Lisbon Fragments (Guest Diva Challenge #327) and IAST#205

This was my submission for the latest It's a String Thing Challenge #205.

I think it was meant to be a sun 🌞but I decided to start with an Aquafleur (I'm liking this tangle greatly at the moment) and finish it with Shattuck (one of the recommended tangles of the week). 

I was contemplating using more tangles in the tile 😵 but was overcome with a need to stop overthinking and overcomplicating things and just enjoy and appreciate simple beauties 🌼 - now that I've written it down perhaps I should apply that to life as well! Hidden life lesson in zentangle #472😂!  

As I was tangling I felt like the curves of the shattuck reminded me of clouds ⛅ which lead to blue colouring pencils being brandished.  

Along the way however I did discover a problem. My Prismacolour blending pencil seems to pick up and smudge the Sakura micron ink 😭. I ended up using a lighter blue to blend. It didn't work a well as a blending pencil but it would have better than black patches😕! Does anyone else have this problem? If it helps I was using a Canson Art Inspiration Sketchbook. 

Another project I've been working on for a while was a bookmark for someone I needed to thank. This was the first time I worked on a zentangle knowing that it was a gift 🎁to be given away. I've given away tangled gift tags before that that isn't really quite the same as giving away a piece as the gift itself (at least that's what I thought).

It was UBER STRESSFUL😱! I was so afraid that it would come out ugly or that I would screw up...😩 I was like hesitating at everything!

After about 2 weeks of work, this is what the eventual bookmark turned out like.  

I used some of my favourite tangles and added a small zen gem (I'm still trying to practice my gems - I think it improves my light source appreciation... I hope). I'm kinda worried she doesn't like it.  😕

And last but definitely not least, my contribution for Guest Diva Henrike's Challenge # 327 - Lisbon Fragments.

When I first saw the tangle, I immediately thought of local Peranakan tiles. There are many kinds of Peranakan tiles but the most "classic" one to me involves green grids, light blue backgrounds and pink flowers 🌷(usually roses) - like this

(Disclaimer: I just googled the image - I do not have the pleasure of having such tiles in my home!) 

I tried my best!

Done with Sakura Microns in black, blue, pink and green, with a splash of sakura coloured Copic multiliner as well as a pink coloured pencil, I tried my best 💪to make the beautiful (and complicated) Lisbon fragments work with some Fluxecho (which I have been dying to try by the way😀) and some Trentwith roses.

I had an interesting battle with Trenthwith. I had a vague idea of the tangle but for the heck of me I couldn't remember the exact look and/or the name! I had to backtrack to one of my previous tiles, which I shared here, to kind of reverse engineer where I got the tangle from! Maybe I should start labelling the tangles used in a tile... 😣

I didn't want to go too much into colour but I did want some colour in the hopes of having some smidgen of the beauty of a peranakan tile - I'm quite happy with the eventual outcome but am not sure if it looks incomplete this way😵.  What do you think?