I have my own Domain now!

Check me out at CharKatsCreativeInsanity.com

Stay Crazy My Friends!

So this was the first full week at my new “job” as the sole proprietor of CharKat’s Creative Insanity. I never realized there was so much work involved in being a legitimate business!

So far, I have filed a Fictitious Business Name Statement, advertised said statement in the newspaper, applied for a city business license and home use permit, and scoped out a possible place to have classes. Which brings me to my biggest hurdle…finding classroom space that I can afford!

I have also fleshed out the web site a bit, with class descriptions for what I plan to offer, and did some really neat brochures to  hand out.

And that brings us to this week’s Diva Challenge…#219: “Straight Lines all the Tines…er, times.” I figured if all my lines had to be straight, I should do this on a round tile. So I selected one of the cool hand-dyed tiles I purchased from fellow CZT Caren Mlot at TangleU, the uber cool template from Ann E. Grasso, and my favorite mini ruler from Charles Williams, and strung up what I thought was a pretty cool string.

I have to say, I am rather pleased with the result. And before you go poo-poo-ing my use of dots….they are one dimensional lines. Other than the Signo UM-153 silver dots, it was just me and my Micron (and a touch of graphite in the straight line areas.)

And I am still playing catch up, a little…this is the last one from recent Diva Challenges, it was #217, which was Laura’s Birthday challenge…Bunzo vs. Dex. This is on GarzaPapel 300 gsm water color paper, which I had previously stained with hibiscus tea. I worked it with a soft tip Tombow Japanese calligraphy pen, because the surface was a bit bumpy.

And this weeks Square One: Purely Zentangle (on FaceBook) was Purk. “If there’s a Purk in your Fengle, don’t be alarmed now…it’s just a Zinger left from last week.” (I often hear song lyrics in my head while I am tangling…pretty bizarre, but very much a part of my sense of humor and being a rocker chick.)

That’s it for now. Getting ready to hit to road to Texas for a couple days. Have a wedding to go to, if the floods don’t carry us all away first!

Stay Crazy My Friends!

Wow! I never post this early. I killed a tree trying to figure this out before I put it to tile. Because of the complexity of trying to get it right on a small scale, I decided to keep the design simple, with no shading. Just the 3 pens you see in the picture.

And this tile is from the actual class:

Ok…back to the last push on homework…T-18 days till graduation!

Stay Crazy My Friends!

Ok…so Diva’s son thought the Earth needed a name, and he named it Amanda. I think its adorable.

And this is my 2nd year Amanda Day Challenge! I could not decide on just one thing that celebrated my love of nature and our beloved Amanda, so I did a few…Earthy Themes…

The first one, I call Under the Sea. I love water. This is Strathmore Artigain paper, in a greenish tint. Tombow brush pen and Tombow Marker (and Glitter Gelly Roll…of course.)

Ok…so Spring Break is over and there is only another 4 weeks of school. That’s right campers…4 more weeks! I graduate on May 15th and I can resume my life!

I got on board with this week’s Diva Challenge (#212: Use My Tangle – Fanz by Susan Goetter) in a rather weird way. I was testing out a new pen (Tombow MonoTwin) on pink Strathmore Artagain paper…and I initially started with the much fatter end (and was really hating how fat the lines were coming out…duh!) Also, it is an “oil based” marker, so it’s a bleeder! It bled even further through the back of the paper when I did my spray fixative on it. But I cannot say I am displeased with the final result…it looks pretty cool.

Tangles are Fanz, Narwal, Flux, Knightsbridge, Tipple, and Heartburn. I should have the step outs for Heartburn (my first tangle) posted soon.

And I did get Diva Challenge #210: Spiral String finished. Colors a bit wonky for me, I used only the items from this months Art Snacks (http://www.artsnacks.co) box. It is a monotangle of Heartburn. On Fabriano Medioevalis paper (4.7 x 4.7). This paper is really kinda cool, and comes in pre-cut sizes  of flat and folded cards with matching envelopes available. I found it rather cool to tangle on, and I love the deckled edges. Dick Blick carries it, so do most actual art supply stores (not Michaels.)

Ok…so it’s Spring Break…my senior year in college (never mind that I am basically a senior citizen….) and what am I doing? Tangling…and cleaning my house. Go figure…

So Laura (The Diva) left us with just Flux as our prompt (feel better soon to Artoo…poor little guy.) I am working on some samples for a class/meet up in April, so I used one of my wine dyed tiles to turn out this gem. Flux both ways!

(Can’t leak about the wine coloring until later…don’t want to spoil the class!)

That’s all for now…

Stay Crazy My Friends!

Happy Belated St. Patricks Day!

This week’s Diva Challenge (#209) was to “Make it Green.” I am currently experimenting with various colored liquids (coffee, tea, wine) and stencils to pre-dye tiles and use the stencils for my string, so I decided to try one of my green tea applications and Jenny Perruzzi’s  Zencils stencils (get them on etsy.com) Can’t tell you my methodology yet, working it up for a class…shhh…top secret.

The whole tile is done in Gelly Roll pen this time. I laid down the metallic green first, and discovered my trusty Micron didn’t like it, so I broke out the black Gelly…and ta-da…it worked great. tried to shade with a Tombow and blender, but that smeared a little, so went with General’s Chalk Pastel Pencils instead.

Off to prep some more tiles!

Oh, and study for an Exercise Physiology test…

Stay Crazy My Friends!

I’ve been a bit hard pressed to find much time to tangle lately, but I seem to have been pretty productive anyway…

So this week’s Diva Challenge (#208) is Duotangle: Cubine vs. Pokeroot. Now…I have not ever done any Pokeroot before, so this was my maiden voyage with that tangle. I also made a trip to Artist & Craftsman Supply over the weekend and acquired a set of Sakura Moonlight Gelly Roll pens, so I was dying to try them out. Unfortunately, the fluorescent colors did not scan as bright as they look in person….oh well…

Last week, I didn’t get #207 finished in time, but here it is now: Use My Tangle (UMT) Unbatz by Sandy Hunter. Got a little Narwal in there, and I don’t know what the heck the other thing is. I actually used a string from TanglePatterns.com for this (#146) and it is a bit strange….lol…like me I guess.