More Small Art

ATC Triptych, Sun, Moon & Rising Signs,  by W. T. Gibson

Here's my triptych for Small Art for the Faint of Heart! I used stamps by Kimberly Crick for my Moon and Rising signs and a crown from Alpha Stamps. I don't have a source for the month stamps that I used for the background of the middle panel.

(If you like the stamped images then you will be happy to know that I am selling them as Domino Pendants in each of the twelve signs of the Zodiac! I will post pictures one of these days. They are quite beautiful! The images are embossed and coloured with Copic markers.)

Here is the front of my Artist Trading Card. I used two puzzle pieces as a closure, an idea that I got from Trading Card Techniques and ATCs, by Lisa Vollrath, Tim Holtz and Michele Charles, from my favourite book publishing company,  Design Originals. Isn't that a neat idea?

Have you made any art starring yourself?

Review: Zentangle Basics and Zentangle 2

As you know, I discovered Zentangle a few weeks ago when I visited the blog of Suzanne McNeill, who is, among other things, an artist, craft trend setter, craft book publisher extraordinaire and Certified Zentangle Teacher! Her company, Design Originals, is a leader in the craft book industry and I have several of their  titles. Design Originals has a book for every technique or craft that you could wish to know about!

Suzanne is part of a group on Facebook for Friends of Zentangle and I started to communicate with her through comments. Suzanne very kindly offered to send me a copy of each of her Zentangle books, and when I regained consciousness, I emailed her my address!

 

I brought the books to the Urban Craft Market and made many new converts! We are organising a Zentangle show and I will post the pictures from that here. All the Marketeers love Zentangle and made other things even after our Crafternoon was over, including a wooden letter sign! Marketeers who scrapbook were excited to see how you can use Zentangle to decorate pages, saving a lot of money and making it a much more personal momento! 

 

The 81/2 x 11 format of the books make them very manageable, especially if you want to keep them open to refer to while you Zentangle...and you will! The covers are lovingly Zentangled and there are 19 pages of delightful patterns and how-to's to sample! The thing that takes Zentangle beyond just doodling is that there are official patterns established by the developers of Zentanlge, Rick Roberts and Maria Thomas. While you are free to 'ad-lib', the fun, for me at least, is in incorporating specific recognizable patterns.

There are 24 patterns in the first book, some from Rick and Maria, some from Suzanne and others. It is very amusing to try and create your own patterns! The book explains beautifully how to start and how to continue. The patterns are large and the steps to make them are shown clearly. There is also a very helpful smaller legend at the back of the book which enables you to see all the patterns at once. All this is true of the second book as well AND it has 25 new patterns to try! I love the idea from the second book of compiling a pattern journal! Both books are well laid out and the techniques are very easy to follow. There are many suggestions and illustrations for using Zentangle for everything from home decor (see my switchplate) to fashion. I highly recommend both of these books but...they should come with a warning! Zentangle is VERY addictive! I know some people say that and don't mean it, but I REALLY MEAN IT!!!

Many, many thanks to Suzanne for sending me the books and getting me hooked on Zentangle!

Suzanne was recently on Inspired at Home Radio with Tiffany Windsor, talking about Zentangle. Please enjoy it! Then get Zentangling! I can't wait to see what you make! Zentangle has opened my crafty floodgates!

February: KISS Crafts with Heart!

Of  course, our KISS crafts for this month are all centred around hearts! Since I'm still madly Zentangling everything in sight, allow me to share this month's first KISS Craft, from the blog of Suzanne McNeill! What a great blog by the way! I love the behind-the-scene glimpses of one of my favourite craft book publishers, Design Originals! You'll find the full instructions for this simply, satisfying heart there, as well as some other lovely Zentangles!

Have another heart! And another!
Heidi Boyd's Felt Hearts
A Crafty Chica Heart on a Tote

Zentangle Sampler

zentangle sampler
Originally uploaded by *carolion* is on hols & has a new addy

I have been doing drawings like this in my journals for years, but just recently discovered Zentangles on line! I have not stopped drawing samplers for two days! I will post mine when my camera is fixed. In the meantime, check out these links!
Design Originals' Suzanne McNeill's Zentangle Mask!
Beez in the Belfry, Sandy Bartholemew's extremely helpful site.
Home of Zentangle
Squidoo Lens on How to Zentangle
and browse around on Milliande's ning for all sorts of zentangle and general artsy goodness!