The Diva's Challenge - Week 18....Eggzzzzzzzzellent!

Finally actually writing something to go along with these images! The first two are cards I've made for family members (inspired by the challenge, of course) and the decorative eggs are gifts for Easter too. The birdy egg is an ink stamp and I've just embellished it with some glitter glue - the other is hand drawn (as it that's not obvious, lol). the last two images are actually ones I did first and are a bit haphazard - I'm sorry I did the black grass on the multiple egg pic as I think it actually spoils it but....well....can't take it back once it's on there! :) Happy Easter to all and may you have a happy, safe and peaceful time with family and/or friends xxx

The Diva's Challenge - Week 17....15 Minutes of Fame!

This was a toughie as I'm a bit of a perfectionist so having to rush and not do things as neatly as I'd normally like to do was, indeed, a challenge. That said, it was good to feel a bit of freedom with it, knowing whatever came out of the 15 mins was it...finished or not....'perfect' or not.

I've only put the first one up so far as the 2nd one I did was pretty awful (so much for that freedom I just mentioned, lol)! I'll try to do another couple before the challenge closes but there's so much going on here it's hard to even find the 15 mins :)

Edit: 2nd one is now up (that is, technically, the 3rd one....lol)

Variation on Winterberry with some colour thrown in. This only actually took 11 mins....due to no shading involved :)

The Diva's Challenge - Week 16....Mooka!

Oh, boy, make mine a Mooka! I love this tangle but didn't get as much time as I'd like to play with it - too many things getting in the way....like a toddler, uni assignments and life in general!

It reminds me of a native plant here in Australia called a grevillia - I will endeavour to do more tangles of it and weave in the native plant thread.

For now, this is what I've done. Some will recognise the Mookafly from the recursion photo album on Kit's page ;)

The Diva's Challenge - Week 15....Love Ya Curves, Baby :)

The Diva's challenge to use only curves.....I really did enjoy this one :)

The Diva's Challenge - Week 14....Walk the Line

Because you're mine.....I walk the line. Ah, Johnny, your voice is ringing in my ears..... :)

Ok, here's my 1st attempt at this week's Diva Challenge.

The challenge is to use only straight lines - hard for me as I do SO love curves (although not the huge ones on my body!). I'm not sure if it's cheating to use Paradox, which, does only use straight lines....but the combination of the straight lines creates curves. Have I cheated?? :P

I will do another one that doesn't include Paradox curves, just in case.

I haven't shaded it at all, as yet, and I'm not sure I will. It may make it a bit closed in and dark....undecided at this point.

Edit: 3 more images added, with my first attempt very lightly shaded.
The glittery bit on the kite tangle is masking a right royal muck up, lol.

Diva's Challenge #13: Non-Dominatrix

Ok, this is a hard one! The challenge set for Tanglers this week was to create a tangle with our non-dominant hand. For me, it's my left.......and it was crazy-hard to do. Lots of fun though and I intend to try another one.....or two :)

* 2nd attempt now up and on a grander scale. I did really have fun with this and had to fight to stop picking up pens and pencils with my right hand :) A good learning experience! I've added a pic of both tangles, to give some perspective on size.

The Diva's Challenge - Week 12....Tangled up in Blue

This week's challenge........a touch of blue :)

These are a bit rushed as I only started the challenge today (Saturday). I chose a sea theme for a couple because that's what the colour blue makes me think of.....I love the sea....I love the colour blue :) The first here (only because I can't seem to move the damn thing to 3rd spot!) is some freehand leaves - just a simple pattern with some wispy bits here and there to jazz it up a bit.

Tangling with life.....

So, life at the moment is full of a headcold, uni, toddler activities, housework, veggie gardening and............then.........when it's late and I should really be getting to bed.....there is Zentangling :)

Here's a little tangle I did for my sister's birthday - the balloon shapes are a stencil I have and then I just tangled away within each one. I found some groovy card type things in K-Mart that fold into themselves and become the card and the envelope so I used one of those to put the tangle in and the effect was pretty good. On the outer, I cut out some pretty star tissue paper in the shape of a balloon and stuck it to some light cardboard (actually, stuck it to the cardboard first and THEN cut it out - much easier) and then went around the outside of the stars and the balloon shape with a silver pen. I dotted around the balloon with the same pen and then cut a small length of silver craft wire and bent it to look like the string of a balloon. I stuck that to the back of the balloon and then stuck the whole thing onto the outside of the all-in-one card. And this is what it all looked like.....

Inside....

Outside.....

She loved it, which was pretty cool :) Have another one to do for a friend's birthday on Friday so will get cracking on that tonight - snotty head allowing.

Two to Zentangle.....

Well, no, it only takes one but I couldn't think of anything else remotely witty to use as a title....

The image appearing below this are, what are known as, Zentangles. I've done quite a few now but I wanted to add these two to something called 'The Diva's Challenge' (Laura Harm's blog) so had to utilise this poor neglected little bloggy to post them on Laura's page more easily.

Such is my interest in the tangling of the zen, that I've developed a tendency to not get to bed until after midnight at the moment, on account of just having to 'finish this bit off, before I hit the sack'. As a result of which, I haven't been feeling very zen of a morning....more like zombie.....perhaps I'll invent Zomtangling.....or maybe I already have!

Anyway, it's a very cool way to pass the time and feel a bit creative, not to mention zone out and not think about all the worries that you have on your plate. Good stuff.

If anything interesting ever happens again, I'll be sure to hop on here and make it known. Having said that, I'm not sure who I'd be making it known to as I'm pretty sure I'm the only one reading this thing.....hmmmm, I may as well cut out the middle man and just tell myself what I'm doing.... :P

Diva Challenge - Monotangles

Can't recall the name of the pattern but here's my 3rd attempt at the monotangle - odd shape but it's worked out to look a bit like a plane, lol

Ok, 4th attempt (haven't taken pic of 3rd yet) and here is my weird rabbity-peace-sign shape.....filled with 'Finny's Florets' in various incarnations :)

I was just playing around with this one and kind of ruined what I had by trying to add colour (not very delicately!) but I do still kinda like the overall look of it.

1st attempt - Hollibaugh Mix - using Hollibaugh in various forms.

2nd attempt (and I cannot seem to get rid of this underlining!) - using 'Deco Border' - Tangled Heart.

Too much of a good thing

Not wishing to risk coming up against the title of this entry, it has taken me 2 years to write on this blog again. I cannot believe it was that long ago and, infact, being caught in some kind of mental calendar time warp today, I thought it was only a year when I read Feb 2009. Oh dear.

My little boy, Finlay, who was just 9.5 weeks when I last blogged is now 26 months old and such a delight.

I'd like to say that so much has happened since Feb 2009...but I don't think that much has :P Well, nothing that would be of any interest in any case.

Oh, but I have started university studies since then, so I guess that's exciting, in a fashion. Maybe more exciting for me when the end of semester exams are over, than it is when the first and second assignments are due. Starting study has taught me that I'm actually not as braindead as I suspected and there's some life in the old gal yet. I have taken 3 units in a Behavioural Science degree, majoring in Psychology, and have managed overall distinctions for all units....not to be sneezed at. Semester 1 started this week so another two units to knock over before the middle of the year, including my first intermediate (2nd year) unit. At this rate, I may qualify just in time to be put in an aged care facility....if I'm lucky.

Speaking of old gal....I have also turned 40 since I last wrote too! Very painlessly, I am pleased to announce but then, I can't really complain about feeling old when my husband has already turned 50. Could be seen as a tad insensitive. Just a tad.

Well, it's time for me to go an pick my wee laddie up from daycare so I'll leave this now and endeavour to make it back before 2013. Best laid plans :P