Both Tom and I were ill with the same thing over the weekend. However, he was the one convalescing in bed, and I was the one soldiering on. As a distraction from how rough I felt I decided to make a stripy jelly with the kids (pictured left). This creation took us all of Saturday. As I coughed and sputtered and sneezed over orange and pink and purple jelly cubes and waited patiently for each layer to set before adding the next one, Betty remarked 'But Mummy I don't even like jelly anymore'. And it is a known fact that, like me, Dolly has never liked jelly. 'Ok' I thought, 'so you and your sister don't like jelly (although yesterday you loved jelly you fickle little four year old), but Granny and Daddy love jelly'.
Once all the layers had set, I began turning it out of the mould and the nerves and excitement really started to set in. Out glooped the jelly, and there it proudly wobbled, perfectly formed, in all its stripy glory. I placed it on the table and stared at it in awe. Jelly really is an exciting and versatile medium to work with. Betty sauntered up and said 'Why have you made that yucky jelly Mummy?' I ignored her.
It turned out that Tom was 'too poorly' to eat jelly, and Granny didn't want to catch my germs that were 'more than likely festering all over it'. So with no-one actually wanting to eat the jelly, I took hundreds of photos of it, then ate a token spoonful of it, before slopping it into the bin; rationalising that the whole thing only cost £1.20 and that it had helped take my mind off the feelings of wanting to stick my head in the oven.
I am now dreaming up my next jelly creation. The next one, when I am better (for I have now succumbed to my illness, kicked Tom out of bed, and am under the duvet), will involve Betty and Dolly's castle shaped beach buckets. Having researched how to create new and exciting colours of jelly, the possibilities are endless. For me, jelly is the new play dough.
12 comments:
I like the sound of this! I think I will investigating this too...!
It looked great though.... and if this is what you can do when your ill just think of the masterpiece you can create when your feeling great!
hi solveig, there is something very satisfying about working with jelly!
hi mum in meltdown, thanks - i seriously think it's going to become an obsession!
Gah! But such a shame (crime?) that the jelly landed in the bin...I nearly wept. Sorry I haven't been over for ages, I am rubbish :-(
Pig x
oh god, my word verif is 'amator' i think it means 'amateur' doesn't it? The blog world hates me!
That is one impressive jelly.
The boys were obsessed with jelly for about a week after they had it for the first time on our ski trip. Then (once I'd gone and bought lots of it), they decided they didn't like it any more...
Can't clever things be done with jelly and vodka? And floating things in the middle of a jelly?
I think you should pursue this medium. It has potential.
Well I'm very very impressed... I've always wondered if that sort of thing was easy to do. I got some jelly moulds for chrimbo from a mate and dutifully make Charlie a jelly car... he ate about a quarter of it and the rest stood in the fridge for about two weeks, at which point I remembered I ought to chuck it and simulaneously became fearful about how perfect it still looked. I think he'd go for stripey though... all very impressive.
hi pig, it had to go in the bin, seemingly no-one in my house likes jelly, but i love playing with it!
hi nappy valley, yes betty's love of jelly comes and goes in waves. i swear she decided she didn't like it that day because she had seen how much effort i had put in
hi iota, yes the floating something in the middle is what i need to crack next, the mind boggles
hi sparx, i think jelly has a habit of hanging around in fridges for weeks on end, and you then end up with bits of broccoli and crumbs stuck to it
I'm so glad you left me a comment today. I have been meaning to stop by to see how the stripy jelly turned out!
I've never tried making one with stripes, but I often think about it. Mine never turn out. They just splodge out and look a mess. I was watching Royal Upstairs Downstairs last week, when they made jelly and thought how I would have been sacked if I'd been a cook in Victorian times.
ooh yes, do add a splodge of food colouring to sponge cake mix. It's good fun. I was a bit demure with it so I handed it over to little one who just splodge it in and made it turn properly green!
Ah. The redundant feeling. I've got it too. On Friday the husband and I have to go to school to meet the teachers and have a snoop around (already fearing detention for wearing nail varnish), then around Easter my tiny little baby who isn't old enough to go to school, will start with her easing in days. Then *wallop* I've got a school child on my hands.
I'm more upset for me. I've had this fab person by my side all these years, and who will I boss about and have fun with when she' not here? She'll have a great time, not worried about that in the slightest, but I'm feeling sad at the loss of my pal.
Though, I am looking forward to having a quiet house, time to self, and tidying up and having it stay that way for a while!
;o)
x
hi sadie, it was the royal upstairs downstairs that got me going with the jelly! - some fab creations
the school thing is huge, but exciting too...
thanks for your lovely comment x
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