And it's over... 1 year of creativity.

I had planned out this piece for most of the year. I suspected that it would be seasonally appropriate when I did it... but oddly, it's not. There's still no real snow here in Buffalo NY for the first time that I ever remember.
But I put the final touches on it today to make it my final piece for the year.

And... Wooohoo! We did it.
I created something, most days art of some kind... EVERY DAY This year.
Every. Day.
The push to do so has been amazing and has held me accountable. I'm going to continue next year, although I won't be posting daily. I found that harder to do than the creating.

I'm going to create a weekly challenge of some kind and I'm still going to continue to create every day and I hope you will as well. If you completed your 300... please send me either your email or your mailing address. I want to send you a little something!

Not my image... I can't find where I found it, but I loved it. :)
If it's yours please let me know so I can credit you

Thank you so much for your participation, for your friendships, for joining me on this really great journey.

Make stuff everyone.
Make stuff EVERY DAY.


Now... starting tomorrow... um.. yeah, tomorrow...
I have a contest. :)

So check back, learn a little more about what I'll be doing next year and hey,
HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Thursday of Excitement, fun stuff, contest with secrets and fun!

Yesterday was a busy day! I had an amazing class of 4 ladies who spent the afternoon tangling with me and then came home to find out that my pattern BrrrSt  had been featured on Tangle Patterns. Super cool stuff huh?
I was excited, especially since I didn't even submit that one so I had NO IDEA it was coming, it was a cool little surprise! :D

Anyway... so I have some cool pictures to share of my class but I'm going to wait til tomorrow to show you those because I AM JUST SO EXCITED about the tiles I just finished I can't wait to show you.
They're part of the samples for my Tangles and Ink class that I'm teaching wth my friend Sara who is an amazing potter! (SO if you happen to be in the Buffalo area, you can sign up for our September workshop here )
As I was making the samples, I created a tile that I think is my absolute favorite.. ever.
So without any more build up... lol (because I know sometimes stuff I love other people don't fall in love with the same way) but I'm really excited about this one... .
TADA!

Tangles and Ink class sample

 I really like this one too...

Tangles and Ink class sample

I used the inks to kind of create the string and then worked within it on both.
Two completely different tiles, and so much fun. Oh my gosh. I'm going to have to make more.

It looks like it's going to be a beautiful weekend, so I hope you are getting some great plans going and I can't wait to see the amazing things you all create!

OH! I promised a giveaway!
I have put together a little surprise pack that I think you'll like a whole lot and it's going to contain a secret about something fun that's coming that ONLY the winner will learn in advance.

So, to enter.. you have to be participating (link up your art! I may not always comment but I do always look!!!! even if it takes a day or so) and you have to leave a comment for me and tell me why I should pick you as my secret keeper!

 I'd LOVE it if you shared the blog post on your social media too because I'd really love to see some new people come show me their creative side too, but I'm not going to make that a requirement.


Ok! Have fun!

Cards!

I like to have cards on hand and I rarely remember to create a stockpile so while the stuff is out, I've been using it. My newest creations.
 



                                          
I'm pretty pleased with them, especially the all occasion card.

Now, if only I could decide on how to make invites for the girls graduation party!!!!!

Zendala

Sometimes when I tangle I hit a point in it where I just am not sure. When that happens, I put it away for a bit, sometimes overnight and then pull it out to finish it.

This one was set aside for quite sometime, what with opening the studio, etc I just didn't pick it back.
But then I did and I was able to see what it needed where I hadn't before. I'm never sure why it works that way but it always does.

I firmly believe you can't force art. It comes when it comes. I think that's why I have my fingers in so many mediums... because sometimes I'm inspired by one thing and some moments I'm inspired by others.
So the best thing for me to do is what I love. Create. Create something EVERY day.
I wish I could find where to get this, it's obviously a tshirt. I tried pretty hard to track down the originator but it wasn't come up anywhere... and I used a few different methods.
If I find it, I'll post because I plan on buying 2. One for me and one to give away here on the blog, but so far no luck.

Either way it's pretty awesome and I love it.

I hope you have a great day and that you do something fun and awesome.

Zelda... because, why not?

A few years ago I was really into pop up cards, I found a template and played with it a lot.
I've made a bunch of cute things, but this is still one of my favorites. Sadly the paper warped a little but the friend it's on the way to won't  mind. She's leaving for a 2 year trip to Japan and she's a little nerdy. :D
Plus I thought a change of pace from the studio pics etc would be good!

I learned to make this from here. :) It's pretty easy and a lot of fun. Plus I didn't have a lot of time to work on something and needed something cute and fun for her newest adventure!

So there you go. :) Something different that people will be awed by.
Are you making cool things?

Moonlight and Zen....

One of my favorite effects in Zentangle is the glow of white on black. It's the basis of my Moonlight and Zen class.

I know I SHOULD have a set class format that I use for each class, but I often find myself reinventing my wheels so to speak, because there are JUST SO MANY FUN THINGS TO DO!!!

So, I played around and here are some of the things that may make it into tonight's class.
Including a BRAND NEW just announced today pattern by my friend (and CZT) Mabel Yap!
It's called Palmer and it's so much fun!

So that's a little sneak peek if you happen to be joining me tonight, and if not... and you live in the area, maybe you'll want to join me another time!

I hope everyone is having a nice week, the weather has finally broken here and the sun is shining and it's "warming" up enough that outside is an inviting place. Almost. It's still chilly.

When the weather gets nice, do you find yourself inspired to create outside?

Zentangle spiral string

Today's creative was to complete the Diva's challenge #210. I like when I get to these, especially when I get to them early and they don't get lost in the shuffle of my week. It's a great way to start my creative plans off for the week.
This morning I saw we were to use spirals as our string.. one of my favorite challenges from her.
I adore spirals and it makes me realize how far I've come, because one of my very first challenges was to use a spiral.

Here is this weeks.

And this was my "then" tile.. I don't remember which number challenge this was, but I still like this one too!

I might do another one later in the week and use some Zendala tiles to do it.

What are you working on today? How many of you spend your Mondays on the diva challenge?

Whimsy by Kelly Challenge- 2 months!

Can you believe we're 2 months in?!??! How awesome is that?! I'm so excited!!!

A few thoughts for you this morning!

I find I collect pretty quotes and thoughts about art and life and creating, I pin them and sadly most no longer go anywhere. Luckily the quote itself is usually intact with author but I never know who made them pretty and stuck them online for us to enjoy, but thank you people for being creative and embracing creativity and making us little inspirational icons to use as touchstones. When I do find linkbacks I'll share those, I promise. :)

I'm working on this. It's a work in progress, and I do think I love how it's coming. I tend to shy away from negative space but it's working here for the look I want. 

#buffalolove

What are you going to do today? It's cold here again. Blah. Double blah. Triple blah! 

That does make it easy to just stay inside and create though!

What are you going to do today?

Jar of Wishes Giveaway

Origami stars are nothing new, I used to make them back in high school and sometimes I still do. Every so often I make one of these to inspire a friend or as a pick me up... each of the stars has a little note.
This month I'm making one as a giveaway for one of the #whimsybykelly2015 participants.
You DO have to have commented on this post (even if you don't have an entry for today just drop me a comment) and you have to have participated at least once this month. (Still 2 days left!)

It's Friday. YAY for Friday! Over in Square One they have issued a new challenge, to use SeZ. I'm going to try to get to it, but I keep missing stuff. :) I have a lot going on and I've been picking and choosing the things that excite me these days!

Hope you have a wonderful weekend!
Stay warm, stay safe, make something awesome!
Tell your friends about the contest and get them to dive in on the challenge with you!

ALL THE FANDOMS!

I have a 17 year old daughter who is into pretty much EVERY major fandom out there.
I do custom sneakers. In fact, her Doctor Who were some of the very first and were what launched my Etsy shop.
See? That's her name in Galifreyan and I worked FOREVER on that galaxy. Something super cool is she's also a Disney girl and her name has a hidden mickey in it. :D

So... fast forward to today. Her beloved Doctor Who's have seen better days. (But for those who wonder how they hold up.... these are 2 years, 2 months, worn almost every day and survived a foreign exchange trip as well) but it IS time for new ones.

So this morning, I used my creative side to dive in and plan out the new ones with her. 

I've decided to post pics as I go so you can how they come together, they should be pretty cool, they certainly have enough different things on them!

Some Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends

Doctor Who of course!

Supernatural, Harry Potter, Ouran High School Host Club, Welcome to NightVale

Sherlock and Homestuck

Hetalia and RWBY

 What I didn't take pictures of is Avengers and My Little Pony, but they'll be on there.

Now THAT took some work.

Send wine and maybe reference images.
I'll be using #onedozenfandoms for the progress on these.

These are going to be a challenge, but they should be fun and she's pretty excited about what I'm going to do with them.

So, I guess I'm off to break out the paints. (Which is just as well since it's about -27 today from what I saw)

Stay warm and safe, be awesome and make good art!

Valendala

I was so happy to see that Erin at The Bright Owl is back with her Zendala challenge! I combined that this week with Laura's Diva challenge  which was to make a Valentangle.
I turned mine into a Valendala

Zendala Dare #95 with Diva Dare #204-Valentangle

Perfect because yesterday I held a Valentine's day workshop, which was a lot of fun!
Class was small due to weather but we made some cool stuff.
A little card, some bijou tiles and a frame to hold the tiles!

I've also been busy working on a new pair of converse, and trying to get my pictures to look better. If anyone happens to be a great photographer I'd love some input!

February rolls in with a bang!

No mistakes

At least not in creating Zentangle Art there aren't. I read that a mistake is "an action or judgment that is misguided or wrong." When I make a deliberate mark, how can it be wrong? How can it be misguided? It might reveal a new pattern or a new discovery, but I would never call it a "mistake."




I love the Bijouism's don't you? They really embody the core philosophy of Zentangle.

I've been working on my Mandala Magic project.

This is in progress... technically it was going to be done, but it tells me it's not. I have some other ideas what I want to do with it.
More to come on that.


These went out yesterday, forgive the chalk marks, I hadn't erased it when I took some of the pics.
They're created with a logo and I'm really happy with them overall.

I also tried to play with a photo adjusting program.
I don't know if I like it and I know I'm not very good at it.
Photography for my shop is something I really need to work on, any suggestions friends? Any good books?

Alright, so I guess that's all for now! I have a few things to get to. I missed the Diva challenge this week and a couple others so I might play catch up tomorrow.

Hope everyone is keeping busy (and warm!)

Is it spring yet?

Day 31/365

We did it!
We have completed January!
Don't worry if you missed a day or two, or are just finding your way here now.
The challenge for the year is to be creative 300 out of the 365 days (That means you can miss 2 whole months and still make it!)
AND if you jump in late there will be a half year celebration too!

I promised some prizes... and prizes we shall have.

This month, I've been pretty focused on Bijou, so from all the entries 1 person will be selected to receive a set of Bijou tiles and a new micron.

The winner will be selected on Monday so make sure to get your entries in if they haven't been entered so far!


I played with my sketchbook and made some Bijou sized tangles myself.

 What's Bijou have for us today?

Enjoy the shade!
For a snail that's a double entendre (I love using my French now and then). I love hanging out in the shade beneath the ferns. I also love shading my tangles. How do I do it? That's a secret and a snail needs some secrets.





So thank you to all of you for joining me on this journey, I look forward to the next 11 months of creativity with you all!
Tell your friends, bring them too. You know creative people tend to be happier people who get more out of life. :)

Video!

It's not a demo video this time... but it's fun.
I have an etsy shop and sell some really fun custom sneakers there, so yesterday in between painting and stuff, I made this.

It's not perfect, but I'm learning and I like it, I think it's very "me" and my brand, so that makes me happy.
Plus, it's colorful for sure right?
Time for a little Bijou!

Relax

I love how my tangles look when I'm relaxed. I can tell by looking at my tangles when it's time to curl up in my shell and take a nap.


Ah naps... a snail after my own heart. :D

Hope your day is awesome Friends! Keep creating!