Not Bill's Jello

When I first saw this recipe for Jello Gems from Kraft I thought, that looks ridiculous, I should try it. And wow, did I enter a new era for the possibilities of jello.

They're just so creamy, and tangy!

Seriously, you have to try this. My first attempt was lemon, my second was black cherry. And both attempts were surprisingly good. (careful though, the bottoms seem to want to burn real easy).

With Lemon Jello

With Black Cherry Jello

These cream cheese based sugar cookies are super simple. The flavor is present but not overwhelming, the colors are fun, and with the vast new varieties of jello flavors, really, it's a whole new world for the traditionally jiggly snack. 

Holy Awkward Insurance.

I'm working part-time now (you know, so I could focus more on my art). It's given me a lot of time to catch up on my CW and ABCFamily shows. And I keep seeing this Geico commercial that is cracking me up—you know the email forwards and blogs with all the horrid family portraits from eras past—floating heads and what not? Well, I'm so thrilled someone has figured out how to use these photos for a marketing campaign!
Can you imagine, sitting there watching Hart of Dixie and suddenly seeing your awkward family photo talking back at you?! 

Let's hope this is the beginning of a series... there's so much awkwardness out there to utilize!
 

I Can Hear Your Hair

Ever wonder what sound a plant makes when it grows? "Nyokki" is a Japanese onomatopeia that mimics the sound of a plant growing! It is pronounced "n-yoo-key".

And these little Nyokki plants are adorable, fast-growing friends.You can style their "hair", trim and grow again

Luigi has been growing his lovely locks for about a month now, and today I gave him his first haircut. We wanted it to be memorable so we want with a mohawk! I think it suits him quite nicely!

Delicious Mess

Once again Martha has gone and made something seem simpler than it actually is....

Following her recipe for Fresh Ricotta was something I'd been meaning to do since summer. So on this snowy afternoon, I finally set out to tackle this–intending to use it in a dinner of manicotti.

The recipe read real simply, and I had high hopes that I could make this 45 minute cheese in an hour. The process did not go smoothly. I don't think my curds and whey separated enough in step two, for when I tried to drain it, it just kinda hung there. I let it drain for over an hour, and even divided it into two parts to try and speed up the drips. But in the end, I was left with a bowl of runny cheese, about the consistency of cream of wheat. I made my dinner anyway, stuffed shells, anticipating the watery mess it would become.

During this process I swore I'd never make cheese again. It was time-consuming, messy, finicky, not inexpensive and the house smelled like curdled milk. Why bother? When ricotta is so readily accessible and cheap at the Meijer!

But then I tasted it. And even with this failed attempt, my stuffed shells tasted surprisingly exceptional. The cheese was smooth, creamy and full of flavor. And now I'm torn, it may be worth a second attempt. 

Now I'm just kicking myself for not saving the whey, probably would have been quite good in smoothies! 

 

Just Another Snow Day

Sick of the snow yet? If you're like me, you've officially given up and succumbed to full on hibernation. So instead of going outside, where our faces freeze off, let's bring a little bit of the outdoors, snow day fun inside.

Check out these fun and creative paper snowflake templates I found on Pinterest. Time to get sassy with your scissors. 

Star Wars Snowflakes - Matters of Grey

Bear and Owl Flakes - Imagine Gnats

Ballerina Snow Dancer - Modish Space

Elaborate Traditional Snowflakes - DIY Creating

This is a great craft for a snowy afternoon by the fire watching movie. Or if you just need the kids to sush-up for a few minutes. 

UnPhotoshopped and But Not Uncredited

You can't trust anything, especially a photograph. As someone who spends a good portion of her day in PhotoShop, I know just how true this is. 

In that vein, American Eagle's sister lingerie store Aerie has launched a new marketing campaign focusing on Natural, Un-retouched beauty. The series, called Aerie Real, claims, "The Girl in the Photo has NOT been Retouched: The Real you is Sexy."

The girls pictured are beautiful, full of life, personality, and even have an actual curve or two. While I fully support this campaign (I'd never poo-poo something promoting a healthy body image), it is still clearly a planned marketing effort than a path to change the world. And it's certainly receiving a lot of attention – not bad for a brand most people have probably never hear of.

I wish that brands and magazines photographed "regular-sized" women, not as a ploy to sell more bras but because that's what people look like. What if a brand featured "average consumers" and didn't take credit for it, didn't acknowledge it and didn't point it out in exchange for their pat on the back? What if it was the natural, right thing to do?

 

Burger of the Week #146

It's absolute burger love on Modcloth. It's this amazing
The Burger the Better shirt.

Michigan State Pride

There's a lot of Mitten State pride in Michigan (though with the winter we're having, we're all beginning to wonder why we still live here). I just made these little ornaments to celebrate that Michigan Love .

I used a Michigan cookie cutter for the shape and outlined them with a blanket stitch. They're quite adorable in their various colors and stitched hearts.

I've just posted them here on Etsy. More color combinations to come!
 

Never too Cold for Ice Cream

A coworker (and luckily a friend) caught me eating peanut butter out of the jar with a spoon last week. I just couldn't get enough, which I suppose means I'm craving protein.

So what does this vegetarian do when she's in need of protein? She heads home and makes buckeyes and peanut butter ice cream. 

I know it's -2 degrees outside (not an exaggeration) but I've been totally obsessed with making ice cream lately. And luckily the ice cream maker attachment for my kitchen-aid mixer makes it so easy. 

Thus far I've made:
– Butter Pecan
– Peppermint Mocha
– Caramel Pumpkin*
– Peanut Butter*
* Requires making a custard.

Each attempt has produced shockingly smooth ice cream, with incredibly rich flavor. When no custard is require, the whole process is bafflingly easy. The only trick is to remember to freeze the bowl 8 hours in advance. 

I'm sure none of it is good for you (hello cream and 6 eggs?). And I'm sure none of it counts as valid protein intake. But boy, how much do I not care!?

 

(Let's Go) Exploring Embroidery

Over my extended Christmas break, I turned to a new project...a twist on traditional samplers... pop culture embroidery (surely no copyright violation here....!).
Inspired by a card I'd receive a while back, I suddenly began stitching out my pals Sophia, Rose, Dorothy and Blanche one afternoon. And then while watching the Dear Mr. Watterson documentary I was inspired and began on Calvin and Hobbes. I'm quite smitten with how each of these turned out—it's a simple combination of embroidery thread and acrylic paint, displayed in an 8 inch hoop.


I was going to post this on Etsy but I posted it on Instagram while I was working on it and someone purchased it via the comments there. Well that's a good sign, I guess I'll be making more of these! 

Hey! I know her!

Look who's famous! It's the woman who taught me everything i know.There is nothing that she cannot fix or make (except maybe a doorbell!)

Jennifer Ackerman-Haywood's arts article in Sunday's GR Press featured the practical art of sewist (and seamstress) Jenny Lynn. (yes we're related).

She's been quietly sewing for 45 years, it's time she got a little attention! You can read the full article here, and see some of her finished projects here.

Predictable Spontaneity

So during a big holiday cleaning spree, I ditched all my old college art school project, but I paused for a moment over this one, remembering how much I enjoyed this exercise in cut + paste.

Though I didn't really remember what the assignment was specifically until i noticed two words written on the back of one of these. "Spontaneous" and "Predictable". Each set was designed to represent a pair of opposites (can you pinpoint this pair?). I really wish i had a key as to what the other word pairings were!

I've decided to cut these apart and use them as notecards. ...The psychology of who I send which makes me REALLY wish i had the word key!

Oh college, remembering this studio project makes me long for scissors and glue instead of ⌘C and ⌘V!

Burger of the Week #145

For the new year, a collective of designers and illustrators are sharing in a Doodle-a-Day challenge. The goal is to take a few minutes each day and doodle.

Friend and illustrator Joseph Becker posted this stellar doodle burger last week. Thrilled to feature it here!

Oh Snap! I Found Cute Cards

In a Christmastime cleaning binge, we found these decks of old playing cards—Animal Snap, Snap and Donkey. I was so smitten with the size and sketches on each card, that I immediately began making them into greeting cards.

The cards vary from cute little animals, motivational sayings and nursery rhymes. I've made some of them available on Etsy here.

Playtime Transformed.

Has anyone else noticed that the toys of our childhood have undergone makeovers? This article from Huffington Post points out how extraordinarily girl toy icons have gotten. And by girly I think they mean sexy... not even the ponies are safe.

See more of these extreme transformations at HuffPost.

Burger of the Week #144

I've never seen the animated show Bob's Burgers, but there's a delightful tumblr based on the show....

The author describes it as "a cooking blog dedicated to Bob's Burger of the Day... and also Louise's awesome ideas. I take the punderful name from Bob's Burger of the Day chalkboard, and I come up with a recipe for it. Then I make it - and I haven't made a bad one yet (mostly)."

The Child Molester - comes with candy!
A veal and sweet onion burger topped with candied bacon, cheddar cheese and baby spinach. Garnished with a maple bacon lollipop, and served with every kid’s favorite - Kraft Mac & Cheese. 

I’ve Created a Muenster with muenster cheese

Butterface Burger (Served with Butter Lettuce)

Playing on Edible Landscapes

Commercial food photographers Pierre Javelle and Akiko Ida have been creating this playful series since 2002. The series is called Minimiam,—based on the combination of the words "miniature" and "miam" (yummy in French). 

The project documents tiny toy people living on delicious backdrops in entertaining stories. I love the originality, sense of humor, and technique used here.