A Stamp, A Stencil, And Zentangle!

 

Heart Without Dreams SD1028 

Live In Color SD929 (inside)

Half Sun Stencil 

Flower Explosion Stencil 

 

Inside

Greetings!   

 

I love this Heart Without Dreams  stamp image from the Technique September stamp release, and it goes so well with that fabulous stencil background. 

Stamp image

 

 

 

 

 

 

How I made my card: 

• I used Tattered Rose distress ink with the stencil to create the background on front of the card, and on the inside.  I also stamped the feather portion of the Live In Color image inside the card.
  

• I stamped the Heart Without Dreams image onto bristol card stock, inking it with Tattered Rose and Victorian Velvet distress inks.  I stamped it in my Misti, so that I could add more color as needed.

• I outlined the feather image with a micron fine point black pen. 

• I stamped the verse portion of the stamp with black ink by masking off the feather portion.
  

• I added some Zentangle patterns to the feather portion, and drew dots and circles around.

Sometimes it's fun to combine Zentangle with my stamps.  This stamp lends itself to this technique.

 

I hope you are enjoying this amazing September release, and the team's
inspiration.  You can take an additional 10% off your TJ orders with my code, TJ10Lynda.  And the new release stamps are already 15% off through 9/8!

I am adding my card to these challenges:

Dare To Get Dirty Challenge at Splitcoaststampers - Gracie's challenge

Simon Says Challenge - Oodles of Doodles

Tuesday Throwdown - Anything goes

 

Thanks for stopping by.

 

Blessings,

 

Zentangle Quarantine Easter 2020 Project

Happy Easter!!  Like everyone, I am missing being with family this Easter.  I want to hug my kids, grandkids, and everyone!!  I know it could be much worse, so I am grateful for what we do have.  Technology that keeps us close through phones, FaceTime, and FaceBook.  Calls and long distance hugs and laughs with the kids and grands, food in the fridge and shelves, neighbors who are kind and thoughtful and look out for us, and some sunny days sprinkled in for our long walks along the river trail.
 
Zentangle is helping me stay sane through all of the long days.  My paper and pens are an extension of my thoughts and feelings.  My stress melts when I take pen to paper.  I am lost in the journey of the pen gliding in abandon to the paper.  The process is cathartic and soothing to my soul and balm to my spirit.  I emerge, to realize that this journey has played out in my art, my thoughts scribbled in strokes onto my paper canvas.

My tile today is done on desert storm card stock, using Micron 01 pen, pencil for shading, and white pitt pastel pen for highlights.  

I started by drawing the cross, and writing Rejoice across the top.  Then just began tangling, and finally adding the words to the cross.

I hope you are finding all of the wonderful things God has for you this Easter.  In spite of the isolation, I pray you know that He is with us.  He goes before us, and will lead us through.  He loves you, and me.  Wherever we are, whatever our past, all is forgiven if we but reach out to him.  

THAT is the good news of today's message, the Easter message of joy and hope! 

May God richly bless you, through his Son Jesus,

Zentangle For A Wednesday Morning

Hello!  I have a spring-like ZIA (Zentangle inspired art) tile today, for the prompt at the Art Nudge group on Facebook.   
Art Nudge is an inspiring new FB group.  Every Tuesday there is a new 'nudge' to get you inspired to create art.  ANY art.  Be sure to check it out and join the fun! 
 
I was inspired by the tulips, and the colors in the prompt.

My kitty, Bella, helped me create today.  

Walking on my work to get a better look. 

Taking a cat nap on my die cutting table next to my desk.  She loves that there's a window there for her to watch the squirrels and birds. 

Although it's colder today, spring is definitely in the air.  The geese are trumpeting their way back in droves (actually, I believe it is gaggles).  We had temps in the 60's Sunday and Monday, and lots of sprouts are poking through the garden soil.  My 'gardening urge' is intensifying.  Yes, that is a thing!
 
Thanks for stopping by.  Happy 'hump' day!

Blessings,
 

Choose Happy!

Greetings!  Just playing with a couple of new stamps from the Impression-Obsession Fall & Winter stamp release.  If you have missed the release, you can find all of the fall/winter stamps, and new summer dies on the IO site HERE.

Branch L20755
Sentiments 3219-L

I had so much fun with this card.  It has stamping, coloring, and Zentangle....all of which I love to do!  I really 'branched out' and tried something different with this stamp.

I stamped the Branch L20755 image into white card stock.  I drew some Zentangle patterns inside the leaves and branches with a fine Micron pen.  I added some extra circles around the image.  

I stamped the verse from the Sentiments 3219-L  set onto a scrap piece of card stock, and drew a couple of the same type of leaves, and added patterns inside that.

I colored all of the branch and the verse piece using Arteza Real Brush markers, then created a banner out of the scrap piece, added some black card stock along the bottom of it, and added it to the card with foam tape.  I mounted the whole shebang to a black A2 card front.

I hope you like my card, and that it has inspired you to 'think outside the box,' or branch! 

I am adding my card to these challenges today:
Allsorts Challenge - Clean and simple
Watercooler Challenges - Masculine anything goes
 
Thanks so much for visiting.   I appreciate your comments.

Blessings,

My First Two Bible Journal Pages

Yep, I've caught the Bible journaling 'bug.'  Here is my second ever page.  You can read the details of this page, and my insights at my A Little Perspective blog.  

And my first page....

 You can read about this page on my Tangled In The Word blog.

I will be back with some much needed spring card-making inspiration.  

Blessings,

Zentangle Journal - Tangle A Day

OK...so I got a late start, but I am finally up to date on my Tangle A Day journal.  
Week 1...

 Week 2...

January 15 - 18....

I will post January 19-21 on Sunday, when this week is finished.

Hope you are finding time to do what you love!  Thanks so much for visiting.  I will be back tomorrow with more cards and stamping ideas!

Blessings,

 

Zentangle On The Deck

It was a gorgeous afternoon yesterday.  I couldn't bear to be holed up in my craft room, so I grabbed my cuppa, my pens and other tangle tools, and headed for the deck to enjoy my gardens and the orioles who have been flocking to our oriole and hummingbird feeders.  What a show!

The challenge at Square One Purely Zentangle this week is a tanglecalled Scute, by Lilyn Moon.  I thought I'd give it a try.  At first I thought it was a nice tangle, but not one I would probably use much.  But after playing around with it for a while, it started to grow on me.  Now I know I will be using it a lot.  Here is my tile.....

I really enjoyed my afternoon of tangling in my garden.  And learning a new-to-me tangle was an added bonus.

Thanks for stopping by.  I hope you are finding time to enjoy what  makes you happy.  Summer is zooming by, and soon will be gone.  Carpe' diem!

Blessings,

lynda

 

Zentangle For Hope

I created this tile for a fellow-tangler on the Facebook group Square One Purely Zentangle.  Lily Moon is currently facing very difficult, dark days, and Chris Titus, the group's moderator, suggested a group endeavor of creating tangles of love and peace to show Lily our support.  

I am a fan of Lily's.  She is an extremely talented and supportive contributor to the site, and has created many of her own original Zentangle patterns. 

To show support for Lily, Chris suggested that we create a tangle with a heart string, and incorporate words of encouragement and hope into the tangle.  I penciled in the words Love, Peace, Faith, and Hope.  They have been infused into the tile.  We are also using Lily's tangles in our tiles.  I have used her tangles Andromeda, Lealad, Andante, and Drogon in mine.  I added some Fengle by Marie Thomas, as well.

I pray that Lily feels the encouragement and love of this community through this joint project.  Thanks to Chris for this opportunity to tangle with intention.  

Blessings,

lynda

Relaxing With Zentangle

Nothing relaxes me more than playing in my art room.  I used to refer to it as my craft room, but so much more than crafting goes on in that tiny little space of my very own!  Today, this happened.....

As many of you may know, I love, love, love Zentangle.  Creating these little tiles brings me such peace and tranquility.  It calms me, and helps me detach from the stresses of life.  It is a respite that I can go to any time, almost anywhere, with very few supplies.  Just some paper, a Micron pen or two, a pencil, and that is it!  
To learn more about Zentangle, visit www.zentangle.com.

For my tangle today I used the patterns Bowtye by Jo Flaherty, and Tipple, which is an original Zentangle pattern.  I added some shading, and with my pencil, lightly added some Printemps, and something in the corner...not sure what to call it...just a take-off on something I had seen.  I penciled these designs, then used my shading stump to fade them a little, so they didn't compete with the tangle.

I wasn't sure I was going to like Bowtye, but I think it's a keeper now that I have played with it and added some touches to make it my own.  It will definitely be going into my go-to pattern list.

Some people on the Facebook Zentangle groups had been discussing storage options for supplies.  I thought I would share what I came up with.....
 
I had been on the search for the perfect little container for my tangle supplies.  It needed to be smallish, stylish, and portable, yet able to accommodate my various size pens, pencils, papers, and small sketch book and scrap paper.  I finally found just the thing.  I purchased it at Burlington Coat Factory at our mall.  It is actually a make-up bag, but it has just the right size and style of pockets, and the bonus is that it has handles....

The bag is about 12" x 8" and 3" deep.  It has three clear, zipper pockets, one on each side, and a small one between them that flips either way.  It has room for my phone, and a small wallet.  

I keep my pens in the plastic organizer (got it at Walmart...really inexpensive).  It has three sections.  One is perfect for pens and a couple pencils (I like to have several sizes pens and some extras); the other two hold my tiles and scrap papers, some Post-It notes, an eraser, and some blending stumps.  This fits perfectly inside the bag, and then I have everything I need in one convenient, portable place.

I bring my Zentangle 'bag' with me wherever I go. You never know when you will have a few minutes to tangle.  Waiting rooms, in the car (usually while I wait for hubby to come out of one of those big handy man super stores), airports, planes, trains,hotel rooms, at the playground while the grandkids play, to work for lunchtime tangling.  It's an unobtrusive bag, and perfect for grabbing on your way out.

I'm seriously wishing I had bought two, so I would have a back-up in the event it wears out or something.  I admit, I do have a 'thing' for bags, purses, organizers, containers.  Do you?

So, now I'm going back to my 'art' room to do some stamping and play with my inks.  I may even be back later with another post of a card.

Thanks for visiting.  I enjoy your critiques, and thank you for taking the time to comment.

Blessings,

lynda

A Zentangle Journal Page

Day six into a nasty stomach bug, and I'm just beginning to see a faint light at the tunnel's end.  I spent much of the day water coloring panels that I had stamped, since I'm still not up to much of anything involving, well, any kind of compositional creativity, or thinking, or....moving much from the couch!

So I decided to finish a page that I had started in my Zentangle journal.  I tangled the page a while back, and started coloring it with Faber Castell Polychromos colored pencils when our grand girls were here during the February break.  They love to tangle with Nana, and do very well!

It's difficult to get a good picture, as the journal is a large sketch book, and to get the entire picture, I could not get a close picture.  I decided on rainbow colors.  The tangles are Flowerly and Meringue, with some circles here and there.  It was a fun tangle project, and kept me occupied for a while this afternoon.  

I am adding this page to the The Daily Marker 30 Day Color Challenge.  I missed days one and two, due to the aforementioned bug, but I posted a set of cards yesterday, and this today.  Hopefully I will be able to participate the rest of the days.

Thank you for visiting.  I hope to see you tomorrow!

Blessings,

lynda

Zentangle Challenge Tile

It has been a very stressful day, accompanied by insistent pain in my knee from a previous accident.  I took some ibuprofen, but that barely took the edge off.  So, out came my Zentangle journal, and I made myself busy creating and playing.  I checked on the Facebook Zentangle groups, and this week's One Challenge over at Purely Zentangle is to use the tangle pattern Flowerly, by Ina Sonnenmoser.  So, I gave it a go....

It's not my best work, but it kept my mind occupied, and my hands busy.  I am proof that Zentangle really does help with pain control.  The pain never really goes away, but my mind is so focused that the pain....and also the stresses of life....kind of take back burner while your mind is focusing and involved with tangling.

The other two tangle patterns I used in this tile are Eddyper by Damy, and Cadent by Maria Thomas.

I will post some of my journal pictures soon.  I am playing with some color on a couple of them now.

Thank you for visiting.  See you soon!

Blessings,

lynda

ZenGems - Gems for Zentangle

I will admit, I am hooked.  I love making the gems for my Zentangles. They are fun, and each one comes out differently, having it's own personality.  I am new at creating them, and I'm sure you will be seeing lots more of them as I learn, and hopefully get better.  I have a few in my journal, as I am trying out different colors, combinations, and shapes.  

My Zentangle today includes the patterns Huggins, Leaves With Picots, and Phicops.  I used my graphite pencils to create shadows, and colored pencils to create the gems and other coloring on the patterns.

This is the before and after shading and coloring:

Thanks for stopping by.

Blessings,

lynda

Random Act of Zentangle

You've been RAZ'd!

As many of you know, I'm a little obsessed with Zentangle.  I love this art form.   I do not go anywhere without my little journal, a couple of 3 1/2 inch tiles, and my micron pens.  I never know when I will have to wait...the doctor's office, dentist, meetings, etc.  I love that the supplies I need are very few and small enough to be very portable.  Rarely a day goes bye that I don't tangle at least a little in my journal, and often a tile.

Here is a recent bookmark I tangled, learning a new pattern to me...

I joined a Facebook group recently called Random Acts of Zentangle.  As the group name suggests, the idea is that you make a Zentangle tile, or bookmark, or any piece of art with tangling.  Then you bring it out into the world, and leave it somewhere for someone to find.  The supermarket, the gym, library, park, doctor/dentist office...you get the idea.  I put a little note on mine so that whoever sees it knows they can take it, keep it...pass it on...or leave it there for someone else.  I tell a little about what a RAZ (random act of zentangle) is, and give the Facebook group address so they can tell of their find if they choose.

People always ask me what I do with them.  I don't usually 'do' anything with them...occasionally I will give one to someone who likes it, and I have a little plastic square cube frame in my kitchen which displays six zentangle squares at a time.  The rest are in a scrapbook.  I really do it for the experience of doing it.  I find it very relaxing, and calming.  My blood pressure is lower, I sleep better after tangling in the evening, and I just plain feel better.  It is a wonderful stress reliever!

So, now I have decided to send some of my little pieces of art out into the universe.  I know that God gave me artistic talent to bring joy to others.  I try to do that whenever I can.  So when I saw this group, I thought I would give it a try.  It is difficult letting go of my 'babies,' not knowing where it will end up.  But it's exciting at the same time.    My hope is that each piece I send out into the world will bring a little joy into someone's life. 

Today I sent one of my pieces out for the very first time.  I will admit, I almost took it back.  I wasn't prepared for how difficult it was to let it go.  But, let it go, I did.  I put it against the mirror on the shelf in the ladies locker room at Planet fitness today.  I can't wait to see if it is still there when I go back.  I hope someone finds it who needs a smile today.  I am putting encouraging and inspirational quotes on the backs.  

I'm glad I found this little group.  It's one more way I can bring happiness and a little blessing to others. 

The bookmark tangle above will go in a library....probably tomorrow. This is the tile I placed in they gym today....

If you would like to know more about Zentangle, you can read about it HERE .  If you try it, let me know what you think.  I will be happy to answer any questions and share my ideas with you.

Whew...this was a long post.  Thanks for stopping by today.  

I am working on a watercolor card for tomorrow's post.  I'm not exactly enamored with it, but I have decided to post it anyways.  I did the watercoloring tonight, and will assemble the card and post it tomorrow.  

Have a wonderful, restful night.  

Blessings,

lynda

Lineweaving/Zentangle Journal Page

The challenge this week at the Lineweaving forum is to use four Zentangle/weaving patterns; inverse square law, convention, prestwood, and iffy.  Here is my Zentangle journal page for this challenge....

After I drew and arranged the patterns in my journal, I added color by watercoloring the images with my Tim Holtz distress inks.  

I am enjoying expanding my horizons by adding lineweaving to my zentangles.  They play together well, and it lots of fun.  Stop by the forum and check it out if you can.

Hope you are having a great week.

Blessings,

lynda