The year is well under way, and I'm still not inspired to add to the blog-o-sphere, except to pass along some pretty amazing You Tube videos. 
(Oh, here I need to take a detour.  Last night we were listening to the joke/humor edition of Prairie Home Companion, a non-stop Laugh-In.    One joke we loved was:
Did you know there is a new social networking site?   You Tube, Twitter, and Facebook have all merged.  The new site is You Twit Face.  LOL.   Well, I guess you had to be there.  We thought it was hilarious.)
So, this year I seem to be focusing more on calligraphy, thanks to the few ladies who have taken me under their sheltering pens after the Zentangle workshop.  I found this wonderful You Tube presentation of the word  "MAGIC".    Prepare to be amazed if you're a calligrapher.

Growing Older in the New Year. A You Tube Laugh

It is a new year, and a happy one, too.    A dear friend sent me this, and it is so choice, I want to share it.
While the first minute and a half is a real prayer, this delightful lady adds her own personalized message to the Hearer of All Prayers.   A reminder for all of us.

Sending you to someone else's blog

This blog post was just too good to keep to myself.   I got it from Lori Vliegen, who got it from Julie Fei- Fan Balzer.   It's about getting your art supplies organized, and who doesn't need that???  I'm going to get started on that first thing Monday morning.  (Do I sound like a procrastinator?)

Happy Holidays and Wishes to All; A Zentangle Christmas card

Just a peek at the finished zentangle-inspired holiday card.  It was fun to make, and exciting to see finished.  It was printed on a pearlized finished card stock, so it has a nice sheen, which you can't see.
I especially like the philosophy of zentangles, which includes "there are no mistakes."  Whether each stroke is perfect or not is beside the point.   The completed whole has it's own charm, with or without mistakes.  Thanks to my grown-up artist children for their help in accomplishing a daunting task.   Only they know how I agonize and fret, and they always come through with the perfect assistance.  
So, my own little reminder about holiday gift giving came from my very precious daughter-in-law, who sent a beautiful expression of gratitude and acknowledgment.  There is no more meaningful gift to give than to thank someone for being in your life, letting them know they make a difference, and they are valued.    My sincere wish is that YOU will know how much I value and appreciate you in my life, and what a difference you make.  This would truly be a lone and dreary world without the support of friends and family.   Happy Holidays, and may all your wishes come true.  (Note:  Be careful what you wish for. LOL)

Music of the Season

It always bothers me when the stores start playing Christmas music the day after Halloween. Not kidding. Also, one of the radio stations started it's seasonal onslaught the first of November. Maybe in my old age, the Grinch has taken hold, and the Ghost of Christmas Present is visiting this Scroogina, because I prefer shopping online or not at all, to having to hear another version of "Holly, Jolly Christmas." So, I'm offering a list of my current favorite Christmas Music, to which I don't get tired of listening.  Voila, Here it is in no particular order.  The "mood" dictates.

Yo-Yo Ma and Friends, Songs of Joy and Peace
James Taylor at Christmas
Anuna Christmas Songs (The a capella vocal group of Riverdance)
Swingle Singers The Story of Christmas
Modern Mandolin Quartet Tchaikovsky's Nutcracker Suite
Kim Robertson Christmas Lullaby Solo Celtic Harp
Sarah McLachlan Wintersong
Mary Chapin Carpenter Twelve Songs of Christmas
Tingstad and Rumbel The Gift
Windham Hill Celtic series
Kurt Bestor
Anything Cambridge Singers, with John Rutter
And our all-time favorite, John Denver and the Muppets.  
Thanks to Jonathon and Allison for the following suggestions.  Enjoy!


If you like Handel's Messiah, my favorite version is Narada's Hallelujah! Great Choruses from Handel, sung by His Majestie's Clerkes, a small vocal ensemble and an authentic instrument Baroque orchestra.
This year I also added Susan Boyle's Christmas album, just for the principle of it all.  I'll buy anything she does, just because.....maybe I relate. (except I can't sing like she does.)
Announcement:   This weekend, I will unveil THE Christmas Card, second annual Zentangle.  Stay tuned.

THE Music of the Season

When I started this blog, it was with an intent to be creative.  Sometimes it morphs to showing others' creativity.  This post is a bit of a departure, to show a truly talented, hard-working artist.   It just happens he's related to me and I'm proud to claim him.   He has his own You Tube channel with thousands of admirers.  And yet he's so humble. 
Enjoy this beautiful expression of the Christmas season.

UCA Compendium

You might remember (or not), that my camera died on the day of my big zentangle workshop, so I haven't been able to document my activities. I finally got the most fabulous camera on the planet....a Canon PowerShot S95, but with my amateur abilities, you won't notice how great it is. But, I can blog....yea.
   Every November, the calligraphers have a family and friends event, with activities for all. This year, we made cards, notebook holders, carved stamps, wove keychains or friendship bracelets, and origami folded wreaths. Here is a photo gallery of some of the things we made.


This is what you might need to carve stamps, which is one of my new favorite activites. If you want a tutorial, my good blogging friends, Lori Vliegen, or Martha Lever, both have info and great examples. Yes, you can carve a plastic eraser.

Here are a few of my attempts. They're really fun.

It's hard to get a size reference, but they're small....about and inch and a half square. It took me a minute or two of practice to get the little incidentals carved out, as you can see on the heart card.

This leaf stamp was a hit. Can be done alone or multiples.


I think I'll carve various flowers and leaf/stem combos, after seeing this.


Here is the notebook folder, made with a 5 x 8" legal pad and a 12 x 12" scrapbook paper.

 It has two large gold paper clips with ribbons to mark pages in the notebook.

Take a 12 x 12 scrapbook page, find the paper grain direction, cut 1.5" off of the cross grain side (bottom).  Place the page with the front side down against the table, fold the left edge over 1.5".  Fold the bottom edge up 2.5"   ( If you are using a paper with a definite up and down pattern, like I did with bugs on it, you only need to be aware of the paper direction on the front, so your notebook holder doesn't look upside down.)   The tricky part is cutting a mitered bottom edge.

To find out where to cut, fold the left edge over, mark it on the bottom edge, then cut diagonally from the bottom edge up to the fold, and straight out to the side.    When the side is folded in, and the bottom is up, the corner is mitered.   Use double stick tape to hold the left edge down and the miter in place.     Put double stick tape on the back (cardboard side of the paper pad), and stick it down on the right edge of the paper, and centered top to bottom.   Score the paper along the left edge of the notebook to fold up.  Then score again 1/4 inch away, to close over the top.  Decorate the front with brads, punches, stamps, ribbons, and use the 1.5 inch strip you cut away to cover the ugly edge of the note pad, cut to size, of course.

I'll show you the form of the keychain/friendship bracelet, although it isn't finished. It's just like the boondoggle we used to do as kids. When this is finished, I'll show you exactly how to do it. Easy, easy.

Stay tuned. Have some crafty fun. xoxo