It’s a String Thing #298

I have surely missed Adele Bruno’s It’s a String Thing challenges every week while my 100 Days of Zentangle project was ongoing! This week, although chronically late, I’ve actually finished a tile! I’m so lost on weekends, now I’m not posting on Saturday and Sunday, I’m glad I have it!

This week’s challenge introduces Zentangle’s newest pattern, Doodah, and pairs it perfectly with KITL by The Ragged Ray’s, CZT, Jem Miller. I’ve had a few tries with KITL now and Jen’s advice really helped me get it right this time! Thanks Jem! She advises to start your stroke at the center cross to help give you a more even looking result! I like the way it turned out! Doodah is a very simple ribbon tangle that doesn’t even need a step out, but here it is anyway!

Thanks for another perfect challenge Adele! If you’d like to join the It’s a String Thing challenge, you can start at Adele’s blog TickledtoTangle.

Next I want to announce a few changes in my upload schedule for YouTube. I have a long-standing Monday appointment and I need to change the live-stream time to 8:00 am CST (GMT -5). I am still doing a trial of my Zentangle Meditation Mondays. If you haven’t tried it out, I invite you to try one out! So far, the feedback has been great and I am thrilled to be able to help you guys relax! Here’s a link to the first week’s live-stream. I’d love to hear your feedback!

Tuesday mornings I will walk you through some new tangles to add to your tangling repertoire. Last week, we did 3 patterns from Brian’s book, and this week, I’m planning 5. They are quite simple and perfect for beginners. Here’s the link for the video.

Finally, join me for our new Zentangle Dingbatz series based on the amazing new book by CZT, Brian Crimmins! This book is a wonderland of ideas and projects for tanglers, experienced and beginners alike! This week we will focus on the very cool “Zine” project in the book, making a Dingbatz sampler for inspiration! We start the project on Wednesday, July 24, 2019 at 9:00 am CST (GMT -5).

Thanks for your support! I’m excited about what the future has in store!

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100 Days of Zentangle ® 2019

I feel like I need to welcome myself back! It’s been months since my last post and I have really missed the writing process! Let me take a minute and catch you all up! I have been absorbed both with the #the100dayproject and with things at home. School is out and extra time and effort has been needed at home. Things have been stressful but we are hoping that God has His hand on our situation and that things will happen as they should. We are so grateful for everyone’s prayers and positive thoughts for us! I sincerely believe it’s been a great help! Thank you!💜

Now, the 100 Days of Zentangle ® Project I started this year for #the100dayproject has been a revelation! I’m telling you now, I never, ever could have foreseen the many, many blessings I’ve recieved directly because I started this project! It started with a simple idea from a picture on Pinterest. I mapped out a simple project template and got in touch with Liz Drake, administrator of the Facebook group, ZIA’S, Tips, Tricks and Techniques. Working with Liz on the daily prompts, I then posted my proposed idea in the ZIA group as well as the group for Certified Zentangle Teachers. I was very pleased with the warm response the idea got and I took a huge step and went daily on YouTube with pattern explorations and adding the daily patterns to the 100 Days of Zentangle template. Almost as soon as I went to daily uploads, I saw my YouTube channel numbers steadily starting to climb. On April 12, I had 700 subscribers, and today?

1247!! Wow! YouTube now requires 1000 subscribers and a total of 4,000 hours of watch time on your videos in order to allow you to join their Partner Program and add monetizing (like ads, selling swag and such) features. I was chasing this goal but it wasn’t the reason I chose to do the project. I feel this project will be repeated many times and is timeless beyond this project. The number of tanglers interested in having their own inspiration piece they can frame and hang is around 300 that I am aware of. I think when they post their art, their friends will want to create one of their own! I never thought it would gain such momentum. This is where we are on day 85 (which was last week). Today is day 90 for me.

Here are some close ups of the progress.

I’m pretty proud of the art! I’m even happier about the warm community we have developed around my YouTube channel. I’ve made friends all over the world! They have become a part of my family in a way, like dear friends. It may sound strange, but it’s true! I feel my day would be less without the warmth and comfort of this beautiful group! I’ve recieved some wonderful comments from viewers saying that they feel the same way. I hope, if you haven’t joined me yet for the fun and friendship, and the tangling, of course, that you will check it out. Make a gorgeous piece of art and enjoy community!

Next, speaking of community and new friends, I want to introduce you to a very special lady! Her name is LA Juania Dorman. She is becoming very dear to me and I am blessed daily by her willingness to help. She is compiling a list of the tangles used on the 100 day project. The list is not yet available as we don’t know the last 9 tangles yet. As I write this, I am waiting to hear what Monday’s tangle will be. It’s Sunday evening! 😊 La Juania is going to give blogging a try and help out by sharing information here when I don’t have enough time to fit everything in! She is an awesome lady and I can’t wait for you to meet her! You’ll be hearing from her right here very soon!

I want to finish up by sharing the amazing news that, thanks to all the viewers on YouTube, my channel has been monetized already earning a small amount. (I do mean small!) but it’s a great start! I also crossed 1000 followers on Instagram! This will allow me to upload my longer videos to IGTV and not be forced to keep it under 10 minutes. I’ve learned a lot in the last couple of months! I have learned that you all want to know the quirky person I am, and a lot of you like me! Thanks! I have needed your support so much! I feel a lot more confident today about the future than I did a few months ago! I have proven to myself that I can do it! And not alone! As I tell y’all in the videos, “Y’all are the Best!

This is my tile from a game of Tangle Tag with my CZT32 class! Thank goodness I was third and not 16th! 😂

#tangletagczt32 featuring Cirque, Fengle and Mooka!

Finally, I just wanted to thank you all for your continued support! This is a very tough time of year for me and knowing that you are there makes a huge difference! 💜

It’s a String Thing Challenge 272

It’s time to focus again on my favorite challenges. Adele Bruno’s “it’s a string thing” challenge is one of my dearest. Adele has a wisdom and an understanding and respect for the Zentangle ® Method that always brings me back to the perfect mindset. If you haven’t visited Adele’s blog, Tickled to Tangle, I highly recommend it! The string for this challenge was quite simple. 2 slightly curved lines that cross. Our tangles are two Zentangle ® Original tangles, Verdigogh and Jetties.

Here’s my tile! I couldn’t resist a bit of holiday license! I’ll see you next week for the Diva Challenge, as well as a look at what’s happening in Eni Oken’s Art Club! See you then!

It’s a String Thing 261

This week’s IAST tile led me on a frantic search over the last 3 days! To have a tile finished, except for finishing touches, just disappear was a mystery! For the last 2 days I thought perhaps Simba had taken it outside and chewed on it but no sign could be found. I’ve been fighting illness for a couple of weeks now and I just didn’t have the energy to worry about doing another. I figured I’d just miss this week’s challenge, which was due last night. Sigh! However, when stripping my bed this afternoon, there it was, relatively unscathed, beneath my pillow! Don’t ask how it ended up there, but since it was almost finished, I scurried around and put the finishing touches on it and here it is! (Simba is still feeling offended but I gave him a treat and he might forgive me!)

So this week’s start to IAST’S 6th year, includes 2 tangles. 3-loop-6 by CZT, Mina Hsaio, and CZT, Cheryl Moote’s Hexonu. Step-outs for both can be found on TanglePatterns.com. Here’s my tile! As always, you can join the challenge at Adele Bruno’s blog here.

Diva Challenge 368 “Straight Lines”

I’m so glad to have the Diva’s challenges back! In her 368th challenge, Laura Harms has challenged us to use only straight lines in our tiles this week. Although straight is tough for me, I threw in some MicroTangling (from the lesson of the same name by Eni Oken), Baton, and some Shattuck with a bit of Knightsbridge for embellishment and called it done. I have a real appreciation for simple and basic right now so this was great for me. Although, it’s not fancy, I enjoyed the process very much and was pleased as much with the stress relief as with the tile itself. While sitting in the chemo chair today my blood pressure started at 183/90…not good at all, but when finished, after tangling the hours away it lowered itself to 132/85. Perhaps not scientific, but proof enough for me that tangling is great for the body, mind and soul! Here’s my tile!

It’s a String Thing’s 5th Birthday!

I’m in awe of Adele Bruno’s ability to keep her challenges going for 5 years! As a blogger myself, I know the work that goes into scheduled weekly posting and this is a feat! For her birthday string, she created this string.

Adding 4 tangles from her IAST birthday from the last 4 years:

Kitl by Ragged Ray

Prestwood by Margaret Brenner

O by Adele Bruno and

Knightsbridge (a Zentangle original) by Maria Thomas

I’ve been sick this last week and I felt like I was limited on creativity, but I wanted to be sure to participate for IAST’S 5th Birthday. I will now turn off my inner critic! Here’s my birthday tile! I didn’t have room for ALL the languages of participants all over the world, but I included: English, Spanish, German, French, Dutch, Italian and Hindi. So much fun! See you all soon for the next Diva Challenge!

Diva Challenge 365: The Diva’s Return

Hello everyone! Welcome back to The Tireless Tangler! The last 2 weeks have been crazy busy with school starting and preparations for my trip to CZT32. My little one has managed to get through the last week with no problems, so (deep breath) I hope things will even out now (knock on wood!).

Almost by accident this week, I happened to catch that the Diva was back online and had finally issued a new challenge! This was great news, as I have truly missed the Diva Challenges and felt this summer was just lacking something special. Welcome back Laura! You have been sorely missed this summer! Dealing with anxiety and all it’s many forms in life is really hard! Dealing with these things and trying to create with purpose and on a schedule is daunting. It is so difficult to be a creator in any artistic area, but dealing with anxiety and depression while being forced to produce artistically brings a completely different set of problems. What happens to the schedule when the artist is empty inside? I will tell you, it’s a lot of nothing! So, I offer the Diva some encouragement and hope that she is able to start off and keep it up! While I do that, I hope this challenge will put my own emptiness to rest and start my creativity flowing again. Thank you Laura, for your weekly challenges that go back for years! I am in awe!

This week’s challenge was to go “back to basics”. A tile, pencil in dots and border, string and black ink using Zentangle original tangles. I chose to repeat the Lesson One in my Zentangle Primer. I’ve done this lesson many times and was hoping to change the look a bit this time. Instead of doing the tangles in the order of the lesson (crescent moon, hollibaugh, florz and printemps), I switched the order up and started with printemps, then moved backwards along the list. It was a real surprise to see the difference! For fun, I added my other 3 Primer Lesson one tiles. It’s clear to me that “florz” and I have a long-standing issue that hasn’t improved with time! LOL! It’s amazing to see the difference over time!

Independence Day with It’s a String Thing 250!

I’ve completed my IAST challenge early this week as the challenge was Independence Day themed for those in the USA. As I have needed to crawl under my bed for weeks this time of year, I decided to post today before my eventual hiding takes place. Here is my tile. A heartfelt congratulations go out to Adele Bruno at Tickledtotangle.blogspot.com. This is her 250th challenge!

This is the most difficult holiday for me to handle. 2 years ago, a young man I loved as a son, took his own life setting in place a heart breaking series of events. A month later, his girlfriend took her life and 2 weeks after that I lost a dear friend to suicide. This was the worst year, worst pain, worst losses I’ve experienced. 2 years later, I have very few answers and I’m still very angry. I’m saying this in a public forum to share these few thoughts.

First, suicide is a huge guilt trip for those left behind. We go over and over events wondering how we could have changed things or said something different to save them. Most of the time, we couldn’t have changed it and we have to remember that their choices were not ours. We couldn’t have stopped them. I need to remind myself daily of this!

Second, the pain is something I try to deal with but can’t. It does dull a bit over time but is right there roaring back to consume me at any moment.

Last, it is okay to be angry at their choices. I hope this is true as that is still the way I feel most days.

If someone is telling you they want to make that choice, don’t wait. Call a hotline, get help, take advice from doctors. Do NOT wait and hope for the best. Whether or not they are serious, get help. The National Suicide Prevention Hotline is tel:1-800-273-8255

If you have lost a loved one to suicide, find some useful information here.

Rest In Peace my beautiful Sean.

Diva Challenge 362 and CZT 32!

The Diva Challenge this week took an interesting turn when I applied Eni Oken’s Tangle Enhancers Card Game. The Diva, Laura Harms, challenged us this week to “Use My Tangle” with her pattern “Somnee”. Somnee is a similar pattern to Zentangle’s “Hollibaugh” and I needed some inspiration to dress it up a bit. I used Copic markers for color, and Prismacolor Pencils for shading. Luckily, I have Eni Oken’s new card game, “Art and Tangle Game“! This game is designed to guide creativity when you’re not sure what direction to take and it worked! I chose 3 Tangle Enhancers. Line weight and rounding, fancy border and color a lá line interrupted. If you struggle sometimes knowing what to do next, I highly recommend Eni’s card game. You can find it here!

And here’s my finished tile!

One last thing I want to share with you this week! I have been given the opportunity to attend CZT 32 (Certified Zentangle Teacher training) in October! I’m so excited about this opportunity! Unfortunately, I have to now raise $2250.00 to pay for the trip! Because I live on disability, and am a single parent, raising that much money is a challenge!

This last week, Eni Oken suggested I start a gofundme campaign. Eni generously donated herself, but then went above and beyond by sharing the campaign in her Shading Fearlessly group. In one day, I’d raised more than $500.00! My secret passion for becoming a CZT changed from a distant hope to confidence as I sent $500.00 to Zentangle, Inc, yesterday! My deepest gratitude goes out to all the people who have donated! A very special thanks to Eni Oken for giving me the confidence to create and promote the campaign! As of this post, I’ve raised $655.00!

Could you help me reach this goal?

https://www.gofundme.com/Send-me-to-CZT32

It’s A String Thing #238

Adele Bruno (Tickledtotangle.blogspot.com), has issued her “it’s a string thing” challenge for this week and featured her new Tangle, “Mack”. The new grid-based pattern is fun to play with and has lots of embellishment possibilities. Needless to say, I had to do 2 tiles! Congratulations, Adele, on a wonderful new Tangle!