Days 56 and 57

Day 56

     Snow is heading our way so we missed school today.  I am going to forget what my kiddos look like!  I also am going to suffer when I have actually work an entire full week.   Yikes!  I will not deny enjoying this time to create stuff and relax, but I do miss being on a schedule - even if at times it is hectic.  I also did not bring anything home (again) so I may be without the ability to do any school work this weekend if we don't return.  Pity me!
      Adele Bruno has a wonderful string challenge going.  This week we had to use the tangles phroz and fassett.  I had not spent much time with these but discovered they were a lot of fun.

Day 57

     Yes indeed we did get snow!  Lots of snow!  So here I am at home yet again, but this time the ground is a gorgeous white.  We had snow cream late last night - yum!  I hadn't made that in years.  Today we went out and played in the snow with Lakota.  He loves this almost as much as we do.  We threw snowballs and he caught them.  Then we had to throw his beat up football and the Frisbee so he could chase them down. 

 

     While inside I did finish up a tile I started yesterday.  This - eeks! - wasn't for a challenge, just for fun. 

 

     Oh, before I forget it!   Guess who won the essential oils package that Erin Olsen over at the Bright Owl was giving away???  Yep, me!!  That was a cool surprise this morning!  Thank you, Erin!

 

     Thank you for dropping by and I hope you have a blessed day.

 

Days 54 and 55

Day 54

     Very hard to get up this morning and return to the routine!  No delays, just an agonizing 6 in the morning.  But all in all, it was nice to return to school and see my kiddos.  They were all happy to be back.  For some of mine perhaps, school is where it is warm and they have good food.  Sad.
     This afternoon after grading a few papers, I worked on Suzy Mosh's New to Me challenge.  This week we had to use new tangles that began with the letter N.  Do you know what?  I have almost no N tangles in my trusty notebook.  And the ones I do have are not new.  So using more than one tangle was not going to happen.  I chose (or rather it chose me) Nexxus by Jeanne Burbage.  Since it had to go solo, I played around with a bit of color. 

Day 55 and a new tangle??

       Remember how excited I was yesterday to have some normalcy?  I got a school cast call this morning at 5:30.  No school.  I looked outside to a white covered world.  Really???  I have been sitting here drawing and playing around with supplies.  While that is fun, no argument, I sort of miss getting back into the "grind".  And I also hate the thought of possibly going too far into my summer. 
      I worked first on the challenge for Made by Joey.  We had to use blocks and stack them - 3 on the bottom, then 2, then 1.  I added a few supports around the blocks - they looked a bit un steady. 

     Diva's challenge was to use tools that you didn't usually use.  I rarely use black tiles.  I did my drawing in gel pens - nothing really unusual there, except I only use gel pens for coloring not doing the tangles in.  The lines are too thick and bulky for me.  

     One of my absolute favorite tangles is Arabel by Helena.  I use it every chance I get.  I like the curvy flow - well, everything about this tangle appeals to me!  I wanted to use it for the Diva challenge, but couldn't figure out how to do the boxes so they could be in different colors.  (sometimes, I can be a bit, uh, anal . . . )  So I decided to "release" arable from it's confines!  I really like how the curves can be fitted in with each other.  I am not sure this a new tangle or merely a tangleation - but either way it is fun.

     What do you think?  A new one or just some fun playing?  Does it need a name?  If so, what?!
      Thank you for dropping by and saying hello!  I think I will be back in school tomorrow, but who knows?  They are predicting a bigger blast on Wednesday afternoon / night.  Oh my.  My lesson plans may last until April at this rate.  Have a blessed day!

Day 53

     Amazing!!!  No school work!  Well, actually I do have school work.  Papers to grade, things I wanted to look over, you get the idea.  However they are all on my desk at school.  "Miss Smarty" never thought we wouldn't be at school on Friday.  I guessed at a 2 hour delay, but to miss the whole day?  No chance.  Wrong.  But then again, if I actually have a complete weekend and no work once in a year's time, who is to complain?  Normally I work all Sunday on school work.  Yahoo!  Not today. 
     I found another challenge.  Okay, I don't need another challenge, but this one looks like fun.  The site is Made by Joey.  The challenge this week was to draw a lot of circles - polka dots.  They couldn't overlap and had to be filled with a different tangle in each.  This was fun.  It is sort of a polka dot tangle sampler.   I think I will try this with my art club.  They will enjoy this.

     Thank you for dropping by and leaving me some sunshine!  Have a great day!

Day 52

       Last night late the snow we got was soft and fluffy and absolutely perfect!  This morning it is icing so the snow is hard and crunchy.  Rough on Lakota's feet.  Not any fun to play in either.  But we enjoyed it a bit last night.
      I worked on my several projects today.  Some are not quite complete.  I will hang on to those to use this week for the 365 days of creating!  I know this week will be busy, so projects needing just a bit to finish might come in handy. 
      For Square One - Purely Tangles (a facebook group), we had to use the tangle "stircles".  I was okay with that tangle, but after combining it with nzeppel (which I love), I felt satisfied with the results.  Honestly, it probably won't get a LOT of use, but it was fun to try it out.

     Our Journal52 prompt was aromatherapy.  Really?!  I had absolutely no clue as to what to do.  So I went to google and googled images.  Sounds crazy huh?  But there were lots of them.  So I found one I liked and then pulled out my watercolors and gave it a try.  As you can see, I am not the world's best painter.  I see what I want in my mind, however it doesn't always happen on the paper.  Either way, it is done.

     I went ahead and worked on my inchie for Monday.  The weather is bad and I am on a creative roll.  Yahoo!  The prompt was "snail".  Mine is simple, but cute.

     Now . . .  what next?  I think I will play around in my sketch book for a while.  Or maybe go make some lunch.  Yep, that is a plan.  Thank you for dropping by and I hope your day is filled with blessings. 

Day 51

     Crazy week for school!  Off Monday for a holiday, Tuesday for ice, Wednesday for actual snow - not much but it was white for a few moments, Thursday was a 2 hour delay because of temp.  I just knew Friday would be delayed also.  I "knew" so well, I left school computer and papers to grade at school.  Figured I would get them Friday.  Imagine my shock when Friday was cancelled altogether.  We are expecting a wintery mix some time this afternoon and they did not want to chance an early dismissal after doing a 2 hour delay.  Now I could whine and wish I had my school work - yeah, right.  I have a three day weekend and I can't do any school work!  Oh woe is me!  Don't worry about me though, I will find something to occupy my time.
     Day 51 - I finished up my challenge for Adele Bruno's string challenge.  We had to use the tangle patterns kozy and inaura.  Neither one were ones I had spent any time with.  They didn't seem to fit in the string we had to use so well - at least for me.  It will be interesting to see what others do.  I added a bit of color to "help" it out.  Not my favorite, but fun.

       Last post I mentioned my facebook friend that passed away, Millie Galliher.  Our group is doing tiles and pieces of art to honor her.  The admins are going to put all of these together and share with her family.  Her nickname was the "Mooka Maven" because she had worked with that tangle so much and done so many wonderful variations of it.  I decided to use some mooka in my tile for her.  I know I said it before but this loss has really shaken me.  I suppose one could say I didn't really know her, but how do we determine that?  I feel like I did.  I wish I had been actually around her.  But to those of you out there in blog-land I cherish your friendship.  It may appear fleeting or minor, but you are an important part of my life!  And don't you ever forget that!

    Thank you for dropping by and I wish for you a wonderfully blessed day! 

Day 50 - Year of the Goat!

     It has been a roller coaster week.  Each day, the question of "will we go to school?"  comes up early.  Then there was the loss of a person I went to school with.  I hadn't thought of Chris for years and then there was her picture and all those memories.  Right on the heels of that was a lot of concern from one of my facebook groups about locating a member - Milldred Galliher.  It was discovered she had passed away.  I never met Millie, but I consider her a friend.  She had a fun personality and was always so encouraging of others.  All in all, it has been a bit of a rough week.  To top it all off, I think the weather is causing me some leg pain.  Yep, rough week. 
      Diva's Challenge was to do a tile for the Year of the Goat.  Mine is pretty simple, but I like it.

      I hope you are having a blessed week.  Take care and stay warm!

Days 48 and 49

     Day 48 - Suzy Mosh's New to Me Challenge gave me an opportunity to work with Helen Williams's tangle "steps".  I love the look but hadn't been able to feel comfortable with it until now.  I also add some other new "s" tangles - stonework, square in a square, and slender.  This was a fun challenge.  Sometimes the biggest challenge is finding new tangles.  So far I have been able to keep all the tangles on a piece new and starting with the selected letter.  Not bad, huh?

Day 49 - Finally got back to the Journal52 page.  The prompt was Valentines.  I got several cute cards from my kiddos at school, - boxes of yummy sugar free chocolate too.  I thought I wanted to do more of a Valentine from a more serious "love" perspective.   So I went to my favorite chapter of the Bible, Corinthians, and used it as my inspiration.  After all, that to me is the greatest Valentine ever given.

  I hope you are having a wonderful day!  Take care and thank you for dropping by!

Day 47 Every Inchie Monday

     Every Inchie Monday's word was texts.  I don't text very often.  I really don't want to bother with it.  So I took a less traditional route and went more traditional - okay, you get what I mean.  So here is my math text book! 

     Have a great day!  See you again soon.  This every day thing is keeping me hopping.  The side benefit is that I am getting more and more comfortable on my new computer.  That is a good thing.

Day 46

    Day 46 - Where is my snow?  I know. I know.  Those of you who are being besocked by the white stuff think I am crazy.  But all I really want is one really pretty day of white fluffy fun.  That's all.  What did I get after all the promises - rain.  Dreary, sloppy rain.  Great day for crafting though.
    I cut a few things for my journal52 page, but that is probably tomorrow's task.  I also cut and made six birthday cards for teachers at school.  That was fun.  I make a huge mess when I cut so it about takes up my whole day if you count clean up.  It is fun though.

     Thanks for dropping by.  I must clean the table off if we are going to have supper.  One day I will have a dedicated craft room.  Then I can leave all my messes out and in progress!  See you tomorrow or the next day!

Days 44 and 45

      Brrrr!  It is cold outside.  No snow yet, but perhaps some tonight.  I can't believe we have had no snow and all around us people are digging out from under the white stuff.  I am out of school for our Winter Break through Monday.  If it wanted to add a few extra days, well,  . . . I wouldn't mind.
      Day 44 is the facebook challenge from Square One.  We had to use the tangle "huggins".  I remember when that tangle gave me such a terrible fit I avoided it at all costs.  Now, I use it often and really like it.  Of course, my brain is still saying the whole time "over, under, over, under"! 

     Day 45 - I really intended to spend part of today working on my Journal52 prompt.  I have it all planned out.  But I am going to need to cut some pieces on my Cricut and that means covering a large part of our den with my stuff!  Since we had a new computer game I was wanting to spend more time with, I opted to finish one drawing and work on another.  The nice thing about zentangle is I can work on it a few minutes here and there and I also don't make a major mess like my other crafting projects.
The first drawing was nearly finished except for shading it.  The other one was inspired by a drawing I saw on Facebook.  I wish I could remember who the artist was in order to give credit, but I can't.  It really doesn't look like that one, but the inspiration is obvious.  Quite often I am inspired by others.  I promise I am not intentionally trying to copy their work (or yours), but appreciate the ideas you all give me.  I do make a habit to look once and then work without looking again.

     I suppose I am going to have to force myself to get busy on lesson plans on the possibility we will be in school.  I would much rather work on my inchie and journal page.  Thanks for dropping by!  I hope you have a blessed day.

Days 41, 42, and 43

     Day 41 - For Diva's Challenge we needed to do something Valentin-ish.  She called it a "Valentangle" !  I love that word!  I had already decided to do a Valentine activity with my art club that afternoon so the timing was perfect.  They had to do two tiles and trace a heart pattern on each.  On one tile they tangled the heart and on the other they tangled the outside area.  I traced two tiles into my sketch book and worked on the example for the class.  The kiddos loved doing this and the results were great.  This was my example.  I limited myself to only tangles that they had learned so without that limit I might have tried some other tangles but all in all, I like it.

      Day 42 - I had to wait until during the week to get the Journal52 page done.  The prompt was "window" and I needed to have a stained glass window pattern.  So I finally found one I liked and then made a copy onto cardstock.  I could have tried drawing it, but honestly it was a rough week and just sitting and coloring one evening was very relaxing to me.  I used my metallic gel pens and I think the sparkle it gives makes it look sort of like glass.  I then took my chalks and added a stone wall around it.  Lots of fun with this one!

     Day 43 - Adele Bruno's String challenge was to use the tangles buttercup, inapod, puf, and pozer.  I used three of them.  I just could  not see a way that appealed to me to get inapod in there.  I did however discover I really loved those other three - which I wasn't so familiar with before.

     Today is day 44 and I haven't started to create anything yet.  I plan on checking out the facebook challenge and hopefully the journal prompt is up for the week - who knows?  All I know is I am out of school on winter break, sipping hot chocolate in the comfort of my jammies and so relaxed!  What a great day!  I even got to create some late morning "ZZZZZZ's" this morning!  Yahoo!  Bye, I have to go "play".

Java Me Up! Review

Java Me Up! Review

     Are you a coffee drinker?  A lot or a little?  Just recently I was asked to review some energy bars.  They are mocha almond flavored and very coffee.  The package states that each bar is the same as drinking a half a cup of coffee.
     First of all, I am not a "real" coffee drinker.  I love the smell of coffee.  It is a wonderful aroma.  A touch of coffee taste in my ice cream or a piece of candy is great.  But I can count the cups of java I have had over the last year on one hand (with fingers left over).  It always amazes me that the people at my work place that cannot survive until at least one - or more - cups of coffee.  However I do love granola bars and such, so I thought why not?
     My box had 12 bars in it.  It wasn't the most attractive package ever, but I wasn't eating the package!  Because coffee really affects me and keeps me awake, I had to carefully plan when I had my bar.  I also knew I could only have one at a time due to the fact that caffeine messes with my medications in excess.
    
      The first thing I noticed was that awesome aroma.  It smelled like I was brewing a pot of coffee.  I do indeed love that smell and it was strong.  One bite and I knew the aroma wasn't the only strong thing.  The coffee taste was super strong and just a touch bitter (not unlike black coffee at least to me).   I liked it, but I wouldn't say I loved it.  Too strong for me.  I finished the bar and went on to school.  The bar seemed to fill me up as well as my usual bar and didn't affect me any way that was noticeable. 

      My brother feels about coffee pretty much the same way I do.  But in the spirit of helpfulness he had one too.  The results were the same.  For several mornings in a row we each had one.  One thing he noticed  was that when he "came off" the energy bar he had some pretty severe headaches - just like he does when he had had any sort of caffeine drink for a while.
     My next step was to share these with 2 coworkers - both who are mega-coffee lovers.  One lady said she loved it and was ready to go buy a box.  The coffee flavor was perfectly strong (her words) and it was more convenient than traveling with a cup of java to work.  I think I made a sale. 
     The next friend to try this was more middle of the road.  She said the coffee flavor wasn't strong enough and she wished the almond was stronger also.  She liked them but not overwhelmingly.

     All in all?  I won't buy them again, but not because they were not delicious.  They just didn't appeal to me personally.  One friend said she was going to check them out to buy.  One was more neutral.  I think the bottom line is try them - particularly if coffee appeals to you.  They are definitely worth the try.   They are sold on Shoplet.com.  The link directly to the bars is above.

Day 40 - "W" tangles

     I need some relaxing zen time.  No sleep last night nearly did me in.  I don't know if it was the front or something else, but my joint - particularly my legs - ached horribly.  Either way I am thankful for a few relaxing moments. 
     Day 40's tile was done for Suzy Mosh's challenge - New to Me.  I love this because it forces me to look at other tangles that I really never get back to using.  This week for the letter W I choose waterslide, wiggly waves and whirls.  I also added just a bit of pink to brighten it up some.

    It reminds me of cloth flapping in the wind.  I probably will use these tangles again - well, maybe not whirls.  It was okay, but not a favorite.
     Thank you for dropping by and I hope you have a wonderfully blessed day.  

Whew! Days 35, 36, 37, 38, and 39

     Busy week so posting like I had been doing was totally out of the question.  Not happening.  I had time - a few moments here and there to create, but no time to sit down and post.  So now, my friends, you get "blasted" with 5 days!  Sit back and enjoy or maybe better yet, flee!
     Day 35 - My creation for Suzy Mosh's challenge (New to Me) was to use tangles with the letter M.  They have to be new to me.  I found three new ones - multi, mathura, and mosiac.  I also added some aura lines just to help balance it all out.

     Day 36 - Diva's challenge was to use the new tangle, Athitzi by Seven.  I hadn't seen this one yet and at first thought, really?!  This seemed too . . .simplistic to be of interest.  Oh was I wrong!  It was a ton of fun.  In fact once I got started I almost didn't add anything else.  I love it.  It reminds me of those huts on an island.  So I added some CO2 stars to keep the illusion.

     Day 37 - String #78 for Adele Bruno was fun.  I got to play around with some more heart/Valentine tangles.  Even the string she gave was heart shaped.  How fun!  I distorted the string a little bit to make it fit the heartline tangle.  Then of course, just a touch of red.

     Day 38 - The tangle for Square One - Purely Tangle (a facebook group) was "well".  Honestly I really don't like this one so much.  It is not hard, it just doesn't grab my interest.  Oh well, can't love them all.

     Day 39 - Every Inchie Monday's word was night.  My inchie is sort of mundane I guess.   I drew the landscape silhouette and then added some gel pen stars.  Not flashy.

      Well, I did it.  I now need to work on my Journal52 page.  Or maybe go cook dinner - maybe.  Have a blessed day and thank you for sticking with me!

Day 34 - Journal 52

Journal 52's prompt this week was "television".  I love the old shows.  I grew up on I love Lucy, Bonanza, Mork and Mindy, and tons of other fun family shows.  I can't get into the "reality" craze that has hit nowadays.  I want my entertainment to take me from reality not plunge me into someone else's reality.  We made the decision several months ago to cancel our television (cable).  We rent movies a lot, but no longer am tied to the black box.  I really don't miss it.
     I painted my background and cut out my old fashioned tv.  For the border I wrote titles of show I enjoyed.  Of course, if it was an old tv, it needed the "rabbit ears and tinfoil fix".  What joy to try to get reception with foil!  The moment you sat down, it went.  That was so frustrating I am surprised we ever watched anything.

     Thank you for dropping by and I hope you have a wonderful day!

Every Inchie Monday and Day 33!

   The word for today was kitchen!  A kitchen in an inch?!  Oh my.  But I managed.  Here is my little teeny tiny retro kitchen -

     Have a blessed day!

Day 30, 31, and 32!

     I made it!  One entire month (and the first day of February)!  Lots of school work to do today, so I need to get started on that, but as long as it gets done I guess it doesn't matter the order.
     Day 30 is my challenge for Square One: Purely Tangled, a facebook group.  We had to use the tangle quandry.  I kept mine simple as I needed some calming zen.  Earlier in the day, as I left a business I fell!  Crashed to the sidewalk on both knees.  Not my most graceful hour, and definitely painful.  I am still extremely sore.  There was a ledge of about 3 inches and I just didn't see it.  I am very thankful I did not break any bones.  So I really needed the zen moments.  (Mostly needed to just sit).

    

       Day 31 was the day for my journal52 prompt. Remember the silhouette prompt?  Well, I finally got to redo the page.  I liked the windmill one, but this idea would not leave my head once my brother suggested it.  Ever heard the song Silhouettes on the Shade?  This is my take on that one.

     And last day 32!  I took a few minutes this morning before getting started and completed my last day of January page in my Tangle A Day calendar.  The gorgeous work over to the right is Carole Ohl's work.  It is fun to work beside a master!

     Now, I have played enough and I must do lesson plans and grade papers.  I keep hoping for a snow day.  It seems odd the rest of the "world" is digging out from under and we haven't seen a flake.  Just one good snow and then I will be waiting on spring.  Thanks for dropping by and I hope you have a blessed day.