'Tis the Season to be Jolly

I have been taking it easy and not really putting in any effort to make new cards or do much else. I had to snap out of that zone for an order of holiday cards in just a few days. I had some ideas in mind to make them that seemed easy and quick - but in reality, I could only squeeze in 3-4 cards per day. But they came out well, and I was happy with the results.

These cards were made from buttons and bows. Although the buttons were easy to stick to paper, the beads had to sewn. And to make sure the thread didn't unravel, I glued the line of stitch on the inside.

These tiny crystals were a boon - they come in a variety of colours and are easy to stick onto most surfaces. The Snowflakes seemed easy, but I was working with 4x4 inch origami paper which left me little room to manoeuvre. The key is to get the fold of the paper right - they are 6-sided.

Since I was short on time, I also revamped some of my earlier cards to make them seem a little more festive.

Ribbons and fabric borders make life much simpler. My Sakura metallic pens kept losing their sheen mid-way which was very annoying. I had to set them upright for a while before I could use them again to complete the card.

Finally, what's Christmas without the trees. The one on the left is made with cut-outs from some wrapping paper. The middle one is a cut-out from origami paper of 3 types of greens stuck together to make it 'come alive'. The last one is obviously glitter with Washi tape gift boxes.

These were fun to make, and now equipped with more variety of coloured card stock, I am looking for more designs I can put to paper.

Venturing Out

Some people are their own harshest critics. It is one of the reasons I never thought of selling stuff I make - art or food. There are people with much better work out there. But since friends and family have been insisting that it is good enough to sell, I thought why not take a chance. With that I started a Facebook store called Happy Dog Designs of some of my artwork. And if it doesn't work, I can always say "I told you so"!

Cake Box

Recently I had to take a home-baked cake to someone's home and hadn't yet invested in a cake carrier.

I have previously resorted to making cupcakes or brownies instead, but I wanted to try making a cake box - it couldn't be more difficult than making the actual cake, could it? It wasn't.

I found a helpful guide on how to go about making a box instead of just winging it (Crystal's Creative Creations). Tip: It makes life a lot simpler if you use a cutter to score the card before folding it. I tried folding the first line without it and it didn't some out clean.

The only changes I made was to go with a fully-covered top with some drawings instead of the clear film, and since the card paper I got wasn't very thick, I trimmed the cardboard base covering the whole base instead of circular.

I drew over the top sheet after marking the folds, but before sticking them into place, and I lined the cardboard base with aluminium foil - some fancy foil would have looked looked but I didn't have any.

The box and cake were highly appreciated. Recipe for cake.

Drawings

I have fallen behind on my little Zentangle notebook that I tried to scribble in everyday, mainly because I've been travelling, and also because I was working on a bigger scale. These are some of the sets I made last month.

The first one took me over a day for each letter (10x10 inches each). I had to pencil in the dimensions for the borders and letters for uniformity, otherwise I prefer freehand. The next step was to watercolour it. I have to admit that I was disappointed with the way it looked with just the watercolours and I thought I have wasted a whole lot of time for nothing. But when I outlines it with my micron pens, it started to really stand out. Phew!

The animal set just started out as a trial with the peacock, but I liked the owl I saw somewhere so that came next. But just two seemed incomplete, so I found a curious giraffe. I made this on thick printing paper so the pens were gliding on them as opposed to the watercolour paper I used for the previous one.

The other two pieces were also experiments. I had some good art paper but were too dark for the micron pens. Even the metallic ones I got didn't stand out too well. So I used watercolour to lighten the background, then used the pens for the design. These are all freehand therefor not too straight at the borders.

Love for All Seasons (watercolour on paper, with coloured pencils and pens)

Animal Kingdom (Coloured pencils on paper)

Joy & Freedom (Watercolours and metallic markers on paper)

Floating in Space (watercolour and metallic markers on paper)

This Week in Zentangle

I've been doodling almost everyday with my new pens and new journal. I try to not look at designs on the Internet, but I find myself repeating some of the patterns I already know. I've been making an effort to come up with variations on my own. It works most of the times, but sometimes it doesn't match up to the expectations. Live and learn!

UPDATE: With my new pens and journal, I've gone on a One-Zentangle-a-Day spree. Instead of uploading the images here every week, I've pinned them on Pinterest. Some even in colour.

Zentangle Upgrade

I had been using a regular gel pen for my Zentangles previously, and although it was alright for larger patterns, it didn't do too well for detailed work. It also didn't give smooth, even lines.

Recently a friend recommended micro tip pens and it has made all the difference. The different sized tips make it easy for detailed drawings and for filling in spaces. It is much more stable and even. They also come in coloured inks - I plan to get them once I enter Phase III.

UPDATE: I made a kitty sister poster as well.

All you need is love

Finally made a coloured Zentangle and moved on from the small squares. Rummy and Bing make an appearance as well.

UPDATE: Framed at it's new home!

Zentangle

Zentangle is structured doodling. That's the best way to describe it I guess. It was made popular by a couple and many use it to de-stress and for meditation. It is a great way to unwind after a long day. I keep a notepad next to my bed. The repetitive doodling puts you in a lulled state and helps me sleep when sleep is elusive.

It's quite easy to get started. The original concept asks for you to doodle within a 9x9cm square template, but this is no strict rule. The next step is to divide this box into sections. This could be a simple circle at one corner of the margin, or a more complicated division.

Now comes the interesting part. Fill in each section with a doodle pattern. There are various patterns available on the Internet if you get stuck. It can be as spaced or as intricate as you want. If something doesn't go exactly the way you want, do not erase or backtrack it. The whole idea is to let your hand and mind flow freely.

There are no mistakes - only happy accidents.

You can either keep it monochrome or add colour. This particular one I did on the computer. I still need to scan the ones I did by hand. Will update soon.

UPDATE: