Miller August 2022 Update!

This post is a little late but I finally had some time to sit down and write! This month started out busy and will keep being busy until the end. We have a lot to catch up on now that we have the chance.

A lot to cover. Here we go.

This month we have had just about every day booked since the first day of August. Only about 6 days have nothing planned, and only because half of that will be me recovering from having my wisdom teeth pulled out. Fun.

I digress a little. We picked up a few jobs, both on our own and with a staffing agency. Found a short-term gig that will only last about three weeks but has been a lot of fun for us. We work really well together, are left to complete tasks on our own, people leave us alone even though there are many workers, we get to work part-time with pretty flexible hours and we get to work with each other the WHOLE shift. On top of that, we seem to be doing really well as they give us the largest tasks to complete first. This job hits our specialist skills meaning we fly through our work with minimal mistakes. Doesn't get better than that.

We have to catch up on earning money as we are still trying to make sure we have enough to buy another vehicle when our current one falls apart. We are genuinely surprised it has lasted as long as it has and we thought we would have to replace it over a year ago. Lucky for us but we will still need to prepare for another vehicle. It sucks to have to live in a place that basically requires you to own a vehicle to get around the city. We have multiple appointments all around the city and need to make them all within 30 minutes as our time available is very limited.

We miss living where this was not a necessity.

On top of that...we are working towards earning enough to start having money down for a home. We are ready to settle down and start planning out our long-term projects. Doesn't make sense to buy them at a place we can't fit and use certain tools...just to have to pack and move them when the time to move to a house comes around. So, many items are on our wishlist until we have a proper place to store and use them. Just leave us with an eager itch to get working on them. So a new focus of "This is possible!" is kicking our motivation into overdrive. But we will be actively making sure we take care of our health first!

Anyway to the fun stuff!

We have been drawing quite a bit this month, preparing for my ATCs (Artist Trading Cards) class hosted at the library (East Library). That happened to be on August 13th from 3 pm to 5 pm and we will have another class in September on the 10th at 3 pm to 5 pm as well. Hopefully, a few of the same people who came to the last class will come again! It was a blast. Everyone enjoyed creating art and trading with others.

Below are the two displays John and I created. We bought the frames from the thrift store and did some adjustments. For the first one on the left, we painted the background until the under image could no longer be seen. Then John laser-cut lettering for me to say "Rules of ATCs" and a stencil for the rules. For the rules, I used a stencil to color the words, and John helped me outline the lettering to stand out. I added a few embellishments to help emphasize the aspects of the size. We are only picky because if the art is something we like...it is MUCH easier to store it in our ATC binders that have a standard size. Plus we like everything the same size for consistency's sake.

For the second frame, we didn't have to do much. The effect look was what we wanted and didn't require much altering. John helped me hammer in the brads after I measured them, and then tie the wires. The small clothespins were bought from the store to help hold the artwork without damaging it.

Then we added the signage to both that John had laser-cut and etched for me. Glued them to the edges of the board and they were complete! I'm quite proud of how these turned out and hope it will encourage people to want to participate! I would love to have more local people in Colorado Springs to meet with in person and trade artwork with! If you don't live in Colorado and would still like to do an ATC art trade, send us a message with samples of the artwork you made that you are willing to trade! =)

+{The lighting by the time I finished this project wasn't great so please forgive the odd lighting here. You can see the live display at the East Library in the Makerspace upstairs until the end of September 2022.}+

Here are some snapshots of the ATCs we have completed so far this month!! More of our collection will be added on our ATC Art Collection page [here] hopefully sometime this week. We have been collecting for a few years and have traded all over the world. Now to share the amazing art we have gotten our hands on!

Lastly, we went to the Money Museum here in Colorado Springs! It was a small little place that took us about an hour and a half to go through. We didn't quite read everything but there was a decent amount of information to take in. Our intention is to write about our experience there this month, but only if time allows us to do that.

Here are a few images of our visit!

We aren't known for being 'coin' enthusiasts, but we do appreciate the art and the craftsmanship. On top of that, we have been wanting to design our own coin for us to reproduce for quite a while! This was another dose of excitement to get us back to designing our own. Unfortunately, we still need to wait until we have a house and can buy a forge to melt our own metals to complete our coin pours. After watching BistackD Casting on YouTube, we have had this idea floating around and can't quite make it possible yet, but at least a good design made is possible right?

We are only halfway through the month and so much more ahead! Also, our anniversary is coming up, and excited for a special date night for just the two of us. <3 Though it will mark our 4th year together, we already act like an old couple that has been married for decades. xD

We hope you stick with us and see where our adventure takes us!