the tangle jar

Today, I am flying my nerd flag.

That being proclaimed, I've been thinking of ways to expand on the multi-sided die in the zentangle kit to randomize and vary the pattern choices for tangling. I find myself returning to the same patterns instead of trying new ones, so I've made a tangle pattern jar to expand my... tangle-icity. 

I used:

my cat, Puma, who will do anything for a treat

(though he has no further role in this project other than entertaining me),

a small roundish glass jar,

a round craft punch (one-inch),

a pack of neon index cards,

and a 005 micron pen. 

There is one pattern written on each circle in the jar. Well, not the orange ones, but we'll get to that in a minute.

My husband once told me that I tend to approach things in a 'scorched earth' fashion (a.k.a. overkill), so... true to my nature, I have included every tangle pattern in the CZT guide from Rick and Maria and every pattern listed in the PDF from tanglepatterns.com. Every one, from Ahh to Zincut, and everything in Betweed. *chuckle* ...sorry.

Ok, here's the nerdy part. The circles are color-coded, y'see, so you don't end up with too much of the same kind of pattern in your tangle. Unfortunately, the yellows and the greens look the same in this photo. No idea why.

You could go completely random and just pick a few patterns from the jar based on the number of sections in your stringed tile, or:

Pink: Patterns that require grids, dots, or other rigid structure in order to work.

Yellow: Flowy, randomly placed, freeform patterns.

Green: Patterns that are good for strings or borders.

Orange: These contain buzzwords, phrases, or specific directions to apply to the tangles you have just drawn from the jar. They won't all work with every pattern... but if they stretch your brain in new directions, you never know what will happen. 

You could end up with some new tangle patterns. :o)

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Some tangle jars I made using paper punches, scrapbooking paper, and a few goodies from the jewelry-making section of Hobby Lobby. Oh, and shrink plastic... microns....glue dots... jump rings. You know how it goes when you go into a craft store for Just One Thing. ;o)

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Thanks for stopping by! 

Feel free to join me here, 

where I frequently share artsy things that inspire me, 

invite tanglers to share art,

crack silly jokes, 

and offer up the 

occasional 

tangle 

prompt. 

:oD

❀

the hand jive

I tried my hand at a new challenge today. Pun intended. Can't say I love the result (mostly because the way I strung it removes all semblance of bone structure and makes it look like a pudgy alien hand), but at least it's kind of interesting to look at. I like the footlite at the top. It's also my first SUCCESSFUL use of betweed! Sooo... that's better than a whack on the nose with a rusty poker.

Two points to you and a chocolate frog if you can tell me where that quote came from. ho ho ho.

Shrinky Dinks... not just for breakfast anymore.

Thought I'd try my hand at making some tangled earrings today. I went a little bonkers at the local craft store and bought several paper punches in different sizes and shapes (they were 40% off... it was like they KNEW), a few different kinds of blank shrinky-dink sheets, and assorted beading supplies. This is one of four different styles I came up with. These were made with the clear sheets/rough finish. I'm going to experiment with colored pencils and opaque white sheets next. As much as I like these, I think they'll be more appealing when I throw in a little color. Also, there will be a bracelet attempt tomorrow. That should be interesting!

Here are a few of my first attempts, though I ended up adding small black glass beads to the jump rings at the top to spruce them up a little. I like these because they're more 'tangled', unlike the ones I posted above with just one pattern per piece. I think I'll try drawing the string on a separate sheet of paper next time and tape the translucent earring material to the paper until I'm finished tangling it. The pencil string is so dark it looks like ink... remember everything's darker after you shrink it!