Vol. 4, No. 198, July 17, 2019

4198 - Magical.

Today I finally finished the enchanted rose for LCT's Beauty and the Beast. It was a collaborative projec, which began with research. I found a tutorial of YouTube that looked easy enough and with my Dad's help, I got the supplies organized. Through trial and error, a switching of wires, and many rounds of painting, I feel confident in the product I created. When my wires kept getting twisted up inside the tube, Rebecca dreamt up a solution; stir straws taped together.

While this rose is designed to drop petals on command, it is not fool proof, as sometimes the petals get hooked on other wires or stuck between the stem and the edge of the glass. Fingers crossed, with practice it will start to go more smoothly.

Vol. 4, No. 197, July 16, 2019

4196 - Sunshine And Summertime.

Today was Miller Time. In the 8 hours that we spent together, we covered 4 parks and two splash pads. The weather was so perfect for water play that even I got my suit on for the second splash pad. While dripping wet, I used my footprints to create a sunflower in on the sidewalk.

Vol. 4, No. 196, July 15, 2019

4196 - Nailed It.

Today during my scheduled Miller Time, I convinced the girls to let me paint their nails. No, it didn’t take too much convincing. Littlest Miller chose stripes on her nails. It took a little while to figure out what she was describing. C asked for hearts; her nails are so small that I convinced her to just do one heart on each of her thumbs. Of course when Oldest Miller and F came home, they wanted their nails painted as well. Oldest Miller chose a layered (almost ombré) look, specifying that she wanted white tips. F chose metallic lilac, blue, black and white for her color scheme. With a few simple lines and dots, she was finished.

Vol. 4, No. 195, July 14, 2019

4195 - Whirlwind.

This weekend has been a whirlwind, full of emotions. CC was running for Miss Litchfield, so amid the crazy, I decided to make her some flowers. After all, win or lose, everyone likes flowers. I chose to make wire flowers, dipped in glue and painted with nail polish. The flowers turned out really well, however, I quickly learned that I should have started making the flowers a week ago so that they could have properly dried. I was able to get the flowers finished in time for coronation, thanks to Rebecca's help with painting the flowers.

I am pleased to announce that after a night of sitting on the edge of my seat, CC was crowned Miss Litchfield 2019-2020! The second picture is a photo I captured of her crowing moment.

Vol. 4, No. 194, July 13, 2019

4194 - Polka Parade.

As I was out and about, celebrating Litchfield Watercade, I decided it would be a good time to paint my nails. At a suggestion of a friend, I used a pink base with purple polka dots. I got a little carried away with the dots.

Vol. 4, No. 193, July 12, 2019

4193 - Rosey Posey.

Tonight I attended the Litchfield Watercade Fireworks. I brought my camera and set it up on a post overlooking the lake. Using a long exposure I was able to capture some neat pics. This is one of my favorites, taken right at the beginning of the display.

Vol. 4, No. 192, July 11, 2019

4192 - Lettuce Brainstorm.

I asked for ideas for today’s project, but didn’t get much help, so I decided to pull out my Nature Print Paper and make a print using fresh lettuce from the garden. I was hoping for an awesome picture that I could use to make a greeting card for the county fair, but I don’t think I was successful enough. It didn’t help that it was almost 9 pm when I headed outside and the sun was already down behind the tree line.

Vol. 4, No. 191, July 10, 2019

4191 - Toasty Buns.

When I was working the Lumiere costume, I used spray foam. Once a can is started, spray foam doesn’t save well, so I decided to use the remaining foam to make bread. I painted the bread with the spray paint I had on hand. I only had dark brown and orange, so the bread looks a little well done. I may try to lighten it with different paint later, but I am going to wait to see it with bread I already have.

Vol. 4, No. 190, July 9, 2019

4190 - Muddled.

Today I had some Miller Time. Littlest Miller picked a tiger lily on her way into the house and gave it to me. There was a plain white piece of paper on the counter, so I decided to use the flower to paint. The first thing that came to mind was a pumpkin. When I was finished painting, I cut out the pumpkin to get rid of the smudges around the outside created by rubbing petal pieces off of the pumpkin.

Vol. 4, No. 189, July 8, 2019

4189 - Candlesticks.

Today I finished the candlesticks for Lumiere's costume. The center candle started as a top hat. With some spray foam and spray paint, I created a candle in a candle holder. It was challenging to keep the paint from soaking into the fabric of the hat, so I added a layer of glue. This helped the paint stay on the surface better.

Margo was kind enough to model for me.

Vol. 4, No. 188, July 7, 2019

4188 - First Game.

Every year, my family tries to make it to at least one Twins game together. When planning for this year, we knew that we wanted to do it after Eleanor was born, and on a weekend, as to not interfere with everyone’s work schedules. Today was the only day that worked.

To commemorate Eleanor’s first Twin’s Game, we made a sign. Becca sketched everything out and I painted it. The Twins lost 4-1 after 11 innings.

Vol. 4, No. 187, July 6, 2019

4187 - In Color.

Like the song by Jamey Johnson says, "You should've seen it in color." Tonight I spent more time out on the lake with my family. Being the holiday weekend, there were more fireworks and of course a bonfire. I snapped a couple pictures of the festivities, and then decided to turn them black and white.

Vol. 4, No. 186, July 5, 2019

4186 - All American.

What's more American than apple pie? Today I made my first woven top pie. Woven pie crusts are very time-consuming, but the look is worth the effort. I can't take all of the credit for the pie, my sisters helped with preparing the apples.

Vol. 4, No. 185, July 4, 2019

4185 - Independence.

Today was my first lake day of the summer and I got too much sun without enough sunscreen or water. So this firework pic is the extent of my creativity for tonight. Happy 4th of July.

Vol. 4, No. 184, July 3, 2019

4184 - My Fave View.

Tonight as we we were eating dinner, it started to rain; and when we had finished, the sun came back out. There was a full rainbow over the water tower and I decided to go out and get some pics. As I was outside, I questioned why I was doing this. I have taken similar shots multiple times, so these pics weren’t unique in any way. Oh well, I still took the pics. Then I headed back inside to work on a project for today. I decided on a whim to look at the Fat Mum Slim July Photo-a-Day to see what the topic for the day was; “where is that spot that you go and think,’Oh boy, this is beautiful!’ Take a photo of that spot. I realized that one of the reasons I continue to. Take pictures of rainbows over the water tower is because I like the view. I grew up with that view; it is familiar and safe and I have a feeling these won’t be the last rainbow/water tower pictures I will take in my life.

Vol. 4, No. 183, July 2, 2019

4183 - Great Expectations.

Today I was hoping to finish the Lumiere costume for LCT’s Beauty and the Beast. However, the painting wasn’t covering as well as I had hopped, so that didn’t happen. I figured it was okay because I was making dinner for my family tonight. I would just post a picture of the plated meal. Well, I forgot to take a picture. So there I sat 9 pm and no project. I settled for a picture of my dessert, a root beer float.

Vol. 4, No. 182, July 1, 2019

4182 - Forked.

As Prop Master for LCT's Beauty and the Beast, one of the items I needed to find was a pitchfork. For safety reasons, the director didn't want a real pitchfork. I found some two different plastic pitchforks online. The cheaper of the two was a bloody pitchfork, meant for a scary Halloween costume. Tje price gap was enough of a difference that I opted to order the bloody ones and repaint them. So today I pulled out the spray paint and repainted two pitchforks.

Vol. 4, No. 181, June 30, 2019

4181 - Hole.

Take a photo of a hole. Today I volunteered to put in some hours at Set Work Sunday. While I was there, I kept am eye out for holes in the set pieces. My favorite hole was one at the top of a door frame. The hole lined up with the overhead lights.

Vol. 4, No. 180, June 29, 2019

4180 - On My Fridge.

What's on your fridge? My fridge is full of pictures, important papers, and magnets. This photo shows only one corner.

Vol. 4, No. 179, June 28, 2019

4179 - Orange.

Take a photo of something orange. Tonight was Miller Time! I was brave and took six Miller Litttles to the splash pad by myself. It was an adventure, but we survived! Here is a photo of Littlest Miller enjoying an orange umbrella.

Vol. 4, No. 178, June 27, 2019

4178 - Sun.

Take a photo of the sun. Most of the day was cloudy, and I missed the both the sunrise and sunset, so I had to improvise. As part of Strawberry-Palozza, I made my first strawberry pie. I decorated it (mostly with my left-hand because I was holding a sleeping baby) with a sun. Not great, but you do what you gotta do! The pie was delicious!

Vol. 4, No. 177, June 26, 2019

4177 - Passionate.

I am passionate about clean, fresh, line-dried sheets! The scent of line-dried sheets is absolutely amazing, and I would argue that it is one of the best scents in the world. I love how fresh, line-dried sheets make my whole room smell great. It’s really a shame that I can’t put my sheets on the clothes line all year round.

Vol. 4, No. 176, June 25, 2019

4176 - This Season.

What season is it where you are? Here in Minnesota, it is summer. Today I took some of the Miller Littles to the splash pad. Unfortunately it was really windy and thus too cold for the Littles to tolerate the chilly water. Therefore we played at the adjacent playground instead. The tire swing was a big hit!

Vol. 4, No. 175, June 24, 2019

4175 - Unexpected.

Take a photo of something unexpected. This morning I went to make oatmeal and discovered we were almost out of milk. I saw cold coffee in the fridge and decided I would try substituting half of the milk for coffee. With a trace of maple syrup and vanilla, it was unexpectedly delicious.

Vol. 4, No. 174, June 23, 2019

4174 - A Story.

Tell a story in a photo. Today I spent time with my brother and sister. We played cards, Playstation, and Scatagories, and did some house work while my parents were visiting my grandma. While I didn't win the baseball game on Playstation, I did win the other two games.

Vol. 4, No. 173, June 22, 2019

4173 - Musical.

Take of a photo so something musical. My first thought was the foyer decorations at my parent's house; a various instruments, music, and a band uniform all arranged above the closet. However, I posted that when I set it up a couple years ago. Instead I headed to the music room where I snapped a photo of the piano. Fun fact, our piano used to be a player piano, so it opens up in the middle and you can see the chords inside.

Vol. 4, No. 172, June 21, 2019

4172 - On My Mind.

What's on your mind today? Today is Meeker County's Relay for Life. I lost 2 of my grandparents to cancer. Granny was on a Relay for Life team for many years, and I remember decorating luminary bags with her every year. She went all out, marker layered with crayons and then rubbed with a paper towel for well blended colors. The designs were beautiful and I loved seeing them lit up around the track. This year, I didn’t decorate any luminaries, but I did walk around the park and looked at all of them. None of the luminaries were quite to Granny’s standards, but there were some that were on the right track.

Vol. 4, No. 171, June 20, 2019

4171 - Money.

Take a photo of money. I grabbed a jar of old money and dumped it out in a black top hat.

Vol. 4, No. 170, June 19, 2019

4170 - I Watched This.

What did you watch today? As Prop Master for Litchfield Community Theatre's production of Beauty and the Beast, one thing I watched today was the fire of Lumiere's hands. I needed to test the batteries to see how long they would last. 1.5 hours in and the flame is still burning.

Vol. 4, No. 169, June 18, 2019

4169 - Peace.

Take a photo of something peaceful. I spent time outside this evening watching the Litchfield Parade of Bands. It was a beautiful night, so when I got home, I popped back out to photograph the last of the sunset and spend some time relaxing in my hammock. It was a peaceful end to a nice day.

Vol. 4, No. 168, June 17, 2019

4168 - Circle.

Today I had some Miller Time. C asked me to color with her. I started with a flower, and then added some circles around it making the flower look like it is laying on a rug.

Vol. 4, No. 167, June 16, 2019

4167 - In A Bowl.

What's in a bowl? I found a fresh bowl of watermelon on the kitchen counter, awaiting our Father's Day dinner.

Vol. 4, No. 166, June 15, 2019

4166 - Chocolate.

Take a picture of chocolate. Margo graciously made Chocolate Chip Cookie-Dark Chocolate Brownie Bars for dessert tonight. I snapped a picture before devouring the brownie battery goodness.

Vol. 4, No. 165, June 14, 2019

4165 - Purple.

Take a photo of something purple. I went in search of some purple flowers, only to find that all of the purple flowers that were blooming last week are now dried up. I fact the only flowers that were blooming were the purple Creeping Charlie. So that is what I photographed.

Vol. 4, No. 164, June 13, 2019

4164 - Open Up.

Today's prompt: take a photo of something open. During Miller Time I read books to C.  When I was finished, I laid a book open on the couch, curving the pages to make a heart. Later after the Littles went to bed, Oldest Miller and I pulled out her MC^2 Gelatin Jewelry kit and made a patch of strawberry gems. I also spelt out her name.

Vol. 4, No. 163, June 12, 2019

4163 - Spotty.

I decided to do a photo a day for a while. I searched online for list to follow and found the Fat Mum Slim blog, which posts a photography challenge every month. The challenge for today was to take a photo of something spotty. The first spotty thing I fo uh and was rocks scattered on the sidewalk at the playground the the Miller Littles and I stopped at to play. Later we played dominoes, which meant more spots.

Vol. 4, No. 162, June 11, 2019

4162 - Iridescent Origami.

Today I spent a few hours at school with my co-worker, cleaning out a portion of our storage closet to make room for our office for next year. One of the boxes that I moved contained origami paper, and right on top of the box was some iridescent paper. I thought the shiny paper would make for a good project, so I grabbed a sheet. When I got home, I folded the paper to make a goldfish.

Vol. 4, No. 161, June 10, 2019

4161 - Designated Driver.

Today my sister Margo had ear tube surgery. Since she can’t drive for 24 hours after the surgery, and everyone else had to work today, I got to be her designated driver. This meant driving to the cities, waiting 45 minutes to get into pre-op, then almost 2 hours before she went to surgery. While Margo was in surgery, I “borrowed” some gloves to and made a flower. The best part of my day was driving home in rush-hour traffic.

I gave the flower to Margo when we got home and she asked me why I took the gloves home.

Vol. 4, No. 160, June 9, 2019

4160 - Fresh Finds.

Today was Sunday Funday a.k.a. Clean out the pantry day. Our pantry was so messy and disorganized, you couldn’t find anything, so this was a necessary task. We worked together to clean everything out of the pantry and wash the shelves. As the pantry was drying, we sorted through the food, combining half-full containers and throwing out things that weren’t good anymore. On the chopping block was a partial container of Fruit Fresh and Baking Soda. I combined the Fruit Fresh with a little bit of water to create a dough. It was similar to cornstarch mixed with water; it was firm to the touch, but melted as it sat. Margo suggested make a “Dough-Man”. When I was finished sculpting my snowman, I sprinkled it with baking soda to make it white. When the baking soda landed on the sculpture it started to fizz and bubble. This inspired me to add some vinegar for even more of an explosion. After exploding fun, I added more baking soda, recreating a dough. It was a bubbly mixture that was really cold. I attempted to form it into a volcano and let it dry so that I could make it erupt, but the chemical processes were already in action and the volcano melted instead of drying out.

Vol. 4, No. 159, June 8, 2019

4159 - Boxed In.

Today I used my completed coloring page to fold an origami box. The box is fun because it shows both sides of the paper. I had a small strip of paper leftover which I used to make a bow. Now i just need to find a gift to give to someone that will fit in the box.

Vol. 4, No. 158, June 7, 2019

4158 - Bloomin’ Ideas.

The back page of yesterday’s coloring book page was this page of flowers. It was Becca's idea to color it today. Unfortunately she left yesterday, so was unable to help. I did get help from Margo, my mom, and the Miller Littles. This page wasn't as daunting of a task as yesterday's lines.

Vol. 4, No. 157, June 6, 2019

4157 - Oh The Places You’ll Go.

Yesterday during Miller Time, the Miller Littles wanted to color. So I pulled grabbed an adult coloring book and randomly chose a page. Everyone said the swirls reminded them of Dr. Seuss’s “Oh The Places You’ll Go”.  I began coloring with CAT, later Becca joined in. When it was time to leave Miller’s, it still wasn’t finished, so I brought it home. This morning, Margo finished it for me.

Vol. 4, No. 156, June 5, 2019

4156 - What’s The Buzz About.

Today I enjoyed some Miller Time. While there, the girls were coloring and Mama Miller decided to make a sign she had been asked by a friend to make. The sign was to included a bee. The job of drawing the bee went to me. It may not be the world’s best bee, but I think it’s cute.

Vol. 4, No. 155, June 4, 2019

4155 - Lilacs.

Lying on my hammock soaking up the morning sun, I began to think about my project for the day. I was perusing Instagram when I saw the  #64MillionArtist’s weekly challenge. The challenge was to explore nature and make something with or inspired by what you see. The next post I saw was from Nature Print Paper. I brought home some Nature Print Paper from school so that I could keep exploring and develop a lesson plan for next year. I grabbed a piece of paper and headed back out side to my favorite plant in my backyard, the Lilacs. I picked a sprig from the bush and laid it on the paper on the ground. In less than a minute it was done and I headed back inside to develop the paper. It is pretty and I already have ideas for more. The best part of this project was smelling the sweet scent on lilac as I worked.

Vol. 4, No. 154, June 3, 2019

4154 - Summer Vacation.

To kick off my summer vacation, I headed back to school, working 12 hours and putting in 26,000 steps towards cleaning out my classroom. I am happy to say that I got both classrooms cleaned up and my elementary classroom emptied out. Now I just have to go back one day next week to help my co-worker with the process of consolidating our classrooms into one.

While I was emptying out cupboards today, I came across a valentines craft kit. It was a little heart person. There was only one project left in the kit, so I decided to make it. I left the valentine in a drawer of the file cabinet for the new teacher to find.

Vol. 4, No. 153, June 2, 2019

4153 - That’s What You Get.

It’s hard to believe that my second youngest cousin is graduating today. My mom volunteered to bring bars to his party, and I offered to make them for her. I made banana bars with homemade cream cheese frosting. Since his school colors are Navy and White, I decided to mix in some blue food coloring, to make the frosting more festive. When mom saw the bars she said “I wouldn’t eat those. Everyone’s mouth will turn blue.” My response was “well that’s what he gets for graduating from DC. If he had graduated from Litchfield, I would have used green.”

Vol. 4, No. 152, June 1, 2019

4152 - Dexterity.

Today I unleashed my visual dexterity. I found Q-bitz Extreme, a game, when cleaning my classroom, I decided to bring it home for the summer and test it out to decide which age group it would be best suited for. In case there was any doubt, I am a visual person and do pretty well at the game. I played against my sister. We played 5 games, 8 rounds each, I won all 5. Margo did manage to win a couple of rounds though. Being that the game is  all about patterns, I decided it counted as my creative project for the day.