Kicking Rocks

October 31, 2015 ~ CharkatTangles ~ 4 Comments

Here it is again…Saturday night, and I am just finishing up for a blog. I do have an honestly good reason this week.

I have been prepping all week for a Dia De Los Muertos (Day of the Dead) celebration in Lake Elsinore tomorrow. Making a few little trinkets to sell, and try to lure them into my den of Zentangle! (Pics will be up next week for that!)

But for this week’s Diva Challenge (#241). Guest Diva Paula Bramante, CZT prompted us with Stones and Ceremony. I can’t help but think of cairns, as that is what a lot of the pictures looked like…and my trip to the UK in 2008, where I stood on Hadrian’s Wall.

So that made me think of a recent trip as well, where I was obsessing with the tiles in the washrooms at the airport in Vancouver, and drew this in my sketchbook:

I thought to myself…self…that would make a great wall! And you have been dying to play with your new tinted charcoals (Derwent) and those would make great rocks!

I have to say, I am really rather impressed with this one!

I also finished another Tangle Island project this week. It will be a birthday card for someone who shall remain nameless with a birthday in early December. I will also send her a frame for it…so she can keep it forever!

I have to finish getting ready now, but did you know you can shop at CharKat’s from the comfort of your own couch? I am still working on some pictures and descriptions in the store, but here is the link: CharKat’s Creative Insanity.

Namas’cray for now! (The crazy in me recognizes and honors the crazy in you!)

Falling…Behind.

October 23, 2015 ~ CharkatTangles ~ 5 Comments

So…on my day planner, it says to post a blog on Tuesday. Today is Friday! Have you ever had one of those weeks where you constantly felt like you were behind? That has been this week for me. I seem to be racing from one place to the next, and seem to have no time to sit down to tangle. And I really NEED to tangle. It keeps me sane.

This week’s Diva Challenge (#240) is all about Fall. I love Fall. I love the colors, I love that the weather is cooling off (sometimes…not in Southern California that much), and I can eat soup without sweating to death (most of the time.) When I was in Vancouver last month, some of the trees were already beginning to change.

We don’t get that here. They just kind of turn brown and fall off. Green…or Brown…that is all. So I had to make up my own Fall Colors, using the new Tints on Tan – Fall Edition I got in the mail a few weeks ago. I used a lot of creative license on this, with a different leaf, smaller tangles, and a Zendala tile. But I think it tuned out ok!

Speaking of Fall, we have a new class coming up at the shop on November 9th. Teri, who is a Wilton Certified Teacher, is going to show us how to decorate Fall cookies! Check out the details below:

It looks like fun! Call Teri on the number listed to register.

I’ve been getting some other things finished this week. Had a lovely Zentangle 101 Class this week and we tried our hand at N’zepple. When in doubt, add grout! Gold grout is even better.

I also got in some practice time with my alcohol inks. Getting some Christmas items ready for boutiques and holiday sales! Check out this pretty tile:

And this cool glass ornament:

If you are looking to stay “in the know” for all things happening at CharKat’s Creative Insanity, be sure to join our MeetUp group (Zentangle in Wine Country).

Stay Crazy My Friends!

Munchin Around

October 13, 2015October 14, 2015 ~ CharkatTangles ~ 12 Comments

My routine is becoming a bit more…Routine! yay!

I don’t know about any of you, but I am rather lost without my planner. Even though my “to-do” list is a bit overwhelming at times, at least I know what I am supposed to be doing (other than playing Candy Crush!)

This week, the Diva (#239) asked us to play around with the tangle Munchin. I have only done this one once or twice, so I decided to give it a go again. But, alas, I confess, I share the same aversion to black Zentangle tiles that our dear Diva does. I just cannot get them to do my bidding! (I feel rather the similar dislikes for the Renaissance Tan tiles, but mostly because I have really oily skin, and if I touch my face at all, and touch the tile, it stains it!)

But, I too, have a workaround for this, as I love the look of the white pen on black paper. I find the black Stonehenge to be much more cooperative, so I pulled a bookmark out of my cut scraps stash and tangled away.

I’ve been working up a few new items for the shop, based on my love of all things Stonehenge, including this cutie. 5.5″ x 5″, 32 pages (4 of each of the 8 colors I carry) with a chip board cover and wire binding comb. It also has tracing paper between the black pages, so the white pencil doesn’t rub off on the adjoining pages.

It is also available in Shades of Gray, Tans, and Whites, as well as all one color if you so desire. $20 – $22 each. If you would like one, drop me an email (CharKatTangles@gmail.com).

I am slowly working my way through all my Tangle Island projects, and have completed this cool piece from Barb Round’s class:

And in an effort to not leave too many class projects half finished at the shop, I finished this Gridiculous on Stonehenge Pearl Gray, with tinted charcoal pencil for the accent piece.

I guess my routine is being pretty productive!

That’s it for now. I am working on a couple new monthly specials (think…Mandala Monday! starting in November.) I’ll have more on that later this week!

Stay Crazy My Friends!

Tri-ing to Settle Into a Routine

October 9, 2015 ~ CharkatTangles ~ 5 Comments

I have been going, pretty much non-stop, since the middle of May. Graduation (mine,) wedding (not mine,) reunions, Rock Fest, San Francisco, Tucson, Vancouver, and a few side trips for concerts in LA and Santa Barbara, coupled with starting up a new business, has left me ragged and a little worn out.

It has also rather knocked me off the routine I had established during the last semester at Cal State. I was getting some pretty regular exercise, and had been able to lose a pretty good amount of weight in the process. But traveling and eating out a lot has put back on a small bit of that, and I think that could be adding to my fatigue. So now I need to start back into some form of regular life!

I was the Guest Diva last week, and I have to say, all the beautiful work I saw made my week. Even those that cursed me for challenging them, made it all worth while. We need, now and again, to be pushed past our comfort zones so that we can fly!

This week, I’ve been working on a lot of Halloween themed things for a class, so I decided to incorporate the Diva Challenge (#238) – a Use My Tangle called Tri-bee by Beate Winkler, CZT. It is a very fun, blooming organic tangle, and I think I will have a lot of fun with it in the future. Of course, there are quite a few other tangles on the kitty as well.

This is another of the Halloween cuties I finished:

I recently purchased a set of Medallion Master stencils by Margaret Applin (www.joggles.com) and finished a cool piece with them. We will be using these in the studio soon!

On that note, I have updated the calendar of classes on the Zentangle Class page, and will update the Kumihimo and others tomorrow. Be sure to check it out!

That’s all for now!

Stay Crazy My Friends!