Last Dare of the Year

Well, here we are, almost at the end of the year. It's about 18 hours till we toot those horns, or down that Champagne, or sing Auld Lang Syne; or all of the above, if you've a mind to.
******************************************

It's now down to 16 hours till New Year's; I had to stop for dinner: preparing, eating, cleaning up. Then I had to redo my husband's list of medications and print them out for him, but now I'm back trying to finish this post.

This is Erin's last Zendala Template of the year, and when I saw it, I immediately knew it was my kind of template. I love the swirly look, and could think of all kinds of things to do with it.

 

In no time at all I came up with this one, and I like it, but couldn't make up my mind about the shading.

So I tried going at it a little differently:

 But I still wasn't sure. So I tried color:

 

Which gives it a totally different look, I think. I even tried one on colored paper, but I really don't think it was very successful; so I'm not including it here.

So here I am again, with more than one version of a Zendala, and I haven't a clue which works best. Luckily, there's plenty of time left this week to try again. There are still 2 more sizes of Zendalas for me to try; I can't remember when I finished so early before. 

So cast your vote for your favorite, and check back early and often to see what else I come up with.

Be sure to visit the the Bright Owl's site; see the other wonderful entries, and maybe try out one of the Zendala Dares yourself.
 

Thanks for visiting; please leave a comment, favorable or not. That's how we learn and grow; and how we know someone out there is paying attention. 

Here's wishing you all a Healthy, Happy, Peaceful (and Prosperous wouldn't hurt) New Year, and may the worst day of this coming year be no worse than the best day of this past one.

Happy Holidays, Part 2: Zendala Dare #84

Well, 2013 is winding down, and with it our last Diva's Challenges, Zendala Dares, and String Things.  This week, Erin Olson, the Bright Owl offered this template:

 

It didn't excite me much at first; when it comes to Zendalas, I usually prefer them symmetrical. But as I started playing around with it, I got all kinds of ideas, and ended up really loving it. So much so, that as soon as I finished the first one, I was already starting the second one.

The 2 are really quite different, as you can see: the first is a little heavy, while in the second one I lightened up quite a bit.

 

Be sure to visit  the Bright Owl's site to see all the other great Zendalas that have been submitted; and perhaps try one yourself.

Thanks for visiting; please leave a comment, favorable or not. That's how we learn and grow; and how we know someone out there is paying attention.

Have a wonderful day, week, month; see you all next time.

If I don't post again before the New Year, may it be Healthy, Happy, Peaceful (and Prosperous wouldn't hurt), and may the worst day of this coming year be no worse than the best day of this past one. Cheers, everyone!

Happy Holidays, and More

Hi, everyone. I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas. And if you had snow, I hope it was beautiful to look at, but not messy or obtrusive. And I hope the temperatures were moderate. I know some of you have had some nasty weather; I hope it doesn't last. Not to brag or anything, but it's 66〫  and sunny here right now.

The last few weeks I've been a little behind in the Challenges, Dares, and String Things, but I hope that will change in the New Year. Let's start right now with String Thing #20: 

Use String #028, created by Anne Marks

 

and the Tangles: Afterglow, by Carol Ohl, and Ahh, an official Zentangle® pattern. 

As you can see, I took a little liberty with the string, and with Afterglow; it just fell into the string naturally.

And, as usual, I had a second version; can't quite make up my mind between the 2, although I think I favor the first. 

As usual, I urge you to check out all the entries @ Tickled to Tangle, on Monday when Adele Bruno posts them. And, if you've a mind to try a String Thing, check back on Tuesday, when she posts the new ones.

Thanks for visiting; please leave a comment, favorable or not. That's how we learn and grow; and how we know someone out there is paying attention.

Have a wonderful day, week, month; see you all next time. And if I don't post again before the New Year; may it be Healthy, Happy, Peaceful (and Prosperous wouldn't hurt), and may the worst day of this coming year be no worse than the best day of this past one.

Zendala Dare #83 Baby, It's Cold Outside

After missing a week the Bright Owl is back 

with Zendala Dare #83.

This is the template she posted, 

 

and she added an extra challenge: 

Create a Zendala that reminds you of winter.

 I figured a few snowflakes here and there 

would count as winter. 

So I hope this works for you; It works for me.

I just tried colorizing this on BeFunky. I think it makes it more wintery.

 

Be sure to visit the the Bright Owl's site; 

see the other wonderful entries, 

and maybe try out one of the Zendala Dares yourself.

Thanks for visiting; please leave a comment, favorable or not. That's how we learn and grow; and how we know someone out there is paying attention.

Have a wonderful day, week, what's left of the month. Hope you're all having a wonderful Holiday Season. 
See you all next time.

DC#148

I really didn't have a chance to work on the Diva's challenge this week, but since it's the last challenge of the year, I wanted to at least post something, and wish the Diva and all the Tanglers a Happy Holiday, and a Healthy, Happy, Peaceful New Year.

So Happy, Merry everyone.

 Be sure to visit the Diva's site; see the other wonderful entries, and maybe try out one of the Challenges yourself.

Thanks for visiting; please leave a comment, favorable or not. That's how we learn and grow; and how we know someone out there is paying attention.

Have a wonderful day, week, what's left of the month; see you all next year.

String Thing #18

For String Thing #18 we are to use this String

 

and the original Zentangle pattern Verdigogh.

This was my third attempt; we won't even discuss the first:

 and this was the second:

 I've put the second one last because it seems a little heavy-handed, and sort of sloppy to me. But I'm always a little indecisive, and each one of these has something worthwhile about it.

The green in both tiles, and the red and gold in the bottom one, are done with Sakura Metallic Gelly Rolls, which I won from a giveaway on iamthediva, Laura Harms' terrific blog. Thanks again, Laura and Sakura. I'm not sure how much of the shine shows, but trust me, it's very effective.

As usual, I urge you to check out all the entries @ Tickled to Tangle, on Monday when Adele Bruno posts them. And, if you've a mind to try a String Thing, check back on Tuesday, when she posts the new ones.

Thanks for visiting; please leave a comment, favorable or not. That's how we learn and grow; and how we know someone out there is paying attention.

Have a wonderful day, week, month; see you all next time.

Zendala Dare #82 and Diva's Challenge #147

I'm a little late with this, but as the Bright Owl has not as yet posted a newer Dare, here's my take on Dare #82, combined with the Diva's Challenge #147.

This was the template for Dare #82:

 

and the Diva's Challenge, as per my last post, was to use her tangle: Boo-Kee

In this ZIA I've combined the two:

Be sure to visit the Bright Owl's site and the Diva's site; see the other wonderful entries, and maybe try out one of the Zendala Dares or Diva's Challenges yourself.

Thanks for visiting; please leave a comment, favorable or not. That's how we learn and grow; and how we know someone out there is paying attention.

Have a wonderful day, week, month; see you all next time.

Diva's Challenge #147: "UMT v. XXIII - Boo-Kee"

This having been the first week of the month, the Diva's Challenge involved the use of "UMT": Use My Tangle, in which the challenge is to use a tangle of her choice. This time around the tangle in question is one which the Diva herself has devised; thus, a true "use MY tangle". It's called "Boo-Kee" and is really very versatile. It lends itself easily to variations, or tangleations, of which mine is definitely one.

It wasn't until I got it up on my computer screen that I realized I hadn't shaded it, and it appears to really need shading. But it's really late, and I'll just have to post it as is. I spent a lot of time doing a version in color, and I don't think I have it in me to do any more tonight.

So here it is in color:

 Let me know which you prefer. And be sure to visit the Diva's site; see the other wonderful submissions, and maybe try out one of the Challenges yourself.

Addendum: 
I think shading definitely improves it; what about you?

Thanks for visiting; please leave a comment, favorable or not. That's how we learn and grow; and how we know someone out there is paying attention.

Have a wonderful day, week, month; see you all next time.

Zendala Dare #81

This is the template that the Bright Owl posted to be used for this past week's Zendala Dare.
My computer refused to do what I wanted yesterday, so it's a day behind.

And this is my first effort; actually, it's my only effort. Time just got away with me this week; what with Thanksgiving and Chanukah, and appointments and a visit from my daughter.

 Somehow, I just got in a flowery mood. This one is unshaded, and on the next one I tried some shading. Let me know what you think.

Be sure to visit the the Bright Owl's site; see the other wonderful submissions, and maybe try out one of the Zendala Dares yourself.

Thanks for visiting, and please leave a comment, favorable or not. That's how we learn and grow; and how we know someone out there is paying attention.

Have a wonderful day, week, month; see you all next time.

Diva's Challenge #145, Part 2

Just want to post my 2nd entry to the Diva's Challenge #145 before I go to bed.

I still love Quib and all the things you can do with it.

 Be sure to visit the Diva's site; see the other wonderful submissions, and maybe try out one of the Challenges yourself.

Thanks for visiting, and leave a comment, favorable or not. That's how we learn and grow; and how we know someone out there is paying attention.

Have a wonderful day, week, month; see you all next time.

String Thing #15

String Thing #15, this week's challenge from Adele Bruno @Tickled to Tangle,

uses String #019, and 6 tangles, all grid-based, and all beginning with the letter L, in honor of Linda Selymes, the creator of String #019.

 

I tried these tangles in many configurations on this string, and no matter what I did, it always seemed very busy looking. Perhaps I should have limited myself to fewer tangles. I don't know; somehow it just doesn't work for me. 

 

The tangles used are:

Lace Curtains by CZT Suzanne McNeill
Lacy by Sandra Strait
Lanie by CZT Adele Bruno
Lokomotive by Stephanie Kukla
Longwood by J.J. La Barbera
Looplopp by Ksenija Vojisavljevic

 Individually, I find nothing wrong with any of the patterns, except perhaps Looplopp, which I had to practice, practice, practice; and still didn't do it very well. Oh, well, of all the different versions I did of this tile, this had the least imperfections, so here it is.

BTW, I've used String #019 before, with no problem, so it isn't the string that's at fault; it's just the combination of the string with these tangles and me.

As I was getting ready to post this, I realized that one of the other versions I tried isn't too bad, so I'll include it, too. But once I got it scanned and up on my computer screen, I realized that I hadn't signed it or finished shading it, but it'll have to do as is.

Be sure to check out Tickled to Tangle on Mondays, to see all the entries; and/or Tuesdays, to see the new weekly challenge, and maybe try it out yourself.

Thanks for visiting, and leave a comment, favorable or not. That's how we learn and grow; and how we know someone out there is paying attention.

Have a wonderful day, week, month; see you all next time.

A New Tangle and a New Challenge

A new Official Tangle was released this week, and our Diva, Laura Harms, has made it the focus of this week's challenge. Of course, the challenge was issued earlier this week, but I'm just getting around to posting my entry. I really love this tangle; it has so many possibilities. It's very flowing and organic. I combined it in this ZIA with Mak-Rah-Mee, another new tangle introduced last week; they seem to be made for each other. There's still another day left, so it's entirely possible that I'll do another tile or ZIA before this challenge is over.

 Be sure to visit the Diva's site; see the other wonderful submissions, and maybe try out one of the Challenges yourself.

Thanks for visiting, and leave a comment, favorable or not. That's how we learn and grow; and how we know someone out there is paying attention.

Have a wonderful day, week, month; see you all next time.

It's a Bug's Life

This week's Diva Challenge is to take inspiration from a video produced by Sakura America
called "It's a Bug's Life in a Zentangle World".

Create a tile inspired by nature; camouflage a bug somewhere in the tile. (i.e. a drawing of a bug, a bug-shaped tangle pattern, etc.) and use colour to bring a  Zentangle tile to life.

String #56 looked like a sideways view of a butterfly to me, and if I'm doing something with/about bugs, you'd better believe that for me the bug of choice is a butterfly. They don't call me the Butterfly Lady for nothing. (More on that later.)

  So this was my first tile:

 Then, I figured, if one butterfly is good, then multiple butterflies would be better. For this one I didn't use a String, I just laid out a few butterflies, and the rest followed along. These are mostly for fun, and I did have fun.

Don't forget to visit the Diva's Site to see all the other Buggy examples.  

 To get back to my statement about being "The Butterfly Lady." I'm a Glass Beadmaker, and for years I did bead shows around the country. My speciality was Butterfly beads, at a time when no one else was making them,

and eventually people started calling me the Butterfly Lady. I don't do shows anymore, so it's been a while since anyone's actually called me that. But I still make butterfly beads occasionally, along with all kinds of other beads.

Thanks for visiting, and leave a comment, favorable or not. That's how we learn and grow; and how we know someone out there is paying attention.

Have a wonderful day, week, month; see you all next time.

A Great Thanks to Maria and Rick

This week, the Bright Owl, Erin Olson, gave us this template:

 

and in the spirit of the upcoming Thanksgiving, asks us to create a Zendala as a tribute to Maria and Rick for blessing us with Zentangles. As Erin pointed out in her post, we all have different things to be thankful for; and among the usual ones, like family and friends; many of us, (I, for one) are extremely thankful to have found this creative outlet. 

So, here's my tribute/thank you to Rick and Maria:

Tangles:  Meer, Tagh, Unyun, 

Betweed (in 2 versions), and Flux. 

This one is not shaded; I couldn't think how to do it effectively.

But then I decided to try, and came up with this:

What's the verdict? There doesn't seem to be a great difference.

Drop by and check the Bright Owl to see other entries, and perhaps try your own tribute to Maria & Rick.

Thanks for visiting, and leave a comment, favorable or not. That's how we learn and grow; and how we know someone out there is paying attention.

Have a wonderful day, week, month; see you all next time.
 

Random Acts of Zentangle, and More

This was the Bright Owl's template for Zendala Dare #77:

 

Added to the usual Dare, we were charged with creating our tile, and then writing something on the back of it about it being a Random Act of Zentangle, and leaving it in a public place for someone to find.

This was my tile:

 which I left in the Lobby of the Springhill Suites in Henderson, NV, where I was staying while in Vegas for my Sister-in-Law's Birthday.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

This is the template for Zendala Dare #78

This was my first attempt:

 And this was the second:

I haven't been able to do much with the other challenges this past week or so, but I hope to get back in the rhythm.

Be sure to visit the Bright Owl's site; see the other wonderful submissions, and maybe try out one of the Dares yourself.

Thanks for visiting, and please leave a comment, favorable or not. That's how we learn and grow; and how we know someone out there is paying attention.

Have a wonderful day, week, month; see you all next time.

Diva's Challenge #141: DuoTangle; Fengle and Quandary

The Diva's Challenge this week is a DuoTangle using the Tangle patterns Fengle and Quandary. I started playing around with Fengle, and never seemed to get it right. I realized that I was trying to make it too perfect. Once I gave up that idea, and just let it go where it wanted to go, I was able to come up with a passable tile. Not terrific, but OK. 

Then, suddenly, I got some other ideas for variations, tangleations, if you will. And I came up with this one, which I really like.

I'm away from home this weekend, and unable to post as usual, so I hope this goes through. Be sure to check out the Diva's site to see all the other entries.

Thanks for stopping by. Please leave a comment and let me know what you think.

Have a great day, week, month, till next time.

Dots, Dots, and More Dots

The Diva's Challenge this week is to create an entire piece using Pointilism. Pointilism, for the uninformed, is an art form in which an entire painting or drawing is created using tiny dots. You can find out more about Pointilism here, on Wikipedia.

I tried the technique years ago when I was in art school, but never used it much; as it can be quite tedious and definitely time consuming. Not that art has to be speedy, but when one is young, one hasn't much patience. 

At any rate, this time around I figured I could deal with it, especially in such a small format. So this is my first attempt:

After I finished working on my 2nd tile, I decided to see how it looked in white on black, instead of black on white.  Of course, that turned out to be a mistake, as I couldn't decide which I preferred. So, as I've done in the past, I'm presenting them both for your perusal:

I have to admit, I actually enjoyed working on these; who knew?

Be sure to visit the Diva's site; see the other wonderful submissions, and maybe try out one of the Challenges yourself.

Thanks for visiting, and leave a comment, favorable or not. That's how we learn and grow; and how we know someone out there is paying attention.

Have a wonderful day, week, month; see you all next time.
 

Diva's Challenge #139, UMT vXXI, 8's Parte Dos

This week's Diva Challenge is a UMT (Use My Tangle) The tangle to be used is 8's, Parte Dos by Jane Eileen. The step-outs for this pattern can be found here, on Jane's blog. This pattern can be quite tricky; it requires real concentration. But once you've mastered it, you can take it in lots of different directions.

The first one I did was really not so hot, very static and uninteresting; but I decided to include it here anyway. I used Sepia Microns in 01, 03, and 05 on Strathmore Toned Gray paper.

 I'm much happier with the second one. I used 01 Microns in Sepia and Brown, on the same Strathmore Toned Gray paper. I added some highlights with a white charcoal pencil, and a bit of shading. Now that I see it on my computer screen, I realize that it's a little off-center, but it'll have to do.

Be sure to visit the Diva's site; see the other wonderful submissions, and maybe try out one of the Challenges yourself.

Thanks for visiting, and leave a comment, favorable or not. That's how we learn and grow; and how we know someone out there is paying attention.

Have a wonderful day, week, month; see you all next time.