Happy Monday everyone! First of all, as always - a few house keeping items:
If you're NEW here (and there've been a lot of new additions to the party!) I'm working on creating some tutorials to help you out. You can click on the links above or: See "Getting Started" and "Tutorials"
To see all the past weekly challenges - click the tabs above
Please grab the button for the Weekly Challenge (on the right sidebar) to display on your blogs! share the fun!
The limit of submissions to the slideshow is TWO, but please feel free to post as many as you like to your blogs. I will take the first two presented to each challenge.
I know that some of you have told me that the paypal button does not work, and some of you have had no trouble, i'm not sure why it's inconsistent, i've redone the code a few times... If all else fails you can donate to my paypal address which is madam_diva ( a t ) yahoo ( d o t ) com - also to those people who donated this week... THANK YOU SO MUCH.
Happy Monday. Before i get on with my post today, i wanted to share something from Maria Vennekens, our guest blogger last week, in response to your submissions to last week's challenge.
I really was surprised by the different approaches to challenge #123. Some of you just started drawing and came up with lines that eventually became new patterns. Others searched for inspirations to create new patterns. All these efforts resulted in beautiful drawings. Almost everyone struggled with the problem where to begin and what to draw. This was also my own experience. After that struggle you end up with a Zentangle or a ZIA.
So my answer to the question “Is it a Zentangle?” would be: The product is a Zentangle but the process to get there was not.
Thank you all for your willingness to try this challenge and share your thoughts about the process. Maria Vennekens CZT
Thank YOU Maria for your challenging challenge!
Last weekend, i took the boys to Calgary, Alberta - to visit some friends and go to the zoo. here's some photos.
Both boys loved the monkeys, but who doesn't love monkeys?
We did the zoo in the rain, and Chewie was happy to have a reason to wear his new raincoat. luckily there are enough indoor things to do at the Calgary Zoo that we still managed to have fun.
the zoo in the rain
This smiley boy enjoyed the butterfly house.
This was the first time i had taken the boys on a long road trip, so i wanted to do as many fun things as we could, and the day after the zoo i tried to take them to Heritage Park but, literally, the minute we started unpacking the kids from the van the sky opened up and it started pouring. So we decided to go to the nearby mall, which has a carousel in it. They didn't really seem to notice a difference, and they loved the carousel.
what rain?
Artoo and Grampapa goin' for a ride
Driving home from Calgary, we stopped in Drumheller, AB to check out the DINOSAURS at the Royal Tyrell Museum Chewie had a pretty fun time - and at the end we were all happy to go back home.
"Mom, i'm not even as tall as his knee!"
so cool
This statue is hollow, and you can climb to the top and look out the T-Rex's mouth
Inside the dino, so excited!
It was a pretty good trip and the boys were excellently behaved during the 6.5 hour car ride. It was a good time and i feel better about our upcoming trip next weekend, back to Alberta for my grandmother's memorial service.
Weekly Challenge #124: "We Are Calgary" While we were in Calgary last weekend, i took the opportunity to drive my family through Bowness - the community in the North West of Calgary where B-rad and i lived during the first few years of our married life together. I showed my family my old house, the hill where B-rad proposed, all our old haunts and we all marveled at how much the community had grown and changed in the almost seven years we've been gone.
It's changed much more, now.
You may have seen some footage of the flooding in Calgary. It's just heart breaking.
Bowness is the community shown in the beginning of this video. The whole community is just destroyed... and it's not the only one.
The water is on it's way to Saskatchewan - though i'm told the flooding won't be as bad.
As always, when disaster strikes - amidst the heart break you hear these amazing stories of how the people come together, how humanity rises to the occasion. This disaster has it's fair share of stories - one we were following closely was the evacuation and protection of the animals at the zoo, as the zoo is on an island on the Bow River. Luckily all the animals are safe and sound.
I was inspired by Maria Thomas' tile on the cover of The Book of Zentangle - it reminded me of the people coming together like thousands of hugs
This week's challenge is an open challenge - i only ask that you keep Calgary in your hearts this week, and any part of the Earth where people are dealing with incredible struggles and tragedy.
If you would like to donate to the Canadian Red Cross' Fundraising Efforts, you can do so here.
If you have a blog, add the site-specific URL where your tile is posted to the linkey machine below! Don't forget to link back here so that others can join in the fun! (if you don't know how to find this, you can see my half assed tutorial here)
Also, please feel free to come back often and visit the links of those people on the linkey machine - don't forget to leave a comment or feedback, everyone loves feedback. ;)
If you don't have a blog but still want to participate, you can email your tile to me and i will post it here. (please email to weeklychallenge(at)mail(dot)com). I just ask that you put in the subject line: Challenge # ________
The deadline for each weekly challenge is Saturday night so that i can round everyone up by Sunday. What this means is that i will stop adding tiles to the slideshow on Sunday. You're still more than welcome to do the challenges and add your name to the linkey machine.
I will be more diligent with the linkey machine - by editing out the ones that don't work, the doubles, the links that lead to nowhere, the links that go just to blog home pages (this is why we need those site specific urls), and the spam. And there is some spam. PLEASE do not put your *home* page in the linkey machine... please? for me??
Happy Monday everyone! First of all, as always - a few house keeping items:
If you're NEW here (and there've been a lot of new additions to the party!) I'm working on creating some tutorials to help you out. You can click on the links above or: See "Getting Started" and "Tutorials"
To see all the past weekly challenges - click the tabs above
Please grab the button for the Weekly Challenge (on the right sidebar) to display on your blogs! share the fun!
The limit of submissions to the slideshow is TWO, but please feel free to post as many as you like to your blogs. I will take the first two presented to each challenge.
I know that some of you have told me that the paypal button does not work, and some of you have had no trouble, i'm not sure why it's inconsistent, i've redone the code a few times... If all else fails you can donate to my paypal address which is madam_diva ( a t ) yahoo ( d o t ) com - also to those people who donated this week... THANK YOU SO MUCH.
Happy Monday!! This week i've managed to hurt my neck some how. It hasn't been fun. My chiropractor is on mat leave, and i haven't managed to get out to find a new one... plus, i'm kinda sketchy about neck adjustments, so i want to make sure i trust the person moving those bones around... So i spent a large portion of this week grumpy and in pain. Some angles are more difficult than others, like, say - looking down at a Zentangle tile. :( sad face.
This weekend B-rad went off to celebrate Fathers' Day with his Dad and his brothers for their annual Boys Only fishing trip. He left bright and early Thursday morning. Me and the little boys took this opportunity to go on a road trip to Calgary, AB. Artoo had an appointment in Calgary on Friday morning, so my parents came along to make a weekend out of it. We had a lot of fun - and went to the Zoo even though it rained. Chewie loved the Zoo. He loved seeing the elephants and the hippos and the giraffe, but both boys loved the Penguins. We finally got home around 9:30 on Sunday night - exhausted, and anxious to sleep in our own beds so i haven't downloaded the pictures off my phone yet.
This week we are lucky to have CZT Maria Vennekens as a guest blogger! We attended the same CZT training course back in 2010, and she has been a regular contributor to the challenge. This post - it's a doozy, i'm not going to lie. I'll be very interested to see your contributions and your thoughts on the process. I have my own thoughts that i'll share later after sitting with this one for a bit. Weekly Challenge #123: "Guest Post: Is it a Zentangle?" As a CZT I often get the same question: How creative is the Zentangle method when everyone works with the same given patterns? The answer to that question is not so difficult.
When starting with the Zentangle method you do not need creativity.
In a beginners class your CZT will give you a lot of information about the Zentangle method and also will teach you some patterns. You copy them and have a nice personal piece of work.
Because everyone has a personal way of mark making the Zentangles turn out totally different, even in the first lesson.
Later your creativity makes you play with the patterns. You alter them, combine them in different ways, or you invent and deconstruct new patterns. This only is possible trough the creativity that has been developed from the moment you start putting your pen to paper (again).
The answer to another question I got lately is not so obvious; Zentangle plays with patterns but can you do a Zentangle without using existing patterns or tangeleations* of them? My first thought was: of course I can. But when I sat down and tried, I found this is quite a challenge.
before shading
after shading
I did a tile and a zendala and found myself thinking and planning what, where and how I would draw.
I really missed the Zen part of Zentangle; the repeating strokes that slowly built the pattern without the need of thinking and planning. I think that ‘Zen’ part is essential to the Zentangle method. So, did I make a Zentangle? The challenge for this week is: can you do a Zentangle without using existing patterns or tangeleations* of them? And what are your experiences while doing so?
*patterns and tangeleations as far as you know
Maria Vennekens is a CZT that lives in the Netherlands. Half of the week she works as a primary school teacher. The rest of her time is divided over her husband, house and garden and growing bonsai trees. Besides that she teaches calligraphy and Zentangle in her own studio and elsewhere in the Netherlands, Belgium and Germany. She also likes walking, reading and exploring cultures on other continents than Europe. The only wish she has, is to have more hours in a day! You can get in touch with her trough info@zentangle.eu or take a look at her website (most in Dutch) www.zentangle.eu
If you have a blog, add the site-specific URL where your tile is posted to the linkey machine below! Don't forget to link back here so that others can join in the fun! (if you don't know how to find this, you can see my half assed tutorial here)
Also, please feel free to come back often and visit the links of those people on the linkey machine - don't forget to leave a comment or feedback, everyone loves feedback. ;)
If you don't have a blog but still want to participate, you can email your tile to me and i will post it here. (please email to weeklychallenge(at)mail(dot)com). I just ask that you put in the subject line: Challenge # ________
The deadline for each weekly challenge is Saturday night so that i can round everyone up by Sunday. What this means is that i will stop adding tiles to the slideshow on Sunday. You're still more than welcome to do the challenges and add your name to the linkey machine.
I will be more diligent with the linkey machine - by editing out the ones that don't work, the doubles, the links that lead to nowhere, the links that go just to blog home pages (this is why we need those site specific urls), and the spam. And there is some spam. PLEASE do not put your *home* page in the linkey machine... please? for me??
Happy Monday everyone! First of all, as always - a few house keeping items:
If you're NEW here (and there've been a lot of new additions to the party!) I'm working on creating some tutorials to help you out. You can click on the links above or: See "Getting Started" and "Tutorials"
To see all the past weekly challenges - click the tabs above
Please grab the button for the Weekly Challenge (on the right sidebar) to display on your blogs! share the fun!
The limit of submissions to the slideshow is TWO, but please feel free to post as many as you like to your blogs. I will take the first two presented to each challenge.
I know that some of you have told me that the paypal button does not work, and some of you have had no trouble, i'm not sure why it's inconsistent, i've redone the code a few times... If all else fails you can donate to my paypal address which is madam_diva ( a t ) yahoo ( d o t ) com - also to those people who donated this week... THANK YOU SO MUCH.
Happy Monday!!
Thanks for everyone being so patient with me this past week, i have been busy with post-run stuff! Here's some photos from the run!
My family - before and after
So, my friend Tara and i planned a charity 5k Fun Run - for Beads of Courage Canada. Everyone started the race in a white t-shirt and then ran through colour stations (99% food grade corn starch, 1% food grade colour!) accumulating colour, symbolizing the kids who are on this program who start off plain and accumulate coloured beads as they go through their medical journeys.
My older brother running through the violet station
We had approximately 160 registered runners, and TONS of kids, over 60 volunteers - lots of amazing sponsors - and we raised over $13,000 for this amazing program. We. Are. Proud. So thankful that we are able to give something back to this program that has and does mean so much to our children and our families.
B-rad and i, after the run.
Both of our families came out, we had amazing weather, and the little kids had SOOO much fun... the grown ups did too.
My niece, my brother, Chewie, and my mom
Here's a photo of SOME of our volunteers.
AWESOME
It was such a fun day.... we're already thinking about next year!
I also had some time to try out Birds on a Wire, but not on a tile - here it is in my Tangle A Day Calendar!
Birds on a wire!
Weekly Challenge #122: "Grid (un)Locked" At the beginning of the month, Rick and Maria sent out the latest Zentangle Newsletter where they talked about using a grid in a new way.
Now, there are TONS of grid based patterns. But this approach is different. In fact Rick and Maria compare it to Tripoli, which was released in THIS newsletter wherein what you draw INSIDE the triangles becomes the 'pattern' as you line your triangles up together. In the Grid (un)Locked, all you need is one little square.
Here's a few of Rick and Maria's examples of those little square, or grid seeds as they call them:
I think the term grid seed is just so perfect, because as you fill in each squre, your pattern grows. LOVE it.
This week's challenge is to try a Grid (un)Locked! You can use either one of Rick and Maria's grid seeds, or as an added challenge, come up with your own grid seed collection and use one of those!!
I used seed # I-1 on this tile
Here's a few shots of my little "seed" growing in my Tangle a Day calendar.
I'm collecting some seeds to try out in my calendar! have fun!!
If you have a blog, add the site-specific URL where your tile is posted to the linkey machine below! Don't forget to link back here so that others can join in the fun! (if you don't know how to find this, you can see my half assed tutorial here)
Also, please feel free to come back often and visit the links of those people on the linkey machine - don't forget to leave a comment or feedback, everyone loves feedback. ;)
If you don't have a blog but still want to participate, you can email your tile to me and i will post it here. (please email to weeklychallenge(at)mail(dot)com). I just ask that you put in the subject line: Challenge # ________
The deadline for each weekly challenge is Saturday night so that i can round everyone up by Sunday. What this means is that i will stop adding tiles to the slideshow on Sunday. You're still more than welcome to do the challenges and add your name to the linkey machine.
I will be more diligent with the linkey machine - by editing out the ones that don't work, the doubles, the links that lead to nowhere, the links that go just to blog home pages (this is why we need those site specific urls), and the spam. And there is some spam. PLEASE do not put your *home* page in the linkey machine... please? for me??
Happy Monday everyone! First of all, as always - a few house keeping items:
If you're NEW here (and there've been a lot of new additions to the party!) I'm working on creating some tutorials to help you out. You can click on the links above or: See "Getting Started" and "Tutorials"
To see all the past weekly challenges - click the tabs above
Please grab the button for the Weekly Challenge (on the right sidebar) to display on your blogs! share the fun!
The limit of submissions to the slideshow is TWO, but please feel free to post as many as you like to your blogs. I will take the first two presented to each challenge.
I know that some of you have told me that the paypal button does not work, and some of you have had no trouble, i'm not sure why it's inconsistent, i've redone the code a few times... If all else fails you can donate to my paypal address which is madam_diva ( a t ) yahoo ( d o t ) com - also to those people who donated this week... THANK YOU SO MUCH.
Happy Monday!!
Sunday (yesterday) was our Beads of Courage Colour Festival Fun Run that my friend Tara and i organized, as a fundraiser. It was an untimed 5K fun run - and we had a really great turn out! I spent most of Saturday doing last minute organization stuff, and making lists, and more lists, and then lists of my lists (not kidding!). Tara and i packed everything into my van then i went home and made some more lists. I went to bed sometimes around midnight, and wasn't able to shut my brain off until somewhere around 1:30am, only to wake up at 3:00 am with a dream that someone had stolen my van with all our race stuff in it, including the 500 lbs of coloured corn starch we were going to throw at our runners. Once i was awake, i lay there in bed wondering if i had locked my van doors. I usually do, but the more i thought about it, the more uncertain i became, and around 3:30 or so i decided that the only way i was going to get back to sleep was to get out of bed, go downstairs, and go outside and check. sure enough. the van was locked.
I fell asleep again, only to wake up at 5:40 to get up for the day. I was picking Tara up at 6:30 and i didn't want to be late.
needless to say, after the event today - i am exhausted. i really want to tell you all about the race, and i will - but probably not today. hopefully i can put more effort into telling you all about it sometime this week, so check back for pictures and more goodness. It was such a great day. Weekly Challenge #121: "UMT XVII: Birds on a Wire As many of you know, the first Monday of every month is a UMT challenge (or Use My Tangle), as last week was an official Zentangle tangle, we moved it to this week this go-round.
The challenge is to learn and use one of the tangles created by YOU. (if you have a tangle you'd like to submit, please read the guidelines here)
This week's tangle was created by Mary Kissel, CZT - and you can see the step outs for this tangle on her blog HERE
This one was on my list of tangles to try, so i'm happy it popped up in the random generator this week. I can't wait to give it a go.
So this week's challenge is to try out Mary's tangle "Birds on a Wire"! have fun
If you have a blog, add the site-specific URL where your tile is posted to the linkey machine below! Don't forget to link back here so that others can join in the fun! (if you don't know how to find this, you can see my half assed tutorial here)
Also, please feel free to come back often and visit the links of those people on the linkey machine - don't forget to leave a comment or feedback, everyone loves feedback. ;)
If you don't have a blog but still want to participate, you can email your tile to me and i will post it here. (please email to weeklychallenge(at)mail(dot)com). I just ask that you put in the subject line: Challenge # ________
The deadline for each weekly challenge is Saturday night so that i can round everyone up by Sunday. What this means is that i will stop adding tiles to the slideshow on Sunday. You're still more than welcome to do the challenges and add your name to the linkey machine.
I will be more diligent with the linkey machine - by editing out the ones that don't work, the doubles, the links that lead to nowhere, the links that go just to blog home pages (this is why we need those site specific urls), and the spam. And there is some spam. PLEASE do not put your *home* page in the linkey machine... please? for me??
