Zendala Dare #56 - in pencil

I had time this beautiful weekend to do two entries for Erin's Zendala Dare which has the added challenge of doing the zendala in pencil. (Go to www.thebrightowl.blogspot.ca to see the Zendala Dares, and her wonderful blog.) Not sure I like working in just pencil - mainly because I found that I smudged it a lot. However, it was new to me, and I learned a lot. I started by using a 3B pencil, but ended up going back and relining with a B, and adding a bit more with a 4B. Thanks yet again Erin for taking me further out of my comfort zone and pushing me to do something I would never have considered. And thanks to everyone who takes the time to look (and comment) - I learn almost as much from looking at what others have done and said as I do from trying new things myself. And now to look at what the rest of you have submitted....

Zentangle Challenge #101 - second entry

I couldn't sleep last night, and didn't feel like reading or sewing, and the internet was down... so I took out the Zentangle stuff and started experimenting with Phicops. The more I drew it, the more I liked it... but I couldn't let it stand alone so Hollibaugh went into the background. When I got up this a.m. it looked pretty stark so I added bits and pieces of embellishments, and other tangles to the hollibaugh lines, then shading. May favorite part is the Phicops behind Flez - I love the wavy edge. I still want to play around with Phicops some more because I can't seem to get it sort of stubby and round. I haven't checked out many of the other entries this week (because internet has been a pain), but it's up again so that's what I'm going to do now.

Zentangle Challenge #91 - Beads of Courage

This week's Zentangle Challenge (from www.iamthedivaczt.blogspot.ca) is for the charity Beads for Courage. Children collect beads that they get for getting through things like doctor's appointments, needles, tests, achievements... What a wonderful visual way of seeing how much they've been through. This challenge reminded that at one time (actually, 3-4 decades ago) I had wanted to create a wall - hanging that was made with macrame and would be a sort of a diary. I had envisioned that each string would be a day, each knot would represent something like weather or how I was feeling, and I would also add beads to represent events such as a date or an outing with friends. The wall hanging never got done, and I had forgotten all about it until I read Diva's post. That was the inspiration for my design using "Beads of Courage".

Zentangle Challenge #74 - Eccentric Circles

The Zentangle Challenge (www.iamthedivaczt.blogspot.ca) for this week is to draw "eccentric" circles for our string. I decided that instead of drawing irregular circles, I would draw circles (ovals) in one direction, then draw some others in another direction. This led me to wanting to "weave' the lines. I've used two new to me tangles, Purk and Wartz. I'm not entirely happy with this, especially Bilt which didn't turn out or float the way I wanted it to; and it's rather hard to see how the circles interweave. Oh well - at least I learned two new tangles. Thanks in advance to anyone who takes the time to post comments - they are much appreciated. Have a good rest of the week.