Clay beads, Sausage Plait and Easter egg hunting

I've dabbled with my clay recently in an attempt to make some slightly unique clay beads, the initial results are pleasing but still very basic.  I think I will have to experiment more with techniques, colour mixing and more crucially, pressure on cutting utensil as I cut through the clay because I'm finding it's distorting the pattern as I push down.  Any tips on how to improve on this aspect.

I also decided to follow a recipe by the Hairy Bikers, yes, I like a Hairy Biker (or two in this instance) when they come up with good recipe suggestions.  Daughter of 12 does not like sausages!!! Why, I don't know because she eats sausage rolls.  Regardless, having shown and discussed recipe with daughter of 12 it was decided that I should cook the Sausage Plait for dinner.  I went off thinking it would be really easy to get some sausage meat but tis was proving more difficult that expected.  Eventually decided to buy some sausages, remove the skins and use the meat inside.  Daughter of 12 saw me buy sausages, remove skins, and mix sausage meat with onions, herbs and spices.  I then needed to attempt the puff pastry plaiting technique as outlined in the cookbook.  Well easier said than done, quite frankly it's easier to plait daughter of 12's hair both now and when she was 2 years old.  I achieved a lopsided plait with the pastry and into the doven it went.  This I served witha lovely side salad and surprise, surprise, daughter of 12 who does not eat sausages decided she liked it.  Now I ask you..... is there any logic in that?

Today was the day that daughter of 12 invited 5 of her friends around for an Easter egg hunt and craft activity.  I must admit the event went off relatively painlessly though I will state that they are categorically useless at Easter egg hunting.  I've subsequently found a lot more in the garden, thank goodness before large 4 legged friend could reap the rewards.  The girls then engaged in decorating polystyrene eggs, which had already been prepainted with sequins and seed beads.  A little bit fiddly but it kept them entertained while they gossiped around the table.  While this was going on I escaped upstairs and read my Book Club book which is beginning to get quite interesting.

Son of 15 has just returned from doing his DT practical, in preparation for GCSE which are looming ever closer.  I must admit, to be fair on him, he is trying to come to terms with studying and I can often hear the chair scraping across the wooden floor as he continues to sit at his desk and do some revision.  Still, there's no end in sight for the near future.  He still has the pleasure of A-levels and additional studies after that so it's a hard learning curve and he's not alone.

Right, 4 legged friend has already been for a walk though we lost the ball in the stream today and tail was decidedly down as we returned home.  She can never understand when we lose a ball where it could possibly have gone to.  I don't feel like cooking tonight so think it will be pizza (and not home-made) though I do enjoy a home-made pizza). 

More later
Love jayjay