Day 2

      I think this 30 day create challenge is very cool!  If you are interested head over to Whimsey and Zen and join us.  The really  nice thing about this challenge is that any type of creativity counts - knitting, painting, you name it!  So that means when I pull out my Cricut and scrapbook or make cards that counts!  Nice!
      Today I worked on the inchie for Every Inchie Monday.  The word was "khaki".   I pulled out any paper I had that resembled that color and went to town collaging.  It is not spectacular, but it suffices.  Actually the colors are among my favorites.

      Then I worked on the challenge for Diva.  Hard to believe it is challenge #170.   Be had to do a Use My Tangle piece using the tangle "bugles".  While I had put this tangle in my notebook, I have to say I have never used it - or been tempted to.  It is a pretty tangle, I just don't seem to have made it work for me.  All that said, when I finished the whole tile, I was rather pleased with it.  I probably won't run to this tangle but then again I won't avoid it either.   These two things are all I got finished for today's challenge - the rest was done last week.

      For Christmas I got the book The Beauty of Zentangle.  It has tons of inspiring pieces in it and my plans this summer are to "borrow" some those inspirations and play with them.   I will try to remember to post the original artist's name when I share those pieces.  One of the pages by Angie Vangalis made me want to pull out my watercolors and see what I could do.  I decided to stay within one color family for mine.  I can't decide whether to tangle over the colored areas or not.   Any suggestions?

       Journal 52 catch up time!  I am sooooo far behind.  My summer goal is to get caught up with the current week.  Of course I realize the moment school starts, I will be soooo far behind yet again!   Hey, I can dream, right?
      Week 17 was the "refresh" prompt.  What refreshes you?  I had lots of thoughts - summertime is my refreshing time.  However the last few days of school I had some really bad leg pains and so I decided to go with what was making me feel refreshed at the moment - a long hot soak.

      For week 18, we were to explore the idea of creative hands.  I traced my hand and then added some things I enjoy with my hands.  I also put one of my absolute favorite quotes on this page.   It sort of sums up how I feel about creating.

      I skipped a few weeks and went over to week 21.  I will go back and do the others I am just waiting for some grand idea to hit me.   Since I enjoy doing zendalas, this page, "making mandalas", was right up my creative alley!

     Whew!  Long winded post.   Thanks for bearing with me.  Please leave me a comment if you can.

Day 1

      I have no doubt that this is  probably a bad idea - but it is summer.  I should have time.  Key word - should.  I saw the challenge to create something every day for thirty days.  It doesn't have to be a certain craft or art, so that means I can do some scrapbooking and card making.  Opens a lot of doors. I just know I can be very "target fixed".   (it probably should be called obsessive).
     I have spent the day working on my review for Shoplet.  So my normal crafting time was not so much.  But I am trying to stay caught up in my Tangle A Day calendar so I combined the two.   The hard part won't be creating something each day, it will be taking the time to post it.  I also do not usually post from my phone or tablet, but I am going to give it a go.

     Thanks for dropping by and hopefully leaving me a bit of whimsy!  Have a great day.

Bic Pens Review

 

 First of all just take a look at this scrumptious package from Shoplet!  It felt like Christmas when I opened the box.  I was expecting a pen or two, but wow!  Lots of goodies to play with.  I love pens nearly as much as I love notebooks.  Maybe even a fraction more.  I also love the fact that these pens are BIC.  That is a name you can count on for a good - inexpensive - pen.  Of course, there are very good high priced pens out there.  But when it gets down to reliability BIC has it.  Also, let's face it when you loan a pen for someone to use to sign something every now and then that pen does not see its way back home. 

     The first package that caught my eye was the set of 4 pink BIC Atlantis ball pens.  They have a nice grip to help your hand while writing and even better - they write pink!  A really pretty pink!   Sometimes when using a colored ink the flow doesn't seem as smooth so I was curious.  Not the case here.  It wrote very nicely and did not have any skip problems.  In addition to being a really nice pen, the purchase of this pen will support BIC's donation to the Susan G. Komen breast cancer foundation.
     Another pretty pink item in my package was the Stylus 2 in 1 pen.  This also supports the Komen foundation.  The pen itself writes very well, but feels a bit flimsy.  I tested the stylus end of it with my tablet drawing program, Art Flow.  I like to have control over the brushes and pens within the program.  The stylus performed well and did not give me any issues.  It works well on my phone also.  I like the ease of having a stylus and pen in the same instrument.  That is one less thing to misplace.  Since I received two of these, I gave the black one to my brother.  Even though the casing is a really pretty pink - it does write a nice smooth black.

     Another package held a nice set of Mark-it permanent markers.  The package says fine point, but they are not extremely fine.  You can get them in a variety of tips - fine, ultra fine, chisel, and medium.  The pen feels nice to write with.  I had a blank mug that was just begging for decoration and since they said they would write on glass . . . I have not tried using the other colors on my mug since I am not sure whether I want it to have color on it.  The marker went on without grabbing and hopefully will hold up in the wash, though I might use the oven heat set method just to be sure.

     The velocity gel pen come in a box of twelve.  Inexpensive if you need to keep a supply at your desk or in the office.  They have a nice comfort grip to make it easy to hold.  I have used these pens before and honestly am not as fond of the gel system.  It sort of "grabs" when it writes on most surfaces. 
     This next box of twelve is awesome!  It is call the Intensity marker pen.  It has a very nice feel to it and writes very smooth.  As you know I am a tangler and enjoy drawing with a pen (most specifically the 01 micron by Sakura).  I gave this one a try with some tangles and was very pleased with how it felt.  The bonus to this pen over a fine point Sharpie is lack of odor.  'The bonus over a micron is availability.  I can find these in most department stores and local office stores, not to mention at Shoplet.  The tip is not as fine as I would prefer for tangling, but it is a very nice pen.  The nib is 0.05.  At a little over $13.00 for a dozen, this looks like a really good deal for my art club next year at school. 

      Thank you for dropping by and I hope you have found something you might like. 

Circles

     Every Inchie Monday's word this week was "killer".  I had lots of ideas, but the one I finally landed on was killer bee.  I took markers and tangled the background.  Then I placed a tiny silver bee on it.  I love it when an idea comes together so fast.  Nice!

     Diva's challenge was to use circles for our tile.  I love the look of circles, so this was no problem.  Also since she asked us to use punzel a few weeks ago, that has become my new favorite tangle.  So I love putting it into a circle. 

Circles

    It is nice not to have any school work on this long week end.  But I do have two in-service days coming up and then it is SUMMER!  Yahoo!  Have a great day and thanks for dropping by.

Ahhhh . . . .

     In just a few short days I will be closing the door on one of my all time favorite school years.  I have to be honest and say this year comes a very close second to the four wonderful years I spent teaching art.  I have had the best time teaching reading, and in the second half of the year also math.  So at this time of year with shifts in positions being made, I just held my breath.  I will gladly do any job at my school, but I was praying please let me continue with this.  I feel like I have just begun to develop what I want to accomplish.  So did you hear me shout when I heard I would be back in remedial work!  I will be in the same wonderful room (I worried about that one too) and will be teaching remedial . . . what??  I asked my principal and he said reading (probably) and writing (maybe) and maybe some creative lessons (dare I hope he meant art?).  Likely not math.  So while I am very happy, I am also a bit confused.  But in the spirit of all that I have learned and tried to put into my new attitude, I didn't fret too long.  I am too busy being excited!
     I finished several projects this week.  I did the Every Inchie Monday word - "jolly-boat".  Honestly I didn't get too creative there.  I just went with a small fishing type boat. 

     Then I worked on Diva's challenge.  She asked us to use the tangle "rain".  I sort of thought rain and mysst went together well, at least in theme. 

Cloudburst

     I finished the tile for Adele Bruno's string challenge, but honestly I am not so happy with it.  Too many lines.  Yes I know that is what makes a tangle, but take a look, you'll see what I mean.  Don't you?

     And last, but not least, is my favorite for this week's work.  This is one of the many (many!) templates form Ornation Creation and Ben Kwok's work.  I have a stack that hopefully I will work on this summer.  I really enjoyed this one.

Autumn Leaves

      Now on to getting some rest.  I have a three day week end, which I am grateful for.  Then I work 2 days and HERE COMES SUMMER!   Thanks for dropping by and I hope you are having a blessed week.

Samsill Products Review

     First off, I don't use an i-pad for personal use.  I have a droid tablet which I love.  However I do have an i-pad for my classroom.  Every class in our school has one and then there are some to check out to use. 
      At first glance the  Fashion I-pad Holder by Samsill seems very sturdy and well built.  The stitching is secure.  It is also thick and heavy which I like better than the standard covers our school tablets have on them.  I feel like this would be great on all our tablets, as I have seen at least two of them with cracked screens.  This extra sturdiness might prevent that.  However for late night in the bed reading it might be a little too heavy for my hands.

      The cover has two "grooves" built in to adjust to different views.  It also is a very pretty debossed diamond texture.  The color of mine is a pretty royal blue - although it may come in some other colors.  It is also usable for i-pads of the 2nd, 3rd, and 4th generations.
      All the openings on the i-pad are easy to use with none of them being covered.  I was able to use all the buttons and plug-ins without any interference.
      Personally, I love this cover.  It is a fashionable "pretty" cover for my "boring" school tablet!  I wish it worked with my droid tablet because I love the color!  I am not sure how it will hold up to the "kid-testing" it will receive.  It needs to be rugged and easy to clean.  It seems to be, but after a year's use, will it look as gorgeous as it does now?

     I love notebooks.  That probably should read I can be a bit obsessive about notebooks.  I have notebooks for everything at school.  Each subject, different classes, you name it.  I also have more than my fair share at home also.  I use notebooks for my art work.  I also will not buy a notebook if it isn't a D-ring.  So I feel qualified to say I like this notebook by Samsill.  The nice burgundy color appeals to me.  I decided right away it would become the new home to my Journal 52 entries.  All I had at the time when I started them was a purple one.  This looks a bit classier.  I plan on taking some paint markers to the cover and adding the date.  It is advertised as oversized so that things don't overhang the cover.  That is a plus too since it will house my art work.  The notebook is 1" in size, holds around 250 pages and has a unique curved spine.  The notebook itself has a vinyl covered chipboard cover.  I am not sure that would hold up to rough handling, but since mine won't have that issue it is okay.  It does feel a bit "flexible", but I didn't push the matter since I really didn't want to bend it.  If you need a notebook for something, it might be worth investigating this notebook by Samsill since you can buy in quantity with a bit of a discount.

     Happy shopping at Shoplet.com!

Duo challenge - Punzel and Well

     When I saw the two tangles Diva chose for us this week, I almost said no way.  Seriously.  I struggle with Punzel.  Well isn't much different.  But I decided to hassle with them anyway.  As usual, when I dig in and work out a challenge, I come away with a different attitude about a tangle.  I actually enjoyed working with punzel.  That fact sort of amazes me since I had avoided it in the past.  I can honestly say I don't feel any differently about well.  It just doesn't feel right to me.  What do you think?  Where am I going wrong?

     The next tile is for Adele Bruno's string challenge - which I love.  This challenge took a string I love and added 4 tangles I love - beadlines, beeline, beelite, and my very favorite tangle betweed.  Lots of fun here.   My only complaint is I grabbed the wrong gray marker for beeline.  Wish I had grabbed a slightly lighter one. 

     Well, it is late and I am tired.  I had to stay late at school today and that exhausts me.  Bedtime will be earlier tonight!  Thanks for dropping by and leaving me a comment or two!