Oh the Cuteness!

Over the summer some of my  Stitch & Bitch  girls and I decided to have a jam making get-together. Laura, the hostess, and my friend  Carolyn  had never made jam before, but Erin, Heideh, and I were old pros and wanted to teach them. So we all got together and drove out to Brentwood to go to a farm to pick strawberries which was a total blast. Then we headed back to Laura's house to get our jam on (sorry haha). We hulled the massive piles of berries, zested and juiced lemons, and picked lavender from the garden while a cute little chocolate lab named Charlie distracted us. Massive pots of boiling water, bubbling batches of jam and preserves, and trays of sterile jars were everywhere. Luckily it wasn't too hot that day but the house still got steamy. Carolyn and Laura had a great time learning a new skill, and ended up with almost a dozen jars each of some truly delicious strawberry jam. I had enough jam at home so ...

This is a fun one! Today I have for you, a list of great jelly shot ideas, 32 free bag patterns, and how to win at 5 old-school games. So get ready to sew, get goofy, and kick butt at rock-paper-scissors!  The bag up above is absolutely fantastic, and there's 31 more linked in this nifty post. Check them out here. This website has so many delicious-sounding ideas for fancy jelly shots. The one pictured above is made with St. Germaine, Champagne, and grapefruit juice. Check out all their ideas here. And lastly, here's a goofy article on how to win (or get the upper hand in, at least), a few classic games like Monopoly and rock-paper-scissors. Have fun!

Oh yeah... Fresh wild bird cherries in three colors (I guarantee you have these dwarf plum trees in your neighborhood) given to me by a dear friend, cooked down, strained, sugar added, cooked to soft ball stage, and canned properly. So much jam, so delicious. Everyone I know got a jar and we still have 2 left. Life is good.