'SIMPLIFY'

I Am the Diva, CZT

Weekly Challenge #226

Guest Blogger, Katie Crommett, CZT

"Let's Simplify"

   I love simple, but can't always seem to apply it to my life. With time, clutter, household chores, food, everything,...................I always seem to feel that more is better, or at least that's what we have always been told. But the funny thing is, when I tangle, I seem to be able to find white space and fewer tangles, to be somewhat easy for me. Maybe it's that desire of simplicity just screaming to get out and 'Zing' there it is in the Zentangle method. So I tried two tiles for this challenge. 

   One tile that I had pre strung at CZT Seminar and didn't have a chance to do anything with it, and the other just a coaster I had lying around in paper clutter, that I have been wanting to do something with. There we go!

So here is the string, which is very busy!!!! So I challenged myself to simplify it.
I think I did ok. But it was a very busy string to begin with and I really didn't want a lot of lines showing when I was finished.

See how busy this was?

I tried! :0)

This one is real simplified!! But how many of you can stop there with 'Parodox'?  It was hard for me! I wanted to continue right down into the center, cause it always looks so cool! But I restrained myself and left it open!!

   In the last tile I used 'Parodox' and 'Murmylies' by Annette Plaga-Lodde, aka LonettA. I love that little tangle and I think it will go well with so many of the other ball type tangles. Fun!!

   Anyway, here is just a peak of what my week was like

4th of July Birthday

Fireworks

Beach Day!!! See that mermaid tail?

Vacation Bible School all week from 5:30 to 8:30 and I taught the preschoolers. 3 to 5 year olds.

I made all 15 of my students a rock to take home as a keepsake of VBS 2015!!!

These I made for my helpers and the woman that leads the program!!

Last but not least, a train ride to San Clemente beach with Cub Scouts!!

Can you find my daughter somewhere in this pic? :0)

   I wish everyone a lovely week!!! A great big "Thank You", for the lovely sunshine on my blog! I was able to see everyone's work last week,...........and wow! This tangle community really has beautiful Zen!!!!

Now, 

go put

 some 

Zen

into this

TanGleD 

world

!!

;0)

"KEEP 'EM STRAIGHT"

I Am the Diva, CZT

Weekly Challenge #219

"Straight Lines, All the Time"

  

The official sign for our Memorial celebration! (See some Zentangle in there?)

   On Monday, the 25th, we celebrated Memorial Day! For all the soldiers that have lost their lives for our freedom! Also to remember others that have passed from this life. We have an annual get together with my side of the family. We start out at the near by cemetery for a mass and then we visit the gravesides of our loved ones. Afterward, it is time to play at my parent's house. It has been a tradition for fifty some years. My parents have been hosting the party for thirty something years. 

   Unfortunately, this is their last year to host the party. Their home is being bought out by developers, also, just like my sister's house was on the opposing corner from my parents. It was a bitter-sweet on Monday. Among those celebrating the day and the last one, were 105 family members and friends. (mostly all family). My parent's home has always been one with a revolving door!! People coming and going. My mom, always home in the kitchen, feeding whoever happened to stop by. 45 years in one place, it's gonna be a tough move for my parents. My only wish for them is, that they can make a HOME out of the next house they move to.

   Sorry for the lil' blurb of info, it's just I'm still a little sappy from everyone's realization settling in about my parents home.

   On to the Diva's Challenge!!!!

Loved this challenge!! Even though my favorites are organic tangles, I thoroughly got into my Zen with this challenge!
(please click on any image to enlarge)

 

These were just a few of the body paintings that I did on the kiddos on Memorial Day! I won't tell you how many big kids, (past the age of 50,) got a lil' body or face painting done too!

And here is the last of photo sharing! My lil' girl just finished her first year of school! Preschool is over, next it's KINDERGARTEN!!!!! (Hopefully, mom's gonna have more time to tangle, blog, and Oh, my!!!! The things that I can think of!!!)  :0)

Have a blessed day, and thank you to all who visit my blog and leave rays of sunshine!!!

Go put

some

Zen

into this

TAnGlEd

world

!

:0)

MOEBIUS SYNDROME AWARENESS DAY and INCHIE, 'ELEPHANT'

I Am the Diva, CZT

Weekly Challenge #201

Moebius Syndrome Awareness Day

   Laura, from the Diva's Weekly Challenge, has asked us to support Moebius Syndrome. Her youngest son has this syndrome and she wants to bring awareness to it. So January 24, is Awareness Day. So wear your purple and read more about his syndrome on the Diva's blog. In honor of Artoo and the other 1-2, OUT of a million children that have this syndrome, we just want to say, ... "We love you and we care!!!!!"

I designed little kids holding hands, using the Moebius Syndrome Logo, and then tangled each logo.

   We do love you Artoo and Laura and family! Artoo is making progress leaps and bounds! Thank you Laura for sharing your brave story and for making us aware. Continued blessings along your journey! (((hugs)))

Go put some

Zen,

into this

TAnGled 

world

!

;0)

Every Inchie Monday

Weekly Challenge

'Elephant'

   As much as I like giraffes, which was last week's word, I just love elephants too!!! So many ideas, and yet since I am going to try to do all of my Inchies in the style of Zentangle this year, I decided to go with this.

Kinda in the style of the Indian painted elephants. Tangles used, 'Aquafleur','Steps', 'Cruffle' and a few others.
Remember, click to enlarge

   Please, if you have any interest in doing Zentangle, then join in on the fun with the Diva's Weekly Challenge, or if you're into tiny art, then challenge yourself with joining the Every Inchie Monday Challenge! Everyone is super friendly and a good time is had by all!!! Hope to see you on the Challenge!!!

"One Little Word"

   Last year on the Diva's Challenge, she asked us to think of 'one little word' to bring into the new year, '2014'! I just loved the challenge and the idea of that. I was hoping she would do that again this year, but she had a milestone post to celebrate instead. (She did post her one little word for this year though, and I think it's a great one for her! Laura's word is 'BadAss'!) And by the way, "Congratualtions Laura for getting to your 200 entries on your blog last week. You are a BadAss!! (heehee) (I entered twice, just to try and help out :0) ) So, since she inspired me last year with that challenge, I felt I really wanted/needed to use this word for '2015'. 

   I have and am going to have so much change going on in my life this year and I need to figure out how I am going to deal with it. Some is Great, and some is well, not so great! But that is why I want to use it, because for the not so great change, I need to figure out how I can embrace it and if not what I can do to change the way I deal with it! Whew,.........without getting to heavy and deep, I created this Zia, to show that there is a word inside of 'Change' that might help me to deal with the change that is difficult for me. "CAN" I can change the situation, and or the way I feel about it. (If you notice, the upper left is darker and heavier colored tangles, and the lower right I did a little more light and airy!! A little subliminal of yin/yang, to find balance and harmony. And the word is breaking through the paper, as if pushing itself on me!(lately that is how some of the change going on in my life feels.)) Anyway, I encourage you to think of 'one little word' to either inspire or motivate you , for the new year! 

   Here's just a few of the changes I'm not looking forward to.

All of this beautiful view from where I live is going to be obstructed. I grew up here and the roads used to be small dirt roads, all farm land. Now with development and progress, it is all 'Changing'!!!
I grew up in-house on the N/W corner. My parents still live in that house. I bought the house across the street from them on the N/E corner. And my Sister (my best friend) lived on the S/W corner. (We are a very close, tight nit family.)
Anyway, her house has already been torn down and a big huge warehouse is in place of it (just in the amount of 6 months)! The picture up above and to the right is my view out my window. It is the 4th corner. In 6 more months there will be another warehouse there.(Again obstructing my beautiful view of our hills!) My corner is being negotiated right now. So in a year or two, My lil' family will be moving. They haven't tried bargaining with my parents corner yet. Which bothers me, because they are getting up in age and I really don't like to see them have to move, and yet I would want them to live close to one of us children because they are getting older. So long story short, this is the change I'm not to crazy about.

Empty corner across from me , but across the street is the new building.

My sister's house after she moved out, right before they tore it down. Of course when she owned it, it was all green an lush. Big huge pine tree, close to a century old, just knocked down.

View of the warehouse on the corner where my sister's house was.

"POSITIVE"

   The positive change, that I am totally looking forward to is 'I AM GOING TO BE A CZT THIS YEAR!!!" (Sorry, I am just so excited, I just have to shout that one out!!!) I will be attending CZT #20!! So if any of you are going, please send me a message!!! With this change, I see so many new possibilities for me.

You see though, I need to look at what I call negative change and turn it into positive!

My Montra is 'Change'

(Can Change)

My Prayer is 

the 

Serenity Prayer

God, grant me the serenity to accept

 the things I cannot change:

courage to change the things I can,

and the wisdom to know the difference! Reinhold Niebuhr

   I am sorry this was such a long post, and yet for those of you that actually stuck by and read it, thank you!! I mostly am pretty private on my blog but I am making change!!! 

Thank you for stopping by and listening!!! To all that leave a little sunshine on my blog, Thanks a million, and many ((((((hugs)))))!!! Have a blessed day and a cheerful heart!!! 

:0)

Annette

  

"THE DIVA, HAS ME CHALLENGED FOR ONE YEAR"

'X-DID' monotangle (for my string, I actually used graduating circles. No spiral on this one)

I Am the Diva, CZT

Weekly Challenge # 183

'UMT- 'X-DID'  by Me (Annette Carlo)

:0)

   Welp, you have no idea how excited I was when I found out that one of my tangles was chosen by the Diva's random selector, for this month's UMT! I was flabbergasted!!! I still can't believe it! And I've looked at the tangler's tiles, who have already participated, and I get even more excited to see what beautiful tiles they have come up with, by using 'X-DID'. (Mind you, I am never one of those people who tend to win at drawings or raffles or anything like that, so this has just got me feeling like maybe I should go play the lottery!!!!!!!!) ) (I'll let you know how that goes, if I do. haha) Anyway, I decided to go ahead and enter my Bijou tiles for this weeks challenge. 

click to enlarge

   The one on the left, I used a spiral string. The one on the right I just enlarged 'X-DID' and used a little "Btl Joos" with it. So there we go!

   Then when I found out that 'X-DID' got chosen for the UMT, I realized that this month is my one year anniversary with the Diva's challenges! She's been challenging me for one whole year now and I still look forward to every Monday morning to see what kind of challenge she's going to put us up against. (Just like a marriage, huh? Some challenges are a little funner than others. But we still look forward to the next one!) :0) 

   So I thought I would take you back to my very first challenge. ( you can tell I was a newby and knew nothing about the whole world of Zentangle,......... yet) It was back on September 19, 2013 with Weekly Challenge #136. That's where the madness began!! Life as I knew it would never be the same! ( I know I'm about 2 weeks early for the anniversary post, but with all this excitement, I figured now would be a great time to do it!)
 Next just to show a little of my growth with Zentangle and a little bit of my personal life in the cyclical year of 2013-14 with the Diva! Here we go!

(remember to click on images to enlarge)

Just playing around on my homemade notebook for practicing and formatting different designs

One little word for the year of 2014.

The Diva Challenge; To bring awareness to Moebius Syndrome. Her youngest son Artoo has this syndrome, so it's a challenge that is a tribute to him!

Too pretty, not to share!

Instead of a guest book, for my parents 50th Anniversary, I had the guests sign this. 50 years of happenings in their life! And then everyone's fingerprint.

Here is Cuteness. He was a little dove that I rescued from our new cat that I adopted. Anyway he was just a baby , and we kept him for 2 1/2 weeks , and then set him free! He captured all of our hearts, and we like to think that it is him that we see flying around our yard!! :0)

Bday card for a nephew. A big Angels baseball fan!

The black cat, Shy, I adopted from my sister and then this handsome guy, Oscar, was a stray and settled in once there was cat food around. ( You can tell he came from a home where he got attention because he is such a lover) Don't get me wrong, I don't take in any animal that comes by.

My sister's house before it was torn down. She lived right across from me, and my parents live on the other corner. (the house I grew up in)

Our whole area is being bought out to build big huge warehouses . From a little rural town, now to a big industrial city. Anyway, I guess THEY call it progress!

Oh, I almost forgot about this little guy. My daughter got him, (Guinea Pig) as a birthday present. His name is Rhino!

This project happened because one of my cyber buddies, Jean you know who you are,  put me up to a challenge! On one of my posts, she said that it was time for me to go bigger. Well, I did! And I did all of the watercoloring using Sakura gel pens! I wish I could give reference to the blogger that posted about that but I can't remember. Sorry!

 We had just remodeled our bathroom (it took 3 years before it finally got finished) Anyway, it needed some wall art, and Zentangle inspired me.

Oh, I almost forgot! The week that the Diva had Water for our challenge, it actually hailed that Wednesday! The size of gum-balls! Mind you, all the other days we have been having 100 degree weather!! Craziness!

Last but not least, I've been having so much fun with my Zentangle Acts of Kindness!!

I leave them all over the place! Hopefully spreading 'Smiles'!!

This is what I put on the backs. Either, Zentangle Act of Kindness or most of the time, just Zentangle.

So that is a glimpse of my year, since I met The Diva!!! 

Thanks for hanging out with me! And sorry for such a long-winded post. (I can be long-winded, .......sometimes)

And sorry for the small print. When I start posting a lot of pictures, it seems like somehow I get stuck in the caption mode. (I told you that I am not very computer savvy)

I almost forgot!!!!! My goal is to be a CZT by my second year Anniversary with the Diva!!!! Anyone want to make that their goal with me? I'm shooting for the June classes, in 2015. That's if  they have them then.

   Have a great weekend! And for all of you who have tried out 'X-DID',........THANK YOU!!!!  You made me 'SMILE' from ear to ear!!! Many blessings!!!  XO's Annette 

:0)

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