try something new each day

They say that it slows the aging process, particularly that slippery slope of mental decline, if you try something new every day. I can’t honestly say I come even close to that – most days are spent in a treadmill-type action of simply trying not to get too far behind the kids. Today, though, I finally broke open the packet of Fimo Effects clay I’d bought a couple of weeks ago. My reason for buying it is because I’ve found it absolutely impossible to get decent-looking pins for pinkeeps here, and I’m not “allowed” to order any because I’ll apparently be on The Wagon till the trumpets sound…. So I tried making some decorative-headed pins and simple buttons. Simple … well, that’s open for debate. This stuff is sticky! And once it sticks to your hands, it then sticks to itself. And before you know it, you look like you’ve been squishing Smurfs barehanded. :0 But here is what I came up with:

The other new thing that I’m so happy to share is that after two years of great effort to win an Ink Circles pattern during Tracy’s ‘tell-me-an-interesting-story’ competition during The Needlework Show, I finally won! It was ridiculously difficult to chose just one. It probably doesn’t surprise anyone that I finally chose Dutch Beast because it appealed so much to my sense of  humor and because as a foreigner living in The Netherlands it just seemed so perfectly tongue-in-cheek.

The other designer I tried so hard to win from was Monique … but there’s always next year!

It’s a gorgeously sunny day and the kids and I are soon off to walk to the petting zoo and then over to the library. I plan to get some more stitching done tonight – thanks for your kind words about Thine Forever. It’s a gorgeous design and I really hope it’ll make the bridal pair happy.