Zendala Dare #99

Wow - it's been a REALLY long time since I've done any tangling!

Thanks to Erin at the Bright Owl for continuing to provide beautiful templates for her challenges - I was able to get one done this morning.  Love it.

My tangles

template #99

Thanks for stopping by - hopefully I'll take less than a year to put out the next one!
Steph :)

Diva Challenge #129

I always find that creating a string is the hardest part of my Zentangle experience - they always seem to look the same.  I love that Linda Farmer at TanglePatterns.com has a section for string ideas... it gives me some direction!  This week's Diva Challenge was to use string 4.  I started with a different set of patterns, but my heart wasn't in the tile and I ended up getting sloppy.  This one is a much "happier" tile! 

Happy Monday!

Fricle, Verdigogh, Msst, Tipple (inside Fricle), Striping

Beads, Beads, and More Beads!

Update:  I'm adding in my Diva Challenge for this week - it's the first Zentangle anything I've completed in months!  It felt great :)

Nipa, Shattuck, Hibred, Tipple

Last night was another fun night of beading with friends that turned into quite the little home project.  Thought I'd post some pics of the necklace charms that I made last night and today - my boyfriend's mom mentioned possibly selling them at her bed & breakfast (Heathcote Haven, if you happen to be in the Collingwood, Ontario area!).  Pretty exciting! I'll write another post once I have pictures of the earrings that I'm working on. Thanks for stopping by :)

Diva Challenge #116

I loved this week's Diva Challenge!  The blind string - one of my favourites.  My string ended up being a really closely drawn circle/loop.  I wasn't sure what to do with it, but it ended up kind of creating itself.  I think it has an underwater-type feel.

Striping, Flux, Dragonair, Nipa, Verdigogh, Tipple

Something else that I had wanted to share was my new found love of beading.  I went to a "beginner" workshop last Monday, and began working on a bracelet that required several different bead types, fireline, and A LOT of skill!  I'd never beaded before, and was completely overwhelmed, but when I finished it yesterday, I was so happy with the result, that I'm planning another visit to this little bead store soon (tomorrow or Wednesday, perhaps!). Great - another hobby that prevents me from marking! 

My first-ever beading adventure!  More to come - I've already signed up for another beading workshop!

Diva Challenge #109

I can't remember the last time I participated in a Diva Challenge - thank goodness for March Break!  This week's challenge saw us creating a 3-D effect using parallel lines.  I felt my tile was very busy, because I think I tried to put too much into a small space.  No worries, though - I really liked the end result.  In contrast, I've included a tile that I did on the weekend with a group of ladies who also enjoy tangling!  My weekend tile was quite simple and reminded me a bit of Laura's "Biggify" challenge (which I loved!). 

Feels good to be back in the tangling saddle! I think I'll be busy with it this week :)

Opus, Flux, Tipple, Ahh, Onomato, Shattuck, Hibred, Sanibelle

Web, 'NZeppel, Nightsbridge, Ennies, Opus

Diva Challenge #91 - Beads of Courage

This week, Laura's Diva Challenge was to incorporate "Beads of Courage" into our tile.  "Beads of Courage" is an organization that helps children who have chronic illnesses to tell their stories of courage.  Happy birthday to Artoo, who turned 2 yesterday!

The idea of being courageous was a theme at our school today, too - many classes participated in "Dignity Day", and one of my students was brave enough to share her story with a thousand people via webcam.  I was really proud of her :)  Click here to see her reflection of the day (and to check out her awesome tangles)!

This is my contribution to the Beads of Courage challenge - I was planning to leave the background blank, so that the beads would stand out, but I felt it was very stark and missing something.  I decided to go with a  lightweight tangle, and I'm really happy that I did, because Florz was perfect for what I envisioned.  Happy tangling!

Florz, Flux, Jetties, Striping, Echoism, Betweed, Tipple, Zedbra, Fricle, Hollibaugh

Zendala Dare #27

I really liked the Zendala Dare template this week, but I found myself very indecisive about the tangles I picked!  I decided on some favourites, and one that I rarely use - I ended up with a good combination of geometric and organic, I think.  I like how it turned out - the Dragonair added a bit of flair to the paradox.

Betweed, Paradox, Tipple, Cubine, Dragonair

Zendala Dare #25

Another Zendala Dare!  I loved this template - the varying sizes of the pie slices gave it endless possibilities.  I used some favourites, and as I was completing this zendala, I realized that I really need to branch out!  My goal for next week is to use at least 2 patterns I haven't used in the last few months.  It's not like I don't know any other ones :)

Auraknot, Striping, Dragonair, Rain, Tipple

I also played a little with the "tornado" pattern that has been making its way around.  A great activity - here's a link showing how to do it: Tornado Line Design

Tornado activity with Staedtlar Ergo Soft pencil crayons on a Zentangle tile

Zendala Dare #23 & Paper

This week, Erin told us in her blog, The Bright Owl, that the Friday Dares will be moved to Saturdays.  I'm quite happy about that - I have time on the weekends to do these, and am usually zonked by Friday night! I really liked this week's template and found it to be a lot of fun!

Meer, Onamato, Paradox, Tipple

I also wanted to share a piece that I did last night, using an app on my iPad (Paper) - it's actually just the string that was done on the iPad, then I transferred the jpg of the string to my laptop & printed it. From there, I tangled it & voila!  Neat use of an app - thanks to my boyfriend for suggesting it!

Nightsbridge, Hibred, Nipa, Cadent, Betweed, Paradox, Tipple, Striping

Thanks for stopping by!

Zendala Dare #20

I loved this week's zendala dare!  The template was layered, so I tried to give a layered look to my final product - I think it worked out alright :)  Thanks to Erin for all of her efforts in providing us with awesome templates, week after week!

Paradox, Hibred, Cadent, Hi-C, Tipple, Puf, Angel Fish

Celtic Knot - Challenge #2

Judy West has begun issuing regular Friday challenges in which we have to use our tangle-powers to complete celtic knots - a new direction, and a fun challenge!!  This is my first one, and I really enjoyed it (although choosing Zander was an interesting choice - took me a lot longer to complete than I'd anticipated!).

'Nzeppel, Tipple, Flourish, Zander

The original template