Some days, I just get in a groove. There’s no accounting for why although it’s usually to do with mood and having time available to do what I want to do. Yesterday I was a bit knackered and distracted, to be honest. But today has been one of those days when things flowed.

I had made a few bits and pieces during the week with that air drying clay I bought in Sostrene Grene last weekend. They’ve been drying in my attic (where I do most of this stuff) and they were ready for painting. I like painting small things. That probably comes from having made and painted Airfix models when I was younger. I’m not finished with that either. I have an unmade Cutty Sark that my step-sister gave me a few years ago. It will get done at some stage.

I had a friend in school, Ingmar Kiang, who was incredibly skilled at model painting. While I was simply following the instructions on the box, he was adding realistic details to his models, such as paint discolouration at exhaust outlets, rust and military damage.

Nothing that creative here, however …

Simple stuff indeed. But it’s MY simple stuff.

Then I saw something in the yesterday’s Guardian magazine that inspired this pebble decoration …

I had been thinking about octopus tentacles last week or the week before. I think I posted a bit of a sketch here a week or so ago. Anyway, I put one on a teabag today …

And finally, this was inspired by a little video that came into my Pinterest feed. The video was actually about nail art. The skill of some nail artists is extraordinary, and attractive to me because of its size.

Now, I need to cook the dinner.