A Little Zen-tangled Inspired Art...

I needed to catch up with some of my "name" tangles...I have two new granddaughters that I wanted to get these made for before they grow up on me!  You KNOW how fast kids grow up now....Right?!?

I've removed their last names for posting...just so you know there's not a huge gap on the drawings. I always mean to take a photo of my art BEFORE I take it to be framed, but for some reason I ALWAYS forget!  The background appears a bit grey, but it's actually a bright white.  I had to take the photos AFTER the framing was completed! :-(

Used a black micron pen and shaded with a graphite pencil.  The hearts were punched from pink glitter paper.


Thanks so much for stopping in.  I appreciate your visit...and I appreciate each and every comment!

Splitcoast Stampers Sketch Challenge 593

I saw a cool sketch at Splitcoast Stampers this week and thought I'd give it a try.

Everything on this card is hand drawn with the exception of the sentiment which is from PTI.  I used a Copic multi-liner to draw everything then colored it with Copics.  Now that I have it posted, I can see that some of my lines are really wobbly...guess that's what makes it "hand-crafted" LOL!

Thanks so much for stopping in.  I appreciate your visit...and I appreciate each and every comment!

Hugs!

Sharing a Few "Tangles"

One of my nieces recently gave birth to twin girls and her sister also had a little girl just a few weeks later.  These are the tangles I did for each of the new babies.  I've covered the spot where their last name would be...but you get the idea.  I've been doing these names for the new babies in my family, and I hope to be able to deliver them in person shortly...can't wait to hold these babies!

These things always photograph with a gray cast to the paper, but the backgrounds are totally white.

Thanks so much for stopping by....and if you leave me a comment...you'll make my day! 

One-Layer Simplicity Challenge, Online Card Class and a Little Zentangle

It's been quite a while since I've played along with the One-Layer Simplicity Challenge...but this week I found a little time to play along.  The challenge for this month is called "Round and round": make a one layer card that has two circles on it. No more no less. Other shapes, words etc allowed.

Here's my take on the challenge:

I punched a 1.5 inch circle and using the negative of the punch, I inked up the small circle with Tumbled Glass DI.  Then I masked off the large circle with a 3 inch circle and covered the smaller circle with the previous punched circle.  I inked all the background with several shades of yellow and orange DI.  The flower is from Uniko Studios - Gerber collection.  I added color to the flower with Copics, then added a touch of clear Wink of Stella for a little sparkle.  I also added some gray Copics around the large circle, the small circle and around the flower to give a little dimension. The sentiment is from Paper Smooches and was heat embossed in white embossing powder.  I wasn't really sure I liked the card when I first finished it...but I think its growing on me now! :-)

I also wanted to share a couple of cards I made after taking the online card class - Maskerade:

These two cards were made using a technique shown by Laura Bassen.  I loved the cards she made and couldn't wait to give it a try!  I used distress inks for my cards.  The sentiment was stamped on the Wishing card and cut out on the Sending card.  All sentiments are from SSS. 

I know it's been a while since I posted...can't believe how much time has passed!  I keep telling myself that I'll post more frequently, but somehow I just don't get things posted like I mean too! Please forgive me!!

I've also been doing a little Zentangle Inspired Art lately.  This is one that I had framed to hang in my house (something I rarely do!)  The seahorse is a template from Ben Kwok of Ornation Creation.

I tangled on water color paper then added color with some watercolor pencils.  I love how this turned out and the lady who framed it did a fabulous job!

Thanks so much for taking the time to stop by for a visit!  Hope you'll come back soon!  Your comments are greatly appreciated! Until next time...

LIM 218 - Mostly Black

It's been a few weeks since I've played along with the challenge at Less is More, and this week's challenge seemed to spark my mojo!  I've gone overboard again, and made 5 cards for this challenge! Here's my cards for this week's challenge:

This first card is on a black card base, with a tiny white border on the embossed card panel.  I heat embossed the poppy stamp from SU with a detail white embossing powder.  I heat embossed the sentiment from Hero Arts on a strip of vellum and adhered it over the black panel, then adhered the black panel to the white background before popping it up on the black card base.

When I started this card, I had NO idea how it would end up.  This is actually a top folding card, although it looks like a side folding card.  The recipient will probably really be confused when trying to open it! LOL!  I stamped the PTI sentiment on the center of the white panel.  The flowers are from Sweet and Sassy, and were stamped in black ink then cut out with a matching die.  I added some black gloss to the center of each of the blooms.  I also popped up the two middle sized blooms, rounded the right corners and adhered the panel to a black card base.

This card was SO super quick and easy!  I printed out the silhouette children and the sentiment...cut it out, adhered it to a black panel, then popped it on a white card base....SUPER quick and easy!

This card and the next card are both cards that I did a little Zentangle inspired art on.  When I think black and white, I often think of added a few of my doodles.  The sentiment on the above card is from PTI, stamped in black.  I cut the panel using a stitched edge rectangle from Simon Says.  I popped the white layer on a black card base.

This card is also some of my ZIA...I used the same die for cutting the white panel and the sentiment is also from PTI.

Whew! That was a lot to drop on you today! Thanks so much for taking the time to stop by for a visit!  Hope you'll come back soon!  Your comments are greatly appreciated! Until next time...

A Little Zen....tangle

Having surgery on my left hand has left me with few options for things that keep me busy.  I can ,however, do a little drawing (zentangle) because I am right handed, so I thought I'd share a little drawing that I recently finished.  The finished piece is about 5 inches tall and 11 inches long.

One of my nieces recently had a little girl and I made this for my great-niece.

I figured out my design in my Silhouette program and figured out where I needed to print her name and date of birth, then printed the information on a piece of 9x12 Bristol board.  I used my Silhouette Cameo to cut out the letters, then I traced them onto some Bristol board and added my tangles. I shaded my tangles with a pencil.  For a little pop of color, I die cut a heart about 4 times, then glued the layers together.  I colored the top heart with a red Copic, added a little clear wink of stella and then topped it off with some glossy accents.

I will be having this framed before I send it to her.

I still need to make a card...and I'm working on it, it's just a little slow without full use of both of my hands!

Thanks so much for stopping by! Your comments and your visits are always appreciated!! Until next time...

Zentangle Challenge #110 - Outside the box

I haven't had time to play along with Laura's Zentangle challenge at I am the Diva in quite a while...well, technically, I've played along some of the time, just never got my tangles posted.  This week's challenge is to:

"find something way out of your comfort box.  If you shy away from colour, now is a good time to try it... if you always do something small, try something big.  If you always do a larger piece, try a few teeny tiny ones.  Maybe you've never tried a zendala. Maybe you've never tangled an object and those bookends have been staring at you saying: "TANGLE ME"..."

So, that's what I did.  I had purchased a few ceramic tiles from Home Depot months ago thinking that I would make some coasters with decoupage, but I never got around to it...then when I saw this challenge, I thought I'd try doing a few tangles on a tile.  I think I probably will have to heat set it in the oven or something...not sure what...to keep the pen from smudging off (even though I used a microperm pen from Sakura)...I'd hate for it to smudge!  Anyway, I digress...here's my tile for this week's "out of the box" challenge.  This first one was taking with the tile lying flat.

This second one I stood the tile on one edge to take the photo.

I couldn't figure out how to do any shading, so I'll have to leave them as is.  So...what do you think....should I heat set them or try spraying some type of fixative on them?

Thanks so much for stopping by! Your comments and your visits are always appreciated!! Until next time...

Hugs!

LIM 106 - Let's Make Music!

I was sad to see that Mandi will no longer be able to participate and lead us in the Less is More challenge, but a big Thank You out to Jen for stepping up to join Chrissie as our hostess with the most-est! I'm not sure I could come up with all these diabolically difficult fun challenges, so I'm glad that Chrissie and Jen will continue to keep us challenged!

It's one layer week at Less is More and we've been challenged to create a one layer card with a theme of music.  I remember when we had another "music" challenge, and for me...that's definitely a challenge since I own virtually no stamps that relate to music.  I do have a couple of huge sheet music stamps, but it's SO difficult to make a CAS card with such a big stamp!  Anyway, I stewed over this one for several days, and finally realized that I'd made 5 cards...and I honestly can't say that any of the cards make me happy.  Let's just say that music is definitely not my forte.

Here's this week's pitiful offerings: 

This was the first card I made.  I printed the music note on the card base using my Silhouette program.  The sentiment is from PTI.  I added some black stickles to the note...let that dry...then added some glossy accents on top of the stickles.  It give the note a bit of dimension without adding layers.  Too plain....off to my next effort:

I found the music score online and printed it on the card base, then I stamped the little bird (no idea where this stamp is from as I've had it forever).  The sentiment is from Hero Arts, I believe.  I curved it on my acrylic block to fit under the music.  Then I colored the bird with Copics, added a few bits of grass with two different green Copics. The flower on the bird was coated with stickles, then I added a small gem as the center of the flower.  Eh...not to bad...but moving on...

Then I found this Christmas stamp with bells on it...perfect, I thought.  I made the card 4.25 x 4.25, stamped the image, colored with Copics, and added the sentiment under the image.  I also added a touch of glitter pen to the snowflake, and some glossy accents to the bells. Super simple... yet still not right....

This card started out with just the music score on it....then I decided to mask off the music and stamp over it with a striped stamp. As you can see the masking wasn't quite right, so the strips don't actually meet the music on the bottom.  Then in the process, I managed to get some of the teal ink on the top of the card, so I had to add a couple of butterflies to cover the ink blobs.  The birthday sentiment is from Sweet & Sassy stamps (I think), and is stamped in black.  Then hoping to tie it all together, I added a couple of score lines on top of the stripes....might have liked this if the masking had been better!  The music score is a very old Prima stamp and I never can get a good clean and crisp image...maybe it's me and not the stamp?

Last ditch effort...I decided to doodle my own music, so I drew a little wavy keyboard...and it's a little crooked too!  The sentiment is from PTI.  I added three small gems to add a little punch of color...maybe next week's challenge won't be quite so challenging for me!

Thanks so much for stopping by! I appreciate the time you took to visit and all your wonderful comments! Until next time...

Hugs!

Zendala Dare 40

It's been quite a while since I posted an entry for the Zendala Dare hosted by Erin of the Bright Owl blog.  I usually try to play along, but don't always get my take on the dare posted.  So...I got one finished for this week's dare, and I even added a touch of color...and I kind of like it!

Here's the template:

And here's my take on the challenge:

I did my work in a larger format and my ZIA is about a 6 x 6 square. I had fun with this template and might even try it again.  If you'd like to see all the beautiful entries for this challenge, go check out the linky's at the Bright Owl.

Thanks so much for stopping by!  I always enjoy reading your comments and I truly appreciate you taking the time to leave me a comment!  Until next time....

Hugs!

Zendala Dare 29

This week's challenge from Erin at The Bright Owl blog is to create a zendala using the following template:

Here's my take on this template...

The actual tile size is approximately 6 x 6.  I love how this one turned out.

This next one I just thought I'd share.  I generally tangle at night while watching television (I love to multi-task).  I had no idea where this was headed when I started, but it's different...and I kinda like it!

Thanks so much for stopping by! Your comments are always appreciated! Until next time...

Hugs!

Challenge 92 and a little sharing..

I had a little time to play along with the Diva Challenge this week, and I thought I'd also use this opportunity to post a few more of my tangles that I've been working on recently.  I've been playing with Zentangles for over a year now and have stacks of tiles and two sketchbooks full of ZIAs, and I have no earthly idea what to do with all of them.....any suggestions?  

So the challenge this week from Laura at I am the Diva is to create a tile or Zentangle inspired art using Stripes as the string.  This challenge is right up my alley...I'm a bit OCD and nice, neat, orderly things please me! LOL!

Here's my take on this week's challenge:

I generally work in a sketch book and my finished drawing is generally about 5 x 5, as is the "lines" pictured above.  All super easy tangles, but I love the nice, neat look to this ZIA.

Last weeks challenge at I am the Diva was to create a tile using beads.  I actually finished two ZIAs, unfortunately, I didn't get them posted in time!

 Oops...doesn't look like I finished the shading on these beads!  

This next ZIA is just something I was messing around with the other evening.  No string involved, just mindless doodling.  Maybe I'll add a little color to this one....hmmmm....

I love circles, so this was another evening of just mindless tangling....my hubby thinks this one looks sinister...LOL!

LOVED how this one turned out.  I was playing around with my compass and ruler and decided to make a little mandala ZIA.  I wasn't sure where I was going with this because I'd divided the circle up into too many sections, but when I finished it, I was pleased.

Hope you've enjoyed looking at my Zentangle Inspired Art....Have you given tangling a try yet?  You should...it's very relaxing, and often the results are a big surprise! 

Thanks so much for stopping by!  Your comments and visits are always appreciated!  Until next time...

Hugs!

Zendala Dare 24

Each Saturday a new Zendala Dare challenge is posted by Erin at The Bright Owl.  Each week, Erin posts a new template for us to tangle.  Here's my take on this week's challenge.

My tile is about 6x6 inches. I wish I was knowledgeable enough to tell you what all the tangles are, but I just don't know all the "right" names.  Here's the template for this week's challenge.  

I also did last week's challenge but didn't get it posted on time, so I thought I'd share it too.

If you haven't given tangling a try, you really should!  It's very relaxing and just plain fun!  Be sure to pop over to Erin's blog and check out all the other entries for this challenge!

Thanks so much for stopping by! Your comments are always welcomed and appreciated! Until next time...

Hugs!

A Little Tangling

It's been weeks since I had time to play in a couple of my Zentangle challenges.  This first tile is for the challenge hosted each week by Laura at I am the Diva. This week's challenge is to create a pinwheel for peace.  The challenge was issued based on a challenge we had about a year ago to tangle a pinwheel for peace.  Pinwheels for Peace originally started as an art installation organized by two high school teachers in Florida.  They used the project as a way to teach kids how to express their feelings about the world and what's going on in it.  Since then, it's grown from 500,000 pinwheels the first year to 3.5 million last year!!

So here's my contribution to Pinwheels for Peace.  Tile size is approximately 5 x 5.

This next tile is my submission for Erin's Zendala Dare 23.   Each week Erin gives us a template to complete with tangles...so here's my take on this weeks template.

Thanks so much for popping in...hope to see you again soon!  Your comments are always appreciated! Until next time...

Hugs!