This post is for Erin at http://thebrightowl.blogspot.com  

She is taking a break from doing new zendala templates each week.  I can totally understand why!

She needs to concentrate on her schoolwork.

I haven't kept up with any weekly dares, but her templates have really become part of my everyday life!!  They are all around my kitchen!  I have used over 50 of the 93 templates from her blog!  I could do them all again and they would end up totally different!  It has been a lot of fun!  

I'm ready to change my focus to gardening!!!

 

I also did another batch of magnets.

Diva Challenge # 150  - One Little Word   Diva Challenge Blog

  "Creative" is my word for this year.  And I have been that - thanks to zentangle inspiration!  These are the refrigerator magnets that I've been working on.  They are on basswood using my woodburner and sharpie markers.  Some of them took much longer to create than others. 

Now I've been sidetracked by a home improvement project - but that's life, and it's something that I've wanted to do for years.  I love having the time to do all these things!

Diva Challenge # 149  Twenty Fourteen   from I am the diva blog

Happy New Year!  Hoping everyone has a blue ribbon year!

Zendala Dare #86 - Grateful 

   from Erin at The Bright Owl

When I saw the new template this morning, all I could see was hearts, hearts, hearts!  It's not very 'tangly', but that's ok by me. 
I am ever so grateful for all the love in my life.  My loving husband Monte foremost; he understands my creative compulsions, offers support and indulges my whims.  My dogs, my friends, my family...  I am one lucky gal to be surrounded by so many good things.  I am happy to be retired so that I can just hang out and be artistic!!

 CREATIVE is my word for this year!

 

I decided to use this wooden box for my pens and stuff.  It has a nice little shelf for my sketchbook.  I purchased a 59 piece set of micron markers with different styles, sizes and colors.  About 5 of the tips were bad on the markers, I got doubles of some and 0 of some that should have been in there.  Not very good when you consider the price for them!!  Oh well...  I was happy when I decided to use my tea canisters ('The Republic of Tea' , 'Mango Ceylon') to organize them, and the markers fit just right.  Then I read that they should be stored flat, not up and down...  It works good this way too.  I suppose the sharpies and magic markers would be better flat also...  I'll work that out later.

These are the circles I've been woodburning on.  They are taking longer than I expected them to, but I'm really liking them.  I got 12 new and different burner tips, so I've been trying them out.   If I do more of these, I will order the wooden circles on line instead of cutting them myself.  These are basswood ~2.5 inches wide.  I will share better pictures when I get them finished.  They are going to have magnets on the back to they can go on the refrigerator.

My workstation!  Ha ha...

Zendala Dare #85 from Erin at the Bright Owl


It's hard to look at, but it's what it wanted to be today, I guess..  Best wishes for a GREAT 2014!

Zendala Dare #84 and 19 more. 

This is my  mandala for #84 from Erin at the Bright Owl.
I don't really like it, but I don't feel like doing another one...

This is the one I really wanted to share.

19 templates were used for this 16 x 20 inch piece.  

2,7,28,41,42,43,50,52,53,54,55,58,59,62,70,7,73,75 and 79.

I worked on this for about 7 days - long hours.  I just couldn't stop!

These are some progress photos.  I used some magic marker 'liquid crayons' for this project.  I found them in my art supplies.  I'm guessing they are from the early 80s, but still worked quite well.  Next time I will try again to leave some white. 

 It just didn't work out this time, even though I was going to...

Now I can go back to see what other people did with these templates!

Templates 1 and 2 from Erin at the Bright Owl.