Vol. 4, No. 365, December 31, 2019

4365 - Who's Dat?

Yesterday Oldest Miller was showing off her new art set and coloring book. She invited me to color with her, offering up this owl picture. She colored the portion colored with the lightest pink and I colored the rest.

Vol. 4, No. 364, December 30, 2019

4364 - Title This.

I went for some long overdue Miller Time. As soon as I walked in the door, Littlest Miller drug me downstairs to show me her new art station. She asked me to draw a unicorn; mine is the one on the top right. Littlest Miller drew and photographed the other pictures, a unicorn, a cat, and a dog sticking it's tongue out while wearing a crown.

Vol. 4, No. 363, December 29, 2019

4363 - Home At Last.

After changing flights because our flight was delayed, we arrived back in Minnesota late last night. On the shuttle from the airport to where our car was parked, I drew a Minnesota Home sign in the window. The road was pretty bumpy, so the picture is a little squiggly

Vol. 4, No. 362, December 28, 2019

4362 - Delayed.

In the spirit of the ice storm that is hitting Minnesota and causing airport delays, I made a paper snowflake. I made the snowflake when we stopped for lunch on the way to the airport, using my placemat. It was a challenge to get through all the layers of paper without a scissors.

Vol. 4, No. 361, December 27, 2019

4361 - Narnia Trees.

As we were cleaning and packing to head home, I looked in the Scategories box and found many papers that were ready for the garbage. I decided to recycle them, using directions I saw in a Facebook video the other day. It took me longer to locate the video than it did to make the trees. I decided they would be really cool with either multi-colored papers or just green papers.

Vol. 4, No. 360, December 26, 2019

4360 - Foggy Frosty.

Sitting in the hot tub yesterday, I was inspired by the falling snow to make a snowman. I had already completed my project fir the day, so I waited until today. The Colorado snow is so dry and fluffy that the warm water from the hot tub was essential for making a solid snowman. The eyes are made of leaves and the nose is an icicle. Becca made a top hat with a leaf decor. She even offered to hold the snowman in the foam of the hot tub.

Vol. 4, No. 359, December 25, 2019

4359 - Christmas Snow.

Our table top tree decoration needed something more, so we decided to add a snowman. We got two plain white cups from a local coffee shop. With the help of some tape, ribbon, Sharpie, twigs, and a napkin scarf, we made a really cute snowman. The snowman fit perfectly with the snowy Christmas day that we enjoyed.

Vol. 4, No. 358, December 24, 2019

4358 - Merry Christmas Momma.

My family decided to have a Christmas getaway, so that Dad could go skiing in the mountains. We were hoping that our cabin would be decked out for the Holidays, but upon arrival found no decorations. We had packed our stockings and hung them on the banister, but it was still lacking. So to make everything more festive, Becca suggested that we find a little decoration in town. It was a great idea, but we didn't find anything we liked at a price we liked, so on to plan b. When we returned to the cabin, we went for a short hike on the mountain side behind our cabin. We were in search of fallen branches that we could reclaim. We found exactly what we were looking for, to create a Charlie Brown inspired tree. Using dental floss I created pinecone ornaments. We topped the tree with a gold leaf ornament that Mom collects. A paper napkin and some tissue paper created the the tree skirt. No, it's not the same as having a full grown, lighted tree, but I love how it turned out.

Thanks Becca for the great idea and all of your help collecting supplies and assembling our tree. Our adventure made me think of Granny, as I could see her doing the same thing!

Vol. 4, No. 357, December 23, 2019

4357 - Beary Cute.

Today some of my siblings and I took our niece Eleanor for a hike on the trails behind our cabin. When we returned, Eleanor and I used a broom handle to draw a bear in the fluffy snow. The bear was inspired by Eleanor's snowsuit.

Vol. 4, No. 356, December 22, 2019

4356 - Discolored Penguins.

Last night, in preparation for Christmas break, I painted my toe nails. I checked Pinterest for fun ideas and found cute penguins. The example used a sparkly blue for the body. I used what I had on hand which was a powder blue. The picture made it look a little brighter. They are pretty cute though.

Vol. 4, No. 355, December 21, 2019

4355 - Fresh Baked.

For the last 5 years or so, I have gifted my co-worker homemade bread and jams rather than purchasing a gift. This year was no different I wrapped it all up in festive tissue and tied it with a bow. Hopefully the bread tasted as good as it smelt. I can not take full credit for this project as my sister was kind enough to bake the bread for me.

Vol. 4, No. 354, December 20, 2019

4354 - Elf Yourself.

Since my 6th graders were finishing up their self portraits right before Christmas break, I decide to give early finishers a fun extra credit option. I let them use the same mixed-media process that we used on the self-portraits to make an elf. They loved it!

Vol. 4, No. 353, December 19, 2019

4353 - Joy Of Giving.

Today was the end of my work gift exchange. On Monday we had each placed a wrapped gift outside our classroom door. Throughout the week students and staff helped to shuffle the gifts around. This morning we met for breakfast and opened our gifts. I decided to wrap my gift in multiple boxes. The boxes contained toilet paper, Kleenexes, candy, a coffee mug, and a wash clothb a weird assortment, I know, but practical. I was told afterwards that my gift made it's way upstairs to the 5th grade wing and was being fought over by all of the classes.

Vol. 4, No. 352, December 18, 2019

4352 - Elfie Selfie.

Today the Miller's Elf on a Shelf created a selfie card, complete with a candy cane striped background. He decided to change up the colors of his outfit though because red and white is so boring.

Vol. 4, No. 351, December 17, 2019

4351 - Blind Lines.

I changed the directions for my 7th grade blind contour line self portrait project, so I needed a new example. The warm color portrait is a regular bline contour line while the cool color portrait is a continuous contour line. Both portraits were drawn blind and colored/painted with watercolor colored pencils.

Vol. 4, No. 350, December 16, 2019

 

4350 - Forever Family.

Today I had the honor of attending my first ever adoption hearing, as the Miller's adopted Baby R. Baby R, known now as Miller4Ever, holds a special place in my heart. Miller4Ever was less than a week old when I met him for the first time and our bond has grown stronger ever since. I am so excited to see this boy to continue to grow in such a loving family. I had the privilege of photographing this wonderful day and while there were many great pictures, these were two of my favorites. The top picture is the four Miller Littles. The bottom picture is Miller4Ever, ready to crash after a long day. I was taking pictures of him with his new sign. Aster a while he had had enough and crawled away from me, sprawling out on the opposite end  of the couch. I also included a picture of Littlest Miller holding Miller4Ever when he was about a week old. He was wearing a "Little Brother" outfit, long before we knew that he would eventually become her little brother.

Vol. 4, No. 349, December 15, 2019

4349 - Stick it.

This past week, I attended two gymnastics meets. During the meets, I mostly took videos on my phone, but I snapped a couple stills as well. Here are two of my favore pictures. One is of CC, the other is of one of her teammates, trying to catch her balance. It was a perfectly times photo, but it was from far away, so as I zoomed in while editing, the picture got grainy.

Vol. 4, No. 348, December 14, 2019

4348 - Tree Take Two.

I needed some way to keep track of my ticket for the holiday breakfast at work next week. I considered just folding it in half and sticking it in my phone case, but what fun is that? Instead I folded it into another origami tree, and then stuck it in my phone case. The tickets get used for a drawing, so I figured the more corners the better.

Vol. 4, No. 347, December 13, 2019

4347 - One More Week.

I am officially counting down the days until Christmas break. The students were wild today, however I was able to rejoice as I wrapped up my Christmas Ornament lessons. The final thing I did was paint a clear coat on the Transitional Kindergarten salt dough ornaments. When I initially did the lesson, I told myself,never again. But now that I see the finished ornaments, I am second guessing my decision. I was excited that I found such a great place/way to dry the ornaments, otherwise I would have had to paint them one side at a time.

Vol. 4, No. 346, December 12, 2019

4346 - Working Ahead.

Yesterday I also created a gift card to include with my work gift exchange present. I used the cover of a thank you card that I had created a couple years ago, and changed the words inside.

Vol. 4, No. 345, December 11, 2019

4345 - Prepare The Way.

I knew I had a busy couple of days and wouldn't have much time at home to get things ready for my school's gift exchange next week, so I worked on it during my prep time today. Each of us contributes $1 to the pot and then wraps a $10 gift. The pot gets wrapped up as well. Then the gifts are placed in the hall the week leading up to Christmas. Students and staff mix up the gifts so that everyone gets a different one. In the end everyone gets a gift and one person is the lucky winner of the pot. I decided to be creative and fold my dollar into a Christmas tree.

Vol. 4, No. 344, December 10, 2019

4344 - Just My Luck.

My co-worker had to leave school early today amd asked me to take her last class of the day. It was my prep period so I agreed. The lesson was clay pinch pots with Grade 2. Due to firing schedules, we, the teachers make a clay project for any student who is gone. I was "lucky enough" to get to make 3 pinch pots this afternoon. After the pots are made, students have the opportunity to carve in some designs. Two of the students I made pots for had their designs planned out, so I carved them. The other didn't, so she will just paint her designs.

Vol. 4, No. 343, December 9, 2019

4343 - Eye Of The Beholder.

Today my 7th graders were finishing up their color wheel eyes. I drew on the white board, walking students through the steps for drawing a realistic eye. This was the end result.

Vol. 4, No. 342, December 8, 2019

4342 - Salty Elf.

Last night Elfie (the Miller Little's Elf o. A Shelf) delivered supplies to create ornaments. They got a rolling pin, Christmas cookie cutters, and most importantly Snow Dough (aka salt dough). Also included was a letter explaining what to do. Littlest Miller was so excited she wanted to call me first thing this morning to invite me over. She was persuaded to wait until 10:15. Of course I obliged and spent time with the Miller Littles making ornaments, Baby R even got in on the action; he chose the cookie cutters and I helped him push them into the dough.

Now the Littles need to practice patience as they can't paint the ornaments until they are throughly dry.

Vol. 4, No. 341, December 7, 2019

4341 - Holiday Showcase.

Every year on the first Saturday in December, the Litchfield Community Theater in conjunction with other area businesses and groups, puts of the Holiday Showcase. It is a night filled with beloved Christmas Carols, new holiday songs and sometimes even a winter story. I got in on the decorating portion of the event. If you are interested in going to see the show here are the details.

Holiday Showcase
7:00 pm
Bernie Aaker Auditorium
114 N Holcombe Ave.
Litchfield, MN 55355
Cost: Free Will Donation

Vol. 4, No. 340, December 6, 2019

4340 - Purple Person.

Today my 6th graders began their self portraits. I decided to try something different and gave them each a dry erase marker to draw their rough draft out on the table. I walked them through the steps drawing on the board. They loved it! I liked my example enough to use it as today's project.

Vol. 4, No. 339, December 6, 2019

4339 - Season Of Joy.

It's exhausting, but seeing how excited students are to make holiday ornaments, makes it worth the effort. Today was day one of decorating Kindergarten paper mache ornaments. They were able to choose between a reindeer, snowman or penguin. This meant that I had to set up stations to complete each kind. This was after I removed the ornaments from the form, inserted a string for hanging and trimmed the edges.

Vol. 4, No. 338, December 4, 2019

4338 - Back In Action.

Tonight, for the first time this season, I helped the Millers with their Elf on a Shelf. I got in on the action quite a bit last year as I was living with them. This year, not so much, but as I was already going over there today, I figured I would put together an Elfie adventure...Reindeer Poop aka chocolate covered mini marshmallows. It has got to be the world's best tasting poop! As I was about to lay out the scene, I saw a dump truck toy on the table. I decided that was a pretty good way to serve up some free poop. Hopefully the Miller Littles like it as much as I do.

Vol. 4, No. 337, December 3, 2019

4337 - Eye Of The Beholder.

Tonight was pancakes for dinner. I attempted to make a giraffe pancake. Unfortunately, as I flipped it, it landed on the edge of the griddle and I amputated one leg. I put it on the plate anyways. Mom grabbed it; the amputated leg remained on the plate. She saw a flamingo. It's funny now much difference changing one thing can make.

Vol. 4, No. 336, December 2, 2019

4336 - Keep Giving Thanks.

We made a lot of turkey for Thanksgiving to ensure that there would be leftovers. Yesterday on National Pie Day, I used a small portion of the turkey to make mini turkey potpie.  I didn't haven't dough to make complete top crusts, so I settled for simple lines.

Vol. 4, No. 335, December 1, 2019

4335 - Placemat Challenge.

This morning, the Knoghts of Columbus hosted a pancake breakfast after Mass. I was sitting with some of my aunts, uncles, and cousins. When we were finished eating, people started folding up their placemats. I decided to get in on the action and asked for a suggestion as to what to make. The first suggestion, probably because it was snowing, was a snowman. I obliged and started ripping and crumpling. Viola, a snowman esque sculpture complete with a scarf!