based on the unexpected popularity of the strawberry margarita jello shot post, I’ve decided to do some more research and really give my readers what they want. you want jello shots…oh! i’ll give you jello shots!

blackberry liqueur and gin sour

Brilliant idea via nytimes.com

BRAMBLE JELLY SHOTS (with apologies to Dick Bradsell)

For the float:

6 ounces crème de mûre (blackberry liqueur)
7 grams (1 packet) Knox unflavored gelatin
1 package (3 ounces) grape-flavored Jell-O gelatin
1 cup hot water

In a small mixing bowl, sprinkle the Knox and the Jell-O into the hot water and stir until completely dissolved, 5 to 7 minutes. Let sit for 5 minutes, then stir in the crème de mûre. In a small, nonreactive baking dish or loaf pan, pour a few drops of cooking oil (grapeseed works well) and wipe out with a paper towel, coating the entire vessel with the barest layer. Pour blackberry float mixture in and set to chill in refrigerator for at least 2 hours and up to overnight, making certain it is level.

For the gin sour:

1 cup gin (lemon infused)
2/3 cup fresh lemon juice
1/2 cup sugar
28 grams (4 packets) Knox unflavored gelatin
1 cup hot water.

Juice enough lemons to give you 2/3 cup juice, keeping the hulls as you squeeze. Roughly chop the squeezed hulls and put them in a coverable container along with the gin and the lemon juice. Leave at room temperature for at least 2 hours. It’s a good idea to do this before starting the float, so that by the time that has firmed up, your infusion is ready to go. When the float layer is firm, bloom the gelatin in the hot water by sprinkling it slowly while stirring, and continuing stirring until fully dissolved. Add the sugar and stir until that is also fully dissolved. Strain the gin mixture off from the lemon hulls through a fine sieve or chinoise and add it into the gelatin mixture, stirring well. Over a spoon, so as not to gouge a divot in the float layer, pour the lemon sour mix onto the float layer and return to refrigerator, again checking for levelness. Chill overnight. When ready to serve, cut into squares, or use a cookie cutter for shapes, and pull up carefully, using a cake spatula to get under the float layer. Garnish with a blackberry and/or a thin wedge of candied lemon. Or simply slurp.

cosmo jello shot for the sex and the city woman in all of us

this next beauty was found on thefunkybear blogs, however in my search for the recipe i stumbled upon a jello shooters heaven…. the jello shot test kitchen

Ingredients:  

Cranberry juice

Orange flavored vodka

Grand Marnier or Cointreau Roses Lime

Wine jello shots, does it get better than this?

thanks martha!

For the last couple years I have been dabbling here and there with embroidery. I think it’s a cute touch on DIY projects. For a friend’s bridal shower I got her a cookbook, a few spatulas, and made her an apron. My first thought was to buy the apron, however after finding out the going price is $40, I took an alternative route. Picking out customized fabrics, and making my own pattern was way more fun and personal anyway. My friend LOVES birds so I stitched a cute little bird (similar to that of my header) on the apron pocket. I guess I prefer doodle stitching over embroidery solely based on my lack of skill and knowledge of the art of embroidery.

Recently I came across 2 women who have truly taken embroidery to a new level and have me in complete awe over their work.

Nat, writer of the smallest forest blog is primarily a bookbinder however, her latest post featuring her embroidery proves she is a woman of many talents. Especially drawn to the collaboration of contour lines she creates with small linked stitches with a section of solid vibrant color really make this a phenomenal piece!

Cayce Zavaglia:

The next artist is a painter, having received her BFA from Wheaton College and her MFA from Washington University. It wasn’t until Zavaglia was pregnant and decided to remove herself from the toxins of painting that she experimented with a number of mediums before landing on embroidery.

I find her embroidery to have such a painterly feel, the stitches reflect texture similar to that of a Van Gogh and yet the way she is able to blend colors creates distinct realism. Her work is absolutely amazing!

Artist Statement:

“I still consider myself a painter and find it difficult not to refer to these embroidered portraits as “paintings”. Although the medium employed is crewel embroidery wool, the technique borrows more from the worlds of drawing and painting.

Initially, working with an established range of wool colors proved frustrating. Unlike painting, I was unable to mix the colors by hand. Progressively, I created a system of sewing the threads in a sequence that would ultimately give the allusion of a certain color or tone. The direction in which the threads were sewn had to mimic the way lines are layered in a drawing to give the allusion of depth, volume, and form. Over time the stitches have become tighter and more complex but ultimately more evocative of flesh, hair, and cloth.

My work unabashedly nods its head to the tradition of tapestry and my own love of craft. Using wool instead of oils has allowed me to broaden the dialogue between portrait and process as well as propose a new definition for the word “painting”.”

I was lucky enough to find an interview on trish blurr’s blog