Joyful January - I'm in!

Next year (it feels weird writing that and it's less than 2 days away) I will be joining in with Joyful January where people from all over the world will be noticing and sharing things that bring them joy.

The idea comes from Satya Robyn and Kaspalita Thompson who began the River of Stones a few years ago which involved writing to capture a fully-engaged moment. I thoroughly enjoyed participating in that and wrote a small stone every day during January, 2012 (and in fact continued for the rest of the year). I still write them occasionally and you can see them at my other blog www.pausingforsmallstones.blogspot.com.

Satya and Kaspalita write -

"You might want to share an old photo of your dog, a quote you’ve found or a story you’ve heard. You might want to write a few sentences about something that you appreciated during the day. It doesn’t matter what – just anything that makes you smile or brings a little burst of joy."

You can find out more information at http://www.writingourwayhome.com/31-days/31-days-of-joy/. There's also the option of expanding the experience and receiving an email each day as well as other goodies.

To join in with Joyful January you post an image, a few words, share a quote or something that brings you joy and share on facebook, twitter, instagram etc with the hashtag #joyfuljan. I'm sure it will be great fun and inspiration looking through the images and words shared.

I'm planning to share an image or some words each day in January (I'm not quite decided on where yet) and some longer posts going in to more detail here. I'm looking forward to noticing and sharing what brings me joy in January.

Tangle with L-P-N

Merry Christmas to those who celebrate! I'm back from a fun and yummy lunch with family and looking forward to a quiet evening ahead. A well-balanced day in my opinion!

This week's letters for Diane and Carolien's zentangle challenge are L, P and N. I did this tile yesterday on Christmas Eve and is a little influenced by the season. I chose Pixiose by Margaret Bremner for P, Lantern by Donna Blair for L and N-meshed by Linda Rainsford for N.

Tangle with T-O-Q

Something a little different for me this week for Diane and Carolien's Weekly Zentangle Challenge.  I chose 3 ribbon-like tangles. The first two I did were Organza by Ruth Howell and Qian-long by Diane Tai and at that point I was very happy with the tile. I then decided on the third tangle, Twistee by Livia Chua. For a while I was worried that I had overdone it and it felt too busy but some shading saved the day (and tile). All three of these tangles were a delight to draw. 

A feast for the birds (and Shadow Shot Sunday - December 13, 2015)

I wrote about my bumper crop of apricots last year. You can read about it here. It's a very different story this year. There are not as much fruit on the tree and the birds have certainly found what is there. I have managed to pick some and give some away again and if I'm quick I will get some more as they ripen but nothing like last year's crop. 

The Diva's Weekly Zentangle Challenge #247

Wow, it's December already! As it was the first Monday of the month this week that means a Use My Tangle (UMT) challenge over at www.iamthedivaczt.blogspot.com. This week it is the tangle, African Artist by Tina-Akua Hunziker, CZT. 

Tangle with X-P-I

The letters this week for Diane and Carolien's Weekly Challenge are X, P and I. I chose Lila Popcheff's tangle X for X, Karry Henn's tangle Palrevo for P and Jennifer Hohensteiner's tangle Ipso for I. For a change I added a little colour this week. 

Pandemic - is it possible to win?

I'm joining in with Six Word Saturday again. My six words are 

Pandemic - is it possible to win? 

Last week my daughter's boyfriend bought the board game, Pandemic, and the three of us have enjoyed learning how to play and trying to win. We've had five attempts so far and felt like we've come close a couple of times but haven't achieved success yet. It's a different way of playing a board game in that instead of playing against each other you work together to try and save the world from four different viruses. It took a little while to learn and each time you play it is different as part of the game is to have a particular role which changes each game. You have to use your skills to help the team and though you take turns individually there is lots of talking about what each person should do. It's certainly held our interest so far and we're determined to win. Maybe on our sixth attempt? 

Tangle with K-U-C

For Diane and Carolien's challenge this week the letters are K, U and C. I chose the tangles Keenies by Donna Hornsby, Undling by Susie Achter and C-stem by Agneta Landegren. 

The Diva's Weekly Zentangle Challenge #246

There is a guest blogger this week over at www.iamthedivaczt.blogspot.com. Dilip Patel, CZT09 from India has set us the challenge of a monotangle over strings resembling a tree. I came across the tangle C-STEM by Agneta Landegren while doing another challenge and decided to use it for my monotangle. I'm pleased with how it turned out. 

The Diva's Weekly Zentangle Challenge #245

Hollibaugh was one of the first tangles I attempted and I really enjoy the drawing behind technique. I thought I would get the Diva's challenge done quickly this week but here we are about to get the next challenge and I have just finished it. So here's my late entry for the challenge - 

Tangle with H-W-N

H for Hekzee by Carole Ohl, W for Widgets by Kate Ahrens and N for Narwal by Samantha Taylor. This one is for week 34 of Diane and Carolien's weekly challenge. 

A villanelle for my niece

I have been experimenting a little lately with writing villanelles. I have a copy of Stephen Fry's book The Ode Less Travelled: Unlocking the Poet Within in which he outlines the requirements for a villanelle and gives some very helpful tips. I highly recommend it for anyone who wants to know a bit more of the how-to of poetry. 

This one I wrote for my niece, Selena, who is 3 and loves playing with Lego. I haven't thought of a title yet - suggestions welcome! 

Here it is - 

'Play with me, play Lego', she said 
The bricks tipped on to the floor 
A crocodile snapped at Peter Pan's head 

'Snow White, please rescue me', he begged 
But Peter Pan, Snow White ignored 
'Play with me, play Lego', she said 

Tending to flowers in a garden bed 
Was Snow White, busy with teeny pitchfork
A crocodile snapped at Peter Pan's head 

Meanwhile with the treasure a thief had fled 
Took off in a boat through a storm 
'Play with me, play Lego', she said 

She gathered the green, rejected the red 
Coloured bricks all over the lounge-room floor 
A crocodile snapped at Peter Pan's head 

I suggested we play something else instead 
Then came a knock at the door 
'Play with me, play Lego', she said 
A crocodile snapped at Peter Pan's head 

Maybe it wasn't exactly his head!

Tangle with B-E-X

B, E and X for Diane and Carolien's challenge this week. I chose Bask-It by Anna Houston, Equerre by Genevieve Crabe and Xeni by Jacqueline Janssen. These are all new-to-me tangles. I particulaly enjoyed drawing and shading Bask-It. 

The Diva's Weekly Challenge #244

'Tripoli Triptastic' is the challenge this week over at www.iamthedivaczt.blogspot.com. Laura includes a couple of tips for drawing Tripoli which I found very useful. I haven't (yet) shaded the Tripoli on my tile but after another look at Laura's tile, I think I may give it a go. Or perhaps I will draw another one so I can shade it? 

Along with Tripoli I included some Reticulated by Livia Chua and a little Tipple. 

Tangle with U-K-H

It's U, K and H for Diane and Carolien's challenge this week. I chose Uni by Beth Snoderly, Kisses by Adele Bruno and Harfe by Jennifer Hohensteinor. This one took me a couple of attempts to get it to a point that I like. 

The Diva's Weekly Challenge #243

'Just a tiny taste' is the theme for the Diva's challenge this week. The idea is to just do a little bit of tangling on a tile and to leave most of the tile intentionally blank. It is harder than it sounds at first and I found a desire to add a little more and had to make myself stop. I had a couple of attempts at the challenge this week - 

Tangle with S-F-T

It's S, F and T for this week's challenge from Diane and Carolien. I chose Shiraz by Linda Farmer, Fandance by Diane Knauff and Ta-Da by Margaret McKerihan. These 3 were fun. I'll be exploring Fandance and Ta-Da in particular some more. 

Sand - A monotangle

It's a String Thing #117

I haven't participated in Adele Bruno's challenge, It's a String Thing for a while. I took a peak at the email giving instructions for this week and it looked like lots of fun and I couldn't resist giving it a go when I had some quiet time today. The task was to use the new tangle Sand by Adele Bruno and a string she devised. I like how doing a monotangle encourages you to stretch your thinking. Here's my tile - 

The Diva's Weekly Zentangle Challenge #242

It's a new official tangle, Gourdgeous, for the Diva's challenge this week. I don't think it will become one of my favourites but I did enjoy it more that I thought I would. I found it to be one that requires quite a lot of focus which was good. 

First time painting a stobie pole

This week was a particularly creative one for me. I finally made it to join a group of people who are painting stobie poles around my suburb. They are doing a fabulous job and gradually more and more are appearing and looking great! Here are a few examples - 

I have been meaning to go along and paint as well but until yesterday haven't been able to make it. I was glad that I had the morning free and was able to paint my first stobie pole. 

It was a little scary at first putting the paint on the pole but I soon found myself enjoying it. The inspiration for my design is a picture book - 'Windblown' by Edouard Manceau. This gorgeous picture book is about 7 pieces of paper that are blown around by the wind and then transform into animals. At the end the reader is challenged to think of what they can make from the shapes. I made the little bird which I painted on the pole. 

Here's a few of the pictures in the book - 

I have read this book to a number of classes and then the students have made their own designs from the seven pieces of paper. The variety of ideas and the creativity has been amazing each time. It's certainly one of my favourite picture books. 

This is a Six Word Saturday post. To see how other people describe their week or part thereof go to www.showmyface.com. 

Tangle with O-A-C

This week's letters for Diane and Carolien's challenge are O, A and C.   I chose the patterns Oskie by Antonine Megger, Amoeba by Linda Dawson and Canard by Abigail Lalonde.  This string I chose is number 071 listed on www.tanglepatterns.com.

The Diva's Weekly Zentangle Challenge #240

The Diva's Challenge this week is to be inspired by the season. It's Spring here, with lots of blossoms, buds and roses out in full bloom. I've been noticing the blanket of bottlebrush needles over my driveway. The other day I was getting out of the car when I saw a cute little branch of gumnuts and picked it up. I was already contemplating doing some art inspired by it so when I read the Diva's challenge for this week it wasn't hard to decide what to do.

gumnut inspiration

First I tried to draw some of the gumnuts, blossom and leaves. Initially I thought I would tangle around and within the outlines but then decided to leave it as it is. Perhaps I'll add some colour later.

Next, I thought I'd try to draw some gumnuts bigger and do some tangling. After a bit of trial and error this is what I came up with -

I decided to tangle the background and with quite a bit of shading the gumnuts stand out quite well.

A fun challenge this week!

Tangle with U-N-D

For Diane and Carolien's challenge this week I chose the tangles Unme by Debra Castaldi, Nuwave by Beth Snoderly and DLSunray by Donna Hornsby. For this challenge I have also begun choosing a string from www.tanglepatterns.com. This week I chose string 122 from Adele Bruno.

Doing this one was a great example of the usefulness of persistence. There were many points I almost gave up on this one but it hasn't turned out too badly in the end.

Enjoyable, challenging end to the week

I hoped for some teaching this week. After having the flu at the end of last term and two weeks of school holidays I was particularly happy (and a little nervous) to get two days of teaching at the end of the week. What a lot of variety there can be in my day. From reading picture books (this week it was one of my favourites, The Day the Crayons Quit by Drew Daywalt), to singing and dancing, a game of kickball (with bases like softball but batters kick the ball), maths, art and more. I taught a year one class on Thursday and a year three and four class on Friday. On Thursday the year ones did some crayon art. I hadn't planned it exactly but it was a good tie in with the crayon book. What a great job they did!

 

 

This activity was suggested by the regular class teacher. It's one I'll definitely be keeping in mind for future relief days. It's really good for talking about working together, as a team and how everyone's contribution is important. Afterwards I was thinking too that it would go well with reading The Dot by Peter Reynolds. We got some maths in too, talking about quarters.

 

This is a Six Word Saturday post. See how other people describe their week or part of at www.showmyface.com. 

Tangle with L-Z-P

This week for Diane and Carolien's challenge the letters are L, Z and P. I chose Logjam by Wayne Harlow, Zonked by Barbara Finwall and Pais by Mikee Huber. I started out trying to draw a straight grid for Zonked but it was a little wonky so I decided to start again and make the lines deliberately curved. It looks quite effective I think. And I'll give it another go with a square grid sometime. It's one that takes a lot of concentration.

I'm posting the pre and post shaded versions again. I particularly like how Logjam turned out when shaded.

 

Tangle with R-K-I

I have changed my approach to Diane and Carolien's Weekly Challenge a little. I was using original zentangle patterns first where possible. Now I have decided to use any patterns  I find on www.tanglepatterns.com for the letters. I aim to choose them fairly quickly and to use one pattern for each letter.

What a difference some shading and a 'mistake' can make! I chose the patterns Reticulated by Livia Chua, Kitchener by Mary Sargeant and Inchworm by Lori Byerly. Three really fun patterns! I'm going to put my before and after shading photos here to show the difference. You'll notice there is also more black on the shaded example. It's said that there are no mistakes in zentangle. Doesn't it go something like no mistakes, only opportunities? That is the case here. I started colouring one of the squares as I had messed up the pattern I planned and added some strokes where I hadn't planned them. I decided to colour the alternate rows of diamonds and the border of the other rows. I quite like how it turned out. It makes Kitchener stand out whereas I felt it was getting a bit lost.

The Diva's Weekly Zentangle Challenge #238

It's a Use My Tangle challenge this week at http://www.iamthedivaczt.blogspot.com.au/. The tangle is Tri-bee by Beate Winkler, CZT from Germany.

I had a try at Tri-bee and wasn't that happy with what I'd done so relaxed and started playing and before I knew it I had something that I do quite like and quite different from a lot of what I do.

Tangle with F-I-N

This week for Diane and Carolien's challenge the letters are F, I and N. For the first time I have missed a week of this challenge.I may or may not go back to it. I have so many creative endeavours going on at the moment!

I chose the tangles Fiore (by Jana Rogers), Inapod (by Carole Ohl) and Navaho (by Caren Mlot). I thought I would do something a little different this week and as two of the patterns are grid based I decided to tangle on some paper which has a light dot grid base marked.

I was going to cut out a square to use but ended up tangling over the whole piece. I enjoyed all 3 of these tangles. Inapod is such a lot of fun to draw! It's tricky to get the lines straight in Navaho and mine certainly aren't but I think it looks alright when you've done quite a few. It was similar for Fiore. Some of my early ones were a bit wobbly but together they look fine.
Here they are, pre and post shading.

Shadow Shot Sunday - September 27, 2015

I spotted some great shadows this morning while doing the dishes. My kitchen window looks out on to a small garden area. It doesn't take much to distract me from the dishes. I was soon out there taking photos.

These are from some very large leaves

This one reminds me of a lizard (upside down).

 

Some wispy, weedy shadows

A rose plant growing in a crack in the cement.

Great shadows today - you can see the edges of the leaves!

 

You can see other people's shadow shots at www.shadowshotsunday2.blogspot.com