Category Archives: zentangle

Tangled art journal pages.

It has been a while since I last did anything in the way of art so just to get my little grey cells thinking creatively again I got out an old art journal, that I hadn’t filled, and randomly put down some colour for the background across 2 pages.  Next, I doodled about with some black lines and filled some areas in.  It was way too black so I brightened it up with white dots and just had a play.  It isn’t quite zentangle but it was fun to do and a good way to get me back into doing some art.

2 art journal pages with black lines, black filled in circles and white dots, on a background of magenta and turquoise toned down with white wash
Tangle journal pages

Random zentangle card

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I did try to make this zentangle pattern random but it is very difficult not to end up making a pattern, not that it would have mattered in the slightest.  I shaded in the wide areas rather than the pointy areas just to get a different look.  The photo is taken from above and it looks curved because my card wouldn’t lie flat.  Instead of black and white I might do this one again in colour next time.

Zentangle card humbug style

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I caught a little bit of zentangle on a TV show a few weeks back (I think was the lady doing the demo was called Mel) and this was roughly the pattern she was doodling.  Mine isn’t quite the same as I have angled my stripes differently and also the shading.  The pattern reminds me of these old fashioned sweets you used to get that were kind of pyramidal and stripy – humbugs.  I think zentangle lends itself really well to male cards and this one is for Fraser.  Happy birthday Fraser!

Zentangle Chrismas card

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For this zentangle card I used masking tape to make a white border and didn’t add a black line border around it in order to keep it quite light.  I am not sure it worked as you can see the lines at the top going off into nowhere.  I got all my Christmas papers and stamps out but ended up doodling this one and not using up any of my stash.  I just haven’t got my Christmas mojo this year so I will only be making a few cards.  I used a gel glitter pen to add sparkle on the snowy areas – you can see it better bellow.

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Fish zentangle card

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Here is a zentangle thank you card I made for Neill (Sole Seafood Restaurant) and Eve for doing a Seafood Master-class in our house.  It is a long story which I won’t go into too much detail but the long and the short of it is: a very good friend of ours (Graham) bid on this Master-class in the Big Bam Boogie – Charity Fundraiser for MacMillan Cancer Care and he very kindly shared it with us. Not only did we learn some cool techniques but we had a fabulous meal with great company and they even cleaned up afterwards so my kitchen was left spotless.
Thank you Neill, Eve, Graham and Gen.
Pity I didn’t take any photos of the food.

Inks: Black Pitt pen, Marvy Le Plume watercolour pens, Inktense pencils
Card: white card
Other:  white gel pen, glitter pen, aqua lagoon cosmic shimmer mist spray, salt

Zentangle birthday card

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Another zentangle birthday card, they are great for guys cards and you can make them as intricate and fussy as you like.
I stamped the greeting first then drew in the rectangular border.  Masked it then stamped some cogs and some dots.  The rest is doodled zentangle.

Inks:  Black document ink
Card:  black, white,
Stamps:  Stampin up Cheers and wishes, Sense of time and Circle of friendship
Other:   black Pitt pens, masking tape

Zentangle birthday card

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This one is for wee Stuart’s birthday.  It is a mixture of stamping and zentangle and I added a touch of red too.

Inks:  Versamark archival black
Card: black, white, red
Stamps:  Inkadinkado Snakeskins and Chandeliers, Cute Companions Patchwork numbers (greeting)
Other: black pen, red pen

Zentangle cards

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By just using black and white with some subtle shading  you can make cards out of doodles.  I have been flicking through a great little book that I bought for my dad a short while while ago and got some pattern ideas for doodling and with a little practice I am starting to get the hang of it now.  My hands can be a bit shaky at times so some lines get a bit of a wobble in them but it is great fun to do.  I will get your book back to you soon dad!

Pens:   Black Pitt pen, pencil, paper stub
Card:  Black and white card
Book: Yoga for the brain  A zentangle workout by Sandy Steen Bartholemew