Air dried clay and an egg carton

No, this isn't a saucer of sweets with holes in! They're my attempt at homemade beads. I'd wanted some chunky ones with larger holes in them for threading on to cord or ribbon, and saw an idea on Instagram. So out came the pack of air dried clay and I rolled out these shapes.

I left them to thoroughly dry out on a sunny windowsill, then painted the beads with acrylic paint. After that dried, I dripped some alcohol ink on them. In order for the ink to dry I threaded the beads on to cocktail sticks and balanced them on an egg carton.

I want to add a layer of varnish, but don't want to buy a large tin from a DIY store, so I'm going to pick up a bottle of clear nail polish and try painting the beads with that for a glossy finish. For a first attempt, they're a bit clumsy, but not too bad.

I bought something from a charity shop today that I might try adding to the next batch of beads I make. It's a roll of rose gold coloured foil. I reckon I could cut tiny pieces of that and glue them on to the beads. I also found half a dozen greetings cards, plus a whole stack of perspex blocks (to use with printing stamps). A nice little haul for just £4.73.

I've been adding more bits & pieces to my mammoth sized junk journal. It really is getting to be a chunky beast.

I do love this 'Contents' page. It's so silly!

But I think these pages are my favourites. Everyone's eyeing up everyone else ...

I like to imagine what these people are thinking of each other.

This wife definitely isn't her husband's No. 1 fan, is she? That's a 'how on earth did I end up with him???' look.

I love the randomness of junk journals. The cardboard from a box of herbal teabags next to the packaging from a set of wax crayons. The paper bag that contained porridge oats, glued to a page of the church bulletin and opposite a brightly coloured fruit pastilles pouch. Only in a junk journal could this lot be combined together.

I'll finish up with a look at my new 'toy', a mint green metal trolley, a.k.a. the art cart. I treated myself to this, and it's already home to a load of craft supplies. Hobbycraft sell this for £30 usually, but it was on offer at £25, plus I had a £5 voucher and there was free postage & packing. I also added to my order a couple of the plastic bins that hang off the side of the trolley, ideal storage for pens, scissors and rotary cutters. I'm so pleased with this, I'm very tempted to order a second trolley for my sewing essentials. No, I shouldn't ... should I?

Hope you have a good evening, and let's see what joys the weekend brings. Bye for now.

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