Saturday, March 30, 2013

Finally Home


 I haven't been posting very regularly recently. Hopefully that is about to change. I've been a little pre-occupied. See Exhibit #1, above.
I didn't expect to be able to show you these precious little toes for another several weeks.
I guess she was just in too big of a hurry to wait. Actually, my son and daughter-in-law's baby wasn't due for another five weeks. Mom Bobbie got into some problems with high blood pressure and this little one had to be born, to help mom stabilize. Five weeks early, she's precious! That's dad's hand on her tummy - to give you an idea of how small she is. She weighed 4 pounds, 9 ounces. Teeny tiny but in perfect health.

And my mom has kept me busy. She's been in the hospital five times in the past two months, and in rehab/therapy once. Currently she's home and we think we have a good plan in place to keep Mom from relapsing.
The third thing that has been keeping me busy is that my daughter is moving to another state in a couple weeks for school and we had not found any place for her to live. This past week, Kali and I flew out of state to go search for an apartment and perhaps a job.
I was looking forward to being in a hotel room where I could tangle to my heart's content! So how do you decide what to take on an airplane and how do you transport it? I chose this sweet little special edition, anniversary Hello Kitty metal lunchbox. Of course.
It was actually a great size. I have learned from experience that pens don't always fly well, so I bagged all of them. Good thing, too, because on the plane both of my expensive Rotring Rapidograph pens exploded and filled their bag with black ink. I was not happy! Can you see the sweet little string pencil I got from Sandy Bartholomew? And my journal/workbook I got at CZT training? I loaded my lunchbox up with various pens and tiles of different sizes.
As for what to work on, I still have a number of ATCs to make for a swap I'm participating in. That's where I started - with ATCs. Then I noticed this scrap of paper about 2" x 8" had landed in my lunchbox. Well, that's what I worked on next! I consider our whole trip a success. Kali found an apartment and had 3 job offers, and I got to do a whole lot of drawing! It was a win/win all around!

Thanks for being patient while I was dealing with family crises. Let's hope those are behind us now.

The Creator's Leaf

Friday, March 22, 2013

A Giveaway!

 My friend Tracy has a new blog called Copic Classroom. We went to copic certification together, sat at the same table, and talked a little, but really got to know each other a bit more here online afterwards.
 Tracy's blog is relatively new and she is trying to build her reader base. One way she is doing this is by offering a TGIF Giveaway.
 This week Tracy will be posting several of her beautiful handmade cards (these photos are a sampling of her work, not specifically the ones for the giveaway.) The lucky winner will be able to choose one of Tracy's cards to receive in the mail.
All you have to do to be eligible is to follow Tracy's blog, then check back at her blog next Friday to see who the lucky winner is. Easy peasy! Go here - Copic Classroom - and join her site at the top right-hand side. And share this with your friends! Easy peasy!


The Creator's Leaf

Sunday, March 17, 2013

Little Mousie

What a cute little mousie! When I saw this stamp at Whimsy Stamps, I just had to get it! I prefer the digital stamps. I had not ever worked with an unmounted stamp before.
I began by organizing my copics, and one thing just led to another.
I'm not sure why I stamped this onto a zentangle tile, but that's what was close at hand, so that was what I used. The copics do bleed through the tile, but I'm fine with that. It didn't take me long to get this colored in - my second piece of copic art. And then - I guess because it was on a zentangle tile- I felt I needed to tangle something.
My poor little Mousie looked like he was sitting on air, so I tangled him up a boardwalk and some flowers. Lots of people use pencils they steal borrow from local businesses - Mousie's pencil is sporting The Creator's Leaf 's logo. That's one smart little Mousie!

Copics Used:
Pencil: YG1, YG23, YG25, W00, W3, W5, YR14, YR24, Y26, BV000.
Mousie: R81, R83, BG0000, BG11, E000, E00, E11, 
E13, B000, B02, B04, E31, E33, YR23, YR04.
Plants: V15, RV13, RV34, YG01, YG05, YG07.
Boardwalk: E35, E37, E39.
The Creator's Leaf

Saturday, March 16, 2013

ATC Swap

It has been really hard lately to find time to tangle. There is so much stress in my life right now trying to make arrangements for Kali to move out of state for school. She leaves in about 5 weeks and we still don't have anywhere located for her to live. My mom has been in and out of the hospital four times in the past 2 months, and is in a rehab house now. It has been one really hectic time. I finally decided to stop everything else I was doing to just draw. I mentioned the CZTs were doing an ATC swap. I've stayed away from posting my tiles anywhere online, so they could be a surprise when they arrived at their destinations. I did go ahead and post this one, though. It has two of my own patterns in it - netz in the background, and 8ball across the bottom. This ATC swap is a lot of fun! I plan on posting all 24 of my cards at one time - after they've been received :). And - I only have 16 more to draw >.<

The Creator's Leaf

Friday, March 15, 2013

It's Spring!

Lately, my postman has been bringing me some incredible packages! This week's package came from my dear friend Cindy from Cottage Remnant. I actually met Cindy online, through a weekly challenge I occasionally participate in called Artist's Play Room. I say 'occasionally' because it's a challenge that is a real stretch for me most of the times. Cindy and I started talking back and forth on each others' posts and we ended up being friends. This week she sent me this awesome package of goodies celebrating spring!
There was this lovely card - Cindy's artwork - and I loved what Cindy wrote inside! 
And there was a collection of beautiful spring cards - again, all Cindy's artwork. Isn't she talented! Beautiful blues and pinks and greens. All Cindy's signature colors!
This is my absolute favorite card! These words remind me of a song called Blessed Be Your Name. I know the Newsboys sing it, but I prefer hearing Rebecca St. James sing it. I love this song!
It's definitely springtime. Where Cindy lives it's still freezing cold! Where I live it was in the middle 70's today.
But spring is definitely upon us. Flowers are blooming where I live. I have patches of beautiful pink azaleas growing in my  yard.
Easter will be here soon. The easter lilies are already blooming along our highways at home. I remember one year when my parents came to visit for Easter and my mom and I went out early Easter morning to pick a bouquet of easter lilies for the dinner table. We parked on the side of the highway and were jumping across a ditch to get to the flowers when a huge cow popped through the fence and scared us half to death. I am surprised neither of us fell into the ditch - hahaha! Every time I drive by that spot in the road, I think about that day.
Spring also brings Mother's Day, which is especially important to both Cindy and I. Our moms were both in the hospital last week. Her mom is now home, my mom is almost home.
Blessed. We are blessed. Cindy and I both. I am blessed to have such a wonderful friend - and one that I've never even seen face to face. I will one day, whether it be here on earth, or whether it be in heaven, one day for sure my dear friend, Cindy. One day for sure! Thank you for this wonderful, heartfelt package!

Now, back to the song. Blessed Be Your Name, written by Matt and Beth Redman during the September 11th terrorist attacks in the United States, here are some of my favorite parts:

Blessed be Your name
in the land that is plentiful,
where your streams of abundance flow
blessed be Your name.

Blessed be Your name
when I'm found in the desert place,
though I walk through the wilderness,
blessed be Your name.

Blessed be Your name
on the road marked with suffering,
though there's pain in the offering,
blessed be Your name.

Every blessing you pour out
I'll turn back to praise.
When the darkness closes in, Lord,
still I will say

Blessed be the name of the Lord,
Blessed be Your name.
Blessed be the name of the Lord,
Blessed be Your glorious name.

(Just some of my favorite parts, cut, taken out of order, and pasted together.
Please forgive me, Matt and Beth.)


The Creator's Leaf

Tuesday, March 12, 2013

Missing U Tile Swap

Many of the CZTs are preparing to go to Tangle University, 2013, soon. For those of us not able to participate this year, we decided to share an ensemble swap called Missing U. 
We were given this string - I show it upside down here to match my tiles. The string is comprised of capital letters M and U - for Missing U. The string spreads out over four zentangle tiles.
I began by transferring the string to my tiles. I attached the tiles together on the back side with blue painter's tape. (Note to self: don't do this next time. The tape was a bear to remove.) Then I started laying down tangles.
From there my tiles just sort of took on a life of their own. One section that started out as crescent moon actually turned into a new tangle that I'm calling 8ball. (I need to play with it some more, but I like it so far.) We are all mailing our completed tile sets to Denise, who will in turn mix and match and send us back four tiles - probably from four totally different sets. I can't wait!
Missing U. Maybe next year I can show you a post about me attending Tangle University, 2014. 
The Creator's Leaf

Thursday, March 7, 2013

ATCs in Today's Post

I love being a CZT! For those of you who have been living under a rock this past year and missed this obsession in my life - that stands for certified zentangle teacher. Zentangle® is the name of the art style you see above.
A total of twenty-five of us CZTs are getting some awesome mail - and are sending out some awesome mail - across the United States, and around the globe. Literally.
CZTs in Canada, Australia, Ukraine, South Africa {{{hugs, Marizaan}}}, Scotland, and ten different states in the U.S.A. are busily designing ATCs, posting them to global destinations, and are starting to receive beautiful pieces of art like the two you see above. (On the left, a tile designed by Cathy Wilson. On the right, a tile designed by Lori Bradford.) I can not wait! I am being blessed to receive 22 more of these little powerful pieces of art in the coming days and weeks. I guess that means I need to get mine finished. First batch to be mailed out tomorrow! So much fun! Gotta love, love, love being a CZT! Thank you, Cathy! Thank you Lori! You ladies pretty much rock!

The Creator's Leaf