31 Zentangle tiles for July – one selected for each day of the month. There were two themes for the month: complex strings filled with 2-3 patterns and empty spaces. I am still enjoying the colorful tiles.
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The Zentangle® Method is an easy-to-learn, relaxing, and fun way to create beautiful images by drawing structured patterns. It was created by Rick Roberts and Maria Thomas. “Zentangle” is a registered trademark of Zentangle, Inc. Learn more at zentangle.com.
30 Zentangle tiles for June – one selected for each day of June. I am still working with multiple colors of card stock this month…mostly black ink although I splurged occasionally with some colors.
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The Zentangle® Method is an easy-to-learn, relaxing, and fun way to create beautiful images by drawing structured patterns. It was created by Rick Roberts and Maria Thomas. “Zentangle” is a registered trademark of Zentangle, Inc. Learn more at zentangle.com.
31 days in May….31 Zentangle tiles featured in this post. The tile colors in May were dominated by light blue, pink, and dark green…just cleaning out some older card stock. The one turquoise blue tile stands out!
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The Zentangle® Method is an easy-to-learn, relaxing, and fun way to create beautiful images by drawing structured patterns. It was created by Rick Roberts and Maria Thomas. “Zentangle” is a registered trademark of Zentangle, Inc. Learn more at zentangle.com.
The month of April has 30 days….so there are 30 Zentangle tiles in in the mosaics below. The mix of colorful cardstock along with the plain off-what helped me used up some blank tiles that have been in my box for months. Next month I will probably jettison the off-white and go with lots of colorful tiles…with mostly black or white ink.
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The Zentangle® Method is an easy-to-learn, relaxing, and fun way to create beautiful images by drawing structured patterns. It was created by Rick Roberts and Maria Thomas. “Zentangle” is a registered trademark of Zentangle, Inc. Learn more at zentangle.com.
31 Zentangle tiles selected for March.
I did not have as many tiles to choose the 31 from this month because I made very few tiles the week I was with my dad in the hospital. Still - I managed to do enough to stay relatively calm during the stressful time.
When I was scanning the tiles to use in this post, I discovered that some of the colors do not scan well and it got me thinking about how old my scanner is. It evidently came out in 2009 but I’m not sure when I bought it - it seems like I’ve had it for at least a decade. I probably won’t replace it until it fails totally.
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The Zentangle® Method is an easy-to-learn, relaxing, and fun way to create beautiful images by drawing structured patterns. It was created by Rick Roberts and Maria Thomas. “Zentangle” is a registered trademark of Zentangle, Inc. Learn more at zentangle.com.
28 Zentangle tiles for February (not counting the 8 extra ones I posted just after Valentines).
I used plain cardstock – mostly black ink with a few bits of color using up some older Sharpie Ultra Fine pens. Now I am moving on to new set of gel pens for the color pops in March!
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The Zentangle® Method is an easy-to-learn, relaxing, and fun way to create beautiful images by drawing structured patterns. It was created by Rick Roberts and Maria Thomas. “Zentangle” is a registered trademark of Zentangle, Inc. Learn more at zentangle.com.
I made a group of Zentangle® tiles that started with a heart shape string…chose 6 of them for this post I am writing on the 14th…
I am remembering the printed cardstock Valentines from early elementary school. Everyone created a paper bag to hold the cards, and we all distributed our cards to all our classmates – being more careful about who got each card as we got a little older. They were just cardstock and ink – no glitter or sequins or plastic coating. Is that something that still happens? Later the little candy hearts were exchanged/eaten on the day, but they aren’t part of my first memories of Valentines Day. There was a heart shaped box of chocolates that my grandfather bought for my sisters and I one year; it only happened that once and it might have been a spur of the moment purchase on his part. That kind of chocolate was not something anyone in our family craved.
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The Zentangle® Method is an easy-to-learn, relaxing, and fun way to create beautiful images by drawing structured patterns. It was created by Rick Roberts and Maria Thomas. “Zentangle” is a registered trademark of Zentangle, Inc. Learn more at zentangle.com.
31 Zentangle tiles – one for each of the 31 days in January.
I chose to cut black and light blue cardstock for the month and skewed a bit toward the light blue as the month progressed. Most of the tiles I make are during the wind down of the day – the hour before bedtime. Many times my Garmin registers ‘rest’ during the time I am making them!
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The Zentangle® Method is an easy-to-learn, relaxing, and fun way to create beautiful images by drawing structured patterns. It was created by Rick Roberts and Maria Thomas. “Zentangle” is a registered trademark of Zentangle, Inc. Learn more at zentangle.com.
31 days in December….31 tiles made during the month featured in this post.
I used red, green and white tiles in December…mostly black ink but some red and green; it was a Christmasy palette. The red and green cardstock was cut into rectangular and square tiles. The white tiles were Apprentice tiles that I’ve had since shortly after attending the Certified Zentangle Training in 2019. It also used some triangular tiles which ended up not scanning well unless I made a mosaic with 6 of them! Enjoy the mosaics of the various card types below.
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The Zentangle® Method is an easy-to-learn, relaxing, and fun way to create beautiful images by drawing structured patterns. It was created by Rick Roberts and Maria Thomas. “Zentangle” is a registered trademark of Zentangle, Inc. Learn more at zentangle.com.
Thirty days in November…so I selected 30 tiles from the 101 that were produced in November.
They are all ivory cardstock with black ink patterns…color highlights. There are patterns I repeat frequently and others that seem to emerge for a few tiles only. I am using color pens that are several years old; I remember that I bought some of them at the Walmart in Carrollton TX in the year I started traveling to Texas again after COVID. It takes discipline to not buy new pens until old ones are depleted!
I was traveling for 11 days out of the month and kept two pockets (one for tiles and one for pens) of my laptop bag packed with supplies! My Zentangle time is part of my winding down routine toward the end of the day whether I am at home or in a hotel; almost all the tiles were produced between 8 and 9 PM!
I’ve already cut red, green and white tiles for December – and plan to use black and white inks.
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The Zentangle® Method is an easy-to-learn, relaxing, and fun way to create beautiful images by drawing structured patterns. It was created by Rick Roberts and Maria Thomas. “Zentangle” is a registered trademark of Zentangle, Inc. Learn more at zentangle.com.
October was a busy month with 8 days away from home (Jefferson City and Dallas)….and getting my damaged car repaired and our hot water heater replaced. Making Zentangle tiles is my tried-and-true activity for calming down at the end of the day – even when I am traveling!
I have discovered that if I make two sizes of tiles (3.5 square and 5 x 3.5), there is not a much leftover after cutting the 8.5 x 11 card stock …..so each month will probably have some of both sizes from now on! I have been using bright colors during October….might change to off white tiles in November and more colored inks.
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The Zentangle® Method is an easy-to-learn, relaxing, and fun way to create beautiful images by drawing structured patterns. It was created by Rick Roberts and Maria Thomas. “Zentangle” is a registered trademark of Zentangle, Inc. Learn more at zentangle.com.
113 tiles created in September ---- 31 selected to appear in this post.
The tile material is more varied this month:
Two corrugated cardboard tiles that were originally packaging around glass food storage containers I bought to replace my old plastic containers. I liked the shape as well as trying a new material. The bumpiness of corrugated cardboard makes the patterns more challenging.
There were 11 plain card stock tiles in pastel and bright colors (only two rectangular…the others square).
I enjoyed some new marble card stock – incorporating the marble lines as the string.
The watercolor tiles are old friends. I like the color changes. They make simple patterns look quite different.
Finally – 3 tiles were cut from magazine pages!
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The Zentangle® Method is an easy-to-learn, relaxing, and fun way to create beautiful images by drawing structured patterns. It was created by Rick Roberts and Maria Thomas. “Zentangle” is a registered trademark of Zentangle, Inc. Learn more at zentangle.com.
I had 155 tiles from August to choose the 31 for this monthly post! I had 40 that I selected in my first pass and it was hard to decide which 9 to deselect.
My tile material this month was black cardstock – in two sizes: 3.5-inch squares and 3.5 x 5 inch rectangles. I enjoyed experimenting with different types of gel pens. I learned that some of the glitter pens don’t scan well. The white (with 3 different tip sizes) and bright colors work best on the black tiles.
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The Zentangle® Method is an easy-to-learn, relaxing, and fun way to create beautiful images by drawing structured patterns. It was created by Rick Roberts and Maria Thomas. “Zentangle” is a registered trademark of Zentangle, Inc. Learn more at zentangle.com.
My road trip to Dallas in August was over 3 days rather than 2 since the sister that visits my dad most frequently was taking a vacation. There was rain as I drove through Oklahoma on the drive down and then on the third day as I headed home….but the drive was dry on the ends (Texas and Missouri). It wasn’t as hot in Texas as I expected although the air quality was yellow the entire time I was in Dallas (and red in the later part of one day when I was, luckily, indoors).
The garden my sisters have maintained at the assisted living residence needs watering every day and we all take Dad out when we do that. He sits on the patio in the shade and enjoys the change of scene and outdoors in general. The house bought a new hose recently, so it was easier to maneuver without some of the plastic coming off the hose. There are peppers, tomatoes, and chives in a raised bed.
The sunflowers are at all stages of development. Next time I go, I will get some seeds to plant in my garden for next spring. I noticed that the miniature rose bush is surviving and there are some small Texas rock roses that my sister has managed to transplant successfully.
The temperature was pleasant enough that I decided to prompt Dad to do his PT in the patio chair. We were out long enough to see a lizard and katydid. On the last morning, I noticed there were lots of mosquitos, so we went back inside before finishing the round of PT…did the rest inside! I didn’t get any bites…and I hope he didn’t either.
The surprise at the residence was the staff finding out a company was coming to treat the kitchen for bugs…they quickly cleared the cabinets and asked if some of the things they weren’t using were ours. They were things we had brought from my parents’ house when they first moved to assisted living thinking it would help with the transition to have things they recognized. They did…but it’s been over 1.5 years now and my dad doesn’t remember any of them. My youngest sister packaged them up in reusable win bottle bags and took them home.
I enjoyed lunch with my youngest sister on the second day…splurged on a decadent dessert. I enjoyed the down time in the evenings – destressing with the usual Zentangle creation and reading and some exercise. The hotel breakfast was the same as usual: eggs with pepper, Cran raisins, walnuts, and a cinnamon raisin bagel.
Like always, I was glad to be home again.
31 days in July so there are 31 tiles in the mosaic below. I had 140 to choose from! I made 3.5-inch squares from magazine pages again this month (like I did back in June) and then made patterns over the images. It was fun to use aspects of the images for the ‘thread’ or simply the background of the pattern I wanted to make! I am forcing myself to resume using cardstock tiles next month but will probably return to using tiles cut from magazine pages periodically; they are so different than the other tile materials…and I like that challenge.
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The Zentangle® Method is an easy-to-learn, relaxing, and fun way to create beautiful images by drawing structured patterns. It was created by Rick Roberts and Maria Thomas. “Zentangle” is a registered trademark of Zentangle, Inc. Learn more at zentangle.com.
I made a series of tiles in June and early July using magazine page cut tiles and a simple hand drawn diagonal shape as a ‘frame’ for the patterns. That meant that the tiles themselves could be arranged in a meta pattern! It was fun. If I do it again, I will cut a shape for the frame from card stock so it will be more consistent….or maybe a bit more complex.
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The Zentangle® Method is an easy-to-learn, relaxing, and fun way to create beautiful images by drawing structured patterns. It was created by Rick Roberts and Maria Thomas. “Zentangle” is a registered trademark of Zentangle, Inc. Learn more at zentangle.com.
30 days in June…so featuring 30 Zentangle tiles for the month. I had 170 to choose from so the choice was more challenging than usual. I made 3.5-inch squares from magazine pages this month and then made patterns over the images. In previous months, I had enjoyed the color variation when my ‘blanks’ were made from “Bright Splash” card stock and realized that images in magazines would have a different kind of color variation. The slicker and thinner paper was a bit challenging at times, but I enjoyed the June tiles so much that I will probably continue in July!
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The Zentangle® Method is an easy-to-learn, relaxing, and fun way to create beautiful images by drawing structured patterns. It was created by Rick Roberts and Maria Thomas. “Zentangle” is a registered trademark of Zentangle, Inc. Learn more at zentangle.com.
31 days in May….31 Zentangle tiles selected from over 120 I created during the month! I am still enjoying the “Bright Splash” card stock for the tile material
although I occasionally work on a page out of a Ruth Heller’s Designs for Coloring book that I bought for $1 at the library used book sale. I was in pristine condition.
I bought a second pad of the “Bright Splash” card stock but all the tiles for this month – and probably for June as well – are still cut from the first one. The color variation over the surface of the tile appeals to me. Sometimes I make patterns over the variations…sometimes I use the variations as the ‘string’ to start or contain the patterns.
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The Zentangle® Method is an easy-to-learn, relaxing, and fun way to create beautiful images by drawing structured patterns. It was created by Rick Roberts and Maria Thomas. “Zentangle” is a registered trademark of Zentangle, Inc. Learn more at zentangle.com.
Last week my husband was scheduled of out-patient surgery. The situation had changed significantly from my January 2022 outpatient surgery experience when Covid-19 protocols closed waiting rooms. The expectation now is that patients have a person, usually a family member, that stays at the waiting room during the surgery. We left for the hospital at 5 AM and were home by a little after 11 AM.
We went to the lobby registration desk for initial sign in…and were given a buzzer like restaurants sometimes use. Within a few minutes of sitting down, the buzzer went off and we went with an administrative person to make sure all the payment information was correct. Back in the waiting room for a few minutes…and we were called again by a person to take us back to the pre/post op area. I helped my husband into the hospital gown and socks….put all his clothes in a bag that I would keep (that was the expectation…and I found myself wishing his clothes were not as bulky). The anesthesiologist and surgeon came to talk to us. By 7:15 AM he was prepped and on his way to the OR and I was on my way to the waiting room. I had been given a number so I could track his status on the screens there. I checked in at the desk …in anticipation of the surgeon coming out after the surgery was complete to talk with me.
I filled the time between 7:15 AM and 9:35 AM in that waiting room. Getting a pastry from the bakery/café for breakfast was my first activity. I had loaded some novels on my phone for reading material. I made 3 Zentangle tiles. The time passed relatively quickly. The area was not crowded but it was clear that there were quite a few morning surgeries. One man lay down on one of the longer bench chairs and napped. Most people were reading on their phones; I didn’t hear a single phone ‘ring’ so people must have followed direction to silence them. The green plastic bags with patient’s clothes were near every person in the waiting room! I kept my daughter apprised of the everything via texts.
Everyone must have been a little anxious…most seemed hyper alert (except for the one person that slept) but at the same time relatively calm and appreciative of the quiet, calm demeanor of people at the reception desk in the room….they set the tone.
The waiting room had small rooms at each end where the conversations with the surgeon could happen in private. There was a picture of a dogwood in bloom on the wall in the room I was assigned. The surgeon came in…reported positive results…talked about the recovery instructions which would be printed and provided to us by the nurse. I was back in the waiting room for a few minutes before they gave me a post op room number where my husband was.
He was groggy still from the anesthesia. He seemed to be very challenged to rank the amount of pain he was feeling. It took about an hour for him to eat a snack and get dressed…meet the criteria for being released.
I called my daughter to meet us at our house since I wasn’t sure how mobile he really was. When we got home, I held onto his arm to go into the house…and used the path with the fewest steps. It was slow going but we managed, and he immediately took a nap. The pain med he was given just before he left the hospital had taken effect!
30 days in April….so I chose 30 Zentangle tiles from the 93 I made during April. There were more to choose from that usual because I’m dedicating some time as I am winding down each day to creating Zentangle tiles and I made the tiles from a pad of Bright Splash card stock I found at Walmart. It was colorful and prompted some very different starting strings! I am probably going to stock up since it is imported from Vietnam…maybe won’t be restocked. This card stock along with the solid black are my favorites!
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The Zentangle® Method is an easy-to-learn, relaxing, and fun way to create beautiful images by drawing structured patterns. It was created by Rick Roberts and Maria Thomas. “Zentangle” is a registered trademark of Zentangle, Inc. Learn more at zentangle.com.
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Celebrating the whole of life....
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