Adventures in Monotangles #12 - Verve

Was not sure about doing this challenge. Mostly because of time and other things that I am trying to finish. Although the challenges do give one a chance to try out some new things. In this case it is not the tangle but I got a set of Permapaque metallic plus markers. I am looking for other things to use on the black zendala tiles that will be using in an upcoming class. I have to say I was not impressed with these markers. Will try them on some other surfaces and see how they work. Colors may look different on other materials. There is some inconsistency in the width of the line that they make. Interestingly enough, it seems that the white one is the thinnest line. There is not as much vibrancy with these as the Gelly Roll pens. I have stayed away from the paint pens as do not think they work as well on paper. They are good on glass and nonporous surfaces. If anyone has any suggestions on pens or markers to use I am open to any suggestions. Hope you enjoy this.

Guess will have to experiment with some other markers to see what I like. 

If have not done so, would venture over to Mindful Creations to see what others have done. Better yet, since this is a relatively easy tangle, why not do a quick tile and submit.

Thanks for visiting. As always. comments are welcomed, encouraged, and appreciated.

Zendala Dare #59

Not much to say about this one. This is really minimalist for me. I usually fill most spaces. Part of the reason I did not was that I really got to this late. Hope you enjoy it.

Tangles used: Zenplosion Folds(variation), Verve, 

I hope to  have some time to look at the other zendalas and ZIAs at The Bright Owl. I would encourage you to do so also if you have not all ready.

Thanks for visiting.  As always, comments are welcomed, encouraged, and appreciated. 

Go Tangle !!

Diva Challenge #120: "Tangleation Nation; Bales"

This weeks Diva Challenge is to use bales and experiment with it. I have to admit that while I like Bales and use it a lot I had a serious creativity block on this challenge. I looked at only a few examples of what others had done and stopped because it made it harder to start than help. I saw some fantastic ZIAs that were so unique that you had to really study them to see Bales. Some had very organic characteristics and seemed to flow all over the page. I ended up doing two tiles. The first is basic black on a white tile. It is pretty basic. Since I was still pretty blocked, I chose to have fun with the second and pulled out a black tile and my metallic Gelly Roll pens.  Here are the results. I hope that you enjoy them.

Decided to do a simple tangleation of Bales. 

This one has a few more variations but is still pretty basic. Doing this one with the white Sakura Gelly Roll helped me remember why I like this pen the best of the ones that I have used. It went on smoothly and it is not a broad nib. The interior lines are made with a Sakura Gelly Roll Clear Star pen. It does not show up real well in the picture as it does leave a fine line. The Gold Metallic  Gelly Roll covers up some of it. The gray looking lines is actually a black Metallic Gelly Roll pen. Was kind of surprised that it showed up this way on the black tile but like the color with the gold.

If you have not all ready done so I would strongly recommend that you visit I am the Diva and look at the other tiles. I plan on doing this now that I have finished my tile.

Thanks for visiting. As always, comments are welcomed, encouraged, and appreciated.

Go Tangle !!

Diva Weekly Challenge # 119: "Ebony and Ivory"

This weeks Challenge is an interesting one. I chose to do it by using a white gel pen rather than trying to do a negative image.  I agree with The Diva's comment about not finding a white pen that am satisfied with. Did not really read her post completely at first, but I also tried an Inktense Pen on this one. I have a Sakura Gelly Roll but wanted to try a different pen. One of the difficulties is the inconsistency in how the ink flows out of the pen. Seemed to occur even if I tried to slow down my strokes. Then there is the issues of nib size and that it just does not seem to cover as completely. I think that is why I like the ones that used a black Micron and used the negative space to create that tangle (noticed that so far no one has tried that with Paradox. That would be quite a challenge!!).  I tried waiting until the ink was dry and going back over it again, but this had mixed results. Shading on black tiles is always an issue. On this one I did try to use the gray Fabrico marker. It seemed to blur the ink a little. This may be an issue with the Inktense pen. Did not occur when I tried with other pens. All this being said, it sounds like maybe I really disliked the tile. In reality I am generally pleased with this tile. I tried to keep it to a few tangles. Here is what I came up with. I hope that you enjoy it.

Tangles used: Ahh, Meer, and Flux 

If you have not all ready done so, I would highly recommend visiting I Am the Diva to look at all the other great pieces submitted by other artists. There is some really great work. I have only had a chance to view a few so far. Plan on spending more time later to see all of them. 

Thanks for visiting. As always comments are encouraged, welcomed and appreciated.

Go Tangle!!

Zendala Dare #58

Not sure what was going on with this Dare. I do not know if I had Kuke on the brain because of last weeks Diva challenge. It could have been because I did not totally like the result of that tile. When I saw the template that Erin chose for this weeks Dare my eyes very quickly went to those great Y's in the outer ring. I figured this would give me an opportunity to do Kuke in a larger format. Since I was also thinking about things for Christmas I wanted to do something with color. I am more pleased with the overall result. I used a Micron, a Sharpie and an Inktense pencil on this one. I hope you enjoy it.

Tangles used: Knightsbridge, Kuke, Flux, Zinger, and Fescu. I am not sure what the center one is called. It is a variation of one that a CZT did in a line. If anyone knows its name I would appreciate them letting me know.

If you have not all ready done so, would strongly recommend that you go to The Bright Owl and look at all the other submissions.

Thanks for visiting. As always, comments are welcomed, appreciated, and encouraged.

Go Tangle !

Adventures in Monotangles #11 - Fengle

Finally got the last one done for this week. Wanted to do this one because I do like Fengle and I think it is one that lends itself well for a monotangle. I however do not use it a lot because I do not do a lot of monotangles. I think it would also  fit with a couple of others like Indy-rella, or tipple,  or maybe Joy. For that though I think I would want to use something bigger than the standard Zentangle® tile. Well, enough for my preferences. I was pleased with the way that this one turned out. I like the extended version of Fengle and wanted to intertwine them as much as I could. I used the gray Fabrico marker, as I had in another challenge, to do part of the fill. I like the way that it looked. I toyed with the idea of using color but liked the black, gray, white combination. Decided to leave it and just do a little shading. Theshading did not show up quite as well when I took the picture, but I was pleased with the effect. Here is what I came up with. Hope that you enjoy it.

Would encourage you to check out the other things that people submitted. Can do so at Mindful Creations.

Thanks for visiting. As always, comments are welcomed, encouraged, and appreciated.

Go Tangle !  

Diva Challenge #118: :UMT v. XVI - Kuke"

Been a busy week and getting to the Dares/Challenges has been a "challenge" itself". Have most of them done, but not getting them posted. I have to admit that while I like the way that Kuke looks it is not one of my favorite tangle. Not sure how much I will use it. May be something that will use as I get ready to do ornaments for Christmas.  But, I guess that that is what these challenges are all about; stretching one out of their comfort zone.Think it does work better as a monotangle or in a piece bigger than the standard Zentangle® tile. Was also a little unsure how to embellish it as I did not like the way that it looked with all that "white space".  The other thing that I tried with this tile is that I used the gray Fabrico marker as fill instead of just pencil. I used it on Batch. Gave a little different shade than just the graphite pencil. Added benefit is that do not have the smudge effect. Well enough musings. Here is the tile. I hope that you enjoy it.

Tangles used: Kuke, Batch, Chainlea, and Sindoo

I know that it is late in the week, but if you have not visited I am the Diva, would strongly recommend it to look at all the great submissions. I have only had a chance to look at a few. Hope to have more time later today to look at them, after I finish those mundane tasks like mowing the lawn. If I am really lucky, I may even get in a bike ride.

Thanks for visiting. As always, comments are welcomed, encouraged, and appreciated.

Go Tangle !!

Zendala Dare #57

This weeks Zendala Dare had a guest contributor. Genevieve Crabe, the lady that posts the Weekly Zentangle Roundup and has a blog Tangle Harmony, that has lots of neat things including the stencils that she uses to create Zendala templates. If you have not, go to her blog and check things out. While you are at it, do a Zendala using her template and enter the giveaway that Erin at The Bright Owl is having to win a set of the stencils.  There is a video on Erin's blog by Genevieve demonstrating how to use the stencils.

This template has a number of different sections. At first it seemed a little overwhelming. I looked at the the ones that Genevieve and Erin did but purposely did not look at the others until I started mine and had a pretty good idea of what I wanted to do. One of my concerns was that the sections were pretty small. I guess that generally I do not think about changing the template that much so I pulled out my trusty 005 Micron and started in the center. I am generally pleased with the result. The only thing that I am unsure about, besides the shading which is always an issue with me, is the sections using verve. I had traced over the template with a pencil and  there were slight indentations showing these sections so I did not feel I could leave them blank. Although this was a consideration because I liked it with that white space. I also thought about using a little Flux, with Zingers in this area but it really had become a habit of finishing zendalas with these organic tangles. I really wanted to break away from that routine. I could not find a "lacy" tangle that I thought would fit that well. Finally decided on Verve. That does give it a little bit of a layered effect which the organic tangles would not have done. Well enough rambling. Here is the result. Hope that you enjoy it.

Tangles Used: Knightsbridge(variation), Paradox, Betweed, Verve, and Chainlea.

I have not used Chainlea a lot but really like the way it looks. I can see myself using it more often for borders and for areas in organic sections. If you have not all ready been to The Bright Owl and looked at the other submissions, please do so. I plan to try and look at them and when possible make any comments that seem appropriate. I think most people who post, like to receive comments about what you think about there work.  While you are at it, don't forget to check out Tangle Harmony and Amaryllis Creations to check out Genevieve Crabe's work. 

Now that I have got this done, in addition to looking at the other Zendalas, I hope to get to work on this week's Diva Dare. 

Thanks for visiting. As always, comments are welcomed, encouraged, and appreciated.

Go Tangle!!

Adventures in Monotangles #10 - Hi-C, tile 2

Sometimes you must have to do things to get them out of your head so other things can take their place. After struggling with the first tile for this challenge, when I was laying in bed ended up having a number of possibilities crop up. Not sure that this one looks quite the same way as it did in my mind, but is a different variation. The most difficult part about this one was deciding how to shade it. It is okay but think there would be some better options. Hope you enjoy it.

Was a little difficult deciding what I wanted to do with the center Square. Did not want to have it going in with one of the lines so tried to do Hi-C at a different angle. Turned out okay. I may go back and fill some of that in. 

Make sure that you check out Mindful Creations to see what others have done. This is definitely a challenging tangle. 

Thanks for visiting. As always, comments are welcomed, encouraged, and greatly appreciated.

Go Tangle !!

Adventures in Monotangle #10 - Hi-C

This was a tough one. I do like this tangle but I really hit a block on how to use it as a monotangle. I toyed with a couple of ideas and none really seemed to go anywhere. Finally decided to just break out my Metallic Gelly Roll pens and vary it that way. Cannot really say much more about this one.

So far there have not been a lot of submissions of this one. To see what is there and to check back later in the week can go to Mindful Creations. 

Thanks for visiting. As always comments are welcomed, encouraged, and appreciated.

Go Tangle!!

Diva Challenge #117: " New Official Tangle: Schway" My own personal milestone

Before I get into the challenge, will address the latter part of this post title. I began this blog back in August, 2012.  Did not know much about blogs and was not really sure what I wanted to do. I was getting ready to attend the Zentangle® seminar in Providence and thought it might be a good way to connect with other Zentangle enthusiast. I have to thank my sister at Tinkered Art Studio,  for her direction and answering my numerous questions. She also did a little proofing of the text and caught some errors that I totally missed. Well, now less than a year later, this week I surpassed over 10,000 views. I want to thank all of you that made this possible and especially those who took the time to make comments on things that I posted. I really appreciate your support.

Now on to the reason that you came here. This weeks Challenge was to use the new tangle Schway/Aroz . I had not used this tangle before so that is always a challenge. If that is not enough, I decided to also try the "bubble effect" in a tangle since I had not tried that before either. Probably not a good idea to try two new things in one tile, or at least practice them both first. But I did not do that. I forged ahead. This is one of those tiles that I wish I had taken a picture of it before I did any shading. When I was filling it in I kept thinking, should I post this. After it was all filled, I still was not sure. I decided to push ahead as I was never one to waste a tile. Besides, there are no mistakes in Zentangle® only unexpected opportunities.  When I started shading, I was not sure what if any effect it would have due to the large amount of fill. I have to admit that after I started shading and blending, I was pleasantly surprised with the result. Still need to work on the bubble but for a first try I was satisfied. Here is the end result. I hope you enjoy it.

Tangles used: Schway/Aroz , 'Nzeppel, Eye-Wa, Static

If you have not all ready done so, would suggest you go to I am the Diva and look and the things others have  done. I have to admit I have not looked at a lot of them so far, but I have peeked at a few.

Thanks for visiting. As always comments are welcomed, encouraged, and appreciated.

Go Tangle!

Zendala Dare # 56: NO PENS ALLOWED!!!!

Boy this Dare brought back a lot of memories. When I first started doing tangles I did not have any of the Zentangle® tools. My sister introduced me to this art form and my first experience was folding a piece of white copy paper and using my mechanical pencil with 0.5 mm HB lead. As embarrassing as it is, here is a picture of one of the first things that I did.

I forget where I got the tangles from. I think that it may have been from my sister's blog, Tinkered Art. You can see some of her things here. It won't take you to her earlier pages, but if you are interested you can search her blog.  It did not take me long to add using a gel pen. One of the other things that had its roots was  not using much white space. I unfortunately still struggle with this as times as you can see in this Zendala.  This Dare made me appreciate the fine tools that I use now. For what it is worth, here it is. I think it is a little better than my first attempt.Hope you enjoy it.

Tangles used: Voxter, Paradox, Chillon, Knightsbridge, Fenetre, Flora (variation)

Erin this was a fun Dare and it provided me with a trip down "memory lane", but there is one thing that I am very sure about.  I WANT MY MICRON BACK!!!!!  If you have not all ready done so, would encourage you to visit The Bright Owl and look at what others have done. Visit often as things are posted throughout the week.

Thanks for visiting. As always, comments are welcomed, encouraged, and appreciated.

Go Tangle ! 

Adventures in Monotangles #9 - 'Nzeppel

One of the nice things about the challenges is that it gives you the opportunity to try new things. I think this is particularly true with the monotangles as you try to vary them in some way. I really like 'Nzeppel, and I use it frequently in tiles, however coming up with ways to vary it was somewhat of a challenge. I came up with two different tiles. I hope that you enjoy them.

In this tile, besides using a black tile I experimented a little with shading. I had seen in some of Maria's post on  Zentangle about using a gray Fabrico marker to shade on the black tiles. Not sure that it shows up that well in this picture but it leaves a bluish tinge. It is a nice effect. I used a white chalk pencil for the fill.  

On the second one I was trying different things with color. I used colored microns for some of it. I also used a white gel pen. The fill of the green is with an Apple Green Inktense pencil. This is my "N"zeppel. 

This was kind of fun to do but it did take longer than the typical tile.

If you have not been to Roy's blog to see the other tiles would encourage you to do so. Usually are some creative things submitted. If you are interested in the number 9 you will also get plenty of information about this as well.

Thanks for visiting. As always comments are welcomed, appreciated, and encouraged.

Go tangle!

Diva Challenge #116: "Blind Sighted"

This weeks Diva Challenge is another revisit of an earlier challenge. The first time I was not participating in any of the challenges/dares but was aware of them primarily due to my sister's involvement in Zentangle®.  I would primarily see things that she submitted. Anyway, the basic part of the challenge was to make your border, put your pencil on the tile and draw your string without looking. I must say that a lot of the ones that I looked at earlier as I was doing mine really drew some complicated strings. I purposely tried to do something simple. Here is what the string looked like.

I was actually quite pleased with the result. Was not that I had lots of ideas of what I wanted to do, but I felt that I had accomplished my goal of making a viable string, but keeping it simple. 

I am not sure why so many of my tangles have been more organic lately but it does seem that that has been the case.   Maybe it is just a phase I am going through. This tangle definitely has an organic flair to it.  I was pleased with the result. Hope that you enjoy it.

Tangles used; Betweed, Zander, Poke Root, Poke Leaf, Flux

If you have not all ready done so would encourage you to visit the Diva's blog and look at all the other things that people have done. There are some pretty amazing things.

Thanks for visiting. As always, comments are welcomed, encouraged, and appreciated.

Go Tangle.