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!

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!

Finding Beauty in Negative Spaces

August 4, 2015August 4, 2015 ~ CharkatTangles ~ 5 Comments

This weeks Diva Challenge (#229) is from Guest Blogger Sandy Hunter, CZT, who tasked us with using negative space as a focal point. I decided to pull out my name plate that my friend, Suzanne Wilka, CZT, made for me as part of our “swag bag” for our Day at the Bay get together back in April.

The whole time I was working on this, I was thinking of the first album (CD…whatever…I’m old…) that I ever heard from a band called Seether. It’s title is Finding Beauty in Negative Spaces. I worked a bit bigger than usual this week, so it was challenging to keep that white space in the middle clear! (although, I have to tell you, that I am probably going to color it and gild my name this week…I think it would be pretty.)

Had a great class this week on Black Tiles. Only one student, so we had some fun.

We did her Intro class before the shop opened, but here is what we did then.

Been playing a little catch up on things, so here is a tile I did for Diva #226 – Simplicity. I had dyed this tile with Distress Ink and Pearl Spray. It was such a pretty color I didn’t want to do too much to it!

Well…another week on the books at CharKat’s Creative Insanity! The etsy Shop is up and running, but its just paper for now. In case you have never tangled on Stonehenge papers, you are in for a real treat…hop on over to check it out…Just click here!

That’s it for now! Be sure to check out the class schedule, I have plenty of space!

Stay Crazy My Friends!

Life is a Circus – All The Time!

July 23, 2015 ~ CharkatTangles ~ 6 Comments

That’s how I feel this week. Too much to look at, think about, do, go….it never ends! But isn’t that what makes it fun?

CharKat’s Creative Insanity (27309 Jefferson Ave, Suite 102, Temecula, CA 92590) officially opens for business tomorrow. I’ve put together a nice selection of classes, but alas, no one has signed up yet. I think being there and minding the shop for a bit may drive interest, but I am thinking about listing some of the classes on MeetUp and EventBrite to see which one would bring in more students.

Part of the ongoing circus this week was our annual trip to Rock Fest (in Cadott, Wisconsin.) I am still recovering from that! I did tangle while I was there, and finished a previous Diva Challenge (#224 – Tipple Monotangle.) This was one of my dyed tiles using Hibiscus Tea, but you will hear more about those when I Guest Blog the Diva in September!

This week’s Diva Challenge (#227 – Circus) comes from Guest Blogger Lee Darter, CZT, who reminisced about her families summer vacation to Florida, and the off season home of Ringling Brothers-Barnum and Bailey Circus. I love the circus. So much is always going on, so many things to see and experience that you don’t always know where to look, for fear of missing out on something. Life is like that lately. I have the attention span of a gnat!

The cacophony going on in this started with me buying a spiral maker (remember the Spirograph?) And while I have been moving things to the shop, I found the Neopiko-3 marker sets I bought several years ago at ComicCon (and they were not cheap!) They are water based, and can be used on fabric, which is why I had to have them (and subsequently forgot I bought them.) So…Fabriano Medioevalis paper in 4.75 x 4.75, and all these things going on! I love this paper. The Micron glides on it, and it takes colors so nicely.

And talking about paper, I am going to start offering paper packs of tiles in my etsy store. I have “tangle tested” lots of different papers, and have found ones that I just love to make art on, specifically Zentangle Inspired Art, or even just Zentangle on a different color or texture of paper. I will have offerings in 3.5 x 3.5, 6×6, 6×9, 12×12, and anything else that people seem to want. The Fabriano Medioevalis comes in packs of 100, so I will make them into smaller bundles (10-12) in the 4.75×4.75 and 2.5 x3.75 sizes. They have 4 deckled edges and are just so pretty! I should have those up in the next week, and will post a link.

Gotta get back to the circus that is my life…Stay Crazy My Friends!

Waiting for Paint to Dry

June 10, 2015 ~ CharkatTangles ~ 8 Comments

So this week seems to have a theme with me. It all started Sunday, with the talk at church being about living a balanced life. New Thought has a lot of great philosophy on what that entails and I won’t go into it, but needless to say it got me thinking.

Monday, we had a meeting of our San Diego Tanglers friendship group…where we did a cool project with alcohol inks. They dry on non-porous surfaces almost instantly, but you have to handle them delicately. The balance here is to find harmony in getting the right effect BEFORE the paint dries. It can be a bit tricky, but it can be done.

(I haven’t sealed this yet, but I wanted to scan it first, in case I ruin it. Tangled with a black Sakura Permapaque (fine point) and a white Sakura Decorese pen. Kinda fun. I am going to do some additional tiles and see how they hold up to different sealers.)

And this weeks Diva Challenge (#221) was on Beads of Courage. This is a great program that works to balance the lives of children in medical care with rewarding bravery in going through their procedures with beads, which they collect to show how brave they have been.

For me, beads are colorful, so of course I needed to add color. I decided to use my Derwent Inktense and Metallics (watercolor pencils) and on paper, those need to dry pretty thoroughly between steps. Again…balance…I want to get the tile done, but I don’t want to smear the pretty colors…patience.

I got to thinking about the balance in my own life, and how courage plays into that balance. For me…there has always been both beauty and duty. Sometimes, they are joined, and sometimes, there is a very thin line separating them. The Army and my dad taught me plenty of duty and obligation, but there are times when I want to just do nothing but create art. Finding the balance where they can be together is divine!

On Square One this week, the focus is Msst.

So I’ve decided what I’m gonna do now
So I’m packing my Avreal for the Mssty Mountains
Where the Onamatos go now
Over the Tagh where the Festunes fly

I know I usually don’t wax this philosophically, but there is a lot going on in our lives right now, and most of it is requiring me to be a lot more patient than I usually tend to be. I am looking into opening my own creative space here in Temecula, so doing the due diligence for that seems to be taking up a huge space in my brain.

But…a tangle a day keeps the psychiatrist at bay!

Stay Crazy My Friends!