Zendala Dare #24

It is hard to believe it's been 24 weeks since Erin started the Zendala Dare. I participated in her first dare. It was my 3rd post on this new blog. Since then I have gotten fully immersed in this art style called zentangle, to the point that last month I trained and became a certified zentangle teacher. For jollies, here is the zendala I drew for that first challenge.

I have learned a lot since then, but I still kind of like this zendala. Haha! Wow! I've learned a lot about editing since then, too.

Back to week #24, this is the template Erin gave us to work with. I didn't really know what I would do with it, nothing was coming to mind. So, I just picked up a pen and started with that center square. Then I moved on to the main square and dreamed up some borders.  I enjoyed trying out Helen's petal ribbon (a take-off of finery,) which you can see on her blog A Little Lime here. A really pretty and fun variation! From there, this tile just kind of took on a life of its own. Throw in some Pitt artist pens and Derwent Inktense Pencils, flick a little color around, and call it done.

Several people have asked how I take photos of my tiles for posting. My main problem is always finding even light. Look for a spot where you have the same amount of light across your tile - and background, if you use one. Be careful around windows because you will get some sunlight, some shadows, making your photo uneven. 
Every photo on my blog has been taken with my iphone 4S, even though I have an excellent canon, the iphone just takes good pictures. I get as close as I need to so that the tile and a minimal amount of the background fill up the screen on my phone. I lean against my chair, lock my arms to my side, hold my breath, watch for the square on the phone that tells me the shot is in focus, and gently push the button. No snapping, no jerking, no punch the button to get it over. Gently, so your photo is sharp. Then I just email the photo to myself for editing. And that will be the subject of a different post.
Head on over to Erin's page The Bright Owl and check out all the incredible zendalas! You should really draw one of your own and post it for us to enjoy :).

String 017 Challenge

I think I am finally caught up (yay!!!) with the string challenges at TanglePatterns. It's week number 17 and the string was provided by Joyce Bruns. After being so far behind on everything - I am determined to get caught up - at least on a couple challenges. I tried something different in that bottom right corner. I alternated tangled sections of hurry and betweed - two of my fall-back-on patterns. I think they work well together. And that has to be the biggest purk I've ever done o.O This was a fun string to play with. Here is the string before I started:

And you are going to have to trust me on this one - in your mind, turn the string upside down and it will match up to my tile above. Haha! And it took me awhile to figure that out! If you are interested in joining in on the weekly string fun, go here and see what it's all about.

Oodles of Flowers

It's time for the Zendala Dare #16! Here was this week's template:
Each week, Erin gives us a blank mandala template for us to work the magic of zentangle on. We tangle any patterns we want to use, then we share them on her page The Bright Owl for all to see.

I actually drew two tiles this week. I need to practice my line work, so this was my first effort. My straight lines are alright, but I really have problems with round lines. I'll keep working on it.

This one I am little bit happier with. This shot will give you a little perspective of the size paper I'm working with.

I began by watercoloring a couple tiles. I usually do at least two in case I mess one up somehow. Doesn't usually happen, but sometimes it does. Once I decided I wanted to draw flowers, I chose the pinkish tile over the blue. Pink reminded me more of flowers, the blue more of water. I traced the template onto my tile lightly with a pencil, then started adding in lines with my micron.

I just kept filling in spaces. I didn't start out planning on doing flowers only, but it just seemed right as I went along. Then I started filling in spaces with the black micron.
  
And - - - my finished tile. I stood there and stared at those four open pink spaces. I thought about filling them in with leaves, and then thought, no. Less is better. It doesn't hurt to leave some open spaces. To check out everyone's zendala work, head on over to The Bright Owl here. There's plenty of time for you to work on one yourself and join us!

Triangle Party!

It's a party over at Tangles and Stuff! This week's ZIA challenge was to use triangles as a string. Hence, a triangle party! I am really enjoying these challenges each week - thanks for hosting them :). This past week has been tough - creatively - I guess I have too much going on in my life. I was able to complete this page in my newish mini Smash Journal! I really like the size of the book, the spiral binding, and the smoothness of the pages. Haha! If you noticed my notations - "no weave" and "no betweed" - it's because I've been using those two patterns entirely too much lately! You can check out other triangle tangles - and join the party! - here.

Zendala Dare #10 - Thanks, Erin!

Erin at The Bright Owl is sponsoring Zendala Dare #10 this week. She gave us the blank you see below. Above, you see what I did with mine. I chose a yellow round tile and used the patterns paradox, weave, copada, hurry, and a variation of vortex. I'm calling the design in the middle 'paradox' - am I right? Or is this called something else?

You can check out everyone's drawings at The Bright Owl. You can even try your hand it at and post one for me to look at! I will leave you a comment to let you know I've visited your page!

This week's Diva Challenge was to make eccentric circles and tangle them. I'm not totally sure I understood what I was supposed to do, but this is what I came up with. And this is what you're getting for my part of the challenge - hahaha! Hopefully it's close to being the right thing!


It was fun to do. As I was making circles I noticed that a couple looked like Mickey ears, so I went with that idea! I'm hopeful that the ball with the small ears (lower left) might be reminiscent of the big ball at Epcot where the attraction Spaceship Earth is housed. I love Walt Disney World! 


Patterns I used are: kolum, hurry, bulb lantern, jalousie, snaylz trayl, baton, and ying yang - add a little shading and it's good to go! You can check out everyone's eccentric circles (and see if I had any clue at all) at the Diva's page here.