Jane Menchyk soaks a new brick in water to get it to stick to the multicolored igloo in Butler Township on Saturday, Jan. 20. Kyle Prudhomme/Butler Eagle
Kyle Prudhomme
BUTLER TWP — Jane Menchyk hopes the recent stretch of cold and snowy weather hangs around a while longer.
Long enough so she and her young nieces and nephews can finish the colorful igloo they are building in the yard of her Miller Street home in Meridian.
“I love being outside so, for me, it’s just like sharing some winter magic,” Menchyk said.
She and one of her nephews came up with the idea to build an igloo around Thanksgiving and agreed to keep their eyes on the weather forecast for a stretch of freezing weather.
When a favorable forecast came, she put her construction plan into action starting with the purchase of 120 plastic shoe box containers and several colors of food dye.
Using the backyard as a staging area, Menchyk and her young cohorts filled the containers with water and dye, and let them freeze.
Inspiration led them to make colored ice caterpillars by freezing dyed water inside balloons as well as other shapes using other household objects as molds.
The rectangular blocks froze in three days. Menchyk and her young crew place the blocks on their sides and use a mortar made of slush to hold the blocks in place for a few minutes until they freeze into place.
She said she studied igloo making techniques by reading and watching YouTube videos, but ended up free styling quite a bit.
The igloo is eye-catching in daylight, but glows at night thanks to the lights that Jane and her husband, Sam, added.
“You should see it glow,” Jane said.
A behind-the-scenes look at the production of the multicolored igloo as ice blocks soak in containers of food coloring in Butler Township on Saturday, Jan. 20. Kyle Prudhomme/Butler Eagle
Kyle Prudhomme
Jane Menchyk sits for a photo inside her multicolored igloo in Butler Township on Saturday, Jan. 20. Kyle Prudhomme/Butler Eagle
Kyle Prudhomme
Jane Menchyk places a new ice brick in the wall of her multicolored igloo in Butler Township on Saturday, Jan. 20. Kyle Prudhomme/Butler Eagle
Kyle Prudhomme
Jane Menchyk works on her multicolored igloo in Butler Township on Saturday, Jan. 20. Kyle Prudhomme/Butler Eagle
Kyle Prudhomme
Jane Menchyk works on her multicolored igloo in Butler Township on Saturday, Jan. 20. Kyle Prudhomme/Butler Eagle
Kyle Prudhomme
Jane Menchyk places a new ice brick in the wall of her multicolored igloo in Butler Township on Saturday, Jan. 20. Kyle Prudhomme/Butler Eagle
Kyle Prudhomme
Jane Menchyk soaks a new brick in water to get it to stick to the multicolored igloo in Butler Township on Saturday, Jan. 20. Kyle Prudhomme/Butler Eagle
Kyle Prudhomme
Jane Menchyk places a new ice brick in the wall of her multicolored igloo in Butler Township on Saturday, Jan. 20. Kyle Prudhomme/Butler Eagle
Kyle Prudhomme
Jane Menchyk shovels a fresh pile of snow into her bucket to make mortar for her multicolored igloo in Butler Township on Saturday, Jan. 20. Kyle Prudhomme/Butler Eagle
Kyle Prudhomme
Jane Menchyk slaps slushy mortar onto her multicolored igloo to place a new brick in the wall in Butler Township on Saturday, Jan. 20. Kyle Prudhomme/Butler Eagle
Kyle Prudhomme
Jane Menchyk shovels a fresh pile of snow to make mortar for her multicolored igloo in Butler Township on Saturday, Jan. 20. Kyle Prudhomme/Butler Eagle
Kyle Prudhomme
Jane Menchyk plans out the next block for her multicolored igloo in Butler Township on Saturday, Jan. 20. Kyle Prudhomme/Butler Eagle
Kyle Prudhomme
A wide-angle view of a multicolored igloo created by Jane Menchyk in Butler Township on Saturday, Jan. 20. Kyle Prudhomme/Butler Eagle
Kyle Prudhomme
Colored jewels freeze in the snow as part of a multicolored igloo creation by Jane Menchyk in Butler Township on Saturday, Jan. 20. Kyle Prudhomme/Butler Eagle
Kyle Prudhomme
Colored jewels freeze in the snow as part of a multicolored igloo creation by Jane Menchyk in Butler Township on Saturday, Jan. 20. Kyle Prudhomme/Butler Eagle
Kyle Prudhomme
Colored ice blocks freeze in the snow as part of a multicolored igloo created by Jane Menchyk in Butler Township on Saturday, Jan. 20. Kyle Prudhomme/Butler Eagle
Kyle Prudhomme
