Tangle Reference Guide

 
Lately when I've been 'trying' to tangle, I have a lot of . . . do I know any tangles??? What do I know? I can't remember a thing! Has this ever happened to you? I am probably not the only person who has so many things going on in my life that my brain is just bogged down by the end of the day and I am left with - - - do I know any tangles???

Now. Rewind to May. I flew to Toronto to surprise a friend I had never really met in person - just online - who is really as close as a sister. While I was visiting Cindy, my CZT friend Cherryl Moote invited us to spend a little time in her home - and studio - and we did some fun shopping that I talked about here. One of the things Cherri showed us was a tangle book she was  building in a moleskine storyboard journal. I loved what she showed us so much that I ordered my own journal from Moleskine and got started.

This is what one page looks like. This journal can be ordered from moleskine.com or amazon.com for around $15-20.00. It measures 5" x 8.25" and closes with an attached elastic band. Each of the 108 pages has four story blocks already drawn on the page like you see in the photo above.

From the first photo in this post you can see that I started by keeping primarily to the blocks. That extra space in the middle can be used to make notes about the tangles, or to sketch out the steps, or to say "hey! this is my absolute favorite!" By the time I got to this page I was regretting losing that space in the center and began filling it with tangles that needed more room than one box.

For me - this book isn't intended to show step-outs. This book is all about being something I can grab when I hit a brick wall and can't remember anything. It is a reference. A refresher. A reminder.

Being such, I want to fill it with my favorite tangles to draw. Not ones that I don't want to use, or ones that I can never get to look right. It isn't a place where I 'practice' - I do that in a different sketchbook. I want these pages to look pretty. I want to be able to flip through and have the tangles bring up good memories in my mind. 
When I look at cat-kin I remember how I could never get that to look right until Meredith Yuhas taught us the steps in a Retreat to Paradise class. 
When I look at verdigogh I remember that it is a cool, versatile tangle that adds a little spice wherever I can use it. 
When I look at copada by Margaret Bremner - it reminds me of her little wonky houses - even though there isn't a single house in the tangle. 
Anything by Michele Beauchamp reminds me of her beautiful spirals and I find myself trying to fit one in - even if there isn't enough space - just because I love them so much! 
And when I see those awesome little Lilah Beans I just smile from ear to ear! I love those little beans! 
And thanks, Cherri, for letting me take your idea and make my own book!
As a quick reference guide of tangles I am comfortable with drawing - this moleskine journal is awesome! Except for that whole quick part. Any time I sit down with this journal is good for at least 30 minutes because I just get lost in remembering!

One of My Favorite Times of the Year

You are probably going to think I'm crazy, but I'm going to persevere and make this post anyway! Hahaha! One of my favorite times of the year? Heck, yeah! School supplies now at your local WalMart (and a bunch of other places, but these photos happen to be from WalMart.)

OK, little know facts about Alice: after retiring from my real job I homeschooled my daughter from grade one through grade twelve. School supplies got to be a way of life. Now that I'm retired (again) and am on this wonderful journey through the art world, school supplies take on a whole new life and purpose. I went into WalMart yesterday to pick up some cat food for the outside herd of kitties and shortly I was singing "Hallelujah!" in the school aisle section, much to the consternation of the 18 year old working those aisles.

After watching me walk up and down the aisles several times, she happened to ask if she could help me find anything. I told her no, that I was enjoying all the new school supplies. She looked at me like I was crazy. (Point taken. I probably was a bit crazed looking.) Then after a few more passes up and down one of the rows, she said, "You know, you should come back tomorrow. We are going to get new items in every day."

I laughed to myself. Kali and I have a friend named Katrina who stocked and maintained this section a couple years ago. After awhile the section looks like a train or a tornado went through it, and that was when it looked its best. Yesterday it looked great. Even today when I did go back (and yes, they did have new items, thank you!) it was still looking pretty good. But - I know that in a few days it is going to look like a bomb went off in one of the aisles and it will look that way till the end of the first week of school. 

So. What do I do with all these supplies now that I don't homeschool any longer? Other than drool on them. Well, in those first few photos you see a wide variety of spiral notebooks. You actually see some as low as 50¢, today I saw a whole section of spiral bound, one subject notebooks for 25¢ each. I use these to keep track of notes I take during online classes, as well as notes from tutorials, and how-to articles I read on blogs and on pinterest. I keep track of youtube videos (I use pinterest a lot for this also.) I sketch out art journal ideas, tangle pattern ideas, and practice drawing ideas.

This journal is a little pricier than most - but in my opinion (that and $3.75 will get you a tall strawberries and cream frappuccino at Starbucks) it is worth every penny. This is a full size, 8 1/2" x 11" thick journal. Nice sturdy cover, sturdy pages. I like to use this one to keep track of art journal and painting ideas. I love paints, inks, crayons, watercolors, and I think I own stock in joggles.com . This is where I keep track of all the cool little tips and tricks for making awesomeness happen in the wild color department!

Obviously these would be - far and away - some of my favorite notebooks. You just can't get any better than minions and Hello Kitty. I mean . . . really! (And did you notice, they are the exact same notebook? The only exception being you have to pay 97¢ more to get a cover with minions on it.)

I did come home with a new 3-ring binder. Two inch thick variety in teal :D happy dance!!! I love teal!!! As you can see they have a load of variety here, too. Organization central. For you CZTs, a notebook will keep your Zenthology nice and safe. They even have page protectors conveniently located. Or tangle artists in general - just sayin' a binder may be the way to go.

I took a picture of this just because it is sooooo cute! And isn't that saying awesome? And only 97¢ for a two-pocket folder. Pretty cool! I keep all my receipts for tax time stashed in folders. I use an accordian file because of my etsy store, it's just easier, but if you didn't need a separate file for each month - this might be the way to go.

Need an economical way to keep track of all those tangle patterns? Or a place to layout art journal page ideas? This might be your thing. (No idea why this box is so mangled up, they had literally just placed it on the shelf.) Graph paper works well for design, it works well for keeping track of patterns, and I even use it on occasion for blocking out art journal pages.

Inside. Ta-da!

WARNING. Serious cuteness to follow. Pencil boxes. All sizes, all shapes. Traveling zentangle kits. Portable watercolor kits. Convenient art journaling stash organizers. 

These were a little pricier, but oh my goodness! Isn't that butterfly gorgeous? And you can almost see the hanging pencil/pen/marker/paintbrush pouches just behind these cases.

These I am going to keep an eye on. Right now they are $3.97. That's a little steep. Once school starts, these will drop to at least half price, if not more. They will make great kit boxes for zentangle supplies to sell in my etsy store :).

So here is what I came home with yesterday. A new pencil box to travel with. It will have microns, markers, pencils, a ruler, an eraser (shhh! don't tell), a waterbrush, and some zentangle tiles and ATCs. Last year I had a Tinkerbell pencil box, but I think that trip to Ontario did it in. Hahaha! Baggage handlers got a little rough on that return trip. Got some new notebooks and a composition book. I didn't get into those - but they make great lettering books. And some spiffy colored pens! Today I picked up some fine Sharpies. I use those a lot! I could get two for $4.00, or I could get four plus a sharpie marker for $5.00. Tell me that makes sense. 

So. School supplies? It's totally where it's happening right now! I need to go look again - before they get all picked over, and before that tornado hits!

Product Review: Life Planner

Over the course of the next couple of weeks expect to see some changes happening here at The Creator's Leaf.  Cindy and I have been working on some new branding - hence the new topper - and cross-branding over various social platforms. One of the things I want to implement is reviewing products that are new to me. Perhaps not new on the market, but things I had not used before - starting with the On-the-Go Life Planner from Erin Condren.

I am not sure where I found a link to Erin's store, I think it was on Facebook, but I honestly don't recall. I was a drawn in by ~ what else ~ the bright colors! 

Bright colors and personal photos! Erin had several photo layouts you could use in building your life planner. I selected the option with the most openings for photos. I was as simple as drag and drop and poof! my photos were in place. (The ripples you see across the top left corner of both photos is not an issue with the planner. They are an issue with too much sun coming through my studio windows and me not noticing it until now.) Super easy to make online.

When I received my planner a few days later I was pleased to see that both covers were protected in a heavy lamination, which easily wipes clean with a damp cloth. (Thanks to a little accident with some ink sprays - I can positively attest to this whole cleaning up thing. >.<) The whole planner is held together with a sturdy coil.

Another selling bonus to me was the selection of add-ons I got to pick from. It is important to me to be able to quickly access the calendar page I need to be on. This cute little, click-in ruler is just the ticket I needed to make this happen. Erin uses the same heavy lamination to protect the ruler and it is so easy to remove and place in a new location. I ordered two rulers - one to save my place in the correct month, and one to help me quickly find the contacts section.

It was already the end of April when I came across the On-the-Go Life Planner, which meant one third of the year was already complete. Another selling point for the planner is this - I could start the calendar anywhere in the year that I wanted to. I chose to run my calendar from May through the end of the year and the price was pro-rated. Each month is earmarked with a laminated tab, alternating colors. You get a two-page spread for each month, and a two-page spread for each week. Every page spread has a column for taking notes, as well as space at the bottom of each page for more notations. 

The monthly pages have decent size blocks to write appointments in, and I was able to use my own pictures to make photo labels to use throughout the calendar.

In the back of the planner is a sturdy double-sided pocket page to store my labels . . .

. . . all my labels. The life planner comes with these sheets of labels that I can use to mark special days in my planner. I was also able to detail one sheet of labels to be pre-printed with wording of my choice.

There are a few pages of inspirational art in the planner . . .

. . . and a nice section of note pages - both lined and unlined pages. The front of the planner has a special dates section and a two-year overview calendar. The back of the planner has the above note section, a section of contacts pages, and four more sheets of labels that aren't pictured anywhere in this post.

Behind that pocket page is a clear sealable envelope to store the surprise labels they sent me, as well as stamps for postage, stash receipts, whatever you wish. 

The front of the back cover features monthly calendar blips for the next two years. 

Can I just say that I love this calendar? I go through a lot of calendars. I have a hard time finding one that fits my needs, as my needs are always changing. This one is truly sturdy and I believe it will hold up well. I am probably not going to want to give it up at the end of the year. You can find Erin's store at www.erincondren.com and look at the various products she makes. I just noticed that life planner production is at a halt now until July 1st. Those planners will run from July, 2014 through December, 2015. If you are interested, you could go check out her other items now and pin this post so you can find it again in July. 

If you are interested in more product reviews, you can subscribe to my blog by email. Just watch for the little pink product review box, or click on product review in the labels at the bottom of this page. 

I've Got Mail!

Would you just look at what I got in the mail yesterday! Oh, my! I love batiks, and you know I love purple, so this is a perfect fit for me!

You might be asking, "what is it?" right about now, so allow me to explain. My friend Karen Izzi, (we went to CZT training together) made this for me and I love it! That pocket on the left is large enough to hold the 4 1/2" square zentangle® apprentice tiles, as well as the regular 3 1/2" square tiles, and the ATCs. Then on the right, there are three pockets to stash microns, pencils, I could even stuff my non-approved white eraser in one of the pockets.

It folds closed, and buttons shut. What a beautiful - and quite handy-dandy - travel kit for my tangles up and down the east coast! Karen, thank you so, so much for making this for me! You pretty much rock! I have a road trip coming up in about 10 days and you better believe this is going with me! 

The Perfect Size

Yesterday I went to Jacksonville to take my mom to the doctor. On the way home, I was able to stop at Office Depot - one of my favorite stores :). Yes, that is a bit strange, I understand.

But, I just love going there - alone - so I can walk up and down every single aisle, and look at every item in the store. Yesterday I found this little treasure! I have a matching mail sorting box - I use it to keep my Tangle a Day calendar in, along with my One Zentangle a Day workbook and journal, my CZT field book, my Tangle Keeper from Genevieve Crabe, and a ziploc bag full of watercolored tiles for later. Now I have this little post-it note box that is the perfect size for keeping a stack of tiles on hand and ready. There's a half inch wiggle space, so I put a couple black tiles on one side, and a couple ATC tiles in the back. All close at hand. Yay!!!! Yay for Office Depot and awesome deals!

In My Mail Today - Thanks, Genevieve!

I got a package from the postman today that just really made my day! I got a shipment from Blitsy, too, but that didn't make my day. This box from Genevieve Crabe made my day! Totally!

A portable, travel-sized tangle keeper! Genevieve calls it a pocket tangler, a convenient 4.25 x 6.87 inches, and 50 pages total! I use some of her other tangle keepers, but this one will work better for my travels. I have a trip to Maryland coming up and this will be wonderful to use in the hotels.

You can see Genevieve's newest tangle organizer here! I'm thinking these are going to make some wonderful Christmas presents! Thanks, Genevieve! You are the best!