Happy Merry to all.

This week's Diva Challenge covers a holiday theme. As I sat in my living room with its white Christmas tree with white lights (no ornaments) it seemed to become a blank canvas for the challenge so voila...

Some of you may wonder what tangle this is. There are no step-outs available for this one yet. Although...you can learn Aquafleur from your friendly neighborhood CZT! In fact, I am teaching a class at my beadstore (Bead Stash) in January (25th). I'm really looking forward to the class, as this is one of the most enjoyable tangles I've ever played with. (Thank you Maria Thomas!)

No matter what holiday you celebrate, bring all the joy you can to it!

lovies

A sweet kind of tired

A short post announcing my two new twin grandsons, Felix and Marsden...

The babies came earlier than we had expected, but everyone is doing quite well. Our new little punkins have wonderful parents and a whole slew of support and love from family and friends!

Because they were early, the boys are hanging out in the NICU where they are getting great care. They will most probably be there about month, so of course, the Tangling Nana had to do something to dress up the room a little...

These are only 5x7, but packed with love!

Quib(s)

I love the new tangle from Zentangle, Quib. My favorite tangles are usually ones that flow and connect back and forth and all around. (See my previous post with Shelly Beauch's Mak-rah-mee... another fun new tangle!)

I did the first one on a Zendala tile, and the second on a yummy new Renaissance tile. I love to play with the white on tan to give the tangles extra bits of light, like little miracles.

Thank you for an inspirational tangle, Rick and Maria. And thanks for the challenge, Laura!

funx2

Two new funs together:
The new Renaissance Tiles from Zentangle® (available from a CZT) and the new tangle, Mak-rah-mee by Shelly Beach!!

breath of fresh air

I love the Diva Challenges. Even if I don't get to do them on time to get on the peek list, I still welcome the weekly opportunity to get a great idea for a Zentangle® tile!

Today I'm posting 2 different Challenge weeks: 143 and 144.

First, Challenge 143: Cruze tangle. This was a little mind boggling for me. I found myself over-thinking it. I couldn't stop adding stuff to the ribbons.

Week 144: I chose our friend of the moment: the stinkbug. It's been a big year for these guys! I thought the stinkbug deserved a little beauty vibe, since he has many a human cussing him right now. I don't usually do representational images with Zentangle, as I tend to want to 'draw' realistically, and then I start to judge myself too much. I let myself go with the drawing part, since I haven't done that in a long time. It was really fun to mix the representational and the tangles. I had fun adding color (watercolor pencils)

So I guess you could say that our little stinkbug friend (and Laura Harms!) provided me with a breath of fresh air. Thank you both!

Pre-orders for the 2014 Tangle-a-Day Calendars are now available!

They're almost here.... Greyden Press says they should start shipping around November 15. Click the ad to the right, or here to pre-order your calendar!

If you'd like to order ten or more copies, click here.

Thank you!

Zoning in and out

This week's Diva Challenge is to push ourselves to do what is not comfortable for us.

Everyone has their own rhythm, and in practicing the art of Zentangle®, it's usually pretty clear what we personally connect to, and what we don't.

I had a black tile that I had started months ago. I never finished it for the very reason that I don't feel very comfortable with the white on black. I figured this would be my challenge: to finish the tile using at least one tangle that is outside my rhythm.

This tile was started by shaving some of the Zenstone onto the tile, then rubbing it with my finger to create a ghostly glow, which I loved. The white Jellyroll was a bit skippy over it, so I tried the Micron but I really couldn't see it against the soapstone. That's when I quit and laid it aside months ago.

Yesterday I picked up the white again to move forward through the 'discomfort'. I did some Huggins, and filled in some N'Zeppel that was there from before, and added some Hollibaugh strings. (I actually was having fun with my discomfort!) I love shading, and I could have used pencil over the white, but again, that was too comfortable. I used a grey Fabrico in small doses. (I like big doses of shade) I also remembered that going back in with the Micron after the white could tame a few blobs I left with the white Jellyroll. Funny thing, by the time I was halfway through, I was out of the discomfort zone, and simply in the zone of the Zentangle process. Cuz that's how it often works!

Thanks, Laura, for another awesome challenge.