey Notch and Die punch!!
Hardware set from SU!
Lots of vellum and patterned paper
A Halloween border
Fiber
Flowers
Lots of embellishments,Like BLING, some in a cool little toolbox, that even has a pair of folded scissors. lol
Peppermint flavoured coffee! Never seen that before. And it is so yummy!
Crystal lights, yes!!!!!
Some sugerfree breathmints, in the cutest tin
A cuttlebug embossingfolder
Some cord to use on cards
3 single stamps and 3 stamp sets!
Calendar with Texas pics
A cute little wreath
A beautifull card

The reveal was at 3 am for me, so i had set my alarm to 2.45. I was so tired, so i didn't think of taking a picture of everything togther, so i took one of everything instead....lol

And it was all so lovely wrapped too! And even with some of the most gorgeous tissuepaper. I didn't know there was tissue paper like that!

Once again, Thank you soooo much Barb!!! I can't wait to dive into the goodies!

Here's a slideshow with the pics:

STACY

Hi Stace!As you've probably guessed by now, i am your LSS. I'm guessing that you've read about the PO problems, and Kris and i came up with me taking pics of the what you're getting. I had to change the box anyway, since it had been opened in customs, and it had alot of stickers and tape on it.I'm hoping that you'll have it soon, and i'm so sorry that this happened.
So, here's your box:


First, the card:



Now, the first thing is a clearstamps alphabet:


Next some embellishments. I've put some in small ziplock bags, to get rid of some deadweight:
The ziplcok is a mini one, with adhesive on the side. They are cool......lol

Some more embellishments:

Next is a silly thing actually. It's a totebag with drawings of creatures from Norwegian Folk stories....lol:

Then, some CANDY! Yeah baby! There's chocolate, some hard candy and some caramel choc:

Now some stickers:

Some more stickers:

A little christmassy giftbox that i made:

Some mini matchbooks for you to decorate:

Then some more embellishments:

A decorated tin filled with yes, you guessed it; BOOBY CANDY!

The last picture. These are some cutout sheets i bought. They have a bit of traditional norwegian christmas feeling to them. I had to take them out of the bag, because it wouldn't fit in the box otherwise.

I hope that you like what i picked out for you. I sure had LOTS of fun putting this together. NOT so fun when the box came back though....lol

Lostie love!

Kiss kiss

PAI!/PIE!

Today has bee the big pie-baking- day! An applepie to be precise. I've never made a pie where you're supposed to roll out the crust befor, so i was a bit nervous. But it turned out there was no reason to be afraid, it was all very easy. Even making the lattice was a piece of pie(lol.....i just had too...). And it turned out so good, i'm sure gonna be making this again! The lemon juice gave it just the tang needed to avoid it from being to sweet. It was very nice to have a cup of coffee, piece of pie and watch this fall's very first snow flurries. It's crazy though, it's mid november, and we're getting the first snow now. It's just sooo late.

The pie was a recipe from Kris , and you'll find the recipe in english here The rest of this post will be in norwegian only.

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Ja, i dag har altså vært den store pai-bake-dagen! En eplepai for å være mere nøyaktig. Jeg har aldri lagd en pai hvor deigen skulle kjevles før, så jeg var litt spent. Men det var ikke noe å være redd for i det hele tatt, det var veldig lett, og det å lage gitteret oppå var heller ingen heksekunst. God ble den også, så denne blir nok lagd flere ganger. Sitronsaften gjorde den litt syrlig, sånn at det ikke ble overveldende søtt heller. Var koselig å lage kaffe, ta et stykke pai og se på årets første snøvær!

Paien var Kris sin oppskrift. Jeg har oversatt det til norsk, mens du finner den på engelsk her.

Kris eplepai

Fyllet
6-8 medium store epler
1,25 dl sukker (Eventuelt litt mer eller mindre, det kommer an på eplene)
2 ss hvetemel
3 ss sitronsaft
1 ts muskat
1 ts kanel

Skrell og del eplene i små terninger Bland i sukker, hvetemel og krydder. Bland godt, dekk med plast og sett i kjøleskapet i minst en time. Dette er vikig, da dette gjør at smaken fra krydder og sitronen får trekke inn i eplene. Eplene vil også gi fra seg en del veske som gjør at paibunnen ikke vil bli for myk.

Deigen
250 gram kaldt smør
7 dl hvetemel
3ss sukker
3/4 dl iskaldt vann

Bland sukker og mel, og bland inn smøret. (Jeg brukte en foodprosessor, men du kan bruke hendene også og smuldre smøret og melet sammen). Spe vannet inn sakte, og når deigen begynner å klumpe seg, tar du den ut av bollen og knar den sammen. Det er ikke sikert du trenger å bruke alt vannet. Del deigen i to og pakk de inn i plast og legg i kjøleskapet. La deigen være kaldt i minimum 30 minutter, men helst en time.

Ta ut den ene deigbiten, og kjevle den ut på melet bord. Kle en paiform med deigen og ha i fyllet. Pass på å klem ut mest mulig fuktighet fra fyllet. Ta ut den andre deigbiten og kjevle denne også ut, Nå kan du enten ha den oppå paien, og bare skjære hull i toppen og prikke med gaffel, ellers så kan du lage et flettemønster slik som jeg har gjort. Her kan du se hvordan man lager et flettemønster.

Steik paien midt i ovnen på 200 grader i 15 minutter, og deretter på 170 grader i 35-40 minutter. Det kan være at du må dekke over paien med bakepapir hvis den blir for brun.
Denne paien er veldig god å spise lunken med litt is eller krem til.

Julestemning/Christmas spirit

Ok, jeg vet, jeg vet, det har vært mye jul i det siste, men nå når butikkene er fulle av juleting, så gjør det to ting med meg: Jeg GLEDER meg til jul! (Har alltid gjort det....) MEN samtidig, så syns jeg det er alt for tidlig!

Er egentlig ikke logisk å få sånn julestemning enda i det hele tatt! Er jo ikke noe som ligner på vinter/jul enda, med grønne plener og høljende regn, men når julegenet våkner, så våkner det...hihi

Jeg gikk innom en sånn farlig butikk i dag, en sånn en som når man går inn, er det umulig å ikke kjøpe noe....Jeg fant de to skjønneste fuglene der! Det er egentlig juletrepynt tror jeg, men inntill julen kommer, bor de i min falske orkide-gren!

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Ok, i know, i know, it's been alot of christmas talk here lately, but when the stores are just filled with christmas stuff, that does at least two things with me: I'm EXCITED for christmas! (I've always been this way...) BUT at the same time i think it's waaay too soon!

It's not even logical to get into the christmas spirit yet at all! Is nothing that even ressembles christmas/winter yet, with green lawns and pooring rain, but when the christmas gene awakens, it's awake, let me tell ya! lol

I went to one of these dangerous stores today, one of these stores where it's impossible to not buy anything.....i found the cutest little birdies there! They are actually christmas tree decorations, but untill christmas is really here, they live in my fake orchid branch!

Er de ikke søte??----Purdy aren't they?

Pepperkaker /Gingerbread cookies

Nei, jeg vet det er litt tidlig for pepperkaker, men noen av mine amerikanske venner har spurt etter en oppskrift på de beste pepperkakene i verden, så resten av dette innlegget kommer til å være på engelsk.......(Bare fordi jeg er lat...hihi)
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Ok, i know it's a bit early, but some of my american friends wanted the recipe for the best gingerbread cookies in the world, so i translated the one i use. The measurements may sound a bit weird to y'all, but i didn't know how else to write them.....lol

Here we go:


Gingerbread cookies (Pepperkaker in norwegian)

1/3 cups + one Tablespoon AND one Teaspoon of molasses

1/2 cups + one Tablespoon of sugar
1/2 cups +one Tablespoon of butter ( Calls for 150 grams, and that equals 5.3 ounces)
1/3 cups + one Tablespoon AND one Teaspoon of Whipping cream
1/2 Teaspoon of ground cloves
1/2 Teaspoon of ground ginger
1/2 Teaspoon of ground black pepper
2 Teaspoons of cinnamon
1 Teaspoon of baking powder
1.5 cups + 2 Tablespoons of flour

Cook molasses, sugar and butter together over low heat until the butter melts. Stir until all is mixed well, and allow to cool. Stir in the cream. Mix the spices, baking powder and most of the flour into the mixture. Stir the dough together and sprinkle the rest of the flour over. Put the dough back in the bowl, and cover with plastic. Let it sit in the fridge at least overnight, but it can keep up till 3 days before baking.

Knead the dough on a table dusted with flour, until it becomes a bit elastic. Take a pice of the dough, put the rest back in the fridge, roll it out to about 0.1 to 0.2 inches thick and cut with cookie cutters. (I usually roll the dough out on a baking sheet, so that i don't have to move the cut out cookies, because they can be tricky to lift up.....)

Bake at 350 degrees for about 10 minutes, or until they are golden. Let them cool on a rack. They will be soft when you take them out of the oven, but they will be harder when cooled. Frost and decorate them if you like. Store the cookies in an air tight container

I like to make big hearts, and make a hole in them before baking, decorate them and hang them in the window or on the christmas tree! This recipe is also good for making a gingerbread house. I'm making one together with Mia this year.
I found this picture of a gingerbread ornament online, cuz i don't have any pics of the ones i've made....typical......

Kakebaking /Making a cake

I morgen har jeg bursdag, og da skal jo folket ha kake.....marsipankake. Jeg bakte sukkerbrødet på torsdagskvelden, og så klarte jeg jo selvfølgelig å miste hele kaka på benken, så den gikk i 114 biter! Siden jeg ikke er Ingrid Espelid Hovig, var løsningen da å kjøpe en kakebunn...ja jeg inrømmer det gjerne, bunnen er kjøpt, vaniljekremen og ferdig kjevlet marsipanlokk likeså....hihi. Men ikke si det til de som skal spise kake hos meg i morra da!

Under følger noen bilder av prosessen, dette er mest for mine amerikanske venner, så der blir det bare engelsk tekst. De syns bløtkake er veeeldig eksotisk!

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Tommorw is my birthday, and that of course means, cake to the people....marzipancake nonetheless. I baked the cake itself on thursday evening, and the of course i managed to drop the entire cake on the countertop, so it broke into 114 pieces. Since i'm not PW, the solution was to go and yes, i admit it, buy a cake. I also bought the vanilla cream and a pre-rolled marzipan cover......lol. But don't tell it to my guests tomorrow!

Here's some pictures, just for you on how the cake was born.....lol

The cake has 3 layers, and here's the first layer. The cake is a sponge cake, and since it can be dry, i moistened the layer with a littlebit of milk, and also used the juice from the raspberry jam, both for moisture and also flavor.

Here, the cake is covered with vanilla cream mixed with whipped cream. Next layer:

I moistened this layer too with a littlebit of milk, then spread a generous amount of raspberry jam mixed with whipped cream on top.

This is the top layer, and after moistening this too with milk, a healthy dollop of whipped cream is slabbed on it......lol

Here's the cake after the cream is spread out. It doesn't have to be that pretty at this point, because it's going to be covered with the marzipan. The marzipan can be a bit tricky to put on, since it's round, but the trick is to cut some slits in it, so that you can fold it into place.

With the reflection of the light in the marzipan this doesn't look any good at all, but i swear, it is....lol. Gently rub the marzipan onto the cake, cut away the excess at the bottom, throw some marzipan roses on top, and this is what you'll end up with:

And since we've established already that i'm not PW, the roses are bought too. I can bake, but not decorate. Remember to pop it in the fridge as soon as you're done, because you don't want the cream to go bad. Let me know if you want the recipe!

Fredag! / Friday!

Så er det fredag igjen. Oi tiden flyr, snart er det jul.......jul ja, her er noen gaveesker jeg har lagd. Jeg har brukt Cricuten min til å skjære disse ut, og pyntet dem. Disse er laget for salg.

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So it's friday again. Wow time flies, soon it's christmas.....speaking of christmas, here are some giftboxes i've made on my Cricut and decorated. I am making these to sell.

Julegaver! / Christmas gifts!

Jepp godtfolk, snart er det jul igjen.....jeg og min kjære søster tenkte vi skulle lage noen sitteunderlag av ull, og gi bort i gaver til noen spesielt heldige utvalgte!

Vi brettet opp armene, satte oss til på badegulvet og begynte å rulle! Hvis du har prøvd å filte sitteunderlag, vet du at det faktisk er ganske tungt og tar en stund. Eneste som er veldig positivt er at lanolinet i ullen og grønnsåpa gjør hendene dine utrolig myke en laangt stund fremover!

(Bildene jeg legger ut er av et annet sitteunderlag, vi kan jo ikke vise frem gavene før julaften, kan man vel??)

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Yep folks,soon it's christmastime again......my dear sis and i thought that we would make some thick felt pieces to sit on when you're outdoors,(They will keep you from getting a wet and could deriere!) and having a coffee break on your hike or something else sporty (wink), and give to a selected few lucky ones. We rolled up our sleeves and sat down on the bathroom floor and started rolling! If you've ever tried felting, you'd know it's pretty hard labor and takes quite a while too. One good thing is that the lanolin from the wool and the soap, makes your hands really soft for the longest time afterwards!

(These pics are some that i did earlier, and kept for myself....lol...can't post pics of presents until christmas now, can we?)

1. Først så legger man ut ullen, vi brukte 3 lag, men man kan godt bruke 4 også, på en bambusgardin med en hånduk under, bare for å holde ting på plass. Fukt alt med varmt grønnsåpevann, og gni det forsiktig til alle lagene har festet seg litt til hverandre.

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1. First you layer the wool, we used 3 layers, but you can also use 4, on a bamboo curtain with a towel underneath, just to hold it a bit in place. Moist the wool with warm soap water, and rub it all carefully untill the layers starts to stick together.

2. Rull så alt sammen som en rullekake og begynn å rulle. Frem og tilbake,frem og tilbak

e, frem og tilbake, frem og tilbake..............en laaaaang lang stund. Pass på å snu filten/ullen etterhvert sånn at du arbeider alle sidene like mye. (Dette er viktig hvis du lager noe med fasong på, slik som hjertet nederst. )

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2. Then, roll it all up like, well a roll, and start rolling. Bck and forth,back an forth,back and forth, back and forth............for a really looooong time. Be carefull to turn the felt piece as you go along, so that you'll make sure to work all the sides of it. (This is especially important if you're making something with a shape, like the heart one in the last picture.)

3. Siste to bildene er av to ferdige underlag. Hjertet var en prøve for å se om jeg fikk til å lage hjertefasong.

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3. These last two picures are 2 finished pieces. The heart was a test to see if i could make one shaped like a heart.

Høsten kom og gikk/ Fall came and went

Ja, jeg hadde planer om å være så aktiv her inne denne høsten, men dere ser nå. Jeg var på et nytt opphold i Valnesfjord hele September. Kom hjem den 4 Oktober.
Når jeg var i Valnesfjord denne gang, ble en drøm født, og det er drømmen om at jeg i vår/sommer skal gjennomføre en halvmaraton, 21 km. Har også fått sportslige lyster, og det er jo litt skummelt. Trener 3 ganger i uka nå, og skal prøve å skrive ned hvor mye jeg trener. Kan jo begynne med i går, da svømte jeg 1300m. Satte ny pers også. Svømte 1000 m på 27 min (Bruker bare armene), og er fornøyd med det!

Nederst er en liten LO jeg har lagd:
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Oy, i had so big plans of being an active blogger this fall, but as you can see.......lol I went for another stay at the PT center in September and came home again October 4th. During my stay there this time, a dream was born, and i want to do a halfmarathon (21K) this spring/summer. I've been having these urges to be physically active, and that's a bit scary. I work out 3 times a week now, and i'm gonna try and keep a record of what i do. Yesterday i swimmed (swim swam swum?) 1300 meters which is about 0.8 miles i think. Got a new personal best too. Managed to swim 1000meters in 27 minutes (I only use my arms), and i'm very pleased with that!

So, to all my american friends, happy election day!

Here's a little LO that i've made: