More tangled gift bags

I did not intend to post a lot of these but some unique things happened as I was doing them. Here is the first one that I did. It is on brown craft paper and is about 5" x 8" I used Prismacolor pencils using a single color with white to create a tone. It generally lightens the color.

I purchased a number of other bags as well. These are larger and measure about 8"x 9". Here is one that has a silver frosted finish. I again used Prismacolor pencils with white for the tone and tried to do some with just the white. That did not show up as well in the pictures and it is not as strong in reality unless the light strikes it just right. I kind of reminded me of working with the frosted glass ornaments that I did a couple of years ago. as I usually do, I used a blending pencil on the Prismacolor pencils to smooth out the color.  Here is what the frosted one looked like.

I used a purple and a green Prismacolor pencil. For the black shading, I used a regular graphite pencil but also used the blender on this as well. I layered it to get the different intensities.

Here is the last one. This is the one that was the most surprising. The bag is the larger size and it is just a plain white paper. It is almost like working on a tile as far as the color goes. The paper is not the same quality. I say that as I approached it with the idea of using both black and brown microns. It developed in true Zentangle® style. I had no idea of what I wanted to do. I did not want to use a string so I started with a single circle. I did the one in the upper right first. I then did the one with Gneiss and the one with Drupe was last. I liked the combination of the black and brown. Then there became the issue of how to finish off the background. Probably got carried away with Opsess on the bottom but Florz was an easy choice. I did not want to do too much embellishment with it. I again used Prismacolor pencils for the highlighting and fill in Opsess. I am really pleased with the way that these turned out.

For those of you familiar with different tangles, I did not really make that many mistakes on the bag. A couple of the Bronx Cheers were to cover up some errant pen marks. Most of them were additions to provide a little balance after having so few on the cover.

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

Go Tangle !!

Tangling for fun: Flextangles and Tri-hexaflexagon

Getting ready for some events early in August. Wanted to have something fun. Not sure if I will sell these are do something to give them away as a way to attract customers. Either way they were fun to do. There are two different things. I only have one done with a little heavier paper. That is the flextangle. This post will have a lot more pictures than I normally post just to show you the different sides. and templates I have created.
Here are pictures of a completed Flextangle.

The tangles are done with microns and gel pens. The other sides are done with colored pencils. I did not make a copy of this so there will only be one like this. 

I did do a couple of other templates. Here are those. I have not made copies of these and put it together yet.

I did a little shading on the second one. Not sure if I will do any shading on the other. I kind of like it without. May keep it that way for the variety.

This last template is a little different.

The Paradox was done with colored Microns. The one above it is colored using Tombow markers. I have not used them a lot but they worked well on this. This is a Tri-hexaflexagon. If you are not familiar with these, here is a link to a page to see them. http://www.auntannie.com/Geometric/Flexagon/.  The Flextangle is easier to change the pattern but is a little harder to put together. The opposite is true with the Tri-hexaflexagon. It is flat so it is easy to put together but it took a while to figure out how to change the sides. I also think that it works better when you have patterns that are the same and you change the colors. 

The templates and the completed items were done on 90lb drawing paper. It is not as stiff as some of the card stock I have used, but it is heavier than copy paper. It withstands the flexing fairly well. 

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

Go Tangle !! 

Square One Focus Tangle: Hollibaugh

This week's focus tangle on the Square One FB page is Hollibaugh. This is an interesting tangle. It is usually one that I always teach in the Basic Class because of the drawing behind technique. Wanted to do something a little different with it.  Not sure when I did this before. Seems that maybe it was part of a challenge or maybe it was in response to a post in one of the FB pages. I like it because it adds a little flair to the tangle. Have been seeing Hollibaugh tangles that people have been doing at  Can-tangle. Not sure exactly what they were doing as there were just pictures with little information. Think that it is doing tangleations and trying to stretch tangles a little more. Because of the way that this is done was also able to include last week's focus tangle, Finery as I was not able to post a tile. Here is what I came up with. I hope you enjoy it.

 Tangles used: Hollibaugh, Paradox, Tipple, Finery, & Shattuck 

Shading done with 2B pencil

Have been a number of interesting things posted on the FB page. If you do not regularly follow this page, would encourage you to do so. You can see some great work and get some inspiriation about things to do. Is not really a site to post questions but can contact the poster in a private message with questions.

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

Go Tangle !! 

Zendala Dare # 102: Two in a Row & a New Job

The Bright Owl is on a roll posting two Zendala Dares in a row. She does have a reason to be pleased with her ability to do this as she is starting a new job which allows her to use her Nursing degree. Starting a new job while exciting is also stressful. Hopefully, creating her zendala allowed her to relax a little. This is an interesting template. Kind of fits in with this week's Diva Challenge on simplicity. Last week's template had a multitude of sections. This one had a lot of larger space. Simplicity and  easy are not always synonymous. I actually had more difficulty deciding what to do with this template. I finished this earlier but did not get around to posting it right away. That is probably a good thing as this is one of those tiles that my first reaction was so-so. After letting it set a while and then looking at it again, I am more pleased with it. Here is what I came up with. I hope you enjoy it.

Tangles used: Betweed, Cubine, Flux, Shattuck, Blooming Butter with Mak-Rah-Mee, Cadent, Antidots, & Zander.

The shading is done with 2B and 4B pencils. 

The center ring is somewhat inspired by some stacked circles that I have seen on the FB Stacked and Tangled page. Did not really turn out exactly like I envisioned, but that is okay.  Have only looked at The Bright Owl's blog a little. The last I looked there were only a few things posted. I hope more take the time to  do something and post it. I know it is hard and there are more challenges now than when she first started the Zendala Dare. I enjoy doing them and it is different than the other challenges and FB page ideas/focus. Not sure that I will get to every one she posts and will probably have to rotate what I participate in a little. If you have time, check out what others have done at The Bright Owl and try it yourself. 

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

Go Tangle !!

Diva Challenge #226: Guest Blogger - Katie Crommett - Simplicity

This week's Diva Challenge guest blogger is, I think, one of the more recent CZTs Katie Crommett. I guess by newer, she was after my CZT training. I remember seeing her post things though before she went to the training. Any way, her challenge to us is Simplicity. Not sure what things I will see as that can mean different things to different people. She also indicated to use only 2 - 3 tangles at the most. I think I was successful in this challenge. I only used 3 tangles and none of them are particularly complicated. I tried to keep the shading simple also. Here is what I came up with. I hope yolu enjoy it.

Tangles used: Abundies (which mine looks a lot like Narwal), Springkle, & Florz

Shading done with 4B & 2B pencils. 

 I have not looked at many of the things posted so far. A few have shown up in my blog reader. Hoping to get to look at as many of possible over the rest of the week. Would encourage you to check out I am the Diva. Take a risk and try it yourself and post your results on the Diva's blog.

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

Go Tangle !!

Another thing that did not move: Tangled Gift Bags with a Little Color

A couple of years ago I did some gift bags for the office staff. I unfortunately did not take any pictures of them. I am trying to get a variety of things together for some events over the summer. Thought I would do some gift bags again. Have a variety of them but started out with the brown craft paper ones. Tried to add a little color to this rather than just using white highlights.  Here is what I came up with. I hope you enjoy it.

Tangles used: Pea-nuckel, Intwine, Dragonair, Antidots, &Chainlea

Highlights and shading done with Prismacolor Premier pencils.

Tried a little different thing with some of the color. The green and blue are a single color then white over the color. If I do it again I may try some layering of colors before I add the white. It is really experimenting trying to get the color tint that you want. The brown is actually the layering I did on one of the recent challenges. I used white but instead of it being the last color it was in the middle. It is Goldenrod, White, and Burnt Ochre. 

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

Go Tangle !!   

Zendala Dare #101: She's Baaaaack !!!

Guess who's baaaaaack? That's right, it is The Bright Owl with Zendala Dare #101. I remember seeing the previous one, but not sure how long ago it was or if I even participated. For a couple years it was one that I participated in regularly and I do enjoy Zendalas. I have to admit that it took a little getting use to. I have not done a lot of Zendalas lately and those that I did were more free hand so I was not dealing with a template. Some would think that having a template would make it easier but there is a little decision making about how you want to use the template. I put the whole template on the tile and just took a little at a time. I started on the outside, then the center and then the middle part and the shading. It really was easier once I decided on the center. Before that I was not sure exactly what I was going to do with the majority of the template. Well enough gabbing. Here is what I came up with. I hope you enjoy it.

Tangles used : Verve, Betweed,  Gneiss

Shading done with 4 B pencil

The last I looked there were not a lot of other zendalas posted at The Bright Owl. Hoping that a few more will do something. It is always interesting to see what people do with the templates. Would encourage you to take a look by clicking on the link above. Why not give it a try yourself, even if you do not post it.

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

Go Tangle !! 

Square One Focus Tangle : Munchin

The focus tangle in the Square One, Purely Zentangle® FB page is Munchin. I have used this tangle before, but I have to admit that I have not used it a lot. Not sure why. Probably because there are a couple of other tangles that I use in triangular areas. I also am not sure about using this in a definitive area. I know that strings are suppose to be guidelines but I am more likely to follow them. This is one that I think works better as a free form tangle. Enough said. Here is what I came up with. I hope hope you enjoy it.

Tangles used : Munchin, Flora, Henna Drum

Shading done with 4B pencil.

Have to work on not making my triangles so similar in size. Have seen a number of creative tiles with this tangle. Looking forward to seeing more. 

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

Go Tangle !!

Diva Challenge #225: Guest Blogger Jen Crutchfield, CZT - Using color

The Diva is having guest bloggers over the summer as she is taking some time off this summer to spend more time with her family. This is the first week of a guest blogger and it is a fellow Indiana CZT. There are, I think, double the number of CZTs in the state from when I got my certification. I think the only area that does not have at least one is the northeast part of the state. But I digress.

The basic Zentangle® format is using black pen and a graphite pencil for shading. that is probably how most start but then they do venture out a little to try something with color. Usually, myself included, if the person does not have much (read any) art background using color is one of those things that causes a little increase in their anxiety. After 4 years of tangling I am more comfortable using color but it is still not something I am totally comfortable with doing. For this challenge I went back and visited one the techniques I first used to add color. This is Maria Browning's embossing technique that she included in her book, Time to Tangle with Color,  and also taught at  Tangle U.  I was not able to attend Tangle U but did talk with some people who did and I also found the brief explanation in her book. before when I used it I used a black tile. I have wanted to try it on other tiles to see how it worked but just have not done it. It seemed to fit well for this challenge. Enough rambling, here is what I came up with. I hope you enjoy it.

Tangles used : Opsess, Shattuck, Bales

The color is done with Irojiten pencils. The colors are Lettuce Green, Lilac, & Sunset Orange.There is about three layers of each color.

The tangles are done using a Signo Uni-ball 207 Micro pen. I use these at work and when they have run out of ink, I have saved some to use for this purpose. It gives a finer line than the typical embossing tool. 

I have not seen a lot of other things posted yet for this challenge. I plan on going to I am the Diva to see the other pieces submitted. Would strongly encourage you to visit the site also and give the challenge a try, even if you do not decide to post what you do.

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

Go Tangle !!

If It Doesn't Move, Tangle It: River Rocks

Had seen a number of posts of people doing this. One was Annette Carlo at Call it What You Quill. She used a stylus and ink to do hers. I have seen some that I think that were done with paint and a paint brush. It is a special brush as what I have read it is made to do small dots of paint. Not using a lot of other mediums, am not sure what they are called. Looked interesting and thought I would give it a try. Learned a couple of things. The stylus is not easy to use. You also have to be patient and let things dry. If you don't, you smudge or wipe off what you just did. Rocks are not easy to hang on to. I'll add a little more after the picture. Here is what I came up with. I hope you enjoy them.

Materials used: The ink is an acrylic artist's ink that I got at Hobby Lobby. The colors are done with paint pens. Most are extra fine DecoColor paint pens. 

Not sure how many more of them I will do. Will have to wait and see. There are a few other projects that I want to work on. This was an interesting endeavor. 

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

Go Tangle !! 

Diva Challenge #224: "Monotangle - Tipple"

This week's Diva Challenge is an interesting one. It is interesting not only because it is a monotangle but also because of the tangle that is used. She chose Tipple. Normally, will use this tangle to fill or augment a tile or other tangles. Trying to do a whole tile with it reminds me of the stippling challenge that was done a while back. You are creating something else with this tangle. I am looking forward to seeing a lot of really unique and interesting things that people have done.

There was something else that was unique about this challenge. I have no other art training other than Zentangle®. Before that it was only the mandatory classes that I took through elementary school. I have known people that who can form an image in their mind and they translate it to paper. That does not describe me. Over the almost 4 years I have been tangling there have been times when I was doing a challenge or just working on a tile that before I started, I would have some of idea of what I hoped/wanted it to look like. Was not really pre-planned, just a concept of what I wanted at the end. I know that seems a little contrary to the whole Zentangle process but not really. I learned to enjoy what the result was. I also learned to not make any judgments about a tile until it was done. It was not always what I envisioned but it did not mean I did not like it. Sometimes, I liked it better than what I had envisioned before I started. Well, this tile was the only one that I can remember that the end result really was like what I envisioned.  I will say more about it after the picture.  Here is what I came up with. I hope you enjoy it.

Shading is always a challenge for me even when I like the result. It is particularly a challenge when I am trying to shade any color or in this case the brown micron. I have tried a number of things but never was all that pleased with the result. This was done with a layering of Prismacolor pencils. I probably tried about 15 different combinations before I came up with this. This is probably the best one that I have come up with. It is first a layer of Goldenrod, then White and lastly Burnt Ochre. I then used the blending pencil to smooth and burnish it. As I said, I was pleased with the result. 

I have only seen things that have shown up on my blog reader and that is not many. Looking forward to seeing a number of great tiles. If you have not done so, go to I am the Diva and check them out. Try it your self even if you do not post it.

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

Go Tangle !!