Retro Flowers on Hahnemühle Cappuccino #hahnemühle #hahnemühlecappuccino #tangleallaround

This is the original project I built on a page

in the Hahnemühle Grey Book.

Just as the name implies - the pages are grey

in color. With a weight of 55 lbs., I didn't know

 what to expect when adding wet media

but this paper worked like a champ!

The book wrap says the paper has a

non-absorbing surface,

so I figured to try that out with some 

watercolor and acrylics. 

For the bottom layer I used Altenew's

new watercolor palette and a wet flat brush.

I was really happy with the way the paper

took the wet media. 

The added flowers are Daniel Smith watercolors.

(I believe in the video I referred to them as acrylics.

My mistake. They are watercolors.)

I received so many questions when I posted

this piece on Instagram, that I thought to make

a video showing the steps.

In the interim, Hahnemühle sent me their

new Cappuccino Book

which is exactly like the Grey Book with the

exception of these pages being a coffee color.

More like a latte, actually.

So I followed the same steps and created the

piece above. 

Again the paper worked great!

This time though, I videoed the process.

You can follow along with the video below.

I appreciate any and all feedback.

Here is a link to my YouTube channel

where I hope to be posting many more such

videos, as well as tangle videos.

I will continue working in both the Grey Book

and the Cappuccino Book and will be posting

a much more comprehensive review soon.

The Grey Book can be purchased here.

The Cappuccino Book can be purchased here. 

My Style of Printemps #tangleallaround #tanglestarts

A faithful reader named Barb asked me to video the way I tangle printemps. I hope this will make sense and encourage you to give my printemps style a try. 

Need a tangle place to hang out?

I admin a Facebook group called Tangle All Around.

We have a great membership of encouragers and inspirers. Come check us out here and I'll open the door for you.

Two Tangles For You #tangleallaround #alicehendontangles

 I am hoping to transition all my tangles over

to teal boxes like these two.

I just like teal. Hahahaha!

Here are steps for making All Boxed Up

with straight lines and with wonky lines.

Super versatile tangle. You can seriously use it so 

many ways. I used it in yesterday's post as well.

Feel free to pin to your Pinterest boards.

Ribbon Rose is the most recent tangle I've

published. Designing others for a couple books 

I'm working on. So stayed tuned for those.

This past week saw Ribbon Rose featured on

the Tangle Patterns website, where you can

find literally hundreds of patterns to work with.

Here is a link directly to Ribbon Rose.
I will post the YouTube video link at the very
bottom of this post.

I have used it so many different ways, but this

is my favorite!

Please feel free to pin Ribbon Rose to your

Pinterest boards also. 

Have a great Sunday!

You may also enjoy Helen Williams' tangle

Crumpled Roses at this link. 

Ribbon rose and crumpled rose are similar in

appearance, yet they are arrived at in 

different manners. 

Hahnemühle Harmony Watercolor Journal Flip Through

The 100 Day Project in the Baby Leda Pocket Sketchbook Flip Through

This was the first year I did 

The 100 Day Project.

Probably my last, too, it got really

intense trying to keep up. 

But I'm glad I participated.

Most of my days were completed in

the Baby Leda Pocket Sketchbook

from Leda Art Supply. 

This sketchbook was perfect for the project,

worked great and I could finish a page

in one sitting - most of the time.

Pages worked great for all types of media,

collage, gesso, watercolor, ink.

Can't say enough good about the

Baby Leda!

Here is a silent flip through,

silent so you can concentrate on the art.

An silent because I haven't figured out

how to add music yet.

Still working on that point.

Hahaha!

Enjoy!

Draw My Tangle Ribbon Rose

Here is my new tangle I've named

Ribbon Rose.

Easy to draw, versatile and beautiful.

I hope you enjoy the video.

I would love to see what you do with

Ribbon Rose. 

Added 9-9-2018: 
It has been brought to my attention that Ribbon Rose
is similar to Helen Williams' tangle Crumpled Rose.
It was not my intention for my tangle to resemble hers.
They look similar but are arrived at in different manners. 
You can see Helen's tangle on her blog post
here. 
They are both worthy of your time. 

How to Draw All Boxed Up in a Wonky Style

My original tangle

All Boxed Up.

Have fun!

Betweed Tangle Pattern Video

Tour My Studio

How to Draw Tangle Blooming Butter

Marabu Easy Marble and Hahnemühle Bamboo #hahnemühle #joggles #marabueasymarble

Tombow Watercolor Tutorial

Arukas Take One

So. Kali and Mark are still driving - 

their third day in the U-Haul truck.

Currently they are are somewhere in Oklahoma,

and yes, I do want to start singing the stage song

O-K-L-A-H-O-M-A every time I say that.

I have been trying to draw,

not always easy for me to do when I'm sad.

I got to spend most of yesterday with

Jason, Bobbie, and the Frankles

and that was a huge help to me.

Last night I gave my first try to this tangle

called Arukas. What fun!

I'm happy with the end results for my initial try.

Yesterday, Kali texted me this shot of Sable -

being all cute and stuff. 

This is the longest car ride she's ever been on!

Looks like Sable travels well!

The plan is to arrive late afternoon.

We have truck unloaders scheduled at 5:00.

And Kali starts her new wonderful job

at 5:00 AM tomorrow.

Hopefully she will be able to wake up and 

get there on time. 

(I am seeing now that the video doesn't open,

and you don't get to see how cute Sable is.

Sorry. I am going to leave it here anyway.

Cause it's my blog and I can. :) )

Germany v. Argentina, World Cup, 2014

World Cup, 2014, has come down to these two teams, 

Germany and Argentina.

There have been a few highlights along the way, 

this being one of them :)

Now, on to the final match!

Zendala Dare #94 - Happy

While Erin was taking some much needed time off, we were missing the Zendala Dare each week. Well, the wait is over - Erin is back and the dare this week included the theme of happy. Erin left the interpretation of that theme up to us. Yay!!!!!

This is the zendala template she provided us with. With the theme in mind, the first thing I thought of when I saw the template was . . .  minions!!! Cause they make me very happy!

So I started laying down lines within the template, which I traced onto a blank zendala. I knew those little round orbs around the outside were the shape I needed for little minion heads and I just took off running from there.

Admittedly, at this point my little guys were looking a lot like Homer Simpson heads, but they just don't make me happy. (Homer Simpson wearing a gas mask!)

More lines, and the minions started taking shape.

Once I got everything drawn, I pulled out the copics and started filling in some colors. And singing . . .
It might seem crazy what I'm about to say Sunshine she's here, you can take a break I'm a hot air balloon that could go to space With the air, like I don't care, baby, by the way
Because I'm happy Clap along if you feel like a room without a roof Because I'm happy Clap along if you feel like happiness is the truth Because I'm happy Clap along if you know what happiness is to you Because I'm happy Clap along if you feel like that's what you wanna do.

Well, you get the idea, but just in case you don't - I am also including the youtube video of Pharrell Williams singing Happy, featuring the Minions - which makes me incredibly happy!
If you want to see how everyone else interpreted the theme Happy, click the link here and visit The Bright Owl. Because I'm happy . . . 

 

Good Morning!

Good Morning ~ Mandisa ~ 
Wave away my yesterday Cause I'm leaving it behind me. Hello sunshine, come what may, I feel something new inside me.
I hear the birds singing, Now my alarm's ringing, Get up, get up, hey!
It's a good morning!  Wake up to a brand new day! This morning, I'm stepping, stepping on my way. Good morning, You give me strength, You give me just what I need  And I can feel the hope that's rising in me, It's a good morning.
Slow down, breathe in, Don't move ahead I'm just living in this moment. I've got my arms raised, unphased, Jump out of bed Gotta get this party going.
I went to bed dreaming, You woke me up singing, Get up, get up, hey!
It's a good morning!  Wake up to a brand new day! This morning, I'm stepping, stepping on my way. Good morning, You give me strength, You give me just what I need  And I can feel the hope that's rising in me, It's a good morning.
* * * * *
The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; His mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning, great is Your faithfulness. Lamentations 3:22-23, ESV
Many of you already know that Mandisa is probably my favorite Christian recording artist. For those of you who follow American Idol, Mandisa competed in season five. The three judges stated that they didn't "get" her Christian music and she was eliminated that night, finishing ninth. From there, Toby Mac stepped in and helped Mandisa get her foot in the door with the release of Lose My Soul, which included Toby Mac, Mandisa, and Kirk Franklin.  Before much longer, Mandisa recorded Good Morning, where she featured Toby Mac. You can watch the music video debut on Good Morning, America. (My favorite part comes at 1:25, where news anchor Robin Roberts is singing along.) Mandisa has so many great songs. I just love her music. She helps me remember that God's mercies ARE new every morning. Each day IS a brand new day and another chance. And in case you wondered - and even if you didn't :) - I shot the above photo a couple years ago at Epcot Center, Walt Disney World, Orlando. I was on a boat crossing the World Showcase Lagoon at sunset. God's mercies are good then, too! Hang on to that promise and have a great day!

You Were Made For Being Awesome!

 Cause you were made for being awesome! And for being an encourager. Watch this short video till the end. It's worth your time. Then, go be awesome for someone else today. It's your destiny!

Baby Girl Hendon

This is the most recent sonogram of Jason and Bobbie's baby girl. If you look around 54 seconds in, you can see her yawn. So sweet! Can't wait for her to get here! 

You Make Beautiful Things

Hope this link works. Thanks to Zachary for reminding me of this Gungor song. What a wonderful worship song - You Make Beautiful Things. (I think the link will take you to a youtube page where you will actually watch the video - please watch it, it is worth your time.) Thanks, Zachary!

Salt and Watercolor Wash

This week in the Artist's Play Room, our challenge was to try out something we had been wanting to do! Recently on the CZT facebook page, I watched a youtube video about using kosher salt on a watercolor wash as a different technique. I watched several videos on this technique and everyone said you really needed to use kosher salt, that it just worked better. So, off to Wal-Mart I went. This afternoon I took a 5"x7" piece of watercolor paper, covered it in a generous layer of water, and started moving some color around. For this project I used a basic kids watercolor set from Michael's to push some color. I let it blend and run and start to set up, then sprinkled some kosher salt in a couple areas. I didn't cover the whole piece so that I could see the effects of the salt.

Not sure why, but as it dried the colors softened up. The picture above was taken after the piece had dried and I had brushed off the excess salt. I like the edges of color lines - I'm guessing they were caused by a reaction with the salt.

And because I'm such a messy painter, I had paint on the backside as well. Which works out fine because I can use this as a two-sided page in an art journal.
Here is the youtube video I watched to learn this technique. I did not paint my page in the bathroom, however.

I learned this technique on Pinterest. Pinterest is a great place to learn a hobby! That's where I learned about art journaling, and where I first heard of 'zentangle.' This blog began as a result of what I learned on pinterest. Anyway, here I took three different colored sharpies and scribbled them on the back of a styrofoam plate. I was supposed to use something hard plastic - non-porous. This worked alright, but something hard plastic would have worked better.

Next, I sprayed the color with a little rubbing alcohol which caused the color to bleed and blend a bit. Then I turned a zentangle tile over and laid it in the wet color, which allowed the tile to soak in the color.

I was able to color two tile with that little bit of sharpie. If you don't want to use sharpies, you can also use copics or alcohol inks. I expect they would probably work better - I just couldn't remember where I stashed my alcohol inks the last time I got "organized."
I tried at least three more watercolor/paint/ink techniques which I would like to share with you, but it is 1:00 AM now and I should really go to sleep. I need to get up early tomorrow to go have my hair re-pinked! Yay!!!!
Head on over to Jenn's page - Just Add Water Silly - which is where the Artist's Play Room is hosted. Check out all the blog posts and maybe even share one of your own!