New experience with things: Outdated computer & Consignment work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 !!