Diva Challenge # 322: "Trying Aquafleur"

I really enjoyed this week's challenge, even though it took me longer to complete my tile than usual. There were two prompts/inspirations for this challenge.  The challenge was on the tangle Aquafleur which Laura acknowledged, she was not quite comfortable with the way that it flowed. I think right after I saw the challenge but had not started, I saw Margaret Bremner's blog post on using tangles to make Deciduous Trees. Her first example used the tangle Aquafleur. If you want to see some eye-popping, mind boggling work using a variety of tangles, click on Margaret's blog Enthusiastic Artist, to see what she did. It is amazing work. She is doing a series of posts on this topic. She also has one on her work with houses. Really awesome stuff.

 Now back to the Diva Challenge. I have used Aquafleur before but usually only once in a tile. I had not ever explored the tangle before. That is what I decided to do. I did not try to make a tree but just wanted to use Aquafleur in a different way. I had never tried to combine them before.  It was kind of fun. Here is an example of how I used Aquafleur on a card that I did a few years ago.

This is probably the way I used the tangle before.  If I put more than one in a tile, they were just separate items.  This is an A2 size card. 

Here is what I did for the challenge. I hope you enjoy it. 

Tangles used: Aquafleur, Printemps tangleation/Diva Dance

Shading done with HB pencil

The reason I called this a Printemps tangleation is because of the way I did it.  It looks a lot like Diva Dance but I did it like Printemps.  

I have not had a chance to see many of the pieces submitted. I have seen a few that were on my blog reader.  I am hoping to get a chance to look at the great pieces of art that people come up with.  If you have not all ready done so would encourage you to click on I am the Diva and look at all the great pieces of art.  I would again also encourage you to check out Margaret Bremner's blog for some really awesome art as well as some great things to try.

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

Go Tangle !!

More eggs: Two different chalkboard styles

A couple of days ago I posted a plastic egg that I had done after seeing one done by Liz Drake. At the time I indicated that I would post more pictures after I had a chance to work on the two chalkboard style eggs. Was able to complete one of each. Here is what the eggs look like before any tangling.

The yellow and black ones are the chalkboard ones. The black come in packages of 12. The yellow come in a package of mixed colors. There are green, blue, lilac, and yellow. I used a variety of pens on the eggs. Here is the picture of the original one that I did on the white egg.

The tangles were drawn on this with a black 01 Micron. The color was done with PrismaColor pencils. I used a white PrismaColor to blend and tint. 

Here is a picture of the other two after I had finished tangling them. 

I did the black on first. This was done with Bistro chalk markers. They can be a little difficult to deal with as have to be careful to let them dry or they will smear or rub off. If you hold them too tightly, the color will also come off. Tried to keep the tangle simple and limited. This has a variation of Mumsy, or Arc flower, Diva Dance, and Knightsbridge.

The Yellow one was done a little differently.  The tangling was done with different colored ultra-fine  point Sharpies. One thing with Sharpies versus the Microns is that the Micron ink does not come off on your hand when you hold them. Kind of unavoidable when you are drawing on them.  When I work on some more I may use the colored Microns or the IdentiPens. I added the color with Tombow Irojiten colored pencils. They are similar to the PrismaColor pencils in that they are a wax base. I just do not have as many of them. I tried adding colord pencils to black ones but they do not show up. Did not try any of my other colored pencils. Think the same thing would occur.  The tangles are Cubine, Rain, Printemps, and a Jewel variation. 

They can be fun to do but they are a little labor intensive.  Will have to see how many of these I can get done before Easter. Will have to work hard.

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

Go Tangle !!

Diva Challenge #300: " Moebius Syndrome Awareness Day"

I have participated in a number of Diva Challenges over the last five years. This is a repeating one as it is to increase awareness about a neurological disorder that her youngest son has. The challenge is to  use the Moebius Syndrome Foundation's logo and if you want, the color purple which is the their representative color. It is also significant in that is the 300th Diva Challenge. One usually learns different things when doing the challenges. Sometimes it is a new tangle, or technique. The one thing I learned in this challenge, after a number of times trying is a way to deconstruct the logo so I could use it as the string on the tile.  Here is what I came up with. I hope you enjoy it.

Tangles used: Printemps, Shattuck, Heartvine, Noom

Highlighting and color were done with Prismacolor pencils

I still need to work on using the colored pencils, The shading gradation did not turn out like I would have wished. I did use a layering effect to help with the smoothing and blending.  Overall I am pleased with the outcome.

I have not looked at any of the other submissions on I am the Diva. I hope to have some time to do so and would encourage any of you that have not all ready done so, to go and look at what is there. I would also encourage you to take the time to comment on the different art. It is greatly appreciated. You can click on the above link to go there directly.

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

Go Tangle

Diva Challenge #221: " Beads of Courage"

This week's Diva Challenge is one that occurs yearly. It is to bring attention to the Beads of Courage program. I think that it originally started around kids with cancer but has been expanded to include any child that has a condition that necessitates numerous and ongoing medical evaluations and procedures. The Diva's youngest son has Moebius Syndrome, a neurological disorder that impacts facial muscles. Some things that we take for granted, can be difficult to do, like sucking. It also results in his system being prone to infections. Anyone that has read her blog knows the strain that this puts on her family as well as others.

The Beads of Courage gives these kids a glass bead for every medical procedure that they go through. These kids can have yards of beads. I have participated in this challenge a couple of times. I was not sure that I was going to get anything done this year. I happened to have some time at work today because of no show/cancelled appointments so I decided to start something. I did not plan on using a black zendala tile but when I opened my tote that I use to carry my pens and tiles, this was the only one unused tile I had. Luckily I also had my container that had my metallic gel pens in it. Kept it simple. Not sure if I will do another one or not. Here is what I came up with. I hope you enjoy it.

I forgot how you have to be careful with the gel pens as the ink does not dry as quickly as the Microns. Resulted in a few smudges until I finally was aware enough. In keeping with my practice of using the first tile I complete, I did not start over. Did not really use a lot of tangles. Did a few Cruffle and Printemp circles. Threw in a few Indy-rella for variety. The rest is just line work.

Will be interesting to see what others do. This usually results in some pretty cool tiles. I have not looked at any of them yet, and hope I have time to see them all. Not sure how much time I will have to comment on peoples' tiles. If you have not visited the Diva's blog click here so look at all the other great pieces of art.

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

Go Tangle !!

Embossed/Impressed Technique: On Black Tiles

I was not fortunate enough to go to Tangle U but I knew a few folks who did. I heard about the session that Maria Browning did on using color on the black tiles. I also saw a couple of examples, some on line and some in person. I then realized ( read discovered)  that Maria had included an example and brief explanation of this technique in her Time to Tangle with Color book. I had tried it once before but was not pleased with the results. Not sure if it was my pencils or what I used to make the tangles. On the first one, I did not have an old ball point pen so I used the stylus from my PDA. I think that that was mostly the issue. It might have worked but I would have had to really push harder than I did. To protect the screen, it has a soft cover on the point. Well awhile ago I purchased an embossing tool and recently I just purchased some of the Tombow Irojiten pencils. They were on sale for $.99 each. And guess what came today. I had been working on the tile for a couple of days. but when the pencils came today it was a stronger motivation to finish the tile and experiment a little with the new pencils. Here is what I came up with. I hope you enjoy it.

I only used a portion of the pencils that I received. The colors I used were Straw Yellow, Sunset Orange (Shattuck), Vigorous Green ( Printemps), Cameo Pink (Triangle), Lightning Yellow (Bales), and Horizon Blue ( Paradox).  The only color that I was disappointed with the way that it turned out was the Straw Yellow. I did not use it a lot and it may just not be a good choice for the black tiles. Will withhold judgement on this color until I have a chance to experiment with it on other things. 

As I mentioned earlier, I think the hardness of the embossing tool made a difference in how it turned out. I must say thought that the Irojiten pencils were nice to work with. The color went on very smoothly, much more than my generic colored pencils I used before. It was much easier to get a smoother cover and layer it with a lighter touch than what I could achieve with my generic pencils. I guess the quality of the tools that you use can make a difference. 

I am doing a class this Saturday on this and other techniques on the black tiles. I am glad I had a chance to practice this again.

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

Go Tangle !! 

Diva Challenge #174: Superimposing Strings

The Diva is back from Providence, but had another guest direct the challenge this week. Besides needing the time to get back into the swing of things, sounds like she had some other  issues to deal with, somewhat associated with her youngest's disorder. Hopefully things have settled down a little for them. I knew that this week was going to be busy with the holiday and some other things that were going on. Tried to keep it simple but still did not get to this until late. The two strings that I use a lot in my basic class are the "Z" and the triangle. I chose to combine those two for the superimposing strings. I usually decide on the first tangle and then look at what is left to go on to the next. I like Printemps, but I am never quite sure what to do with it as far as shading, etc. Surprisingly, using these two strings, I did not use a lot of the tangles that I usually teach in the Basic class. The only one that I use consistently is Zander. Here is what I came up with. I hope you enjoy it.

Tangles used: Kightsbridge (variation), Printemps, Zander, Betweed

I am sure that most of you have all ready looked at all the other tiles /ZIAs posted on I am the Diva, but if not, would strongly recommend that you do so. I have not looked at too many. Have seen a few that were on blogs that I follow, or things posted on FB. Hope I can get to all of them.  If by chance you have not looked at them, you can do so by clicking here. 

One last  thing. I had an experience that does not happen often and thought I would share it here. There was a student that was in on one of my Basic classes a while ago and she is always complimentary when she sees me and has recommended my class to others. She is an accomplished artist and does some very beautiful things with colored pencils. She uses a layering technique and gets some fabulous results. This weekend at a First Friday she was the Featured Artist at the gallery where I teach my classes. While I was manning a booth/table trying to sell a few things and drum up business for classes she came out and talked with me. Before she left, she told me that when she had taken the class, she was in a really dry place with her creativity and she did not feel like doing any art. She said that the class really helped get out of that place and helped re-energize her creative juices.  It was after this that she joined the gallery and began plying her craft and creating some great art. I do not have any pictures of them, and she does not have a blog where she posts things, but she tangled on some small gourds. I do not know what type they are. They are a light color and about the size of a clementine.  I do not know what she used to tangle on them but I plan of finding out and will ask her if I can take a picture of them. I appreciated her coming up though and telling how the Basic class had helped her.

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

Go Tangle !! 

Diva Challenge #168: Tangleation Nation - Rain 2

Heard a lot about the embossing method taught at Tangle U. Have seen a few examples of it and have wanted to try it. I used a stylus from my PDA to make the tangles. Not sure if this was too soft or it is that I do not have wax colored pencils. One thing I read said that should be soft colored pencils. Mine are a generic form and I think they are hard. When I tried to layer the color, it began to fill in the tangles. To not totally lose the tile I borrowed a technique from another thing taught at Tangle U which was to use a black Glaze pen to make the tangles. I used this to redo the tangles after I had layered the color. Did not turn out too bad but is not the embossed look that I had hoped for.  Not going to go out and buy a set of new pencils as I think the wax pencils tend to be a little pricey. Here is what I ended up with. I hope you like it.

Tangles used: Rain, Msst, Printemps

Had to scan this as the light reflected off the glaze ink and could not see the black. 

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

Go Tangle !!

Diva Challenge #160: "String Theory: Spiral out, Keep Going! (v.2)"

Was not sure if I was going to get this done before the deadline. I started a while ago but the week has been busy.  I have not even had a chance to look at things that others have submitted. I have not used spirals a lot although I like the ways that I have seen others use them, particularly Shelly Beauch. You can look at some great art by her by clicking on here to go to her blog. I think I got a little ambitious with the things that I tried to put in the spirals. Overall it turned out well. Here is what I came  up with. I hope you enjoy it.

Tangles used: Zander, Quib, Knot Ricks, Tripoli, Fengle, Betweed, Marasu, Printemps, Jetties, Indy-rella

I hope to have a little time now to look at what the others have posted on I am the Diva. 

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

Go Tangle !!

They are finally done - Well almost. Travel mug inserts.

Earlier I had posted an unshaded ZIA that I was going to use as a travel mug insert. Received some comments that people wanted to see them when they were shaded. I finally finished the inserts. The reason that I said they are almost done is that I still need to do the final cropping and insert them in the mugs. Here are pictures of the 5 inserts that I did. They will be in travel mugs which will be Administrative Asst. Day gifts for the staff at my office. Hope you like them.

Tangles used: Hibred, Paradox, Sanabelle, In-a-Pod, Tierso, Keeko, Puf, Betweed, AHH, Shattuck, Crescent Moon, Cadent, Flux

Tangles used: "NZeppel, Eyelet & Ribbon, Twirl, Brayd, Daggerly, Fearcles, Beads, Hurry, Hollibaugh, Florz, Huggins, Sankegg, Vache, Meer 

Tangles used: Florz(variation), Arckles, Indy-rella, C-scape, Cadent, Vega, Diva Dance, Keeko, In-a-Pod, Munchin, Socc

Tangles used: Bales, Rain, Poke Root & Leaf, Chordin, Swarm, Fancy Nancy, Chillon, Hibred, Tripoli, Striping

Tangles used: Doodleedoo, Beeline, Japonica, Dansk, Ragz, Cubine, Copada, Pea-nuckle

This was my attempt to take a picture of the finished product. Only took one. Not the easiest to do and not get glare. Cannot see it, but this mug does have a handle. 

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

Diva Challenge # 114: "You with the Stars in your Eyes - Stars v 2.0"

Has not been as easy to get back into doing the Challenges regularly as I had hoped. Part of this is that I was still finishing another project. Can see that in another post on my blog. Had every intention of doing something last week but the time flew by and I never got to it. This week is a star challenge. Can use a star tangle or string. This is a challenge that she used before, but that was long before I had been involved in doing the challenges. Looking at the tile, I think it met the criteria in spirit, but maybe not just in the way it looks. A tangle that I have used before and like is Spiteria. This is a modification of this tangle. I did not put in quite as many lines and I did extend the lines a little bit. It did take away from the star shape this tangle usually has. I used this tangle as my string and then added the other tangles.  For what it is worth here is the end result. I hope you enjoy it.

Tangles used: Spiteria, Knightsbridge, Printemps, and Paradox.

If you have not all ready done so, would suggest that you go to the Diva's blog and look at the other tiles and ZIAs that others have submitted.

I appreciate your taking the time to visit. As always, comments are welcomed, encouraged, and appreciated.