Zendala Dare #116

I did two Zendala's for this week's Dare from Erin at www.thebrightowl.blogspot.com. Though it doesn't show, the first one was done on a regular Zendala tile, and the second on an 8.5 inch circle. I like the second better because it gave me the opportunity to showcase some tangles that work well in circular spaces. I wanted something to balance the detail of the central orbs and I think Zplode works well. I'm happy with both of these!

Zendala Dare #109

This is for this week's Zendala Dare from Erin at www.thebrightowl.blogspot.com. I really like this template, but agree with her that the outside parts seemed a bit awkward, so I added in lines to make leaf-like petals around the edge. I haven't used Ixorus or Braze in a really long time, and I'm glad I re-discovered them! Not liking the way I shaded Braze because it doesn't look like I wanted it to, but then again, it has a very different look and that's one of the great things about Zentangle - NO MISTAKES - and it's ever so forgiving and surprising! This tile is done on white water-colour paper, but looks blue in the photo - I wish it was blue; the photo looks better! I'm off to Glasgow and Belfast for the next week and a bit, so I'm going to miss next week's challenge, and may not have time to view and comment on the entries until I get back. That's the thing about traveling… I love it, but dearly miss the Zentangle time, and of course, my cats….

Zendala Dare #21

Here is my contribution to Erin's Zendala Challenge which can be found at http://thebrightowl.blogspot.ca/ I haven't been doing much Zentangle over the past few weeks, other than just trying to keep up with new tangles being posted and adding them to my workbook. It's been a fabulous summer filled with travels, gardening, crafting, reading, and spending lots and lots of time with friends and family. I don't know how I managed when I worked, but now that I'm retired, I'm busier than ever (in a good way)! In this dare I used one new to me tangle (Keenies), and a new to me variation of Bilt, and Ixorus. I would have liked a bit of color in this, but couldn't figure out how to add a touch without potentially ruining it, so I just shaded. Shading shows up better in the original than when it's scanned.

Zendala Dare #7

This is week 7 of Erin's Zendala Dare (http://thebrightowl.blogspot.ca), and I'm loving these mandala templates. I recently received my tin of pre-printed tiles which I also love, but it's really neat to see the many interpretations and individual characteristics come out when so many people follow the same pattern then post the results. This week I decided to do the larger size as I had a bit more time (sitting out on the patio in great weather)! Flux is a tangle I see often, and since the instructions are not posted, I did what I could with it based on my memory of what I've seen. Let me know if I'm way off base, ok? Ixorus, Archer and Lokomotive are some of my favorite tangles. I really like this mandala and may do one of the smaller versions later in the week. Thanks again Erin! And now to see what others have contributed.... (Comments are appreciated - I know it can take time, but it really encourages and helps me - thanks everyone!)

Zentangle Challenge #66 - Laura's Auras

I'm glad to have another challenge to do as I've been working on a ZIA that I'm not too happy with, so wasn't feeling very motivated. This week's zentangle challenge is to use aura's. Not easy for me as I haven't done much of this, and I do love my "white spaces". But I'm quite happy with this one, it has some auras, and still lots of white space. Good challenge - again taking me out of my comfort zone!

Zentangle Weekly Challenge #62 - Paradox and spirals

Wow, this was a tough one, especially after seeing the fabulous example that Marizaan van Beek has done!. This week's challenge is to use the tangle paradox and include spirals. Paradox looks easy when you have a stand alone square or triangle... but it gets really confusing if you are working with different sizes and/or a string to follow. And I have no idea how to make it look so soft and elegant as in the example... I'd like to learn how to make it flow the way Marizaan does, though it's going to take a lot of scrap paper ;) I didn't look at any other entries before submitting this as I knew that if I didn't just let my pen get at the paper, I might not even submit this week. As soon as I have this posted that is what I'm going to do - I bet there are a lot of really neat tiles and ZIA's as this is a pretty open and versatile challenge. Thanks for another challenge that takes me out of my comfort zone!