Quick Stacks

My life is consumed with books. Literally.  It is rare for me to sit and tangle just for myself. This piece was just for me. In a little journal I made, I intentionally did not shade this piece,  so the graphite wouldn't ruin the adjacent page. 
From top to bottom: flying geese, bits of TootsieMoon here and there, florz, All Boxed Up, netz, and curlz.
Here's hoping you have a great weekend,  and that you make some time for yourself!

Looking For Something New?

Looking for something new? This past week, I took a few days off and headed to Orlando. Alone. I stayed at the Disney complex and just locked myself away in a room. For the most part. It rained every day I was there anyway, so it isn't like I missed a lot by not going to the parks. I did manage a trip or two to Downtown Disney, picked up a replacement pair of Toms, had some awesome Chinese Chicken Salad, and some Jelly Bellies from Goofy's candy shop (whose exact name I can not recall). All in all, it was a successful trip. Oh yeah, I worked on some new stuff, too. Here is a little teaser, but don't look for it anytime real soon. I'll let you know when and where you can get a look-see. Hopefully before too long! Have a great week! I'm off to babysit the little munchkin tonight so her mom and dad can have date-night :). Yay!!!!!!!

ATC Swap

It has been really hard lately to find time to tangle. There is so much stress in my life right now trying to make arrangements for Kali to move out of state for school. She leaves in about 5 weeks and we still don't have anywhere located for her to live. My mom has been in and out of the hospital four times in the past 2 months, and is in a rehab house now. It has been one really hectic time. I finally decided to stop everything else I was doing to just draw. I mentioned the CZTs were doing an ATC swap. I've stayed away from posting my tiles anywhere online, so they could be a surprise when they arrived at their destinations. I did go ahead and post this one, though. It has two of my own patterns in it - netz in the background, and 8ball across the bottom. This ATC swap is a lot of fun! I plan on posting all 24 of my cards at one time - after they've been received :). And - I only have 16 more to draw >.<

Keenees, Diva Challenge #98

he waits by the window, every day

for the little girl to come home and play

she's his favorite, he likes the smell of her

the way she runs her fingers through fur

and talks to him, even if he doesn't understand

she's never rough when giving a command

it's more like a question, a 'please do this'

she tops it with a pat and he gives her a kiss

she lets him sleep in her big warm bed

gives him baths and makes sure he's fed

she listens, even though he doesn't talk

plays ball with him, takes him for a walk

something's different, it doesn't make sense

no big yellow school bus pulling up at the fence

no little girl with pigtails and a happy smile

maybe he should just wait a little while

same thing happens day after day

why doesn't the little girl come home to play?

and the humans cry, the house is always too dark

and he knows now what it's like to have a broken heart 

he stops eating, though they all try

he just waits by the window as the days pass by

he doesn't understand how she can be gone

leaving him so desperate, feeling alone

because she was his, his one true friend

and he feels the changes in the wind

and how the world seems empty without her laugh

the roads look scary without her dancing down the path

and every sound makes him bark

when he can't find her hand in the dark

she was right, innocent, and she was good

and now tennis balls don't bounce like they should

Tennis Balls

by Ashley Brooke Bearden

* * * *

This week's Diva Challenge was to use CZT Donna Hornsby's tangle Keenees. As I started drawing, an idea of tennis balls falling through a net came to mind. Follow the photos to see how I put this together. That is a roll of washi tape you see in the first photo. I used Pitt Artist Markers for the color. Netz is a pattern of my own. You can check out the Diva's Keenees Challenge here. You should really take the challenge and post a photo of your own!

Netz

 I have been using this pattern on a couple things lately. Super simple to draw. Since it is working as a net in my tile, I named it Netz. Here is the step-out for Netz. Really easy - draw the grid with pencil, then start laying in your lines. Not straight lines, but somewhat shaky - like a net would be. Include loops where the lines cross. Ta-da! Here are a couple examples:

This is a postcard I've been working on for a swap. A little underwater life, with a fish net in the background. I really like these cardboard postcards. I got them through Fab.com, a daily shopping email that comes to my inbox.

I did this tile awhile back as part of Linda Farmer's string challenge on Tangle Patterns. I had the idea here of a volleyball game on the beach. Netz is working as a volleyball net here. Please feel free to try this tangle out. Easy, it looks good, and it's fun and quick to draw.