Some New Years work and musing: Tangling for fun

I have been so busy doing things lately for the market that I participated in that have not done a whole lot for fun, When the new tangles were introduced at Zen Again, I played with them a bit but did not spend a lot of time with them. One that I liked looking at, but did not seem to get the hang of was Drawings. I think maybe I was trying too hard. Recently tried it again after seeing some of the work that Shelley Beauchamp did. It was better but still I did not fee like it was flowing that well. One of the reasons I wanted to work on it is that I am doing a class in January where I will be teaching the four new tangles. If I was not pleased with them, could not imagine trying to teach them to others.

I had told my granddaughters that after the market I would let them pick out a bookmark from the ones I had. I realized, I did not have that many and I did not have enough for all 6 of them to pick one. (The youngest who will be one I am not worrying about.) So I have been slowly trying to get a few more done. Although this is a project, I usually do enjoy doing bookmarks. A lot of times I will make them a mono-tangle, or do more free form. What better time to try Drawings again. I really did not have in mind to make a post of it but I was pleased with the result. Figured that maybe my struggles might encourage someone else to not give up when they were struggling.  Here is what I came up with. I hope you enjoy it.

Tangles used: Drawings, Heart vine, Ahh

Shading done with 2B pencil

What really seemed to bring this together for me was that I went to the newsletter where the tangles were introduced and just looked at the examples, I did not look at the step outs. Mine now have more of an organic look. Did not thing that I could quite get the feather look yet. Will work on that in the New Year. But these really seemed to flow easily.

I appreciate all of those folks that have followed my blog and I really appreciate those of you who have made comments and asked questions. I know particularly in the later part of the year I was not posting much because most of my posts were for the Diva Challenges and I had not been doing them very often. I hope to be a little more consistent next year and I hope to add a little more about what I am doing and not just the challenges. I have a couple of projects lined up. There is a  possibility that some of the posts will not be about tangling but one of the other areas that I enjoy.

Thanks for visiting, I hope the New Year brings many blessings to you and the people around you. As always, comments are welcomed, encouraged, and appreciated.

Go Tangle !!

Last project before Christmas: Tangled Gift Bag

Nothing like working up to the last minute on things. I was going to finish this last night and got side tracked helping someone else finish some things. I thought they were going to help with them but it did not work out that way. Oh well, it all got done. This was the last thing I  needed for a present for a family member and finished it about 4:30 PM on December 24. Did  not have time to think about much and just went ahead on did it.

I used Shelly Beauchamp's tangleations of Drawing as my inspiration. If you have not seen them, click on this link,  to view her fantastic art work.  I saw the ensemble that she did and really liked it. Mine to do not have quite the flow of hers but I was pleased with the end result.  Here is what I came up with. I hope you enjoy it.

Not sure what happened with this picture but the bag is really a bright orange. It is not a brown.

Tangles used: Drawings, Stella, Nooms, & Indy-rella. Used a white PrismaColor pencil for the highlighting. If I would have had time, I should have taken a picture of what it looked like before I added the highlights. They made a significant difference.

Want to wish you all a Merry Christmas, and if you celebrate another holiday, Happy Holidays. I want to thank those of you who do follow and read my blog. The fact that people actually would find what I post and write about interesting is very humbling. I know I have not done as much here at the end of the year, but am hoping to be more consistent next year.

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

Go Tangle !! 

Some other new things: Ornaments using chalkmarkers

Here is something that I have been working on for the Winter Market that I am participating in. These are a couple of chalkboard style balls. I used Uchida Chalk Markers to do these. Working in the round is always a challenge but am pleased with the way that these turned out. Have one more ball and a couple of the rectangular ornaments to do. Hopefully I will get them done next week. If not there is always next year. I did not do any new ceramic ones this year. Figured that I had  enough. Here is what I came up with. I hope you enjoy them.

The white is a Sampson-based snow flake with Msst and Ahh.  The purple is Stella with a little 

Indy-rella.

One thing about these chalk markers is that if you do not like what you have done you can wipe it off with a wet cloth and start over. I did use a Krylon matte  spray finish to seal it so it would not rub off or smear later.

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

Go Tangle !!

Diva Challenge # 295: Reticula/Fragment 2

It has been a long time since I have been able to participate in a Diva Challenge. I miss them but just have not had the time. I had a little time and needed a break from what I call "production mode" as I have been focusing on things for the Winter Market that I have been participating in. This is a 7 week commitment for about 6 hours every Saturday. We are a little over half way done. Oh well I digress.

This weeks challenge is a Part 2. I did not participate in week 1. I had done a class on this before they were using the term fragments. It is fun to experiment and see what you can up with. I spent a little time working in my journal, experimenting with different fragments. I do not spent enough time doing this. Here is a picture from my journal as I was experimenting.

Last weeks challenge was to use a fragment. This week was to use an asymmetrical fragment and rotate it. It was the asymmetrical part that gave me the most difficulty. It seemed like most of the things I came up with were symmetrical. That is not really a problem, except it did not meet the criteria for the challenge. There are a couple that I will experiment with in the future but there are some that will probably just be put to rest. The single fragment in the upper right hand corner is the fragment I used for my tile. What I did in the top row is to mirror image it. In the next row, I inverted it and then mirror imaged it again. the result is the pattern you will see in the tile.

Well I hope you did not give up and are still reading this. Here is the tile that I came up with. I hope you enjoy it.

Besides the fragment, I was experimenting with a new tangle Noom. Have to work on keeping it consistent, which is not as easy as it would seem. The variance does not bother me a lot.

I have not looked at any of the things submitted on I am the Diva. Will try to look at as many as I can. If you have not been there, would encourage you to do so as there are usually some really great pieces of art. You can click on the link above to go there.

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

Go Tangle !!

New experience with things: Outdated computer & Consignment work

I have been neglectful in posting anything. Still doing a lot to have items for the market that I am participating in for 7 weeks in November and December. That has kept me pretty busy. That and dealing with a computer that was really acting up. Finally had to give in and get a new one. My other was about 8 years old and my operating system was not supported by most platforms. Really made it difficult to do much. For a while, I could not even access one of my email accounts. Still trying to learn how to navigate the new operating system. It is all still there it is just finding out where it is located and how to get to it. The older I get the less I like change. I knew where things were before. Kind of like when my wife rearranges things in the cupboards.

Well enough about that topic. It is mostly just venting.  I have been doing ornaments for about 4 years. I have a variety of glass balls, ceramic shapes, framed ZIAs and different paper ornaments. This was the first time that someone asked if I could personalize them. This year I also had a a few chalkboard ornaments. I got them on sale at one of the hobby stores at the end of the season last year. Those were the ones that the customer decided on. I think part of it is that I had 3 of the same shape. Was a little nervous as I do not do a lot of lettering. I kept it simple. I was pleased with the way that they turned out. I hope the customer is as well. Will be giving them to her tomorrow.

Cannot tell from the picture, but the top one is a bright orange. For some reason it came out looking more yellow.  Besides the names, they wanted me to work in the person's favorite color. Used chalk markers (Bistro chalk markers by Uchida)  on the pink and orange ones. Could not find a blue chalk marker that I liked. The paint markers I had were all dark and did not show up well. Ended up using a Sakura metallic gel pen for the blue one.  Used a spray sealer to protect. 

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

Go Tangle!!

Tangled pumpkin: Free form

Have continued to be busy trying to get things ready for the next 7 weekends. I had hoped to get some tangled pumpkins done earlier but was not able to get to them. I finally finished one. Usually when I do the pumpkins I use the vertical lines as the string and do tangles inside them.  Decided that I wanted to do one that was a little more free form. May have done a smaller one in this manner before, but not one this size. I chose the off white pumpkin. I used organic tangles for the major part of the pumpkin and used more grid based tangles for the top and bottom.  Here is what I came up with. I hope you enjoy it.

These first pictures are of all the tangles that I used around the pumpkin. I managed to not repeat any major tangles. Sanabelle, Zinger, and Fescu are the most often repeated but I considered these more embellishments.

This is the top of the pumpkin. Cannot really see it that well, but I think that the Msst around the top makes a nice finish.

This is what I did on the bottom. I just started in the center and worked my way out. 

Most of the work was done with a Microperm although I did use and identiPen on some of it. The identiPen  has more of a gloss finish.

I won't try mention all the different tangles that I used. In addition to the ones that I all ready mentioned I used, Chain lea, Phicops, Aquafleur. Featherfall, Dragonair, Mooka, Flux, Angel fish, Hear vine, and Antidot.

I am guessing that it took between 5-6 hours to complete. A little tough to really get a good handle as did not do it in large time blocks until recently.

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

Go Tangle !!

Getting ready for the holidays

I have been woefully negligent in posting anything to my blog lately. A big factor in that, is that I have not been participating in any challenges for some time. I miss doing them, but have been busy. Besides family things, also trying to get ready for a market for 7 weekends beginning in November. A big focus of this is Christmas and gifts, but also have the regular fare out as well. The one thing that I cannot sell are books as everything has to be made by the individual. Here are a some of the most recent things.

The frames are a variety that I got at Michael's in there end of year sale last year. I am sure that they have more, and different styles this year. I have not been to a Michael's as the closest is about 50 miles away and I have not looked on line since I had these. 

Here are some Christmas cards that I made. They are blank inside so could use them as stationary or just to write your own Christmas message. I only have 3 of these. I have a total of about 7 different cards, but these are the only Christmas ones.

These are fun to do but do take some time. Will have them at the market as well as available at the consignment store that I have things at. Will have orders to do varying quantities depending on what the person wants. 

Still have a lot to do as I have a number of chalkboard ornaments as well as various size pumpkins to try to get to. If I have time, will try to get a few canvas bags and totes done that I have. I wish that the stores her still carried the Pentel pens, but have not seen them in any of the stores here. They do not cover a lot, but I like the darkness of the black.

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

Go Tangle !!

A Challenge Piece that did not get completed in time

I have not posted or participated in any challenges for quite some time. I won't bore you with any of the details/reasons for this. There were a couple of recent Diva Challenges that I wanted to participate in. One I did not even start. The other I just did not complete during the week of the challenge. Since I had not posted anything for a while, figured I would at least put it here since I finally got it done.

I combined the two challenges to come up with this piece. The first one that I wanted to do was the Tripoli challenge. I enjoy this tangle even though it does present certain issues. The second came from a FB post regarding the difference in how we may tangle depending on whether it is for a class or just for our own enjoyment. There were a number of folks who indicated they thought there were significant differences. I do not know if I would say that there are significant differences, but there are some. When doing for my own enjoyment/relaxation I tend to use tangles that use simple repetitive strokes and I do not have to refer multiple times to a step out. I also tend to fill most of the tile. I do not think about if it is cluttered. I also tend to try some new or different things when I am doing a tile just for me.

Enough information, here is what I came up with. I hope you enjoy it.

Tangles used: Poke Root, Poke Leaf, Opsess, Shattuck, Dansk, Tripoli

Shading done with HB pencil

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

Go Tangle !! 

Getting some things ready for the holidays and events: Zentangle Inspired Art using different mediums

Seems like forever since I did a blog post. I do not even want to think about how long it has been since I participated in a Diva Challenge. I do look at what they are and occasionally will look at a few but have been busy with a number of other things. Some of the things I have been doing have been preparing for classes and some are to have some new things at some events that I participated in. I have not even started doing anything for the holidays, other than what I have done for a class.  Here is a little bit of what I have been up to.

Here are some wooden cuffs that I used a wood burning tool to put the patterns on them. The one on the far right is drawn with a pen.

This is the only full bracelet that I have worked on. Took a while to do this one as it is about 2" wide.

This one I used one of my favorite, go-to tangles, Shattuck.  Also tried a lighter shading. Pleased with the way that this turned out.

On all these I used a combination bees wax that I found at Menard's. It does not give a high gloss but it does help preserve the wood and would be easier for most people to use if they wanted to buff later or it dries out a little. Everything that I have tried darkens the wood a little. This is not too bad so does not change the original work that much. 

Here are some pictures of things that I have been preparing for classes. They are made from paper and make unique ornaments. One is a combination origami and ZIA project. It is called Jump. Here is the link to a video that shows how to do them. They are labor intensive.   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7v0Eou-Ive8&app=desktop

The other is done by CZT Dorian Eng. Here is the link for her video.  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=81_W8wx2DGI&feature=youtu.be

 The video shows how to make this using the original Zentangle® square tiles. When I posted this on a FB page she made a comment about trying it on Zendala® tiles. She did not give any suggestions but decided I would follow the same procedure. Have to admit that making the folds were a little more difficult. Not so much quartering the tile, but the folding in the edges was trickier. Fortunately, did not have to be exacting to complete. I also tried something a little different as I used two different colored tiles.  Here is what I came up with. Will make a few more comments after the pictures. 

The white tiles were done using microns to draw the tangles. The color was done with colored pencils. To achieve some of the effects, I did a couple of layers with some until I had the intensity of color that I wanted. On the black tiles, the tangles were done with Sakura Moonlight gel pens. I also used Staedler colored pencils to add some of the fill. This did no show up as well in the pictures. These are definitely easier to make, but can get labor intensive depending on what tangles you use and if you decide to use color. 

If you got this far, thanks for staying with me through this longer than usual post.

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

Go Tangle

Another adventure with Pyrography and tangling: Wood bracelet

Finally got enough courage to try a 3D item. I finished all the crosses not ready to tackle the candle plates yet. Wanted a little more practice before I attempted those. Overall I was pleased with the way this turned out. Here is the item that I finished. Will make a few comments after the pictures.

Kept it pretty simple using Paradox as the primary pattern. I like the contrast but did have some difficulty getting a consistent burn on the triangle sections. Could say that it had something to do with the wood but am guessing that it had more to do with me. On the other hand I kind of like the "marbled effect" with the uneven burn. These pictures are before I have done anything to seal or finish them. Will have to see what I will do. I like the Tung oil but it also darkens the wood. Will contact some of the other people I know and see what options there are.

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

Go Tangle !!

Mixing two techniques: Tangling and Pyrography

Have wanted to do more with combining these two before but have not had the materials or the time. I have some other materials but they are rounded. Figured was probably better to start with something that was flat. This, for me, takes more patience than just tangling with a Micron. I actually did do a couple of them with Microns first. The others are burned. The small ones are about 1.5 inches long and the larger ones are about 2.75 inches long.  Used Tung oil as a finish. I hope you enjoy them.

Decided to keep the tangles pretty simple and use ones that basically had straight lines. I did stray from this a little when I did Bales on one of the larger crosses. Figured that was a little more possible since it was a larger surface. Used a tipple effect on two of them. I like the one that is darker a little better. I think it is because of the contrast.

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

Go Tangle !!

Some more new things: Finished shadow box with tangled insert

I am not sure if I posted something earlier on here or it was on the CZT FB page about these shadow boxes that I got at Hobby Lobby. Was not sure when I would get around to doing anything with them. I was able to work on them sooner than I expected. Here is a picture of one of the shadow boxes before any thing was done on them.  The box is about 2.5" square.

Was not exactly sure what I wanted to do with them. I thought of painting the box and then tangling on that. That would be a lot of work and was not sure that I wanted to tackle that right now. When I first saw them my first thought was that I could do a tile to put in the window. That is what I decided to do. I still wanted to do something with the box itself but did not like the idea of painting them. I decided to just varnish one of them and the other two I stained first and then used Tung oil as a finish. here is what they looked like when done with this process.

The lower right is the natural finish. Did not show up as well in the picture. The stain is pretty light and I did not let it soak into the wood for long because I wanted the stain but not something that dark.The stain is a Minwax product, Golden Oak. 

For the inserts I used Bijou tiles. I had to trim a little to fit into the window and as you will see later, some of the tile is hidden because of the size of the window.  Here are pictures of the tiles I did. 

I realized after taking the picture that you could not really see them that well. Here are pictures of each one individually with a few comments about them.

This is the first one that I did. The color is done with layered Prismacolor pencils. Was pleased with the way that it turned out.

This was actually the last one I did . Wanted to do more of a traditional tangle tile. Used Cubine and 'Nzeppel as the tangles. I did use layered Prismacolor pencils again to add the color.

For this last one, I started out doing a water color wash. I used Faber-Castell pencils. I liked the wash but was not sure wanted I wanted to do. When I originally looked at it with the blue on the sides (sorry, did not take a picture before I started tangling on it). Was not too taken with it. I began rotating the tile and noticed on the one orientation the blue looked like sky and water and the middle section looked like hills. I liked that but was still not really sure what I wanted to do. Was not sure what tangles I could use. I admit, I was also worried about how it would look. Anyway I pushed ahead and used the brown Micron for most of the work except for the lower blue section. Does not show up but also used as a white Prismacolor pencil to try to put in some clouds in the top section of blue. I was pleased with the result.  Here is what the finished tile looked like.   

Used a tangle from Sandy Steen Bartholomew's "Totally Tangled" book Swell. For the hills, I used Diva Dance and a Shattuck style stroke. I decided to leave the sky and the one section untangled.  I hope you enjoy it and hope I did not add too much to it. 

Okay, enough rambling. Here are the finished items.

Think they turned out well.

I appreciate your patience if you got all the way through this post. I have some other new things that I am working on but they are not ready post. Combined a little tangling with pyrography. Stay tune to see those.

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

Go Tangle !! 

More new things and finishing another: Tangled gems on wooden boxes & cross pendants

I think about a week ago I posted some wooden crosses that I was working on. Well I finally was able to finish them. Have the polyurethane on to seal them, have added the bales, and also a 32" waxed cord. I have a couple of others that I am working on that I am not using polyurethane on but Tung Oil. I think I like those better. Does not have the sheen that the polyurethane has but I think I like the matte effect. Also easier to get it on evenly with fewer coats. Will post pictures of those when I get them done. Here is the finished project. I hope you enjoy them.

The other new thing is a combination of new things. I had purchased some small wooden boxes a number of months ago. I never got around to doing anything with them. I had a couple of ideas, but they just sat for a long time. Well, I figured that I needed a couple of new things for a venue that I participating in later this month. So I pulled them out. I thought about a little pyrography but decided against it as the wood is not that good for burning. I may try that later. I had done a class on the tangled gems and decided to try putting one of those on the lids. Here is what I came up with. I hope you enjoy them. 

I used Faber-Castell water color pencils on the gems. I did the blue one first and learned a few things in the process. The setting is done with a black micron. I used a really light touch to do that.  The orange does not come through as well in the photo as it does for real. I think that the artificial light had an effect on this. Probably as the orange one was the second one I did, and I was a little more comfortable with the process, I prefer this one. Both have 3 colors that were used to create the tangled gem. Not sure how many of them I will do in the future as they are a little labor intensive.

I have a few other new items that I am hoping to get done. Stay tuned and I will post pictures when I get it accomplished.

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

Go Tangle.

Some new things that are working on: Tangling on wood

Always looking for new things to do. Saw these in Hobby Lobby and finally getting around to doing something with them. These two I used a micron to do the tangles. I have some more and am going to try burning them. Used a water based varnish to seal. That is the reason for the "shine" on the picture. All they need now are some bales and probably a leather strap. Have to look for some other bales. I think the ones that I have I can make work but they are a little large for these items. They are pretty small. They are about 1.5" by 1.25" and .25" thick. I have some larger ones, but have not done anything with them yet. Will post another picture when I get them completed.

Here is what they look like so far. I hope  you enjoy them.

Tangle in the middle of the black one is Gneiss and the brown one is Merryweather.

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

Go Tangle !!

Two for One: Diva Challenge #270-Skye by Margaret Bremner, CZT and Square One focus-Bales.

Had some time to do some tangling. Actually I made time. I probably should have been doing some other things. This week's Diva Challenge is to use Margaret Bremner's new tangle Skye. I saw it when it was first posted. I did not have time to try it then. Since the Diva made it the challenge, it was the push I needed to do it. It is a little tricky and there are a couple of spots that did not turn exactly as I had planned, but it is okay. To get a little more mileage from the tile I also included Bales which is the focus tangle on Square One. As with a lot of tiles, one of the biggest challenges is the shading. Not sure what is occurring as I had been feeling a little more comfortable with the shading that I had been doing. Finding it more difficult for some reason.  Here is what I came up with. I hope you enjoy it.

Tangles used: Skye, Girdy, Bales, and Tipple.

Shading done with HB and 2B pencils.

Have not looked at many of the other posts. If I am going to participate, I usually do not look at what others have done until I have completed mine. Occasionally I will see one that shows up in my blog reader.  If you have not visited I am the Diva yet, I would encourage you to do so. I would also encourage you to try your tile. It is fun and you do not have to post your work. Although people who participate are very supportive

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

Go Tangle !! 

Diva Challenge #269: "New Official Tangle: Ellish"

This week's Diva Challenge is almost like a UMT challenge. The Diva chose to highlight the newest tangle coming from Zentangle® HQ, Ellish. This is an interesting tangle. The basic pattern is not that challenging. Much like Paradox and Auraknot, it helps to keep track of where you are with the auras/lines.  For me one of the challenges was to come up with a way to connect and grow it. This served a dual purpose as I had taught the tangle to a class a couple of weeks ago but had not played much with it yet. I told them when I demonstrated it, I was not sure of how it could be grown. Here is what I came up with. I hope you enjoy it.

Tangles used: Ellish, Tipple, Indy-rella. 

The shading was done with HB, 2B, and 4B pencils

One of the other challenges with this tile was how to shade it. The more I look at it, I am getting a little  more comfortable with it, but still a little uncertain. 

I have not looked at any of the other pieces posted. Hope to get to it soon. If you have not looked at the posts at I am the Diva, strongly recommend that you do so. Also would encourage you to try it yourself, even if you do not post it on the site.

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

Go Tangle !!