Wishing you...

.....a happy holiday, whatever holiday you may celebrate! And if you don't celebrate...then have a great week!

QuicKutz Snowflake die DC0020 as stencil with air brushed Copic. Tangled with Blue Micron, colored pencil and graphite

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Polished Stone

My first attempt at a gem. There are gorgeous examples popping up everywhere. I also was inspired to finally add tangles to my phone case thanks to this Sakura video. I think this is the post that started the gem fad. Awesome! After my phone case attempt at a gem, I reviewed the Dew Drop tutorial by Lynn Mead. Her technique seems to work better for me. I was also very inspired by this post. What drew me in was Melkota's look of the polished pebbles in her first examples. I decided to attempt my own. Really happy I did! Wouldn't that be a cool 'Nzeppel patio? Enjoy your week!

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Chapter 2 of a ZIA afforestation

The Diva may have moved on, but I'm still enjoying last week's challenge, 246. I hope you enjoy Diva Dance and Michele Beauchamp's Blooming-butter. I used sepia and brown Sakura Microns as well as a metallic blue Gelly Roll, General's charcoal white, Faber Castel Polychromos 283 burnt sienna and 2B Cretacolor monolith on Strathmore's toned tan 400 series paper.

And this has got to be the sexiest Aquafleur tree ever! Sakura black micron 01, 2B & 6B Cretacolor monolith and Zenstone on Strathmore's toned gray series 400 paper.
Thanks for stopping by! Have a great week!

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ZIA afforestation

"What we are doing to the forests of the world is but a mirror reflection of what we are doing to ourselves and to one another." Chris Maser

Dilip Patel, CZT 09, posed this week's guest Diva Challenge suggesting Zentangle has the potential to positively impact society. So as world leaders in Paris deliberate action plans to combat climate change, he enticed us to work on some Zentangle afforestation in addition to other socially responsible measures.

Check out some awesome trees at the Diva's challenge #246.

Here is how mine evolved: I started with a piece of Fabriano Studio watercolor hot press (hot press tends to work better with stamping) which was 140 lbs.

Stampscapes rubber stamp with Ranger Distress Ink

I used a rubber stamp by Stampscapes to stamp an image of a tree branch using Ranger Distress Ink. (I used Tea Dye and Iced Spruce colors.) Then I started tangling. I used a Sepia Sakura micron to tangle the bark with Sayantika Ray's pattern Organic. Then my Skwim/Flux with a green micron. I added Cretacolor watercolor pencils and tried to activate both the pencils and the distress ink with water. In the end I had lost some of the distinct lines and drew back over the "foliage" with green and blue microns. I did some additional shading with pencil (Cretacolor monolith) then mounted it on standard A2 sized cardstock.

Adding tangles

And more color

Enjoy your week!

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Hollibaugh plus

As you may have noticed, I've been working on a gray toned page with pinks. I thought I'd work this week's Diva Challenge, Hollibaugh, into a couple of the Bijou sized "tiles".

Hollibaugh & Maryhill

Hollibaugh, Shattuck and Zenith

And I wanted to both finish the page and try out Sayantika Ray's pattern, Organic.

Organic

And here's a shot of the completed page.  For more information on the other "tiles" check out this link.

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May your bags be full of art supplies!

Photos from our fun class last Sunday:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Check out these gorgeous payment envelopes!

 

 

 

 

Happy Thanksgiving!

 

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Triptastic

Tripoli ... For this week's Diva challenge.

Mine is on an art journal page (thanks Antonine for inspiring me to break open that gray sketchbook).

Undu (pattern by Daniel Lamothe) because it's just Trippy.

And a peek at what I took on my recent trip which used a Crafter's Workshop stencil.

Step 1 

Step 2 (cut to fit cards)

Step 3 (Add tangles & mail)

Shattuck

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Just a tiny taste...

This week's Diva challenge is to give just a tiny taste of tangle leaving most of your tile blank.

So does this whet your appetite?

Or maybe this?

Need some greens?

I'm calling this tangle Skwim, named after a town in Washington (the spelling is Sequim but the pronunciation is Skwim) on the Straight of Juan de Fuca. We were camped there in mid September and I noticed some chartreuse foliage at our site. Now I live in Washington state, and am used to seeing this bright green nearly all winter, but the end of summer? A quick look told me it was a 3 leaf clover and I didn't think much more about it until I went to do my Yoga the next morning. That green spot looked especially soft and inviting for my Yoga mat. Once my eyeballs were down level with the green I realized they weren't all 3 leaves, more exactly there was one three leaf clover surrounded by single leaves, nearly exact copies of Flux in each cluster. There were multiple clusters layered and filling the entire space with a few blades of grass here and there and on the margins.
When I got home I watercolored a tile trying to replicate that color variation. (Mine isn't as neon as the plant) Then I put the tile aside to dry. Before I knew it, it was October and I needed to pack my art supplies for a road trip vacation. (It takes me longer to decide what art supplies to take than it takes to pack clothes). This tile came along with lots of other stuff.
Our "vacation" was a whirlwind of miles driven from Washington to Texas to Illinois and back to Washington all in 2 weeks. And we had lots of family to see along the way. We knew we would be stretched by the miles, but we really weren't prepared for the weather. Thunder, lightening and rain caught up to us at Cathedral Gorge Nevada and stayed with us through Texas. Did I mention that we travel with our dog and cat? Did I mention our dog is scared to death of loud noises? Yes, like thunder! So on one night when I wasn't gonna sleep anyway, Molly the dog, sat in our camper's dinette with me (ok I had her pinned in there so she couldn't pace, spin and dig). She sat next to me panting and I drew the green Skwim tile, pausing from time to time to mop up her slobber dripping on the table next to my tile, envisioning a much calmer time lazily enjoying Sequim. This tile is definitely a visual journal for me!

So I'm not sure if this is a tangle in its own right, or merely a variation of flux. What do you think? Any other similar tangles out there? I hope you enjoy it.

And here is another tiny taste.... Ambler on a bijou tile. A Sizzix embossing folder helped me make this card along with some strategic cuts. I was also inspired by The Yorkshire Tortoise' entry at her blog Creative Madness where she tangled just a tiny taste on the envelopes and I decided that would suit here.

This is more than a tiny taste, but thought you might enjoy my Maryhill/Fleavy Zendala Dare #114.

And the card I made for it. The flowers on the envelope are a stamp called spiral daisy by A Muse Artstamps.

Have a great week!

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Unusual?

I wanted to participate in Antonine's challenge #5 for Throwback Thursday, Most Unusual. She posted some adorable bugs. Mine is kind of creepy crawly too.  Thanks to Norma Burnell for her wonderful cadent-ish pattern, Dragonair...

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Gourdgeous, Stones and Ceremony

Just back from vacation. One very nice memory ... sitting in the camper across from my granddaughter, drawing. My drawing was for the Diva Challenge #241. Hers, just awesome!

:-) used with permission

This week is settling back into a routine accompanied by the new tangle, gourdgeous. I tried it before we left with this result. To see different takes on this fun tangle, check out The Diva's challenge #242 that also includes a link to the step outs.

Since I've been back, gourdgeous has helped me to set down some baggage and relax into my wonderful life.

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