Wednesday, 11 January 2012

Clay

I think I know myself fairly well.

And I think I am quite realistic about the things I can and can't do. I am practical and can use what is at hand to fix or mend things. I can't sing. No. I definitely can't do that. I hate following instructions and am rubbish at any sort of paperwork. I dread it when BigBean says 'Have you seen the bill for...?' I hate being wrong but I know I am fairly often. I have a good eye for colour. I am fickle. And I am good at making fiddly little things- jewellery, papier mache, modroc owls (don't ask), in fact, crafty nasties in general.

So it has been a huge source of frustration to me that I have never got on well with silver clay. I have tried. I have tried again. And then I gave up.

But my stubborn streak got the better of me and just before Christmas I ordered some more clay and paid attention to the instructions and got busy.
























I made a large disc with a tiny cookie cutter.

The teeny discs were made with a straw and I stamped out initials in them with SmallBean's printing kit.
Then I strung them onto a chain but didn't fix them to a link. I left each little disc and gem pairing so they could move freely along the chain. I'm still not sure if I will keep them like that- I might fix them so they don't swing along and then bunch up.



















































So. I proved to myself that it is possible to read instructions and not hate what you are doing. And I have made myself a new necklace that I haven't taken off since December 19th.

Tuesday, 3 January 2012

Pie




















We have been so spoilt here this Christmas, not just with presents, but with the amount of time we have spent together as a family- hanging out, going for walks, eating every meal together, seeing friends and family and enjoying spending time at home with no pressure to Do Stuff.



So it was with a heavy heart that BigBean settled down to his last evening before going back to work. After we had eaten supper (Why are we eating? Surely we don't need to eat another morsel until at least January 23rd.) I had a sudden and rather generous idea to make BigBean a pasty/pie for his packed lunch with the leftover chicken stew. There were two reasons for this generous spirit. One- I couldn't refreeze the leftovers as they had only just come out of their icy hole and two- we had no bread for sarnies. (We are in an Old Mother Hubbard situation here.) So at 9.30 (pm!!!!) I rustled up some suet crust and made a pie. A pasty.



And I felt like a really good wife.



And BigBean biked off to work feeling slightly less grumpy than he could have done.