Vol. 2, No. 77, March 18, 2017

2077 - Set Work Saturday.

Today was another set work Saturday for Litchfield Community Youth Theatre's production of Lion King Jr. Today my goal was to complete Pride Rock a 2 piece, 12' x 20' x 6' step and scaffolding structure that we wanted to look like rock. This was a large group effort, over the course of 6 hours, we had about 12 people working on it.

While it was a group effort, I got in on all of the steps. I unrolled a large roll of Kraft paper, tore it into long pieces, and crumpled it up. I stapled it onto the structure, using a Pheumatic Stapler (compressed-air). I added depth and texture to the rocks by dry brushing a redish-brown and golden yellow over the top of the paper. (You can't see the color in the photo, but trust me, it's there.) I'm not completely sold on the final out come, but it is finished. For now....

Vol. 2, No. 76, March 17, 2017

2076 - Green Spill.

In honor of St. Patrick's Day, I decided to work only with green today. I also wanted to work in the weekly #CreativeSprint prompt which is Spill something and use it as your inspiration. So, I spilt green paint and green food coloring on green construction paper. Then I used green markers, crayons, and pens to zentangle the paint splotches. I actually prepared 2 papers, cutting close around one and laying it on top of the other. I hung the completed design on a bulletin board in the science room I was subbing in; the background was conveniently blues and greens. I left it on the board for the teacher and students to find when they come back from spring break next week.

Vol. 2, No. 75, March 16, 2017

2075 - Chihuly Chandelier.

Art club at the Winsted Arts Council today. Our artist of study was Dale Chihuly an American artist famous for his blown glass sculptureso and installations such as chandeliers. We made our own mini chandeliers using transparency sheets and sharpies. I'll post pictures of the student work when they finish next week.

Today I also got my twine heart charms and tray from February 13th. So I reassembled pieces and hung it up in my classroom. 

Vol. 2, No. 74, March 15, 2017

2074 - Shoe the World.

Last year, I was subbing on a Friday and as I was getting ready to leave I saw a shoe in the garbage. The sole was slightly worn, the shoelace was broken, and it didn't have a mate, but other than that, it seemed perfectly fine. I knew if I didn't rescue it, it would be dumped with the rest of the trash. So I took it homeand stored it away knowing that one day I would come up with the perfect project for the shoe.

That day was today, National Shoe The World Day. National Shoe The World Day is a day created to bring awareness, to everyone across the nation, of the incredible need to help those people around the world that do not have shoes to wear and then to take action in helping. #NationalShoeTheWorldDay Yes, I know that this, mateless shoe isn'the going to save the world'series problems, but this post does bring your attention to the problem, so I guess that is something.

I was subbing in a High School Math class today, they were taking a quiz, which mentioned I had lots of time to draw. It took me about 2 hours to cover the entire canvas part of the shoe with zentangles. The 9th grader in my second hour class were pretty impressed. I stuffed the shoe with some scratch paper so it would have a nice shape in the pictures.

Now I will store the shoe away again, or maybe is play it, until I come up with a project to use the shoe.

In case you are wondering how big it is, the shoe is a women's size 7.

Vol. 2, No. 73, March 14, 2017

2073 - Sweet Potato π. #NationalPiDay #LearnAboutButterfliesDay

There are many things that we can celebrate today, but who wants to celebrate National Potato Chips or National Children's Craft Day when you can celebrate Pi(e)?

Today, 3.14, is widely celebrated in the math community as π (pi) day. I have been celebrating it since my junior year of high school, when my Pre-Calculus teacher brought each student the kind of pie of their choosing. I chose Banana Cream Pie. Since then, with exception of the year or 2 in which I forgot until it was too late, I have celebrated my making my own pie of some sort. Some years it was just a pudding pie, but others it was more elaborate, like Chocolate Pecan.

This year, I knew I wouldn't have a lot of time, because I had to work until noon, 35 minutes to drive home, and then play practice at 5:30, plus find time to eat lunch and/or supper. So, I decided to try my hand at Sweet Potato Pie. I've never had it before, but I like pie and I like sweet potatoes, so it should be good. Plus the recipe looked easy; steam the potatoes, throw all of the ingredients in the blender, pour in to pie crust and bake.

I didn't want all of the other national days to feel left out, so I decorated my pie with butterflies to celebrate National Learn About Butterflies Day.

As it turns out, I do like Sweet Potato Pie.

Vol. 2, No. 72, March 13, 2017

2072 - Umbrella.

Today is Open an Umbrella Indoors Day. I was going to make one of those cutsie dripped crayon pictures with a girl holding an umbrella. However, the sun was shining and there was 2 inches of fresh powdery snowing on the ground, so, after clearing the driveway and sidewalks, I decided to make an umbrella in the snow. The "drawing" is quite large and is best  viewed from above. I took this picture from the window in my second story craft room, but I couldn't figure out how to get the screen out, so that is why there is a weird pattern over the picture.

Vol. 2, No. 71, March 12, 2017

2071- Found Objects. Frozen Flower.

I saw a tutorial for these ice cream flowers on Facebook a while back and I saved it because I love to make flowers. Today turned out to be the perfect day to try it out. Today is Plant A Flower Day. Unfortunately, our Minnesota Winter decided to return and we once again have a solid covering of snow on the ground,  making planting flowers (at least outside) rather challenging. I took a Cordial Glass, filled it with a scoop of ice cream, and then placed another scoop on top. Then I used a metal ice cream scoop, dipped in hot water, to form the flower petals. Once the flower was carved, I placed the whole glass in the freezer and waited for the ice cream to firm up again. After about 20 minutes, I took it out and took the first set of pictures. Then I added strawberry topping between the petals for some color and took the second set of pictures.

To connect with the #64millionartists challenge, all of the supplies were things that I had on hand that need to be used.

Vol. 2, No. 70, March 11, 2017

2070 - Found Objects. Tools of Light.

Today is Worship of Tools Day; it is a day to celebrate and use tools, so that'she what I did. I used my power drill to make holes in a spam can that I found in my recycle bin. The image I decided to make was of Winnie the Pooh with a jar of honey, to celebrate the 1977 release of "The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh". After the holes were drilled, one drill bit was broken, and my arms could hardly move, I drew the outline, like a dot-to-dot, and added some color. Then, I lit a candle under it and watched it glow, only to discover that it needed a vent, because there wasn'the enough oxygen coming through the holes and the candle was snuffed out.

Vol. 2, No. 69, March 10, 2017

2069 - Found Objects. Sushi?

Today is Pack Your Lunch Day, because just packing your lunch isn't creative, I opted to make "sushi" rolls with my lunch. Yes, it was time consuming,  but it looks kind of cool, and it tasted great! The #64millionartists challenge comes in, because I had to find a way to take the items I threw in my lunchbox and turn them into something artsy.

Vol. 2, No. 68, March, 09, 2017

2068 - Found Objects. Pop-Corny People.

Hard to believe that it is Thursday again, which means art club at the Winsted Arts Council. Today we were learning about Keith Haring, a Pop Art and Graffiti artist. Using the brown kraft paper I keep on hand for covering the tables and old paint that was donated, I made my Graffiti person in motion. I cameven up with the title, which ties in to Popcorn Lovers Day, because this project is pop art that is sort of corny. My painting is the large pink one with the finished background. Side note, it is challenging and slightly awkward to trace yourself. The other 4 are student works, they will do their backgrounds next week.

Vol. 2, No. 67, March, 08, 2017

2067 - Found Objects. Dusty Clusters.

Today I was a subbing for anow Industrial Technology/Shop teacher. During my prep time, I looked around the room for scraps that I could use to make something new. I found sawdust, wood glue, and dark brown wood filler. Since today is National Peanut Cluster Day, I decided to make a non-edibble peanut cluster. I combined sawdust and wood glue to create peanuts. After they dried I covered them in wood filler to create the chocolate. I put a thin coat of varnish over the top to freshen up the color. It is seriously making me crave peanut Clusters!

Vol. 2, No. 66, March, 07, 2017

2066 - Found Objects. Cereal Spiral Snail.

Today is National Cereal Day, so I decided to make a mosaic using the Cherrios and Granola I packed for my snack. I follow many artists on Instagram and I always enjoy the work of @sarah.smiles9. Sarah's year long project is a spiral a day. Today I was inspired to follow her lead and create a spiral. I then turned my spiral into a snail. The mosaic was laid out on a large piece of paper that I found in my classroom.

Vol. 2, No. 65, March, 06, 2017

2065 - Found Objects. Frozen Dress.

New week, new #64millionartists challenge. This week'so challenge is to make something good using found objects/objects that are right around you. This should be easy as that is what I have been doing recently.

There were lots options for National Days, I chose two of them: #NationalDressDay and #NationalFrozenFoodDay.

First, I took to the freezer to see what I had for frozen food that I could work with. The best I found were frozen blueberries and strawberries. While I was hoping from mixed veggies, the fruit would work. Next, I drew a torso on a piece of scratch paper, cut it out and started assembling the dress around it. My fruit dress turned out pretty well, considering it only took me about 10 minutes.

Vol. 2, No. 64, March, 05, 2017

2064 - Cheese Doodle Dancer.

My sister suggested that I start using national day calendars as inspiration of my projects. Today is National Cheese Doodle Day. For those who don't  know, cheese doodles are cheesey snacks like Cheetos or Cheese Puffs. I thought it would be a lot more fun to make a "doodle" from cheese. So that's what I did; following the #64millionartists challenge 'dance together' I "drew" a ballerina using string cheese and shredded cheese. It turned out pretty well, and it tasted great!

Vol. 2, No. 63, Month, 04, 2017

2063 - Redesign.

Today was a set work day for Litchfield Community Theatre. Our show this year is "The Lion King Jr." Since I am in charge of painting sets, I knew I would be spending my afternoon at the theater, and therefore I decided to do my project there. I chose a set piece that I knew I could finish in the 4 hours that I had today; that piece was Scar's Cave. Scar'so cave was made using the base of the Cave of Wonders from last year'so show, "Aladdin". We wanted it to look different, but didn't want to redo the whole thing.
I mixed up the base color, using 3 different colors of paint to achieve the correct shade of gray. The next step was to sponge dark gray in each rock segment. The gray was followed with white. I finished it all off by re-outlining with black and doing some dry brushing to round out the edges.
I now have 1 set piece completely finished, only about a dozen more to go.

Vol. 2, No. 62, March, 03, 2017

2062 - 400 Clip Cake.

In honor of my mom's birthday today, I decided to make a birthday greeting. I was a Math sub today, and didn't bring any supplies with me, so I had to make due with what I found in the classroom. I found lots of paperclips! This design was made using 4 boxes of large paperclips, which according to the box is 400 paperclips. However, I counted them as I was picking them up and got about 420, so apparently there is more than 100 in a box.

Vol. 2, No. 61, March, 02, 2017

2061 - Dance Together. The Dancer.

Today was another art club day at the Winsted Arts Council. Since the #64millionartists challenge this week is to dance, I decided that we would draw ballerinas inspired by the work of Edgar Degas. I walked you students through the drawing, using soft pastels. The ballerina in the middle is the one I was working on during class, as you can see, it doesn't have legs or a face yet; we needed just a little bit more time. So I guess we will be finishing them next week.

Vol. 2, No. 60, March, 1, 2017

 2060 - February Time-Lapse Photo-Collage.

Continuing my year-long photographic tree project, I created February's collage for my project today. It was still a little time consuming and not quite perfect, but it was a million times easier than last month. I learned that I need to use the grid lines on my camera to line up the picture as I am taking it. This helped tremendously when assembling the collage. Now I have to work on getting more consistent time wise when taking the picture to help with the lighting issues.

You may notice that the "lapses" are larger than in January. This is because a.) February only has 28 days, and b.) I missed 3 days while in Omaha. Fortunately I didn't miss any important weather opportunities.

Vol. 2, No. 59, February 28, 2017

2059 - Tea Time Two.

There's nothing better than snuggling in for the night with a good book and a steaming cup of Sleepytime Tea! The box from my Sleepytime Tea was used to make the flowers and the tea was used to paint the picture in the background. Today I combined my tea projects from last week and did a photo shoot of a cup of tea for the Celestial Seasonings #CreateSomeMagicContest. I was very thankful to have a remote for my camera, as it made it possible to pour the tea and take the picture at the same time.

Vol. 2, No. 58, February 27, 2017

2058- Take notice of your surroundings and share something that makes you feel happy. Hotel Hospitality. 

Today was the end of my vacation. I had a 6 hour drive ahead of me and I knew I wouldn't want to do my project when I got home, so I did it at the hotel before I left. While this hotel didn't fold the toilet paper, I figured I would leave a happy surprise for the next guest, or at least for the housekeeper. Two rolls of toilet paper meant 2 different flowers. 

Vol. 2, No. 57, February 26, 2017

2057 - Take notice of your surroundings and share something that makes you feel happy. News Worthy Bride.

At breakfast this morning I noticed the Sunday paper sitting in the hotel lobby and I decided it would be fun to use it for my project. Since this weekend was all about wedding planning, I decided to make a wedding dress. Rebecca agreed to let me dress her up as the bride, a practice run for the real thing.

We didn'the have any tape, so me made the dress by folding the newspaper amt tucking it into her swimsuit.

We had the dress done and she was pressuring me to hurry up and take the pictures. I made her wait so I could make flowers.

Vol. 2, No. 56, February 25, 2017

2056 - Take notice of your surroundings and share something that makes you feel happy. Tissue Bride.

I spent the majority of my day wedding dress shopping with my sister. When I got back to the hotel, the kleenex especially and toilet paper in the bathroom reminded me that I hadn't done my project yet. So I used the supplies on hand to sculpt some wedding dresses. Then I set them up in the bathroom to make a mini bridal boutique.
In case you were wondering, she did not say yes to a dress, so the search continues.

Vol. 2, No. 55, February 24, 2017

2055 - Take notice of your surroundings and share something that makes you feel happy. Clean Carving.

I am on vacation this weekend and I decided to go without my standard art supplies, which would force me to get creative. I didn't know what to make today, so I asked a friend. My friend suggested drawing on a mirror with a bar of soap. I considered it, but photographing art on mirrors is tricky, and cleaning it up sounded messy, so I switched it up. I decided to carve the bar of soap instead. Then, I made a print using some tea. The carving turned out a lot better than the last time I tried carving soap.

When I got done carving, I decided to make a print with a used teabag for ink.

Vol. 2, No. 54, February 23, 2017

2054 - Take notice of your surroundings and share something that makes you feel happy. Valentines.

At Art Club today, I found some paper from a previous project that needed a home, so I cut it into 4 small pieces and made Valentines. The drawings are inspired by Jim Dine's Hearts. I drew with oil pastels on paper textured with pasted tissue paper.

Vol. 2, No. 53, February 22, 2017

2053 - Take notice of your surroundings and share something that makes you feel happy. Tea Roses.

To continue with the #CreateSomeMagicContest, I used the box from a package of Celestial Seasonings Sleepytime tea, hot glue, and a scissors to make these miniature tea roses in a vase. I made them while substitute teaching in 4th grade. The students loved them and wanted to see more of my art work, so out came Instagram.

6" x 2" x 3"

Vol. 2, No. 52, February 21, 2017

2052 - Take notice of your surroundings and share something that makes you feel happy. Tea Time.

Celestial Seasonings is having an art contest, the topic 'how tea inspires your creativity'. Tea is something that makes me happy, so this week, I am exploring art inspired by my favorite teas. One favorite team is Roobios (red tea) today I brewed a short glass and painted a picture of a pouring teapot.  It didn't turn out quite the way I wanted it to, so I will keep trying to find #CreateSomeMagic. 8"x10"

Vol. 2, No. 51, February 20, 2017

2051 - Happy Cooking. Take notice of your surroundings and share something that makes you happy.  

I had a plan for my project today, but after shopping, working on theater stuff, cleaning, and cooking supper, it was 8:30 and I no longer had time to make my original project. So, I will save that for tomorrow. As I wracked my brain for another project, inspared by something that makes me happy, it dawned on me, cooking makes me happy and I cooked dinner tonight from scratch, therefore, dinner = art. I pulled the leftovers out of the fridge and took a picture. 

Today's dinner was based off a recipe I saw on Facebook, Sausage Egg roll in a Bowl. Like many recipes on Facebook, there wasn't actually a recipe, so I guessed and substituted. I used hamburger, fresh garlic and ginger, onion, coleslaw, soy sauce, and a splash of oil. I served it on a bed of brown rice. Philip approved, and went back foend seconds, so I guess it was good. 

Vol. 2, No. 50, February 19, 2017

2050 - Birthday Bow.

I was deciding what to do today, and wasn't coming up with anything great. It is my cousin Bianca's Birthday today, so I thought that would be a good theme, but the project just wasn't coming to me. At this point it was 5:30 and I was going to a 7:00 movie, so I had to get moving on whatever I was going to do. I saw an old 31 catalog on the table and decided to recycle it by cutting a page up to make a bow that could go on a present.

I got the bow finished just as my ride arrived for the movie, so I brought it with and photographed it on the snack counter at the theater.  Then, I left it at the theater for someone else to find.

P.S. We went to see Sing! It is a very cute movie.

Vol. 2, No. 49, February 18, 2017

2049 - A view of your city. Soaring Eagle. 

On Tuesday,  I stopped in Darwin on my way home from work. As I was leaving, I noticed a Bald Eagle soaring above town. Since my challenge this week was a view of your city, I knew I wanted to make something eagle related, so I took to Pinterest for ideas. One of the first projects I saw was a collage. I fell in love with the idea of making a torn paper collage using magazines. I didn't have time/motivation to make it until today.

It is a 4"x6" collage. I plan to make some more of different subjects, to create one larger artwork later.

Vol. 2, No. 48, February 17, 2017

2048 - A view of your city. Water House. 

It was a beautiful day today, 60 degrees in February! So rather than make art inside I went out and used the first thing that caught my attention, the puddles of melted snow. 

I walked through the puddles, then used my footprints to "paint" my house from memory. I included a Google maps picture of my house for comparison.

This was project was quick and easy, leaving me plenty of time to sit in my hammock swing and read my book.

Vol. 2, No. 47, February 16, 2017

2046 - Artist Inspiration.

Today was an art club day at the Winsted Arts Council, which meant that I got to teach 4 kids in grades 1-3 about Joan Miro. We made prints inspired by his work. I took my printed paper to play practice and made greeting cards. 

Vol. 2, No. 46, February 15, 2017

The original Photo

The Advertisement

2045 - A view of your city. Advertising Adventure.

Today, I had a grand plan on making a magazine collage of a bald eagle. However, I had to get some stuff ready for my Thirty-One BAGGO Party next week and work on my taxes. By time all of that was done, it was nearly 8 pm and I was too exhausted to do the collage. So the collage will be tabled until later in the week.

So now I'm back to today's project. Fortunately, one of the things I had to do for the party was create an advertisement for Facebook. I actually had fun getting it ready. The BAGGO theme is Spring and Banana Splits. To make the ad, I set up a "stage" with a catalog, bingo cards, and a new wallet. Then I went to DQ to get a banana split. They sort of made fun of me when I said that I NEEDED a banana split. Anyways, I got it home, placed it on the wallet, adjusted the lighting and took a picture. Then it was to the computer for editing. I brightened the picture, removed the background and added text, creating the final add. So, while this wasn't my original project plan, it is still creative and in my book it still counts.

I guess this can also count for the #64millionartists challenge, be cause DQ is something that I see around town.

Vol. 2, No. 45, February 14, 2017

2045 - A view of your city. The Heart of MN.

Continuing to use twine as part of my #64millionartists challenge, I did a project that has been on my art bucket list for a while: MN String Art. I found a scrap of wood at the theater, got a friend to cut off the bad edge and sand it. Then I spray painted it gold. I found and printed a map of Minnesota, taped it to the prepared board and started pounding in nails around the boarder and in a heart around Darwin. Then, I gave the nails a quick coat of gold.

When it was dry, I started winding twine. I quickly discovered that the twine was too thick and would not work for this project, so I adapted. I used string for the woven base, and the added a twine boarder and a twine Celtic heart knot.

10.5" x 12"

Vol. 2, No. 44, February 13, 2017

2044 - A view of your city. Twine-pressed Hearts.

This week, the #64millionartists challenge is to make something inspired by where you live/work. Today, I found twine at school and used it to represent Darwin, MN and the World's Largest Ball of Twine Made by One Man.

I wanted to play with clay, my original thought was to just make a large heart-shaped slab tray, with twine impressions. However, the heart was cracking and I wasn't happy with it, so I cut out a circle, impressed it with  a heart cookie cutter and made a small tray. Then I had lots of clay scraps that couldn't be recycled because of the twine scraps, so I cut out multiple hearts and make a mobile. Once the pieces are fired, I will glaze them, retie them with twine, and post an update.

Vol. 2, No. 43, February 12, 2017

2043 - Nature's Art. Make something with natural objects. Berry Heart on Ice.

Today, I picked little red berries off a plant in my yard, and then arranged them on a heart-shaped piece of ice. I placed the installation on the corner so that people driving, or more likely those walking by as it is only 5" x 4", could enjoy it. 

Vol. 2, No. 42, February 11, 2017

2042 - Nature's Art. Make something with natural objects. Snow Heart.

The weather has been in the high 30's this weekend, making it great weather to get outside. It is also making the snow melt, which is softening it up, making it great for snow sculptures. I made a standing snow heart and finished it off with a spray of red food coloring.

It rained after the heart was finished making it loose its color, but the heart itself is still sanding at
13.5" x 11" x 6".

Vol. 2, No. 41, February 10, 2017

2041 - Play-Doh Hearts.

I was babysitting today and B wanted to play Play-Doh, So, I decided to do my project at the same time. Working on a Valentines Day themed mat, I rolled some coils and then started to braid them to make the top right heart. B saw my braid and told me she loved my Rapunzel hair and wanted to make one too. So I helped her roll coils and braid her own heart (bottom left).  Very quick, pretty easy, and when we were done taking the picture, we smashed them back up into the container.

Vol. 2, No. 40, February 9, 2017

2040 - Nature's Art. Make something with natural objects. Fruit Heart.

I had fruit for snack today, before I ate it, I arranged it to make a quick heart. Then I ate it and it was as delicious as it looked.

Vol. 2, No. 39, February 8, 2017

2039 - Nature's Art. Make something with natural objects. Pine Heart.

Today would have been Granny's 77th Birthday. So, even though it was really cold today, I decided to go to the cemetery and make art with her.  I gathered pine cones and fallen branches from around the cemetery and created this small heart installation at her grave.

Vol. 2, No. 38, February 7, 2017

2038 - Nature's Art. Make something with natural objects. Heart in the Snow. 

February is heart month, and February 7-14 is Congenital Heart Defect Awareness Week. My sister Margo has CHD. So this week, in addition to #64MillionArtists' nature, I am creating hearts for Margo. 

It snowed today, just a light dusting, so I was able to actually draw in the snow! It is fairly small, about 2.5 ft sq, and was made using only a stick and the snow. 

Vol. 2, No. 37, February 6, 2017

2037 - Nature's Art. Make something with natural objects. Footprints in the Snow.

#64MillionArtists is sending out a weekly challenge every Monday. My goal is to make at least one project based on their challenge each week. This week is Nature. It's really unfortunate that it is cold this week. I guess that means I will just have to work fast when I go outside.

I was hoping for a light dusting of snow so I could actually draw in the Snow, but since that didn't happen, I settled for walking in the snow. It turned out to be a lot more difficult that it sounded. The snow had a hard top layer from all the melting that has been happening, so walking was a lot more like stomping. I added some color to make the design more defined and then photographed it from above. The drawing is about 10 feet tall.

Vol. 2, No. 36, February 5, 2017

2036 - Football Food. My family hosted a Super Bowl party. The main course was a taco bar. I prepared the refried beans, sculpting them into a football, creating the laces with string cheese.

Vol. 2, No. 35, February 4, 2017

2035 - Make a Wish. In honor of World Cancer Day, I decided to make a Relay for Life Luminary.  I didn't have a blank bag, so I drew on tracing paper that I can attach to a bag later.

Vol. 2, No. 34, February 3, 2017

2034 - Jewelry Repair/Design. I had some fewelry that was in need of repair, so for today's project, that's what I did. The Time Turner Necklace and the rosary just need jump rings replaced (that was easy). The bracelet on the other hand, need a complete redesign. It had broken and half the beads were missing.  So, I found new string, beads, and some chain and redesigned  the whole thing.

Vol. 2, No. 33, February 2, 2017

2033 - Quilted Colors. Today's project is an example for my art club. I used watercolors to paint a large piece of paper, incorporating 6 different painting techniques. I used Epsom salt, table salt, wax-resist, rubbing alcohol drops, water drops, and blotting with a paper towel. Each technique created a different design on my paper. When it was dry, I cut the paper into triangles and rearranged them in a quilt like pattern on black paper. I loved how it turned out and I hope that the art club collages will be just as great, I know that their painted papers are awesome.

Vol. 2, No. 32, February 1, 2017

Yesterday was a great transition into February. This month, I am going to create my own challenges. Today's challenge: Make a time-lapse photo-collage. On January 1, 2017, I began taking a picture of a tree in my yard. I took a picture from approximately the same spot every day. Today, I took all of those pictures and combined the in Photoshop to create my collage. This sounds relatively easy, but due to slightly different camera angles, things didn't quite line up. So, I would not call this a success, but it is finished, and I will try again next month. Maybe by the end of the year, I will have this mastered.

Vol. 2, No 31, January 31, 2017

Day 31 - Go your own way. Create your own challenge for someone else. We had auditions for the Litchfield Community Youth Theatre show, Lion King Jr. I challenged myself, and the others who were at the registration table, to create miniature models of fruit using polymer clay. I had two friends take me up on the challenge. Erin made a strawberry, kiwi, watermelon and grapes; Julia made a banana; and I made cantaloupe. When I find time, I will be turn the fruit into wine glass charms.