Zentagle Tape Dispenser Fun

 I wanted a fun tape dispenser for my desk at school. I searched in stores and online during my back to school shopping but couldn't find anything. I wanted something that was easy to use with one hand and decorative at the same time. I already have several boring black Scotch tape dispensers like this one so an idea struck me; why not decorate the dispensers I have.

I sat down to watch a movie armed with a silver Sharpie and zentangled my boring tape dispenser. This is what I ended up with.

Then I used a bronze sharpie on another one of my black tape dispensers. I plan to use this dispenser on my desk at home. I did discover one thing while working on the second one. The second dispenser had a smooth black line around the middle, so it was hard to get the Sharpie to stay on that part.  I think over time the design will fade on that smooth area.  The Sharpie adheres well to the rest of the dispenser's matte finish so if I decorate another dispenser I would leave that smooth edge plain or better yet draw on a dispenser that doesn't have a smooth finish on it.

Wool, Doodles and a Gift

I've already started creating this summer.  One of the things I love about summertime is that I have lots of time to craft and create. My first project this summer was to create a birthday gift for my friend Kerry. Kerry has a soft spot for elephants so I couldn't resist making one from recycled wool.  I created this little elephant using this pattern I found on Pinterest.  He was hand stitched with love.

I also zentangled a mini bird house and a photo box to serve as a gift box. The gnomes are little pot hangers. I couldn't resist them, they are so cute. Kerry has a little fairy garden so I knew she could use a few gnomes to decorate it.

After shipping Kerry's elephant I decided to try making another one. I wanted it to be smaller and to have it's trunk up.  I drew a new pattern to create a little elephant. This was the final result; I think he's very cute. Since I regularly craft in jags I have a hankering to make a few more wool softies. Maybe I'll even make a whole herd of wool elephants. Of course what will I do with them all, my bookshelves are quickly filling with little wool creations.

Zentangle Box

I haven't zentangled much in the last six months.  I used to tangle a lot but I tend to craft in jags and I've been sewing more in the past few months. Well it seems I may have entered into a zentangle jag.  I drew on a red tin can for the last swap I did. It inspired me to try zentangling on a different kind of box.  I used a photo box that I purchased on sale at my local craft store.

This is the sage green photo box I started started with. It's plain and boring, not much of a gift box.

With just a black sharpie, some time and positive thoughts I created a decorated gift box for a co-worker who is in need of some positive thoughts and a cheer up. As I drew, I thought about all the worries my co-worker has been facing and tried to pour positive thoughts into each stroke.

I placed my gift inside the box then tied it up with some black elephant ribbon. I dropped it off on her desk before school and left for my workshop. I wasn't at school when she found it, but she sent me a text to say she loved the surprise gift.  I'm thrilled that she liked it. Sometimes you just need a little pick me up; it helps to know other people are thinking of you and sending good thoughts your way.

Recycled Tin Cans & Zentangle Tags

Last week was teacher appreciation week. As a special education preschool teacher I work with an amazing group of paraprofessionals.  I wanted to express my appreciation to these women, so I planted herbs in recycled tin cans as my way of saying "Thanks for all you do!"  What better way to express your appreciation than through a craft that involves recycling?!  It's good for the environment and functional since the herbs can last long into the summer. Not to mention the finished cans are pretty.

For this project, I saved the tin cans from my crushed and diced tomatoes.  After washing and drying the cans I transplanted parsley, basil or thyme into the cans. Then I went to my craft room where I pulled out my fabric scraps, burlap, jute rope and my glue gun. I cut my fabric scraps to fit the cans, then used my glue gun to glue the fabric and the burlap to the can. Next I tied some jute rope around the can and attached some of my zentangle tags. You can find my free zentangle tags here. I'm biased because I drew the tags, but I love them and use them on gifts throughout the year.

A Little Holiday Zentangle Tutorial

It's holiday time. I like to make something to give to my co-workers, but this year I was struggling to come up with an idea. I've decided to make some holiday Hershey Kiss pretzels and Rolo pretzel bites but I wanted a tag to go on each bag of goodies.  I found some wood flower shapes at the Dollar Tree and inspiration struck. I created some wooden Zentangle tags that can double as a Christmas ornament.

I gathered my materials:

• wood shapes(the package had 10 shapes for $1)
• red and green acrylic paint
• paintbrushes
• black Sharpie
• old plastic lid for paint
• paper to protect my work surface
• DMC thread

First I watered down some red acrylic paint.  There is no exact science to this; just squirt some paint on an old plastic lid, add a little water and mix. I painted one side of my wood pieces.  I did a couple of coats until I was happy with the color then set them aside to dry. 

Once they dried I flipped them over to paint the backside and the edges of my wood pieces. Then I set them aside to dry again.

After letting them dry, I used the black sharpie to Zentangle on the front of each flower shape. Note: I tried drawing on the wood first then painting but it didn't work as well.  Painting first stopped the Sharpie from bleeding across the wood. Plus the black turns out lighter when you draw then paint over it. After trial and error, my advice is paint first, then draw.

Here's a group of the Zentangle tag/ornaments I finished. I wrote To: and From: on the backside with Sharpie so they will work as a gift tag on my holiday goodies.The last step is to drill a hole in the center and thread a piece of DMC through. Tie a knot then hang them on your tree or attach them to your Christmas gifts.

Zentangle Freebie

Everyone loves a freebie, right?! Well, here's a little Zentangle freebie for you. I made these bookmarks while I sat in a three day workshop this month. Yes, I did actually pay attention and learn even though I was drawing. I'm an auditory visual learner so drawing Zentangles helps me listen and attend. Not only did I learn new things but I left the workshop with these four bookmarks to share. I printed these on cardstock, cut them out and ran them through my little laminator. I made some for my local library and for the workshop presenter. Now I'm sharing them with you too.

The bottom design is my favorite. It has my personal pattern creation. I call it "fancy snail"(it's the spiral design on the left side of the bottom bookmark.) I'm hoping to draw out the steps and submit it to tanglepatterns.com. I thought that if I wrote that here maybe I'd actually do it. Anyway, Click HERE for a PDF of my bookmarks. I hope you will enjoy them!

Happy Valentine's Day!

Happy Valentine's Day!

As you know, I like to doodle and zentangle. I thought gift tags would be a nice thing to create, so while sitting in a workshop today, I listened to the presentation and doodled. I created these circle gift tags.
It's Valentine's Day, a day to share love and kindness with your family and friends(really everyday is a day to share love and kindness, but I digress.) Since we couldn't send each and every one of you a Valentine we're sharing these zentangled gift tags instead. They can be printed on cardstock, cut out, then punch a small hole and add a bit of string before attaching them to a gift. We hope you'll enjoy them. Click here to download a pdf with the circle gift tags.

Or if you'd prefer a different set of tags, how about these. Click here to download these gift tags instead. Enjoy and have a lovely Valentine's Day!

Crafting

So I have been busy working. Even with IEPs and evals to write for school I've managed to fit in a few crafty projects. Granted I haven't done as many as I'd like given that Christmas is just around the corner, but I have gotten a few things made. Sadly there are many more projects on my list that I probably won't get to before Christmas. Oh well, I won't dwell on that now. Instead I'll concentrate on what has been finished.
I made this patchwork stocking for my partner in the St. Nickolaus Swap. I love how it turned out and hope to eventually make some for us of course that probably won't happen anytime soon.

I also worked a little bit with wool felt and felted wool sweaters to create these brooches. I sent the blue bird brooch to my partner for the St. Nickolaus Swap. The rest are destined to become gifts for co-workers. I keep forgetting how much I like working with wool felt and old sweaters. I've got to come up with some more projects to use my sweater stash.


I also made and sent this apron to my St. Nickolas Day Swap partner. I love the color combination and the polka dots. I was tempted to keep it for myself but that wouldn't have been in the spirit of St. Nickolaus so I sent it on the way to it's new owner instead.


As you know I'm a bit zentangle obsessed so I've done a some of that over the last month or two. I zentangled this red umbrella for a swap. It took a lot more time than I thought it would to draw on the whole thing. As I was getting ready to mail it out I noticed some black on my hands so now I'm not sure it's even waterproof. I almost didn't send it but decided to send it anyway since I spent so much time on it. It may have to be used as a parasol or a decoration instead of a functional umbrella. I was afraid to test it out!


Lastly I altered this dress for my sister. My sister was looking for a dress to wear to a formal holiday party and asked me to alter her green dress. She originally wore it in her best friend's wedding last year. It was about 5 inches longer and strapless. The dress kept falling down and had to pulled up frequently so it definitely needed some alterations. I have to say I was scared to death to cut it and attempt the alterations. I am not a seamstress and get nervous about cutting and altering items for other people. Especially expensive clothing! My sister was very calm and trusting and didn't seem worried at all. That's okay because I worried enough for the both of us!!! But in the end I worried for nothing as it turned out really cute. It's a little wrinkled in this picture but think it looks even prettier now that it has been altered. My sister wore it to the party last weekend and got many compliments on it.
So what have you been up to? Are you done your Christmas crafting?

Spookify Me Challenge

A few weeks ago during a meeting a co-worker challenged me to zentangle something for Halloween. Of course I took the challenge and created this eyeball. It's hanging in our classroom now. My students love it and have been asking me to make eyeballs for them. This week the students will be doing a few Halloween activities so I decided to create an eyeball that they can complete. I created one for the kids that don't like to draw so they can color it instead and one for my budding zentanglers so they can zentangle their own eyeball. I thought I'd share the pdf and open up the challenge to you. What kind of eyeball can you create?