Challenge #212 and Pattern Inspired by Indian flower

Challenge #212: "UMT: Fanz by Susan Goetter"

This week's challenge was to use the Fanz tangle created by Susan Goetter - you can see step-outs through a link in the Diva's challenge page here.

I loved this tangle (the one on the top right) as it is very forgiving.  I decided to try out a few variations, but you can just have them quite plain and it looks really nice!  I can't wait to see everyone's entry in the challenge - they are always so inspiring!

Pattern Inspired by Indian Flower

When I was in India last month, I had a weekend "free" and visited several temples and palaces near Bangalore.  As my mind has been stuck on patterns recently :), I took some pictures I would hope would inspire me to create new designs. 

I have not yet created anything with the patterns other than sketch some of them, but saw the sculpture of a flower, that inspired me to create this very simple hand-carved stamp. 

When you print it all the way around (4 times) you get this pattern - and you can see the flower in the center.

If you print it again but with the "flower center" towards the outside corners this time, you end up with a very different pattern (I love this one).

I tried it out again, now printing it 4 times across and 4 down, starting with the flower center at the corner.  You can see how different it looks from the one below where the stamp was pointing the other way.  These were finished with colored pencil, pen and ink, and Sakura gel pens 

(to highlight the shapes - cross vs. flower)

This next set is the same, except these were painted with H2Os (shimmering watercolors) and finished with pen and ink.

Challenge # 200!!!! Carving, Stamping, and Journaling

Diva's Challenge # 200

Wow!!  It takes a lot of time and effort to create and think about an interesting and creative challenge!  But 200!!!  I'm really impressed, and I'm sure it has not been easy with 2 little ones!  I have only joined in the fun a few months ago, but I can always go back if I want to, right? :)

OK... so, this special challenge # 200 (here) was to use your go-to tangle all the way to the edges of the paper - no border - and have the number 200 somewhere.

I grabbed a couple of number stamps I have carved a long time ago and never used and went at it without a string.  It turned out very blah... if I get the time and energy this week, I will try another one.

Carving, Stenciling, and Journaling

I really enjoyed the carving inspired by the Portuguese Ironwork window, so I played with it a bit.  You can see the original post and the carved stamp here.  I wanted to see if the same stamp could be used to create different patterns, maybe a border?

And then used it on one of my art journals.  Painted around it in black to see if it would look like stained glass, and added some more details with H2Os and Sakura pens.  I also added some of the things I didn't want to forget about the stamp in white.  I may end up doing more on the black, but it will stay like this for now.

I can really see how useful stencils are especially for Art Journaling and Gelli Printing - 2 things I would like to do a bit more of - and, like anything else, I would rather use my own designs.  I finally decided to try making one myself, so I grabbed a transparency, a stencil tool, and went at it.  

Well, I can say the lines are not even close to perfect, like the ones you buy, but... they are unique and I made them.  What I hear is that with a bit of use, they will lose some of those little blobs of melted plastic.  Even if they don't, it's ok, the image is good enough for me for now :).  The first one is the window, but I haven't made the border yet - still thinking how I want to do it.  The second was completely random... just kept cutting our shapes until it was done.  I'm not sure about it, but it will be fun to test it out different ways on the Gelli Plate.

Priscila's Window - Bottom is the stencil, and top is the image it creates

Abstract - Random Shapes - Top is the stencil, bottom is the image it creates

I hope you enjoyed these.  Feel free to comment.

Diva's Challenge #199 and Hand Carved "Window"

Diva's Challenge #199 - Hitched

Wow!  It's been quite a while, with selling and buying a home, moving, and Christmas...  things got a bit out of control :)

Now I'm back, and happy to be creating Zentangle Inspired Art again :), although a bit out of practice.  

The challenge this week HERE was to use the Tangle Hitched - created by Heidi Sue.

This was what I came up with:

I'm looking forward to seeing what everyone has come up with and posted in the Diva's blog.  I'm always inspired by the different way people create such wonderful and unique pieces using the same tangle.  I've decided not to look at any of the entries until I have done and posted mine; like a treat after finishing my post :)

Hand Carved "Window"

I have a niece in Portugal who loves to take pictures and has a very unique perspective and way to capture beautiful things that most people don't even notice.  I always enjoy her pictures, but when she posted one of a window with ironwork I knew I had to carve a stamp to capture it.

Here is the window; I just found it on the web - this picture was not taken by my niece, HERE is where I got it from.

So, I drew it and then carved it on a soft block.  Then I got to stamping it and then playing with the print.  You will notice it is not exactly like the window, but similar.

I'm having a really good time with this stamp.  I've tried it as a border, and to make different patterns, but of course, I think it looks wonderful in the round.

I have also stamped it on a painted page of one of my art journals and painted the rest of the page black; it makes it look almost like a stained glass window.  When I'm done with it, I'll post.  This will be all for today :)

Challenge #185 and Well on Fabric

Challenge #185

The Diva's challenge this week was a Duo-tangle challenge: to use only the Phicops and the DivaDance tangles.  You can see the challenge and all entries here.

I know it is getting tiring, but I had another week of absolutely no free time.  This little ATC was all I did art-wise this week.  I did have a lot of fun with it; I couldn't quite remember the Diva Dance, but I sort of made it up as I went along.

Well on fabric

I mentioned a couple of weeks ago, in this post, that I had stamped my Well-inspired stamp on a piece of old jeans.

So, here is the full piece.  I started embroidering... making it up as I go along, of course.  I think I will stick with blue tones; we'll see.

This is a close-up of the top left corner.  Don't cringe, if you're an expert embroiderer :)... I'm just having fun with color and pattern.

Our condo is under contract again, and we really hope this time the sale will work out without a hitch.  If so, we will be in our new home at the end of October... YAY!!!  Can't wait, but I'm trying to be very patient.

Challenge #183 and Stamp and Art Journal Play

Challenge #183

This week's Diva Challenge (here) was to use a new tangle by Annette Carlo called X-Did.

I had a lot of fun with it, even though I haven't really had very much time to explore the possibilities.

Please check out the beautiful art always displayed on the Diva's challenge by all the participants.  I have not had a chance to do it, yet, but will definitely try to make time for it this week.  It is always a treat to see everyone's interpretation of a new tangle and it is always a source of inspiration to me.

Stamp and Art Journal Play

I started getting into art journals a few months ago, but have not had much time to dedicate to it.  So, I created a journal a while ago (shown here) from junk mail with lots of pockets.  The pockets are supposed to hold work-in-progress pieces that I can work on when I don't have much time.  This is exactly what I did this week.

I had about 10 minutes one night, and I painted this little piece with watercolors.  The following night, I had about 10 minutes again, and I added some details with pen and ink.  I'm not sure what I will use it for, but I felt pretty good to have spent those 10 minutes each night doing something fun and relaxing.  Sometimes it is all the time I will have, so this method of using the pockets for something I can work on a bit at a time, is working for me.

This is a bit less than 2 x 2 inchies... so, pretty small

Last Monday was Labor Day in the US and so I relaxed a bit finishing this piece.  It was stamped with my "Well Inspired" stamp, painted with watercolors, with details added in with pen and ink and colored pencils.

I also took another print of a hand-carved stamp from one of my journal pockets and worked on it while watching TV with my husband.  This stamp was created during the workshop (here) and I hadn't done anything to any of the prints I took at the time.

I added details with colored pencils and pen and ink

Regarding the new house... things are still uncertain right now.  I'm trying to keep positive and hope everything will work out. :)

Challenge #181 and Play with hand carved stamp prints

Challenge #181 Water

This week's challenge was to use water in your tile; either water tangles, watercolors, or... anything else you can think of water related.  You can see the challenge description here. 

I went with another Bijou (trying to get used to the size), a couple of water tangles (Waves and Agua), and a lot of fun :)  Since I didn't get a Summer vacation, this will have to do :)

And here are my first 3 Bijou's so you can see the size:

Play with Hand Carved Stamp Prints

As it is getting closer to our move (a bit over a week) free time is almost non-existent.  So, I just grabbed some of the printed hand-carved stamp patterns I still have around, and played with them.

This is one of the triangle repeat stamps I carved for the workshop.  You can see the original print here.  I added some details with black Micron, white, and purple gel Sakura pens.  The print had already been painted with watercolors.

That's it for today.  I'm working on a couple more, but they are not ready yet.

Have a fun week!!

Challenge #180 and Well Inspired Stamp

Challenge #180

First of all... THANK YOU to all you wonderful people who leave such nice comments on my posts.  I absolutely love getting comments, reading them, and answering them.  With my lack of time lately I have not been able to answer as many as I'd like, but know that I really, really appreciate them.

This week's challenge (here) is to use the tangle MacDee by Anneke Van Dam.  I went with another little 2x2 inch tile again this week - I'm trying to get used to the new size :)

Well Inspired Stamp

I love the Well tangle, and a few months ago I carved two little stamps so I could play with the tangle in different ways.  You can see a couple of the prints in this post.  I still like these as I can do different things with them.

When I got home on Friday, I decided to create a bigger stamp with 2 squares to make the Well pattern.  I added a few other shapes to the stamp as well; I hope you enjoy it.

Created this card for a friend's birthday on Saturday.
Here I just outlined the bigger shapes painted with watercolors.

This one (SIL's birthday) was also painted with watercolors,
but I added a lot more detail with some tangles thrown in :)

After giving those 2 away right after I was done with them, I decided to make one for myself :)

Just a little test with the first print and Inktense

Challenge #179 and Apple / Pig Nose / Alien Carved Stamp

Challenge #179

Diva's challenge this week was to create a 2'x2' tile... ok... that's really little!!  You can read all about Bijou's story, the challenge, and the new small, fun tiles here.

So, I cut a few 2x2 inch squares from Bristol paper, and thought for sure I would only use 1 tangle per tile.  Hmmm... it didn't turn out quite like that, did it?  I spent about the same time as I do on a larger tile, and by the time I was done I was not thinking about the size of the tile anymore.

Size relative to mechanical pencil - tiny, isn't it?

Apple / Pig Nose / Alien Carved Stamp:

So, to relax this last weekend, I decided to carve a triangle stamp, that when printed together would form a pattern.  Well... it turned out really weird :)... and it made everyone at home think of completely different things when looking at it.

This is the original printing of the triangle stamp

And this is the same print after having been painted with watercolors, and outlined with pen

So, what does it make you think of?  I think of apples, but my husband and son came up with aliens and pig noses :)  I had fun, anyway :)

Challenge #176 and Stamp Carving: Quarter repeat

Challenge #176

This weeks' challenge was to Bring Your Own Beverage to your tangling session :).  So, spill your drink on your tile, or paint with it, or do whatever you want, then tangle over it.  Fun, fun!!  You can see the directions here.

 

I started with my morning tea and with the stirrer, made a few marks (the lighter ones.  Then once the tea had steeped, I made a few more marks with a corner of the teabag (the darker ones in the middle).  Then added some drops around with my afternoon tea :).

This tile was spilled on the same way (at the same time) as the one above.  I ironed both tiles today, and then chose the second one to tangle on.  Here is what I came up with.

 I decided to tangle only on the "tea painted" parts, and used the tea stains as my string.  It turned out really weird, but I really enjoyed the process.

Stamp Carving: Quarter Repeat

This is the next to the last lesson based on Julie Fei-Fan Balzer's book Carve Stamp Play. :(  I enjoyed it too much!!

Here are the stamps I created for the quarter repeat.  Actually, these were just tests with a cheap eraser I got (that carved like butter!), but since our condo is up for sale all my art stuff was put away (even the little box I had separated to stay) and I have not had time or patience to go to the basement and look for it... these will have to do for now :).

I started out with a very simple one, all it has is a "leaf" shape from one corner to the opposing corner, with 2 squiggly things at each of the other corners.  When you stamp it several times, this is what you get:

Left: just the pattern printed over 5 times across and down
Right: the same piece, after being painted with H2Os and outlined in pen and ink

This pattern is also very simple: a squiggle at opposing corners joining at the center around a circle, and a V at each of the other 2 corners.

Left: stamped 5 times across and 5 times down
Right: after I played with it with H2O's and pen and ink

Challenge #175 and Stamp Carving - Mirror repeat

Challenge #175

We're in the process of putting our condo up for sale this week, so all of a sudden (while I was at work) all my art supplies were gone and packed away, all I have left are a few tiles, and my pens.  So, I feel very lucky I had put them in a nice plarn crochet basket I had made and they survived the packing :).

The challenge was to use Crux by Henrike Bratz - you can see the step outs here and Diva's challenge here.

I was trying out this new tangle at work during lunch time.  I looked at the step outs, and though... "OK, got it!" and then grabbed my pad of paper and went for it.  Hmmm... that didn't work!  OK, back to the computer to review the steps again, then back to the paper.  I must have done this four or five times, I hate to admit, I was just not getting it that you do one X on 4 grids!!  Somehow I was missing that, and obviously it was not working.  Once I got it, it was easy-peasy, and a lot of fun :).  

Stamp Carving - Mirror repeat

Continuing on with Julie Fei-Fan's book - Carve, Stamp, Play...

Mirror repeat is a bit deceptive as you cannot really print the mirror image of a stamp, but the idea is that you rotate your stamp and print it next to the one you just printed.  So, I played around with a few designs, but ended up going with this one:

Print of mirror stamp

Ugly stage - after it has been painted with H2Os

Finished

Printed the stamp in a way such that
I created 4x4 squares of each side of the stamp -
unlike above where you had alternating (1x1) squares

Challenge 174 and More Stamp Carving

Challenge 174

The challenge this week was to use two superimposed strings (here).  It felt like going back to basics, which I loved doing.  To go with the "back to basics" idea, I sat in front of my tangle display (here) and chose tangles I had not used in a long time.  It was so much fun!  I have to do this more often :)

More Stamp Carving

Continuing on with the Carve Stamp Play book by Julie Fei-Fan Balzer...

Seamless Stamp

We were to carve a stamp that when printed would connect on all sides.  Instead of going for a square or rectangle, I decided to try a triangle.  It was really fun designing it; I'm sticking to simple designs.  

Triangle carving which will connect on all 3 sides to form a pattern
and... yes, I got rid of that little sliver on the top right corner

Printing your stamp for the first time and seeing how your design works is so much fun!!  No matter how many times I do this, I'm always amazed :)

I'm now working on this one, where I printed the triangle many, many times to create a seamless pattern.  I have outlined it with pen, and painted it with H2Os, but it still needs something - probably some pen and ink work on the blues or on the purples to set them apart a bit more.

Here are a couple more prints.  I cheated on these... only printed and painted a piece and then digitally duplicated to see the pattern with different colors.

Triangle stamp printed, outlined with pen, and painted with Inktense

Triangle stamp printed, outlined with pen, and painted with H2O's