Diva Challenge #315: "Tangle study = Molygon"

Finally able to get something together for the Diva Challenge. I do miss participating regularly, but have to make some decisions about where I spend my time.  Have to admit, part of what made it possible to participate is the tile I used is one that I had prepared and worked on in a recent class. I had not finished puting  tangles in it so decided to add this week's focus.

Have to admit that I have not done Molygon since it was first introduced. Not one of my favorites and not particularly thrilled with the way that these turned out. I like the tile but not how Molygon turned out. part of my "problem" is that I tend to do things in a smaller size. Do not think that this works with this tangle. I also did not get quite enough lunar shape to them also. Well it is what it is.
Here is what I came up with. I hope you enjoy it.

Tangles used: Cadent,  Poke root, Poke leaf, Henna Drum, ING variation, and Molygon

As I indicated above the tile was from a class I was doing. We were doing water color washes to add color. This was done with Faber-Castell  water colored pencils. After used the pencils to put down the color used a wet brush  to blend and spread out. This was just one part of the class as we also did a larger piece using alcohol inks. Was a fun class.  But I digress.

Did not do any other shading or highlighting on this. Thought about doing a little on the Molygon but decided not to.

I have not looked at any of the other pieces posted. Hopefully will have some time to do this later. If you have not been to I am the Diva, would encourage you to do so. There are always some great works of art.  

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.

Trying some new things: Zen-gems

One of the newer trends has been the creation of the Zen-gems. It has now progress to the point where there are some folks who are trying to duplicate actual gem stones. Being a "little late to the party", I just recently began trying to make them. My primary motivation was to have a new activity for classes. I did some before the class and some during the class to show people the process. I was not totally pleased with either of those attempts. I finally had a chance to try again. I actually completed the color part a couple of weeks ago but never got around to finishing the setting. Seemed there was always something else that seemed to be a higher priority. I finally was able to get to them. Here is what I came up  with. I hope you enjoy them.

The yellow/orange one was done with Faber-Castell water color pencils. The blue was done with Loew-Cornell colored pencils. The latter are not an expensive pen. With the water color pencils, I did add some more color after I had used water to initially blend the colors. I made sure that they were dry before adding more water color. Used a small heat tool to do this. 

With the Loew-Cornell pencils used the white to blend and smooth the colors. It did leave a little bit of texture but I think that added to the overall effect. 

Here are some of the places I looked to get ideas of how to do them. Not sure that I used any of them exclusiively but they were all helpful. 

These first 2 are by Kae Yoishno. She was one of the first to  post pictures and explain how she had done them.

Here is one by Chris Titus. She illustrates her process.

The last one I am going to list is by Anki Helgor

This last one is the longest of the 3 but it is informative.

   Couple of things that I learned in doing these. You do need to slow down., At least I do. If I rush, I do not   like the result. I did learn some nice techniques in blending colored pencils. I have used PrismaColor pencils   and have used the blending pencil for those. The blender did not work with these pencils. Using a lighter        color to blend is discussed and illustrated in the last video listed.

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

    Go Tangle !!

Diva Challenge #262: "UMT - Fassett by Lynn Mead"

This week's challenge is a Use my Tangle (UMT) challenge. I like to participate in these because it does get a chance to try something new. It was not the case this week as the tangle is one that I am familiar with, and have used often Fassett by Lynn Mead. It really is a versatile tangle. I like the different shapes you get just with simply varying the way you make your triangles. I did do something different with this challenge. I usually do them on the 3.5" x 3.5" tiles. I had started this while I was at an event and was trying to work on something simple.It is an insert that is about 1.5" x 2.5" I just decided to do Fassett. Low and behold, before I finished it this week, it was the UMT for this week's challenge.  Enough rambling, you are here to see some art work. Here is what I came up with. I hope you enjoy it.

Used an 01 Micron to do the tangle. The color is done with Faber- Castell pencils. The orange is a water color pencil and the bluish section is a layering of two Metallic Colored pencils.  The bottom layer is Blue Stratosphere and the upper layer is Silver. I did not do the silver all over but only where the blue and the orange  meet. Did minimal blending with my finger of the pencils. 

Here is a picture of the completed project, a key fob.

I have not had a chance to look at any of the other things posted except for a few things that showed up on my blog feed. Hoping to have some time to see what creative ways people have used this tangle. If you have not done so would encourage you to go to I am the Diva and look at the other pieces of art.

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

Go Tangle !!