Feeling great that the Diva is back!

Sharing something old and something new!

Catching up on old IAST challenges! This was IAST #251 featuring Stix. 

IAST #256!

 mazorito.pokeleaf.msst.hexa.antidot

Also feeling great that the Diva is back sharing her challenges! 

Diva Challenge #366 - back to basics!

printemps.hollibough.knightsbridge.crescent moon.flux.tipple.florz

I really enjoyed the back to basics tile - and i forced myself to use a "basic" tangle that I've always avoided - crescent moon. Yes don't laugh... Crescent moon. 

So in the same spirit, I moved Crescent moon into this week's challenge. 

 

Diva Challenge #367 feat 'nzeppel. 

crescent moon.flux.tipple.'nzeppel.printemps.paradox

It's been quite a while...

I haven't posted in quite a while. In fact I haven't tangled in quite a while. A lot of things have been happening and it's been getting to me quite badly. Or rather, to put more specifically I have been LETTING it get to me. Was in a baad place for quite a while =(. 

Spent a bit of time trying to "unwind" through the mishmosh of emotions to try and rationalize and look out for / search for the small blessings that (like it or not) are actually in every single (bad) thing that happens / happened. 

I must consciously remind myself to look for these silver / gold / chicken nuggets (I like chicken nuggets) and Thank Upstairs (whatever your belief is) for small blessings. 

Arting / crafting and sharing about arting / crafting seems to help. 

Hence... I thank you for your patience, understanding and your help towards normality. 

Found a new art supply shop (more conveniently located than the ones I do already know of) in a new-ish mall. For locals, you might want to check out, Umistrong. 

They have packed a lot of things into a small shop! They seemed to carry a lot of Chinese products  (e.g. watercolour paper of a Chinese brand) that I have never seen before - but they do all seem to be reasonably prices. I fought the urge to buy some to try (I already have too many art supplies!) so I can't give any input as to the quality of said Chinese products... but I did cave for pencil roll (which was a quarter to half the price of a "branded" pencil roll)! I had been looking for one for a while as my Omni Instense pencils (which I think have been featured on my blog quite a few times) doesn't come in a box with the tray that "slides" out... which makes them difficult to use - and I had been keeping them all in a discount store lunch box.

(in case you are wondering - yes I did number my pencils and create a colour key - yes I am a colour pencil and staitonary geek)

Behold the glory of my pencil roll! *drumroll*

Bask in it's rainbowed glory! 

Ahem - now on to some zentangling (to be honest there was almost a month where I couldn't get myself to draw... =( hence I don't have that much to share but share I shall!). These are tiles done in June. 

IAST #246: 

I loved this string idea! Read more about it here. 

Joey's Weekly Challenge #219 feat pokeroot:

pokeroot.huggins.shattuck.florz

IAST #245:

marasu.purk.'nzeppel

And on to July...

The bestie is on a 6 month stint far far away and she's none too happy about it. So I drew up a little postcard to send to her... using my new gift from the sister. 

Yes, you are looking at Primacolor watercolor pencils - my sister rocks I know. 

Also sharing my only tile in July so far (which was Joey's Challenge #222 - feat maryhill) 

Using a new thrift store sketch book - I quite like the fact that I have space to do multiple tiles but I really don't like the spiral binding - it gets in the way when I want to turn the sketchbook. the spread features Prismacolor orbs and a Prismacolor watercolour penciled version in the bottom right corner. Also am taking the chance to practice on my (really bad) brush lettering with a Pentel Touch. Practice makes perfect right. 

Thanks for stopping by. 

Faber-Castell Art Festival and more!

Warning: Loong, image heavy post! (But do read on... I'd like you to) 

For those in Singapore, the Faber-Castell Art Festival is currently ongoing at Marina Square and will run till 3rd June 2018. If you haven't checked it out you might want to do so. 

Like a little fortress, the fair sits in the central atrium of Marina Square and has several "components". The predominant portion of the fair relates to the children's / school supplies (many of which are on pretty good looking deals). Most things appear to be on at least 15% off with a selection of items on "1-for-1". 

However, for the "hard core" don't dismay!

There are corners dedicated to their "higher end" pens and artist grade art supplies *drool*. Waaay out of my price range but hey! Window shopping is free!

There's also a small art exhibition area which is cool to check out - all pieces made with Faber-Castell products of course. 

I loved the robot / gundam / transformer made of Faber-Castell connector pens *hee hee* 

And perhaps best of all, workshops!!!!! There are workshops EVERYDAY! [It's unbelievably hard for me to find interesting workshops that fit in my work schedule...]

My sister treated me to a 2 hour workshop with local artist William Sim, "Nature Study with Colour Pencils". She went as well of course! This is what I did in the 2 hours: 

Not too bad if I don't say so myself... considering in particular that I've always maintained that I suck at "true to life" drawing, colouring and painting. The wonders a great teacher can do! He was patient, encouraging and gave a lot of "tips and tricks" that I didn't really know about drawing / using watercolour pencils. 

I didn't know much of William Sim before (but my sister is a fan girl). Now that I do know of him, it's really worthwhile taking some time to look at his works - I promise you it's worth it! Here are his pieces that are on exhibition: 

William is holding one more session of this workshop! It's an awesome workshop so do check it out! 

The child in me is also rejoicing at the "fun pack" that comes with joining the class! Woo!

- a tin of 12 Faber-Castell Art Grip Aquarelle - these are AWESOME! 

- 3 graphite pencils

- 1 dustfree easer

- 1 clic & go brush

- 1 clic & go watercup

Bask in the glory of my "fun pack"!  

And of course... all window shopping is never that fun right? Wondering how a pure graphite 3B pencil will work with Zentangle. 

Speaking of zentangle... back to the zentangling! 

IAST #243: Zenbuttons was great fun! Used a different method to do a watercolour background with my Koi markers. Quite liking the outcome!

pokeleaf.florz.chillon.betweed

koi watercolour markers direct wash 

faber-castell ecco pen

Then follows slew of tiles that left much be be desired... and also left me chanting "there's no mistakes in zentangle... there's no mistakes in zentangle... there's no mistakes in zentangle... ". Hence, BE BRAVE! And share the not so great tiles too... right? 

Tried yet another method of watercolour backgrounds, this time with a Koh-I-Noor watercolour pan  that I got as part of the "project pack" of a workshop I attended at Overjoyed some time back. The outcome was a little "powdery" but after a few swipes with a tissue it was fine. To add experiment to experiment, tried to tangle on it with a "pointed pen"- a Zig manga nib holder and a Nikko G nib with Yellow Gold from the Kuretake Gansai Tambi Starry collection. Took a workshop on this a while back at Heartistry - thanks CZT Mabel! CZT Mabel is giving another class on this soon if you are interested!

More experiments were abound with a black background (using my Sakura Identity marker) and 5 colours of Sakura Moonlight pens (and a white of course). ("there's no mistakes in zentangle... there's no mistakes in zentangle... there's no mistakes in zentangle...")

Also experimented with Staedtler Karat Aquarell watercolour crayons with some round gems (the box of 12 that I bought were on sale). 

Also used these crayons for the background of IAST #244:

auraknot.paradox

staedtler karat aquarell crayon background

micron PN in navy.staedtler fineliners.warm grey copic liner 

Also sharing Joey's weekly challenge #217 feat. cadent:

cadent.knightsbridge.aquafleur.tipple.mooka.y.a.f. 

koi direct watercolour

staedtler pigment liner

Started out with a regular cadent then got bored and went a little crazy... resulting in a weird looking tile... ah well.. live and learn. There's no mistakes in zentangle right?

Diva Challnge #364 feat. Puf

puf 

staedlter pigment liner

Joey's Challenge #218 feat Dicso:

dicso.florz.printemps.knightsbridge.huggins

faber-castell ecco pigment liner

Now, if ya'll will excuse me, I need to go and see if there's more workshops at the Faber-Castell Art Festival that I can sign up for!

Happy easter all!

Happy Easter All!

 

Spent a bit of time away from Zentangling making little gift tags for easter goodies for the office. Thank the joys of the internet for tutorials on how to draw a perfect egg as well as how to draw a ribbon. Coloured with my local brand colour pencils, Omni. Am liking my eggs although I do admit that my shading / light needs work. 

[In case you were wondering the white tails are so that I can thread the wire tie / ribbon holding the gift bag closed through a loop =).]

Sharing my challenge tiles for the week.

 

Joey's challenge #209 - also photographed another pencil that I've tried. The Staedtler Kakikata:

diva dance.funsin.auraknot

It's a lovely pencil... both for use as well as to look at. Smooth and easy to move. Possibly making me look more "professional" than my usual cutesy Japanese pencils (yes I'm a stationery addict - the silver lining is that it's a lot cheaper to be a stationery addict than say... a branded handbag addict... or at least that's what I like to try and tell myself :P). These pencils are available in various designs - 3 designs per colour range with a total of 3 colours in the range. These are those that I got in the blue range.

 

 

 

Diva Challenge #357:

 

paradox

IAST #236:

paisley.safflower

 

And by the way... Does this happen to anyone else?

 



 

Thankfully this has only happened to my black 01 micron so there's no confusion... yet...

 

As a parting note: to all the people who won a prize on my birthday giveaway please do drop me a line!

A wild birthday!

Celebrated my birthday last Friday... And it was probably the most glorious day I've had in a loooong time.

Took leave from work and spent the whole day doing happy things. Started with one of my favourite nasi lemak breakfasts :) followed by a trip to the new Japanese discount store (which I love) and woot woot they had the sharpener that I've wanted for yonks! The Sonic Ratchetta! For the last few months every time I've gone it's been out of stock! All I got to see was a picture of it hung on the empty display arm and it's price tag... UNTIL NOW! They cost S$6.00 each in the Japanese lifestyle store and only $3.50 at the discount store! There were two types and I just couldn't decide! 

I couldn't pass up on S$1.90 Winnie the Pooh and Donald Duck pencil caps either!

Then lunch at Shin Minori - a Japanese restaurant which I had never tried before... with a 1 for 1 birthday promo! Super worth it! [note to anyone else intending to go, I don't think it's quite worth it to pay full price... but that's just my humble opinion] 

Then a trip to River Safari - with another 1 for 1 birthday promo! Didn't manage to take much photos but I chose the River Safari over our Zoo because I LOVE FISH (and I had gone to the Aquarium last year for my birthday)! 

 I did not know piranas were sparkly... did you?

And to make it better my ticket entitled me to a 10% discount at the gift store which I found the new The Art Faculty flamingo pouch - my favourite design from The Art Faculty! I love them flamingos! It's now my new zentangle carry all! And check out the free pin they gave me to wear around the zoo. 

[Shameless advert: Please shop from The Art Faculty! It's for a good cause! It is a "platform that celebrates the abilities of people with autism and related challenges. We promote and showcase their special talents. For every sale of artwork and product, our differently-abled artists earn royalties to learn the value of work and financial independence..."]

Then dinner at a new food court!

This on top of lovely presents from my loved ones!
 

'twas a great day :) with everything happening at home, guess it's been a while that I've been this happy. Need to learn to "hold on" to the feeling... 

Also sharing my St Pats day IAST - I love how these challenges introduce new tangles for us to learn / try / use. 

luckiline.sh.rock

 

My tile for Joey's Challenge #208...

coil.abacus.drawings.'nzeppel.pokeleaf

Did this tile with a Pentel Fude Touch Brush pen. I quite liked the experience. I had to control my pen pressure (I press far too hard even when writing) and enjoy that on the few bits I managed to control the pen pressure somewhere, there's a clear line weight difference (see some of the beads and bits of the coil) The biggest downside? I can't draw on it with the Sakura white or the Pentel Hybrid Gel Grip white. I ended up drawing with a fine liquid paper pen! As an added benefit - am learning to love pokeleaf! 

Also sharing my Diva name tile for Diva Challenge #356

sandswirl.plume-ar.andromeda.patiences.florz.cubine 

And perhaps as a belated surprise, I was gifted with a second hand (but working) fish tank, with a pump and light and everything... for me to buy what I have always affectionately called "my guys" (they're actually balloon rams... these are electric blue balloon rams...). I always look for them in every fish shop that I enter (and I go into a lot of fish shops because I LOVE FISH) but never bought them for fear of killing them =(. I've taken the plunge! And so far... I LOVE MY GUYS. I hope nothing untoward happens to them though - fingers crossed! I've never had a real tank before! I'm taking forever to write this post because the tank is right next to me and I'm turning to stare and watch them a lot.

And of course (and I'm sure the long awaited for) results of my birthday giveaway! Thank you for participating! Congratulations to Ria, Lisa and Margaret! Please do drop me a line at logically_thinking at yahoo dot co dot uk so that I can get your gifts to you!

Challenging challenges!

Sharing IAST #231

barney.luv-a

Diva Challenge #353 was quite a challenge for me. Did a heartstring zendala pattern with the help of a few random paper hearts cut from scrap.

Quite like the outcome (and this cute little tile sized easel I got from a local discount store!). Took me quite a few days to complete!

 

Also sharing my tile for Joey's Challenge #205. I loved Andromeda so much! Def on my favourite tangles list!

 

andromeda.'nzeppel

 

 

And if you want to partake in my birthday giveaway, check it out here!

Hearts - hugs needed.

Sharing some previous tiles as well as the recent tiles that I have been doing this public holiday long weekend. Enjoying the process de-stressing from work and dealing with the parental unit's illnesses.

 

Hugs and prayers needed =(.

 

IAST #227 done on a home-cut 4-inch tile with together with a brown copic and a blue sakura micron. 

frunky.fife.knightsbridge.msst

IAST #228 combined with Diva Challenge #349 done in my fav. canson inspiration sketchbook. Was trying out a midrori notebook in the last few posts but they weren't pencil friendly and I started hating the process and outcomes. Gave up and reverted back to my cansons and refound my love for zentangle. Also discovered a new pencil at a local new "discount store" and am loving it.

rumpus.printemps.artoo.paradox

IAST #229  and Diva Challenge #350 quite like this one... somehow reminds me of Alice in Wonderland's Queen of Hearts.

ramy.florz

IAST #230 - am particularly pleased at how this one turned out.

funsin.frunky.huggins.'nzeppel 

Diva Challenge #351

 divadance rock 'n roll.snail.florz

Joey's Weekly Challenge #203 - my first attempt at a Joey's Challenge (and at tangle Eddyper)

rixty.eddyper

 

And perhaps last but not least...

 

 

Mom passed away more than 10 years ago when I was still in Uni. Had she still been with us, we would have celebrated her birthday last week. Still missing you 10 years on, Mom. Wish you were here.