Challenge #41: Opus and Jonqal

The challenge from The Diva this week was to create a tile using only the tangles Opus and Jonqal.  These challenges can really stretch me out of my comfort zone! I don't usually use either of those tangles, Opus because I don't feel like I can get the curves to look quite right, and Jonqal because it is a little too simple for my taste.  Putting both together this week was definitely a challenge, but I love the result!

Pinwheels for Peace: Challenge #40

Oops, looks like I missed last week's challenge.  The beginning-of-school-year sickness struck one of the kids with strep, so we were a bit off kilter all week.

In honor of the International Day of Peace, this week's Diva's Challenge was to tangle a pinwheel--either in 2D or 3D.  I took the easy way out and stuck with 2D, but I love the result!

For more info about Pinwheels for Peace, head on over here.

Paradox: A Study

This week Diva's Challenge was to create a Zentangle® tile using only Paradox.  This tangle is so much fun but can take awhile to "perfect."  At the CZT training, Rick Roberts demonstrated his method of doing it, and it was great practice!  It took watching someone else doing it for me to "get" it.

Here is a link to the official pattern steps:
http://archive.constantcontact.com/fs023/1101168872594/archive/1101993126719.html

A few tips:
-Turn your tile after each line you draw, and always turn it in the same direction.
-Don't worry if your lines aren't perfectly straight.  It will all turn out just fine in the end.
-Make your lines in the same direction (for me, it's easier to start at the small end and push the pen away from me toward the larger side.
-Experiment with different shapes...this works with squares, pentagons, etc.

I actually managed to make two tiles this week, and it's only Wednesday!

This first one started out with a square in the middle and 3 triangles on each side of the square.  When paradox-ing the triangles, I alternated the direction of the paradox...one clockwise, one counter-clockwise, etc.

I remembered to take a pic of the string on my second tile before tangling it:

Here's the after.  All sections were done in the same direction.

Now for something fun:  my kids love that I have my Zentangle® supplies back in their spot on the end table, and love to look at my "drawings." My 5-year-old daughter asked to do a tile of her own, so I tried teaching her Paradox.  If she can do it, anyone can for sure!  She created the string on her own and had a little help with the tangle.  After the second section of her tile, she seemed to get the hang of it and only needed help figuring out where to end her lines.  She's really proud of her final result!  And we may have accidentally discovered a new nightly ritual.  Between adjusting to long days in kindergarten and her daddy being away, we have had quite a whiny week.  This project helped her focus on something and gave us a much calmer atmosphere for the evening.  Guess she will be making her first appearance in the challenge!

Challenge #37

This week's challenge was to use only tangles that involve a grid. I love using grids, because they take even more thought and drawing skill out of patterns yet still allow for everyone's results to be unique. I did this tile with the intent of creating a second, but that never happened. Guess I should just be glad that I was able to complete two challenges in a row!