Diva 'Valentangle' Challenge - #154

Well, it IS almost St Valentine's Day and hearts really do lend themselves to Zentangle. This week, on the Diva Challenge, Laura has asked us to Zentangle what the day means to us - to do a 'Valentangle' - great name, created by Nancy Lubin CZT.




I have done a lot with hearts recently, including this one that I did for the String Thing #26, where I poured all my romantic soul out with immense pleasure. It was a heart-shaped string and I used many of my favourite tangles, old and new.


I was momentarily tempted to submit this one to the Diva Challenge this week until I realised that meant I was depriving myself of the challenge!


So - I did something I have wanted to do for a while and which pops up occasionally in some of the pieces I do...




A slightly steampunked heart...HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY!

What do you think? Zentangle can be so adaptable, can't it?

String Thing #26

Adele on Tickled to Tangle gave us a lovely hearty string this week for the 'String Thing' Tile challenge. It was created by Jo Farmer.



I have been feeling a little uninspired recently but perked up a bit for this one. Not much of a romantic, I was tempted to steampunk this one at first - and may well do - but decided to submit a tile that was full of  LOVE. And the love is truly for the tangles that I enjoy doing - and which have so changed a big part of my life through the discovery of Zentangle.

Thank you Adele, thank you Jo - and a big thank you to everyone else involved in Zentangle, from Maria and Rick outwards! It's a lovely community to be part of.

Loving:
a bit of Fassett, lots of Ornamato, Flux and Florz;
Mooka and Tipple, Heartstrings, Aquafleur and Ditto
(and cheating just a bit on the String...)

Diva Challenge and Zendala Dare

Oh dear, it has been a most uninspired week for me. Still full of cold, still feeling incredibly lethargic and rather miserable - and very like my Aquafleur of last week!! I've struggled with both the Diva's challenge and Erin's birthday Zendala....but it's important to me to keep going. To keep tangling and to keep learning. I do feel as though I've slid backwards this week though ... hope the mojo comes back soon!

I have loved looking at other entries to these two challenges and there's a lot of really lovely tangles that should have given me lots of inspiration - but unfortunately, when you're down, instead of feeling inspired, there's more of a tendency to feel inadequate.

BUT enough of the wallowing in self-pity (I find a little does help though, so forgive me.)

Erin - I wish you a very happy birthday and I have included in my Dare #90, two new tangles that I have really enjoyed learning and using. I don't have a single 'favourite' but at the moment, I am really loving 'Fassett' from Lynn Mead and 'Ditto' from Sue Jacobs. So, with a few candles (there are 28 - it's a nice age) from me and very best wishes, Erin, here's my Dare.

As for the Diva's Challenge to 'Use My Tangle' - oh dear, did I struggle! I know it's a lovely pattern and not difficult - 'Jailed Johnny' by Sadelle Wiltshire - but I couldn't get anything decent to emerge from my many attempts. Not wanting to give up, my last and final attempt was in the form of a Zendala, which I did free hand, and you'll just have to believe this is the best of a bad lot!! I have to stress again, having seen some of the other stunning submissions, I know it's me and not the tangle - I suspect it appeals more to the really artistic amongst you. I'm not too bad at drawing one line at a time and that's about it!

Thanks for popping by.

Zendala Dare #89

Erin gave us a slightly different template this week - it seemed open and quite challenging to me when I first saw it over on The Bright Owl.

I wasn't sure what to do, so literally just started tangling. This is my first attempt - and I've just noticed it's upside down, but it doesn't matter!

And then, I did another one adding the latest new tangle, Aquafleur, for a bit more practice! This one took a long time but I think wasn't quite worth all the effort....

Still - I wouldn't miss a Zendala Dare for all the tea in China! I do love it.

Do leave me a comment - click to follow too if you want. It is lovely to know that someone is looking and that I'm part of what's going on in the Zentangle world. 

Off now to see what everyone else has done - Axxx

Weekly Challenge #152 - Aquafleur

I start with a bit of an apology. I've had a stinking horrible head cold this week and it's left me feeling rather down in the dumps. This, despite it being my delightful daughter's 10th birthday yesterday. Even balloons and presents and cards and her unique and beautiful pleasure in it all couldn't quite rouse me to where I would love to have been....

And I suspect this shows in my attempt at Aquafleur - the Diva's Challenge for this week. Everything I've seen thus far suggests a light, billowing sort of tangle - great fun, a bit of a show-off centre-stager sort of tangle. So I can't quite explain what happened to mine....to me, it looks to be 'lurking' not blooming, its lovely bands slipping off  whilst being overwhelmed by miserable weather conditions and dank, ferny undergrowth! Ah, me...must be feeling sorry for myself!

I did have another go later on though and was so pleased with the Aquafleur I did, I couldn't bear to add anything to it at all! It's still a bit on the heavy side but I love the effect of the shading - I shall work at making it more cheerful next time I try it! 

I have loved seeing what everyone else has done with it this week. See the entries here and maybe submit one of your own! 

Off for a nice hot bath and bit of pampering now, I think!

String Thing #24

Another interesting selection of tangles - this time beginning with the letter 'Y' and a string by Courtney Franz. Again, all the tangles were completely new - apart from the dreaded 'Y-ful Power' which I did try once...and failed miserably. I stuck at it this time and although it lacks some of the elegance of its originator, Shoshi, I used it and got it to flow a bit.

Yabbut by Margaret Bremner, CZT
Yang by Genevieve Crabe, CZT
Yew-dee by Peg Farmer, CZT
Y-ful Power by Shoshi
Yincut and official Zentangle® pattern

This is the string:



It really did look like a tunnel to me when I transferred it roughly onto my paper and I came up with this.

Which I enjoyed doing and rather like.

I also tried to do something different too - and was determined to get the better of Y-ful Power too!

This, on blue card:

I don't like it quite as much but I do like to keep a record of what I do...

Looking forward to seeing the other entries on Adele's blog - Tickled to Tangle - when she uploads them sometime around Monday. It is fascinating to see what a range of interpretations are put on a fairly narrow set of options!

Happy weekend!

I am the Diva Challenge #151 and Moebius Syndrome

This week, to bring to the fore the condition known as Moebius Syndrome, which Laura's second son was born with, we are tangling the amazing moebius strip.

This is not a disease but a very rare neurological disorder which is present at birth. It primariy affects the cranial nerves and means those with the condition can't move their faces to express emotions that the rest of us take for granted - like smiling, frowning - and it affects the eyes and their lateral movement. Artoo, as we know him, has had to have a lot of help in his early life but it's clear that he is very involved in all the usual things and wants to be a palaeontologist when he grow up - and jolly good luck to him I say.

More information and some great photos on I am the Diva's blog. Do pop over and see what others have created this week

This is my take on the Moebius Syndrome's symbol. I used gold pen on the tangles but it doesn't show too well. 

I used Cubine and Fife - Fife is new to me and I did enjoy doing it.

Raising awareness for all sorts of things is something I wholeheartedly agree with and I wish Laura, Artoo and all the family all the very best for the future. It was a good challenge. Thank you!