Vol. 3, No. 211, July 30, 2018

3211 - Family Ball.

Tonight my entire family minus Margo joined me for CSB/SJU Night at the Twins Game. I was going to do a drawing at the game, but wasn't liking anything that was showing up on my page, so I decided to keep it simple and switch to photography. I started with a picture of my new hat, then turned it into a collage with some selfies with my mom, a fellow Bennie, and with Rebecca. I also included a sweet skyline picture. Photo credits for the selfies goes to Becca.

Vol. 3, No. 210, July 29, 2018

3210 - All Done.

Today we had our last performance of Seussical. To celebrate the end, I decided to make a mini clover for each person in the cast. This was a great idea in theory; the problem fell in the execution. I need to make 60 clovers, however, I didn’t start making them until I got to the theater. During the show, I was also watching Miss N and Baby R, so I had my hands full. I got about 20 clovers fully completed. The other 40 flowers were assembled, but not fluffed and therefore didn’t look as nice. I distributed the flowers in the reception line after the show, and let those with the unfluffed flowers that they could finish the flowers themselves.

With the show over, I am going to have to start figuring out new things to make.

Vol. 3, No. 209, July 28, 2018

3209 - Floating Flowers.

Since finishing the coral, I had planned on making some flowers with the extra pool noodles. Of course, I didn’t plan ahead enough to do this project at home. Instead, I started it after intermission tonight. I was able to get two large flowers and one small flower made during the second act. I gave the flowers to three of my favorite small actors in the show. They loved them!

Vol. 3, No. 208, July 27, 2018

3208 - Flower Fingers.

Today, while Grandma took the Miller Littles to baseball, I stayed home with Miss N. When she was finished with breakfast and had jumped on the trampoline for a while, I decided it was craft time. I pulled out the paint and had her help me make handprint flowers with finger painted stems and leaves. The assembly took some time, so I was still working on it when everyone else got home. Fortunately I was able to keep I a secret from Oldest Miller. I gave it to her after tonight’s performance.

Vol. 3, No. 207, July 26, 2018

3207 - Seussical Opening Night.

Last night, while sitting at preview night for Litchfield Community Theatre's production of Seussical, I realized that I hadn't prepared any flowers for Oldest Miller. Seussical is her first show, therefore she needed some handmade flowers. So today, I dug through my craft bag to see what I had on hand to use for flowers. I found some canvas squares and fabric crayons...perfect. I got to work coloring the canvas, then cut out the flowers and glued them together on sticks. I finished them off with the only green tape I had on hand, painters tape. The tape wasn't very sticky, but I think they will hold up for a while, and I can always fix them with better tape later.

Vol. 3, No. 206, July 25, 2018

3206 - Chasing The Whos.

On Monday, Tuesday and today, I  spent nearly the entire performance of Seussical with a camera in my face. I was asked to take pictures of the entire show so that's what i've done. The first night in just under 3 hours, I took over 2000 pictures. I took another 520 on Tuesday and 470 today. Now, I get to upload all of the pictures to a photo sharing site so that all cast members can have access.

This is a collage of just a few of my favorite pictures.

Vol. 3, No. 205, July 24, 2018

3205 - Biggest Blame Fool.

Tonight, I went above and beyond, designing a drink in a coconut shell, complete with a hand rolled paper straw and an umbrella that can open and close. Creating the drink and it’s details were easy. The hard part came after. I got the drink finished about halfway through the first act of the show. During intermission, I placed it on the tray, disposing of the bowl like shel we had been using. I took a picture and returned to my seat for the second act. I cringed when the Cat in the Hat brought the drink in on a tray and the shell rocked back and forth nearly tipping off of the tray multiple times in the short scene. I knew immediately that it would need some support. I didn’t want to go out and buy magnets; Velcro would be too loud; and it gets taken off the tray to be drank by Mayzie, so glue wasn’t an option. I decided I would try using hot glue to create a bowl of sorts to support the drink; that didn’t work. Next, I found a shallow dish, spray painted it silver and glued that to the tray. While it doesn’t look super professional, it seems to work. The real test will come tomorrow, in front of our families.

Vol. 3, No. 204, July 23, 2018

3204 - Chain Reaction.

We needed a rabbit for Seussical, so when I saw a pin on Pinterest for a finger-knitted bunny I saved it. Then when I was cleaning yesterday I found some gray yarn. So, today I watched the tutorial and made a bunny. I used little hair bands for the eyes and nose. It wasn't big enough to use for the play, so I am hoping the Miller Littles will like it.

Vol. 3, No. 203, July 22, 2018

3203 - Happy Birthday Margo.

It's hard to believe that my baby sister is celebrating her 21st Birthday today! When I was cleaning my house prior to putting it on the market, I came across the card that Margo gave to me, nine years ago, for my 21st Birthday. She would have been 11 years old at the time. The card was hand written with some block stamps for decoration. The card read " Happy 21st B-day Rosanne !! Time to drink!! (more than you did when u were 20)...but don't get too drunk!! Things might get wild. XOXO your littlest sis Margo"

I decided to get creative and cut the card apart, rearranging it to say  "Happy 21st B-day littlest Margo. Time to drink!! (more than you did when u were 20) but don't get too drunk!!... Things might get wild. XOXO your sis Rosanne"

While I didn't get to see her today, I sent her pictures of every part of the card. She recognized it immediately. I will giver her the card when we celebrate both of our birthdays next weekend.

Vol. 3, No. 202, July 21, 2018

3202 - Old Fish.

Today at rehearsal, it was discovered that we need 9 fish rather than the 8 that we were planning on, which meant that I had to make one more. I decided on an old orange fish as we didn’t have any that color yet. I used blue for the details and made sure that add in a scraggly beard, just like in the book. I think this is one of my favorite fish, except for the fact that my marker was drying out so the lines aren’t very dark in some places.

Vol. 3, No. 201, July 20, 2018

3201 - Bartleby.

Today the Miller Littles and I finally made it to Story Hour at the Library. The story this week was  The Very Very Very Long Dog by Julia Patton. It is a about an extreamly long Weiner Dog. For the craft, the kids colored the head and tail of the dog and then used an accordion fold on a long piece of paper to creat the middle of the dog. Being to young to cut, I helped Miss N with her dog, honestly I did most of the coloring too. The marker selection was limited, so we have a very crazy colored dog.

Vol. 3, No. 200, July 19, 2018

3200 - Mayzie In Palm Beach.

I thought about doing a real art project, but decided to skip it on account of it being my birthday. So, I volunteered to make the postcard prop for the play. The postcard is a letter from Mayzie; I think it is supposed to be to. Gertrude so that is who I wrote it to. I felt like Mayzie would have written in cursive using a pink pen. While Mayzie is actually sending the card from Palm Beach, the director, thought it would be funny to use a Twine Ball Postcard. I took a postcard that I had made for the Twine Ball a while ago, took off the Twine Ball information and added “Wish you were here”, the classic postcard catch phrase.

I mounted the printed picture on to cardboard, to give it some support and hopefully keep it from getting destroyed before the show opens next week. I even created a palm tree postage stamp.

Vol. 3, No. 199, July 18, 2018

3199 - Format Frustrations.

I've been working on the program for Seussical. The input of the information is easy, but the formatting in giving me a run for my money. The program is still a work in progress, but the cover is done enough that I am using it as my project today.

Vol. 3, No. 198, July 17, 2018

3198 - How Lucky You Are.

It takes a village, that’s what they say about raising kids, but it is also true about theatre. There is no way I could be successful as a prop-artist if I didn’t have so many people supporting me. Tonight, with some help, I finished the coral sculptures and jellyfish by adding twinkle lights. Thing 1 was kind enough to model one of the jellyfish for me.

Litchfield Community Theatre’s production of Seussical opens last week. If you want to get tickets visit www.litchfieldcommunitytheatre.com

Vol. 3, No. 187, July 16, 2018

3187 - Amazing Mayzie.

Today's project was amazing. I, along with a handful of helpers, created two coral bouquets. We had enough coral pieces left over to make at least one more bouquet. The bouquets turned out pretty well, and my group and I received lots of compliments. All that is left is to add handles on the bottom and then hope that they hold up on stage.

Vol. 3, No. 196, July 15, 2018

3196 - Notice Me, Horton.

I didn't use my time super wisely today, which meant I was just starting my project at 11:20 tonight. I knew it would be time consuming, but at least I had a pretty good idea of what I was going to do. I made my fourth and final fish, the blue fish. I added a star to it's belly to make it more fun.

Vol. 3, No. 195, July 14, 2018

3195 - How To Raise A Child.

My mom had been asked to make the brochure prop for Seussical. The brochure is for a Military Academy. She kept asking for help, so this evening I just sat down and made it quick. It is a tri-fold brochure that is lacking color and pictures. It didn’t turn out as nicely as I had hoped, but it will work for the show.

Vol. 3, No. 194, July 13, 2018

3194 - Flat Stanley.

I had been putting my project on hold all day, not really sure what I wanted to do, and then Oldest Miller came up with a great idea. She sat down after supper and started tracing her hands and feet to make a flat version of herself. She was using small pieces of paper, so there was no way her head or body was going to fit. So with Momma Miller’s help, we found a roll of wrapping paper and used that to trace her body. We then glued the parts she had cut out on to the body. Of course when Middle Miller and Littlest Miller saw the project, they wanted to make their own. About an hour later, we were finished. The biggest challenge was figuring out how to pose the Flat Miller Littles so that we could see them in the picture.

Vol. 3, No. 193, July 12, 2018

3193 - Havin’ A Hunch.

Tonight was picture night at Seussical Rehearsal, this meant that my work time was cut short, but I also had a few volunteers to help me out. Two jellyfish were made, as was more coral. Unfortunately I didn’t actually do any of the work, just provided the instruction, so I didn’t feel that I could take credit for it. This meant that when I got home tonight I had to still do my project. I decided to get one of my last two fish finished. Today’s fish is based off of “One Fish”.

Vol. 3, No. 192, July 11, 2018

3192 - Monkey Around.

Tonight at rehearsal, I was hoping to get the seaweed finished, but I ended up spending the entire time taking head shots for each of the actors and talking with some of the parents. So for today's project I was going to compile the head shots into a Seuss stripped collage, but I ran out of time and patience for that. Instead, I chose my favorite picture, the Cat in the Hat with a big goofy grin. He thought it was too over the top and we retook the picture, but I kept this one because it was so fun and Cat in the Hat like.

Vol. 3, No. 191, July 10, 2018

3191 - In Palm Beach.

Today I got to have some more fun with pool noodles. I used scraps from other pool noodle projects to create seaweed and coral to use during the fish scene. I got a lot made, but didn't have time to assemble the bouquets. Also, the hot glue gun that I had was too hot and melted the foam more than held it together, so I will finish making pieces and start assembly later this week. I am excited for the finished project! With only 2 weeks until the show opens, I need to move quickly.

Vol. 3, No. 190, July 9, 2018

3190 - Here On Who.

Tonight while at Seussical Rehearsal, I made my last three instruments. I can’t wait until tomorrow when I get to see them with the Who Marching Band, all lined up in a row. My willing models today were Chloe, Molly, and Oldest Miller.

Vol. 3, No. 189, July 8, 2018

3189 - One Fish, Two Fish.

I began my third task for Seussical today, that is making fish. The Lead Painter and I are both making fish which means we each only need to make four. I am making my fish out of card stock and using the book One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish by Dr. Seuss as inspiration. The green fish is modeled after the Two Fish, and the red fish is modeled after the Red Fish. I was going to photograph the fish outside, but it was too windy so I did the next best thing, a bathtub. During Seussical, JoJo is taking a bath when the fish appear on the scene. I have to give my mom credit for designing the eyes on the red fish, by designing I mean pulling out the book and then cutting out the white part to match the Red Fish’s eyes.

Vol. 3, No. 188, July 7, 2018

3188 - Alone In The Universe.

I honestly didn’t think I would attend a Setwork Saturday this summer, but the other night at rehearsal, I asked the Lead Painter how she was feeling about how much work was left to do. She was stressing a little because it was mostly detail work left to do, which meant it was hard to trust others to do it right. I knew exactly how she was feeling, as I had been in her shoes many times, so I volunteered to come in today and help out. I planned on going in this morning and helping for a couple hours; I ended up staying for 7 hours. It was only the two of us painting, but we got a lot done.  This picture shows the part of the set that I spent the most time on. The base colors were all done except for the tops of the trees. I added the circles on the door, painted the tree tops, added texture in the grass, and outlined everything in black giving it a storybook feel.

Vol. 3, No. 187, July 6, 2018

3178 - It’s Possible.

It’s possible to get three instruments finished in one rehearsal. Now that I think of it I still averaged one instrument per hour, I just had more time to work. It’s amazing what you can do with pool noodles, duct tape and a few other odds and ends. Today I added shower curtain rings, Dixie bowls, craft foam, and wire mesh ribbon to my supply list.

Vol. 3, No. 186, July 5, 2018

3186 - Egg, Nest and Tree.

Tonight at rehearsal for Seussical, I completed two more Whosaphones in under two hours. Let me tell you, people were impressed at the speed in which I was able to complete them. My models today were Oldest Miller and Young Kangaroo. I am excited for new duct tape colors arriving tomorrow.

Vol. 3, No. 185, July 4, 2018

3185 - Independent Banana.

Delicious caramel rolls at Grandm’s for breakfast. Kayaking with Cousin B and D after the storm passed. Dinner of steak, baked potatoes, and creamy cucumbers made by Dad. Followed by game night with half of the family. To end the night, we had dessert of banana bars that I made and decorated. I dyed sugar red and blue so that I could make an American flag to celebrate the Fourth of July.

Vol. 3, No. 184, July 3, 2018

3184 - Sparkle Tuesday.

Today’s project was a mega collaboration. It began during a pontoon ride with some of my aunts, uncles and cousins. As we were cruising Lake Stella, we noticed a large piece of driftwood and decided to pick it up to protect all everyone enjoying water sports on the lake. We continued with our ride and I mentioned that I needed to do my project, someone suggested using the driftwood and then started giving me suggestions as to what I should make. Once we had reached shore, I discussed it more with Cousin D. We concluded that sparklers would be the best option as we were out celebrating the Fourth of July.

After dinner, I brought the drift wood back to the water, I tested it to see which side would face up when floating and then started inserting sparklers in all of the crevices of the log. I had about 24 sparklers in the log when I decided to let it go in the water, it began to tip over. Luckily I was able to catch it before the sparklers got wet. Cousin N offered to light the sparklers for me and ended up trying to do so while holding the top-heavy log. The lighting process wasn’t going very well, so we retreated to figure out plan B. Cousin S jumped in to help; he is an engineer and was able to rig up a table for the log to sit on in the water, helping it to stay more stable.

Cousin N also decided we needed some sort of lighter fluid to help the sparklers get started; the sparklers were old so they weren’t lighting very well. He found Tiki Torch Oil and proceeded to dip the tips of all the sparklers. Then we were ready to try lighting them again. This time Aunt R offered to help light. We did get the majority of the sparklers lit at the same time, but the sparking was sporadic. The boat also decided to return to dock at the same time, thus it ended up in my shots. Of all of the pictures I took, this one is one of my favorites, largely in part to the heart in the middle formed by the flames.

Vol. 3, No. 183, July 2, 2018

3183 - One Man’s Trash.

Tonight at play practice, the costume designer told me she had something in her car for me. Her neighbor had been throwing something out and when she saw it, she knew it was too cool to go to waste. Then when she saw my Whosaphone post last week she immediately thought to give her new treasure to me. The treasure was foam disks that were used as packing material. I was pretty excited to put these disks to work and started creating my next instrument. A pool noodle base, foam disk keys, appliance tubing and plastic mouthpiece, PVC pipe end, and metal ribbon decor; all held together with duct tape. 2 done only 8 more to go. I got a Who to be my model tonight.

Vol. 3, No. 182, July 1, 2018

3182 - Bittersweet Memories.

It was a bittersweet day as I spent the majority of my day moving the last of my things out of my old house. When I got home, I wanted a quick and easy project, so I pulled out some fabric squares and fabric markers. I decided that a good comforter is a handmade quilt, so I decided to design a mini quilt. Momma Miller and Miller Friend were siting on the couch with me, so I invited them to complete some squares as well. When we were finished creating, I laid out the squares in the quilt design. If I had a sewing machine I would have actually sewn them together.

Vol. 3, No. 181, June 30, 2018

3181 - Forgotten Berries.

My raspberries have been productions like crazy, which means lots of yummy black raspberries to eat. Tonight, when I realized I hadn’t done my project yet, I reached for the dish of raspberries left from dessert and and asked my family for a suggestion as to what I should make. My mom suggested a turtle. Here is my turtle with a raspberry shell and strawberry legs, head and tail.