Yin Yang Daisy ZIA

I've wanted to do one of these for a while but could not figure out a way to make both sides even. Until yesterday, that is. I finally came up with a way to make it work and it was alright to use that way since this tile was a 'ZIA' or at least I thought so. 

Anyway, the tile itself is 3.5" in size and a tan kind of color. Tangles used are Hollibough and a sort of daisy type flower. 

 

diva's weekly challenge #228

This was yet another fun challenge... Natural & Organic are the themes for this week's diva challenge presented by guest blogger Cari Sultanik, CZT. 

Tangles used are: Locar, Pepper, Angel Fish and Stipple

The tile is actually white but the photo was taken at night so it's a bit darker....

Phicops Spiralation (ZIA)...

I came across this grey paper (cardstock, 65lb) and could not resist trying it out as a tile. It's original size was  8.5" x 11" so I was able to cut it down to 6 pieces at 3.5" square. It's not your traditional tile so I added the 'ZIA' to the name

On the left side of the image you can see where one of my cats (I have 3) insisted on getting her paws into the photo... but I don't mind... 

I also realized after I was almost done that I put the 'openings' of the shell facing the opposite way to the opening at the beginning. But hey... no mistakes, right??

Overall, I am happy with the way it turned out.

Renaissance Peels...

Renaissance (tan) tile with Peels, aka: garlic...

I've seen this with both names so I'm not sure what to call it...
I started out with a rounded sort of border but for whatever reason this pattern didn't seem to want to follow it...

Note: I added tan in parentheses after Renaissance because this isn't a true
Renaissance tile. It is just similar in color...

Henna Drum...

I've always liked this pattern but as usual I tend to stick with the same patterns out of habit. I'm trying to use some of the others that I like so my tiles don't all end up looking the same...

Ing with friends...

I've always liked the way Ing looked but haven't really used it as much as I'd like to. 

 I chose to do this particular tile on tan paper and used printemps, florz & pokeroot to accompany Ing with a smidgen of white charcoal pencil for shading.

The pokeroot in this one reminds me a bit of hollibaugh but that's alright. I like the hollibaugh pattern.

diva's weekly challenge # 227

What a fun challenge!!!

So, this week's challenge is by Guest Blogger Lee Darter, CZT and she's chosen to have you create a tile using the tangles cack & tropicana and then she goes on to explain that just like a 3-ring circus, choose from either florz, linq or fescu to add a third element. 

I loved this challenge! I actually enjoy all of them but for some reason this one was really enjoyable!

I started my tile with cack & tropicana and then chose to go with fescu as my 3rd tangle. 
I think a bit of last week's challenge, "simplicity" is still with me this week.... 

*As always, the link to the diva's challenge is to the right...

Tangles + Starbucks?

This afternoon I headed into Starbucks for my usual and this travel mug caught my eye. I am in there all the time and this is the first time I've seen these. You can see from the photos that there are loads and loads of tangles drawn on the surface... I had to pick one up! Especially since it was only $2.00 though it is not a heavy or thick kind of travel mug. It's a fairly thin plastic type but I didn't care. I loved the design on it and I thought I'd share...
 

  

 

diva's weekly challenge # 226

This weeks challenge is thanks to guest blogger Katie Crommett, CZT. 
and can be found here

Simplicity is what this challenge is all about... so, maybe I shouldn't have done two tiles for this challenge?! I wasn't sure if the first one was exactly what I was going for. 

I then started to look through one of my books "The Zentangle Untangled Workbook" and came across the Blossom tangle and thought it'd be perfect for this one... though I am now wondering if my tile is a little too close to the one in the workbook... 

The black tile's tangles are: zinger, wist & mumsy.
The tan tile is: blossom

 

Socc Monotangle...

I came across this pattern on Pinterest created by Erin Olson with the steps drawn by Vasilisinamari and thought it would make a very interesting monotangle. 

The steps show the inner sections colored in black but I chose to leave them white instead for this tile... 

 

Quib & Ennie

This was a fun tile to work on...

White 3.5" tile, black 05 micron pen & graphite pencil shading..
drawn on ...

Rixty as a frame...

I came across an image done by "a little lime" creator (a link to her page can be found to the right with the other links) where she'd rounded the edges of rixty so I decided to have some fun playing with the rixty pattern since I don't tend to use it often though I do like it. 

The patterns I used in this tile are: rixty, bales, ennies, nzeppel, pepper, isochor & stipple. 
It's not as clear as it could be but the tile itself is a tan color. 

Zentangle Tiles Display Options...

I am sure I am not alone in this dilemma. Not really a dilemma but I am allowing myself to be a bit over dramatic here.... We are allowed that flair once in a while... 

Anyway... Like most of us out there using Zentangle as a means for relaxation, or a creative outlet, among other things, I think we tend to end up with all of these tiles with the inability to display them. I know I have a few that I really like while others I am not so sure about. Nevertheless, I have an abundance of tiles with very few creative options for displaying them. 

I have seen many people post questions in various places about what to do with all of these tiles. Well, that brings me to the reason for this post. 

I was at Michael's Crafts Store a few weeks ago and came across these interesting frames. Actually, my mom pointed them out to me. Anyway, they are 5.5" square frames with a 3.5" opening, (perfect size) and have various different designs on them. Some even resemble a few of the zentangle patterns. They have a magnet on the back though I chose not to use them that way. I bought a small black easel type of stand to go with them, also at Michael's. You can see the photos below.

The frames cost something like $ 2.99 and the stand is about $3 - 4.00 (the stands come in various sizes) and work great for displaying a tile. 

I also found another great way to display my tiles that allows me to quickly change the ones I want to display at any given time. This one I found at the Christmas Tree Shop and was a whopping $6.00 and like the frames I mentioned above, comes in a large variety of designs and colors. The type I am referring to here is actually called a "French Cork Board" and I am sure can be found at a variety of stores. The one I have is roughly 16 x 20" and some have a pattern that allows it to be hung on the wall either in a horizontal or vertical position. What's great about this type of board is that the backing is covered in fabric and the ribbons that criss-cross the board hold the tiles in place without the need for a push pin that would put a small hole in the tile.
The tiles can also be placed at various angles and overlapping one another instead of all straight.
I chose this particular design because of what it says.

Well, I just thought I would share these ideas with others. I hope it helps to give some of you a few ideas.

diva's weekly challenge # 225...

This weeks challenge is thanks to guest blogger Jen Crutchfield, CZT. 

Since the challenge was to try to limit the use of colors or to use colors you would not normally use together, I chose to go with a green (odd sort of coloring) gelly roll pen, black micron and a white gelly roll pen. 

Tangles used: paradox & crescent moon...