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!

Challenging Myself

September 29, 2015 ~ CharkatTangles ~ 12 Comments

Well…I am Diva Fabulous this week, as I am the Guest Blogger for the Diva’s Challenge (#237). My prompt was to use a stencil and some liquidy substance of color to make a string and tangle it.

I have been using this particular technique for a while now, and had quite a few test tiles from things I didn’t think worked particularly well, but I was reticent to toss them in the waste bin. So…I decided to dig out this one, I did with a stencil from The Crafters Workshop and some Walnut Ink. It was a cool, fall color, but I got a little over zealous with the spray, and it bled a bit. (It’s the dark brown spider web looking one in the top of the picture.)

I also had a bit of a conundrum trying to figure out what color to use to tangle it. I think it was pretty dark, but not dark enough, if that makes any sense. I kept with the spider web theme, and black and brown micron, and a white Gelly. It looked a bit odd to me, and I added some shading, and I think it got better. Its a 6 x 6 inch piece, so I used 05 Micron on the black, and an 01 brown for the lines behind the white.

I have been trying really hard to look at what everyone has done on this challenge, and unless you are on Flickr, you should see some feedback and thanks from me for participating (not a member on Flickr…go figure…)

Trying to get back into somewhat of a routine after a summer of traveling. I’ve had some cool classes with a few lovely people this past week, and have really enjoyed getting back into the swing of things.

We have a fun schedule coming up this next week, with Rock and Tangle on Friday night, where you can preview a few of the Halloween projects we are doing on the 10th. I could not narrow it down to just one project, so it will be a bit of a free for all, with skulls and pumpkins and masks (oh my!) If you plan on coming, and want to tangle a vinyl pumpkin, they are on sale at Michael’s for 50% off (might even be 60% by now!) Pick one up and come on down. Studio time is from 10 am -3 pm, for $25 (plus whatever materials you get from me, probably not more than $10) and I will be there to coach and guide you through which ever project you choose. I’ll be in the shop all week (for the most part) working on samples!

Speaking of this week, it is still the tail end of concert season for us, so we are off to LA on Saturday, and Santa Barbara on Tuesday, to see the Scorpions! I am so excited, as this will be the 3rd and 4th time in 5 years we have seen them, and they rock pretty hard still. They hold a special place in our hearts, as that was our first “concert date”, so they are “our band”. This is from 2010…

I think I need to sleep at some point tonight, so I better get on with that!

Stay Crazy My Friends!

Kicking Rocks

September 25, 2015September 25, 2015 ~ CharkatTangles ~ 6 Comments

Kicking Rocks…not out of frustration these days, but to find cool ones to tangle on!

I have recently returned from a lovely Zentangle retreat with the totally awesome CZT’s of Vancouver Island (Tangle Island 2015) and while I was there, one of the “Make & Take” activities was tangling on rocks and shells. I picked both, naturally, since I have to try everything!

So I thought it was rather serendipitous when this week’s Diva Challenge (#236) was to tangle on something you do not normally tangle on (like anything that isn’t paper for most people.) Since I tangle on anything that holds still long enough, I just went with what I was working on. A rock…and an oyster shell. I used a lot of things on these, but would like to point out the Twinkling H2O’s that the shell is highlighted with, and the Sakura Decorese Pens that work really well on non-porous surfaces. These pens were designed for nail art, and the ink stays a little raised.

And some more of my Tangle Island projects (4 down, 14 to still finish!) First is a found objects collage. I may or may not really be done with this, as I should probably still tangle on it a little.

And a nifty little tangleation of Cadent.

We also spent a few days in Vancouver, mostly to go see AC/DC at BC Place. That was a very emotion moment for me, knowing it was the first time I have seen them live, and probably the last time too. I very much doubt they will continue after this is over, and I can’t say I blame them.

And we did a bit of walking on the day of the concert…16 kilometers worth! But I really enjoyed it, and even found some tangles!

And the beginning of fall colors.

I gotta get moving now, have a class on Black Tiles at the shop today!

Stay Crazy My Friends!

Keep It Simple

September 18, 2015 ~ CharkatTangles ~ 12 Comments

As I sit here in LAX (Los Angeles International Airport) typing this, I had this resonating in my mind. keep it simple. That was my mantra this week. While I overpacked my art supplies for this trip to Tangle Island 2015, and may have under packed my clothing, I really have a feeling of peace that I have everything I need.

That was my theme for this week’s Diva Challenge (#235) as well. Our task this week was Stripes as a string. I had some cut watercolor paper left from another project, and noticed my Twinkling H2O’s on my work bench, so I painted a border and stripes. I also just got a Rotring Isograph pen I wanted to try, so I used that. I think it came out pretty cool, but simple.

Diva #235
I seem to have been pretty productive this week. I also finished some AT. Tiles for a swap in a FaceBook group.

ATC Swap - ABC
And last Saturday, I hosted my September Special, Patriot Tangles, at the shop. We learned a couple new tangles and did this cool mixed media collage.

Patriot Canvas 1
And not satisfied with just the one, I had prepped a 2nd canvas while I was experimenting, and tangled that too!

Patriot Canvas 2
We have lots of fun classes coming up, so be sure to join us if you can!

That’s all for now, off to Vancouver!

Stay Crazy My Friends!

Home Again! (For Now Anyway)

September 10, 2015September 10, 2015 ~ CharkatTangles ~ 10 Comments

Whew, this has been a super busy month already. After the week in San Francisco, I had to make a mostly unplanned trip to Arizona to deal with some family matters. I will leave this off as my mother’s increasing dementia making me feel trapped in an episode of “Hoarders” and really overwhelmed for a bit.

But, on a brighter note, I did get my giant Opus tile finished, as Gridiculous as it is. (Gridiculous is the name Jenni Perruzzi has given her Zencil system to line out Opus-sized tiles. You can find this on etsy.) I had a few openings still left when this week’s Diva Challenge (#234) was issued, for a UMT (Use My Tangle) by Chris Titus for her tangle CanT. Of course, I felt the need to include it on my all grid based tangle project, and kill 2 birds with one stone!

Of course, Opus is a larger tile, so this took a while. If you want to do one of your own, I will be teaching this as a class on September 26th.

I have to get back to the unpacking and get ready for a class tonight. My month of travels is still ongoing, as I get ready to head to Tangle Island in Canada next week. (I have never been to Canada…this is super exciting for me.)

Oh, and I fixed the glitch in my etsy store. I finally got the postage issues straightened out, and the ordering works fine now.

Stay Crazy My Friends (and join me on MeetUp and my Facebook page when you get a chance!)

And the Week Just Flies By!

August 31, 2015 ~ CharkatTangles ~ 13 Comments

This past, and this next, are probably the busiest weeks I’ve have in some time. We had a trip to San Francisco (planned months in advance) that we just returned from last night. Just shy of a week on the road, doing something we don’t normally do (drive,) we had some fun along the way (an overnight in Santa Cruz and a Giants game,) and were able to celebrate the life and passing of Mike’s beautiful sister, Marie, who would have been 60 this past Saturday. We were able to scatter her ashes in the Bay, and on the hill behind the house she grew up in, and it was the most beautiful day weather-wise, and she would have loved it.

This week, the Diva has RETURNED form her well deserved vacation, and #233 is for Zenith! Zenith is the newest “official” tangle, and it makes a great border. I did this cutie with the Bijou inserted.

Since I didn’t get my post up for last week’s Diva Challenge (#232, with Holly Atwater as the guest Diva,) here it is! I chose to do the Betweed portion, and I plan on going back to do the meditations later (again…busy week!)

And I made the news this week! There was a pretty cool article in 2 of the local papers here this week, complete with my picture.

http://myvalleynews.com/health/army-veteran-opens-zentangle-meditative-drawing-art-class-to-heal-pstd-and-depression/

I also started a MeetUp Group…so if you are in the area, join us there, I will be announcing class times and free meets on there as well as here on the blog.

http://www.meetup.com/Zentangle-in-Wine-Country-Temecula/

That’s it for now…I have to get back to the laundry so I can repack to leave for Arizona on Thursday. This little unplanned trip came up a week or so back when it was decided that my mom needs to live where she can be supervised. For now, that is with my brother and sister-in-law, in Arizona. So, I am headed out to help close up the house and get it ready to sell. And it’s hot….

Stay Crazy My Friends!

I Shall Flourish!

August 21, 2015August 21, 2015 ~ CharkatTangles ~ 7 Comments

Oh, I do love botanicals, and I love to flourish, but I don’t seem as good at it most of the time. My “style” is a bit more heavy and graphic, and I am comfortable with that.

But this week, I went out on a limb and went all flourishy with 3 different tiles for this weeks Diva guest blogger, Sharla Hicks, CZT. For Challenge #231, she tasked us with undulating S’s and C’s. These are the backbone of her beautiful botanical style, which I have always enjoyed trying, and have now adapted to my Zentangle style.

The first one, I did on black Stonehenge, with a white Gelly Roll, chalk pastels, and my trusty glitter pen.

The second pass, I tried out the Storm Blue Artagain.

And finally, I wanted to tangle with a fountain pen. This was done in J. Herblin Stormy Gray on Pearl Gray Stonehenge. Using a fountain pen was a lot of fun, and it really made me slow down a lot.

Lots happening around the shop…we have a lighted sign now!

We also had a great class on Flat Kumihimo Braids.

Keep an eye out for date announcements for Quilts of Valor meet ups at the shop to cut fabric, and maybe even do a little sewing.

Samples are being worked on for the September Patriot Tangles Class (hand colored tiles by me!) and the Spook-tacular October Class. Options for October will be to make this cool cat or a pumpkin…just a preview!

Off to finish a few things…and watch baseball! (Go Giants!) I can’t wait to go to AT&T Park next week to see them in person!

Stay Crazy My Friends!

Why…Big?

August 15, 2015 ~ CharkatTangles ~ 9 Comments

Ok…so I did it again. I tend to go a bit overboard with my visions of grandeur when the Diva Challenge comes out, and this time it came back to bite me. I finally finished this tonite during the Giant’s absolute rout of the Nationals! (if you are not a baseball fan, it’s ok…I still like you!)

Laura is still on vacation, so Erin Olsen, CZT, from thebrightowl.com was our guest blogger for Challenge #230. Erin hosts a weekly challenge on her site called the Zendala Dare, so this week, she dared us Diva-style. The template was cool, and available in 3 sizes, but of course I chose the biggest one.

I decided it really looked like a color wheel, and on Clearprint 16 lb Vellum, it came out pretty cool. I am going to mount this in a double mat so it can have light shining thru it, as it looks pretty cool that way.

And it wasn’t like I didn’t do anything else this week. I finally got to play with my Tints on Tan kit that has been sitting on my workbench for a while now, and have the following efforts to share. The first one is on Renaissance Tan Zentangle Tile (3.5″ sq)

And then I decided I needed to go a little bigger, and try some different paper. This one is on Stonehenge Kraft (6″ sq) – which is available in my etsy store (or you can email me at CharKatTangles at gmail.com to get some.)

And then a seascape…5.75″ x 4″ on Stonehenge Kraft, mounted on a double mat card.

Been working on the web site all week, fixing the schedule. I have buy it now buttons on the class dates…hopefully that makes it easy! And the course dates are listed with their descriptions, rather than on a different page.

And…back to work. No rest for the crazy!