Mini Cookbooks, Michaels Haul, and More

I started working on these little cookbooks last night and am finishing them up tonight.  They are a bit big I wanted them to be like those big cookbooks that I have.  They're so cute.  They won't open or anything. They still need more coats of mod podge.

Mini cookbooks

I had a strange afternoon today.  I love feeding the birds, and when I went out with the dogs, I stood watching the birds.  Then I noticed a blackbird, a Grackle, to be exact, struggling with something as it attempted to fly up to my neighbor's roof.  It was a mouse! I said, "Oh no!  Let it go!" and the bird dropped the mouse.  The mouse landed on the recycling container, bounced off, and ran under it.  It had quite the fall so I hope it's OK.  I felt awful for the mouse and the bird both.  I felt sorry for the mouse and was glad it got away, but I also felt guilty for startling the bird into losing it's dinner.  We all have to eat.  The grackle wasn't pleased with me I don't think; it landed in the tree above me and I swear it glared at me, lol.  I told it that I would feed it a hotdog when I came home.  Then I went to Michaels to try to find marbles and bought all this, lol:

Michaels haul

 I had two coupons, one for 50 percent off, and one for 40 percent off, so I bought the pasta machine for clay.  I hated doing it because I already have one, but it disappeared when I moved 3 years ago.  I'm sure it's in the garage but there are so many boxes and I can't get to them all.  I held off for a long time, but justified getting a second one because I used the 50 percent off coupon.

I also finally remembered to buy the circle ruler thing that I've been wanting, some white sand (for sugared donuts, lol), some extra large craft sticks, a bag of little glass things, including marbles, and a bag of bigger glass things that look like cabachons but are not.  I also couldn't resist getting a bag of miniature coke bottles.  I don't think that's something I could make...not yet, anyway.  I love diet coke, and the mini bottles were only 3.99 and there are 6 pieces (I think).

Real life treats

 All of these polymer clay donuts, cakes, pies, and cookies have made me hungry so I stopped at the donut shop on the way home and bought a brownie and a maple glazed Long John.  To die for, lol.

First attempt at miniature polymer clay bowls

 When I got home, the Grackle was still waiting in the tree (or else another one was) so I broke up a hotdog and tossed it onto the roof of the shed.  It watched me do it but I don't know if it recognized a hotdog as food.  If not, the seagulls or crows will eat it. 

Mini polymer clay bowls

 I was watching a Youtube tutorial earlier about how to make bowls by cutting out a circle of clay and then forming it around half of a marble.  I can't find the tutorial now but I remembered it and gave it a try. 
Edit: I think this was the tutorial here.

The bowls came out so cute but the inside, where they baked against the glass, is much prettier and glossier than the outside.  Also, some of the bowls broke when I took the marble out. I don't know if they were overcooked, undercooked, or if I just used the wrong kind of clay for the ones that broke (the red and white marbled ones).  The one I made out of my Living Doll clay came out nice and is a lot sturdier, but it is also thicker.  I'm going to have to find out which clays I like best. 

 You can see the broken pieces here.  I'm going to keep them, and chop them up so that they look like bits of peppermint candy.  I can use them as topping later.

I rebaked the bowls to see if they'd become stronger, but I still don't know if they have as I haven't gone down the basement to get them yet.  I also still need to sand the edges.