Zendala Dare #88

I now know why I always look so fat on my blog photos...it's the screen! When Erin released her latest template, I had no printer ink and so couldn't print out the template. Unable to wait for my husband to return from town with more ink, I traced the template directly from my computer screen. And this is what it looked like:

Now if that's not distorted, I don't know what is!  Yippee - pass me another piece of pie!!

Anyway, before I could make a start, my husband was back and the ink was in the printer - so I did my usual. I printed all three copies out and made a start on the first and smallest one, using any patterns that popped into my head.

Betweed, Paradox, Diva Dance, Huggins with Hypnotic, Crescent Moons,
Hollibaugh and Tipple. It was great fun!!

Then I began the next one and my only thought was to try and make it different from the first. And to use a pattern I hadn't used before. And it's so little known to me that I've had to just go and check the name - Aura-Leah. I LOVE it!!! And ended up doing a monotangle - which is also a first for me. I'm pleased with how it's turned out and can also say it looks very different from the first one.

Just Aura-Leah in this dare.

Thank you Erin - off now to The Bright Owl to check out what everyone else has been doing with the Dare. Thanks for popping by - do say 'hi' in the comments box.

Diva Challenge #150

I thought long and hard about 'my word' for the new year, as suggested in I am the Diva's Challenge #150. There were many words I could have chosen to try and suggest a key meaning for 2014 but I decided to really set myself a challenge. This year, my chosen word is inspire. 

I want to be inspired and I want to be inspiring. And inspiration doesn't just happen - we have to work at it. I like Peter De Vries' quote: 

“I write when I’m inspired, and I see to it that I’m inspired at 9:00 every morning.” 

I have never read Peter De Vries' but I am inspired to - and will!

How can one find inspiration? Well, experts suggest that 'doodling' can help - hurray!  I have found I am very inspired by Zentangle and so the word is appropriate for the reaction it has in me. I am inspired to try new patterns, to sit down most days and let my pen wander over the paper, with intent but not too much instruction and I do try to let the tangles 'happen'. In turn, this is very inspiring. As a creative but not particularly artistic person, when I finish a Zentangle or ZIA,  I feel I have created something that IS artistic - abstract and intricate and often quite beautiful! It is a really good feeling.

And in turn, I have been inspired to share my enthusiasm and now run a small but engaged Tangle group in my local area, where I can see how inspiring the making of Zentangle patterns is to others. We are learning together as there isn't a CZT for hundreds and hundreds of miles!

Apart from Zentangle, I also want to inspire the students I teach. Living in Spain, I find many people either want to study English or want their children to learn. I am a qualified teach of English to speakers of other languages and I work hard to make my lessons interesting and engaging.  I do genuinely love the English language. The more Spanish I learn, the more I love English and its flexibility, its subtlety, its lyrical sound. I want to inspire my students with a love of the language too - it's the greatest motivator for learning I can imagine.

 inspire

• ɪnˈspʌɪə/

  
  

  1. 1.

     fill (someone) with the urge or ability to do or feel something, especially to do something creative.

     
     

     
     

     • create (a feeling, especially a positive one) in a person.

       
       

       
       
     • animate someone with (a feeling).

Interestingly, I would still trust my words to inspire much more than my ability to produce art!! But I enjoyed doing a detailed set of tangles for my challenge this week. And am looking forward to seeing what my talented tangling friends have come up with over on Laura's blog. (That's probably you!!)

Tangles used: Ionic, 'Bales', Nzepple, Itsy Bitsy, Ilana, Nvelope, Florz and a selection of individual patterns, including Fern, Fengle, Zinger and Fescu...

(I was 'inspired' to run my black and white tangle through BeFunky's photo editor
to give it this 'sunburst' effect!)

1. Hope you'll be inspired to leave me a comment! 
2. 
   

Zendala Dare #87

I logged onto my blog yesterday morning and was within one minute of seeing the latest Zendala Dare from Erin at 'The Bright Owl'. I thought I'd get in quickly too and had a very pleasant Saturday afternoon of tangling. These are my two contributions - hope you like them as I enjoyed doing them both.

Smallest tile - just notice there's no shading!
I used Tipple, Boo*Kee, Beadlines and
I'm not sure if the pebble one has a name...any ideas?

For this, I moved out a segment each time I went round.
I used Barber pole and a variation on that, Crescent Moon, Eylet and Ribbon and the last one, which looks rather maggot-like - which was not quite what I intended. Is there a 'Maggot' tangle? I suspect not!

Don't forget to check out the other contributions to the dare on Erin's blog! 

String Thing #22

Hello - here we are with It's a String Thing, set up each week by Adele Bruno on  Tickled to Tangle.  This week we used String #22, by Margaret Bremner and a set of tangles beginning with the letter 'R' - only one of which I knew already. It's always good to learn new tangles.

The tangles are:

Raindotty (which I know and love), Rain, Reticulated, Retro and Ragz. 

I couldn't resist making piano keys on Reticulated...and the whole thing makes me think of a fairground! In fact, I think I may have to do a version with some colour on it....what do you think?

Zendala Dare #86 (not 89!)

I've been getting a bit behind with some of the challenges and dares that I find so very inspiring as a newbie to Zentangle. So I have made sure to get in quickly and positively with those for the New Year - not a resolution, mind, as resolutions soon feel like obligations. No, taking part in these weekly challenges is a huge joy and source of inspiration and anticipation...I really love it!

I'm always excited to see the new Dare from Erin at 'The Bright Owl'  and love the links to everyone's contributions on Mister Linky! It's an excellent widget...

I am usually a 'cup half-full' sort of person but I have had such moments of sadness over the Christmas break due to the death of my dog, Darwin, and I'm really having to take stock and accept that he's gone and won't come back, ever. We had a few tears as the children left for school yesterday morning and he wasn't there watching them go...or waiting when they came back but we are now able to talk about giving a home to another (as yet, unwanted) pup as Darwin was a few years ago. And we will do soon.

In the meantime, I know I have such a lot to be grateful for - not least being a mum, according to my daughter!! She's absolutely right. I have put just four words into the centre of my Zendala this week - Love, Health, Family, Home - but the list goes on, of course. The tangles around the words contain all my gratitude for having found Zentangle. My four first ever tangles make the corner parts, with a selection of my favourites after that. These include:

Betweed; Mooka; Clams and Cockles, Paradox; Tipple; Bales; Florz; Huggins; Cuboid; Myst; Raindotty; Aah; Diva; Crescent Moons; Hollibaugh; Verdigogh; Heartstrings. All nailed down!

So yes, very grateful.

***And very grateful to Annemarie over on Anne's Tangle Blog for pointing out to me yet again, that I posted a loopy link on Erin's Mister Linky that didn't bring you here, but just went back to Erin....oh dear, must concentrate!

Weekly Challenge #149

Laura, at I am the Diva, gave us a beautifully elegant example of this week's challenge - on a theme of 'The New Year' or '2014'. I had already done a welcome banner for 2014 which was almost literally full of New Year 'spirit' - I drew it after drinking plenty champagne! And my husband kept on topping up my glass as I tried (and failed) to draw 'Bales' behind the word 'Year'!! However, as it's Zentangle and any deviation from the expected is an opportunity,  I just carried on regardless. It's cheerful and makes me smile when I open my blog.

My entry to the challenge this week puts the 'Footlite' on 2014 as the 'Crescent Moon' curtain rises and the tangled curtain pattern (whose name I couldn't locate... ) pulls back to reveal a 'quietly confident' year. ( I hope!)  Not quite Zentangle but I couldn't put the idea away once I'd had it. On my copy, the Footlites are shining silvery which is caught up in accents on the numbers but my scanner doesn't pick that up. And whilst I don't usually 'do' colour, I decided the new year was a good time to give it a go. Promise I'll practice for future posts!

Happy New Year - hope it's tangling well for you so far.

Tangling the year out

I'm just about to start Erin's final Zendala Dare of 2013. I didn't notice it yesterday because I was busy doing quite a big picture which I so enjoyed doing.

I just filled a big page with anything that came into my head.

And now, I'm going to sit in front of the fire with my family and whilst they all watch 'Star Wars' or something similar, I shall get on with my last Zendala Dare of the year. I do love Zentangle!

*************************************************

Happy New Year to you all.

These two are both quite 'dense'. The first one looks rather industrial, I think, with the tubes and the pipes...

And the second has some of my favourite tangles which are reminiscent of seashells. I enjoyed this but am off to try a third one and use some much looser tangles...

Don't forget to check out the incredibly varied and interesting versions done by others on Erin's blog!