It was Klavdija's fault...

... that I decided to make a Skinner blend (a polymer-clay-world technical term). Klavdija, an actual PC-artist decided to issue a challenge - use these and these polymer clay colors in this and this order, make a Skinner blend out of them, and then use this blend in a piece of whatever. And you can only use one extra color.

Well, I am quite enthusiastic about polymer clay, unfortunatelly this enthusiasm has its limits. After seeing what others (and others) made for the challenge, I reconsidered entering, but since Klavdija is a most convincing person (she'll be sorry when she sees this), here's my entry.

First, I prepared the required colors. Of course, the red is a different one, since they don't sell that particular requested red one in any store readily accessible to Vesna and me.



Then, my pasta machine had its day. For a moment there, it actually seemed I knew exactly what I was doing.



It came out at an impractical size (I probably made it a bit too thin to be useful), so I made a cane out of it. I just used an extra sheet of blue (the same one as in the blend) as the "additional" color.



And then comes the piece-de-resistance, my challenge entry! 3 centimeters high.



You know, Klavdija, you could stop laughing now. I told you it would be a massacre...

Now I just have to figure out what to do with the leftovers.

Vesna

My beautiful baby girl. Need I say more?

Probably the most forgotten blog ever...

...this is it.

Some things have changed in the past (almost) year, some haven't. My Vanda orchid is blooming again (the same one as last year), another one is preparing to bloom. The vegetables and the balcony flowers are planted, and the herbs are outside as well.

The thing that has changed is my life, kinda. I'm pregnant, with only a week to go until my baby is due. I do believe I have everything prepared, there's just the fact that I still have to get the baby crib from the carpenter (the paint is drying as I type this, and the weather hasn't been exactly dry in the past few days).

Because of my changing anatomy, I haven't done much crafting lately. I just can't get close enough to the table...

I'm thankful

I live in a two cat household this week. Pika sleeps on the couch as always, but it seems that Rufus decided to drive me crazy. Tonight at 0.30 he jumped over the balcony (well, fell together with a flower pot) and disappeared into the night. I went "hunting" immediatelly, but without success - black cat in the night... Miha did his best to help me, but it didn't work either.

Not to mention how stupid you feel running around the neighborhood in your pajamas, yelling "here, kitty kitty". Fast forward several hours, several grey hairs later - 4 a.m., and the sound of the newspaper boy's motocycle... I got up (couldn't stay awake anymore after 3, but you can imagine how well you actually sleep when your nerves are in overdrive) and looked outside the kitchen window - and lo and behold, I saw a black shape trigger the light sensor at the building opposite.

I ran downstairs, and after some "deliberation" (begging, calling, offering treats) Rufus came close enough for me to grab him. Now we're all at home, he's been to the bathroom, he's had dinner (or is it breakfast?). I'll probably donate some money to an animal shelter in the morning, out of gratitude. And now I'm just hanging at the computer, winding down a bit.

And yes, I'll also post a picture of the flower pot in the morning. The flowers are still okay, but the pot (plastic) is broken in a few spots, so I'm not sure we'll be able to attach it to the balcony again. But who cares, as long as Rufus is at home. I'll kill him in the morning.

My farm, sorry, balcony

No, I didn't make the "twice a month" post, but this is the first one in August.

I grow many things on my smaller balcony (the big one is occupied by flowers mostly). Among them you can find (this year, that is): oregano, basil, lemongrass, mint, coriander, chilli, eggplant, 2 kinds of (bell) peppers, tomatoes, strawberries and lagenarias. And an olive tree.

What are lagenarias? Well, it's a kind of pumpkin. Green, long, with a hard outer shell (if you leave it on the vine long enough, it thickens into some kind of gourd, and the shell becomes wooden - actually in ancient times, it was used for carrying water around). But if you cut it off soon enough, the shell is just a bit harder, no need to remove it - maybe you just have to bite a bit harder - but not that hard. It tastes just like the normal zucchini, bland. ;-)

And the first one that ended up on my plate measured 52 centimeters and weighed 520 grams. Here are the photos one of the still growing plant, and another of the lagenaria on my counter. Impressive, hah?

Probably the least successful blog candy ever

I got three replies. Actually, two as comments, and the third one published my candy on her blog. It didn't help.

So I decided to make all three of you winners. Bridget, Jenn and Anna, send me your addresses! (Bridget, you don't really have to) And do tell me which flavor of chocolate you prefer... Gorenjka makes the following:

MILK CHOCOLATE
hazelnut-raspberry-strawberry
crunchy caramel
crunchy rice
noisette
ice (special filling)
raisins-hazelnuts
chopped hazelnuts
hazelnut cream
plain
whole hazelnuts

70% DARK CHOCOLATE
plain
raspberry

MISTICA - SPECIAL FLAVORS
milk noisette
75% dark
75% dark with orange
53% dark with green apples and cranberries
70% dark with juniper berries and tarragon
70% dark with whole hazelnuts

And as you send me your address, also tell me the flavors. You get two chocolates (same or different, whichever you prefer), but do send me a list of three flavors, as I don't know what the store will have in stock. I'll buy them over the weekend, and post them Monday.

A blog candy out of curiosity, until July 1st

Since my Vanda orchid is now in full bloom...



I decided to give out some blog candy. Literally. I'm offering two Gorenjka chocolates, and you'll be able to choose the flavors if you win! I will ship worldwide.

The rules are simple, like at so many blogs. Comment here and put a link to my candy in your blog. You can even become a follower, imagine that! It will be open until July 1st.

Why curiosity? Well, my blog has had about 50 visitors in the past two weeks, and I want to know who they were.