Betweed

Betweed is the latest tangle to be released from Maria Thomas and Rick Roberts at Zentangle. This is a beautiful tangle with a lot of variations, that I can't wait to try more. Check out their instructions and wonderful new video at http://zentangle.blogspot.com/2010/09/september-28-2010-newsletter-and-video.html

Vacation Tangles

So much fun to go on vacation, see new sights, experience a new sport, share a lot of laughs with family members, etc.....and also good to be back home, sleeping in your own bed, eating your own meals, and drawing at your own desk......Life is good!

Wooly Bugger

Fly fishing: My husband has always been a fisherman and I have fished with him on occasion, but never fly-fished. In the winter months (Jan-Mar) our church offers classes in a wide variety of interests as a way for people to get out of the house and meet others with similar interests. In Jan of 2009, I took a class on tying flies, which I really enjoyed and made a lot of flies that winter, much to my husband's delight. The Wooly Bugger is an easy fly to tie and one that can be used anywhere. When I expressed an interest in trying the sport of fly fishing my husband was thrilled and bought me a fly rod for Christmas. We just got back from a 10 day trip to Idaho where we spend a week with my 88 year old father-in-law, Kermit. We took him and his lady friend, Wanda on a 3 day trip to some wineries and had a wonderful time. Then we toured Yellowstone (always a favorite of ours) for 2 days and Grand Teton NP for a day. I fly fished for the 1st time and caught a brown trout on a fly (Wooly Bugger) that I tied! I have found a new sport that I love, and not just because I caught a fish, but I loved being out in the river, listening and seeing nature all around me. Also, I still made time to do a Zentangle whenever possible!

"There is certainly something in fishing that tends to produce a gentleness of spirit, a pure serenity of mind" Washington Irving

Healing Hearts

Healing hearts on the way from Loveland, Colorado to MaryAnn, CZT in NY. Check out beezinthebelfry.blogspot.com and the post dated 9/6/10, Zentangles of Healing. If you are a tangler, send a tangle and some positive healing thoughts to MaryAnn.

Procrastinate or Create?

I was recently discussing "The Power Of Now", by Eckhart Tolle with my sister and started to search thru my bookcase, when I came upon a book that I had forgotten about. I read this book probably 5-10 years ago and have been really happy to rediscover it because it is a timeless treasure. It is titled "Simple Abundance", by Sarah Ban Breathnach. The book is organized as a walk through the year, in which you read a page or two each day. The six principles of the book are: gratitude, simplicity, order, harmony, beauty, and joy. (All of the things I feel when creating a zentangle.) It is filled with wonderful quotes, and ideas on how to live a more authentic life. Good idea for a Christmas gift for yourself to start reading on Jan 1! The day in August that I found the book, the passage was all about the courage to create-hmmm. "Dare yourself to believe in your creativity, wherever it may lead you. Trust that where it leads is exactly where you are supposed to be. The word courage comes from the French word for heart, coeur. Your authentic self knows where you're headed. Don't wrestle with Spirit. Collaborate with it." A couple weeks later there was is a passage on procrastination and how it can rob us of personal pleasure. At the end of each month, she has a list of "joyful simplicities" that you can do. For August, one of the items was to treat yourself to a deluxe box of crayons or a wonderful set of colored pencils and create a poster that reads "If Not Now, Then When?" and hang it where you'll see it every day. Mine is in my spare bedroom, that I have converted into my "Zen Studio".

Roundabout

Kaleidoscope In Black & White

Ring Around The Rosie

Margs Anyone?

This is a wooden tray that I did a zendala on with two Egyptian borders. The borders are from Sandy Steen Bartholomew's book, "Totally Tangled". This is a great book with a lot of ideas and tangle patterns. For more info, see her website at http://beezinkstudio.com/ I posted two views so that you could see the whole tray. I had some tangles on the outside that I really didn't like and you can't remove from the wood, so my husband suggested painting it a shiny black. He also did some shading with a wood stain on the borders and leaves before he applied the polyurethane. Thanks, Doug!