Diva Challenge #178: DuoTangle of Initial Quality!

Ok...highs and lows of this week aside, I finally set myself down to attend to my initials!

This weeks Diva Challenge was to create a Duo Tangle (2 patterns only) that start with your initials. I rarely use CC, as I have adopted CK for all things, so I set out do CharKat-ize. I picked Cadent and Kathy's Dilemma (one I had not tried before!)

I have been using my Tombow 6B pencil for shading this week. I like how soft it is, but it tends to be a bit darker overall. I bought them when I got deployed to Japan in 2011, and tossed them in the pencil drawer when I got home. Just found them recently...lol...go figure. 

And I got on an initial tangent this week. A trip to Michael's last weekend was a treasure hunt, and I found these cool frames in the dollar bins. they have a 3.7 inch square opening and tiles fit in them perfectly.  My work in progress...

AND...before you dash off to Michael's to pick these up...pick up something to seal them with prior to tangling on them. I only did one coat of sealer and a light sand, and now I wish I had done a 2nd coat with a 2nd light sand to make it not bleed at all. I'm using PermaWriter Pens and I edged it in black Sharpie (yuck, major headache after breathing Sharpie fumes.) The shading is coming out great with a regular soft pencil, and I do plan to seal it again when I finish tangling it.

Whew...Time Flies...Diva Challenges #176 & 177, Rock Fest, and Random Travels...

Oh my goodness this has turned into a busy summer! We just got home from the 2nd trip (This one was only 8 days, and included our annual sojourn to Wisconsin for Rock Fest.)

I was without internet access for a week, and it was almost rather pleasant. On the other hand, I didn't get as much tangling done as I had hoped. I did leave a few random tangles as autographs...this was on a tent that was shaped like a VW van.

I did finish one of my two planned out tiles for Diva's guest challenge #176, which was entitled BYOB. The object was to paint/stain your tiles with whatever you were drinking. I hit a white tile with coffee, and tangled it in sepia pen. I did stain a 2nd tile with red wine, but I haven't had a chance to do anything with it yet.

These are my "before" tiles...

And the white tile after...I'll post the other one when I finish it.

For Diva's guest challenge #177, the task was to use Truffle, by Caroline Broady, CZT. About the time I was looking at this, I made a trip to the Georgia Aquarium. Truffle rather reminded me of the jelly fish, so I pulled out some blue grey charcoal paper and went a little ocean themed with white Gelly Roll pen, Blue Stardust, and chalk pastel pencils. It's a little weird...and its 6 x 6.

Well...back to laundry, my Spanish final, and puttering around the studio. My summer is nearing the end, I had to register for school a few days ago. 5 classes, one with lab (chemistry) and I am already feeling the strain. 

Stay Crazy My Friends!

CharKat

Diva Challenge #175: UMT: Crux

Ok...so I made it through a week with my mother, and I'm not in jail for killing her (at least until they find the body.)

After dropping her at the airport in San Diego, I went to one of my happy places, Dick Blick Art Supply in Little Italy. Ah...paper...ah....ink...ah....zen....

So I did stock up on some cool papers (more to come on what I'm doing with that to come) and got a fountain pen, and some ink for my dip pen I found in one of my drawers. On Sunday, I picked up a really cool journal at the Hotel Del Coronado gift shop. It's a Jane Austen Novel Journal, with blank pages and Jane Austen quotes sprinkled throughout. I am going to use it to practice writing with the fountain pen, and the pages feel to be of sufficient weight to add some tangles to as well. (yeah...rough and tumble me is a HUGE Jane Austen fan. I had to make a trip to Bath when I was in the UK, and I watch the original BBC mini series of Pride and Prejudice at least once a year.)

I've notices some of my friends and relatives (including me) having some difficulties this week, so when I saw the heart cut outs leftover from some dies I had cut earlier in the week, I thought they needed to be a string. I guess I took that as an omen. And since I had bought new ink for my dip pen, I thought I would pull out the 15 year old acrylic ink that has been in the drawer and in storage and well travelled, only to find that it would not work with the pen. So...I painted in the gold with a tiny, tiny paint brush.  Oh, and I also worked on a Zendala tile, which was a first for me.

So here is the final piece. Black Micron, Red Gelly Roll, Gold Acrylic Ink. Tangles are Hurry, Fracas,  and Crux. oh, and some Derwent Inktense in Chili Red and blended with a Niji water brush. (Just got the Derwent's in the mail yesterday, had to try them out.)

Now I'm off to do my Spanish homework, and play with a couple things I have started on my workbench.

¡Hasta Luego!

Diva Challenge #174: Double String Theory

Ok...lets start out by saying...I am simply not myself this week. My mother is visiting from Arizona, and we have a rather...tumultuous...relationship. She is 70...I am 52. We have never been close, and have absolutely nothing in common. So tangling this week for me has been a bit difficult. She makes me...tense. I actually had to put my pen down a few times because I was gripping it too tightly.

But...I am trying to get into my "state of Zen."

For this week's challenge, we were instructed to double our string. Two strings instead of one. Interesting concept for me, when I don't use a string much at all. I often let my tangles just grow organically. That, added to my increased tension level, made for a daunting challenge. So....

I handed a tile, a pencil, and my book of tangles to my precious Tuna (better known as Mike to most people.) I instructed him (the engineer dude) to place the dots in the corner...connect the dots for a border...then draw a string...then another string. I also had him write the names of 4 tangles he liked on the back of the tile. And I used those 4 (Fescue, Frondous, XYP, and N'zepple.) This has to be my weirdest tile to date...but I don't dislike it. I did go old school, with just black and white.