New Tangle/Reticulum: Dreamcatcher

I'm really excited about this one! ^_^

It started with a Traveling Tangles Project with Sabrina Kirjavainen all the way over in Finland, on nail polish - the shape I finished with reminded me of a dreamcatcher.

Tangles used: Sabrina - Sanibelle, Me - Tipple, Locar, Shattuck, Zinger

So I decided to play with a pattern reminiscent of those in traditional dreamcatchers.

Here's my first effort, with a six-sided shape that I treated as a regular expanding-flower pattern and filled a la Suzanne McNeill's Bloom.

Tangles used: Dreamcatcher, Bloom

Second, I tried an 8-sided shape - this worked out best in my opinion and so in the stepout below it's what I start with. I also realized at this point it could work as a reticulum just as well as a filler or floral pattern, and decided to try filling it with Bales.

Tangles used: Dreamcatcher, Bales

Then, of course, I had to try fitting in my own Knightstar - it got really tiny and confusing near the center but I still like the end result. This one started with a four-sided shape.

Tangles used: Dreamcatcher, Knightstar

By this point, I was hooked - Dreamcatcher wormed its way into my second TTP with Sabrina...

Tangles used: Sabrina - Staura, Angeleafe, Tipple Me - Tipple, Shattuck, Springkle, Flux, Angeleaf, Dreamcatcher, Zinger

...Got into my watercolor pencils and turned all blue...

Tangles used: Dreamcatcher, Knighstar, Brax

...And jumped from a white tile to a black ATC! ^_^

Tangles used: Dreamcatcher, Yincut

Here's the stepout. Hopefully it all makes sense. It takes some practice to get it to look all nice and even (and, as you can probably tell, I certainly still need some ^_^) but it's pretty forgiving if used as a reticulum - the dense patterning, especially near the center, disguises wobbly or uneven lines ^_^

...Of course, if you're not a perfectionist like me, I guess that doesn't really matter. ^_^

Enjoy and be inspired! ^_^

New Tangle: Knightstar (Video!)

I finally managed to make another post! *applause and confetti* ^_^ So, this tangle Knightstar was so named because it kinda looks to me like Knightsbridge got pinched into a bunch of star shapes...I couldn't figure out how to create a nice simple step-by-step on paper, so I decided to try making a video of it. And then I decided to record some actual proper audio over it instead of my usual royalty-free music...

Here it is, in all its dubiously awkward glory ^_^ Please excuse the horrible audio quality. And the fact that I clearly don't know what I'm doing. And the weak attempts at humor. I am so sorry. But I'm too lazy to record it all again.

EDIT: Margaret Bremner (and perhaps some other people I wasn't aware of) mentioned that Knightstar bears an extreme resemblance to Knightspeek, by Donna Lacey, CZT - I do think mine is just different enough in execution and end look to perhaps deserve a separate name, as hers is a single star and mine is constructed from an underlying grid, in individual fragments. Thoughts on this? Either way, thanks to Margaret for bringing this to my attention ^_^

Enjoy and be inspired! ^_^

New Tangle: "Autumnal"

Autumn may be just a memory now for everyone on this side of the world...but here's a tangle honoring it anyways ^_^

Start with a line, curvy or straight (but not too curvy)

Add some wavy lines, with a corner every other time you meet the central line. I like to think of this as drawing a bunch of really fat Ms.

Do the same thing on the other side, but with corners where you have curves and vice versa. If that makes any sense.

Add a large teardrop shape in each curve.

It got flipped and I don't know how...but it's not a big deal ^_^ Add two more shapes behind the large teardrop.

Put smaller "leaves" in each corner and you're done!

In case the first few steps confused you, here's the shape that's being repeated on the curve.

Enjoy and be inspired! ^_^

New Tangle: "Undu"

I'm...uh...not sure exactly where the inspiration for this tangle came from. Topographic maps, maybe? Either way, I'm glad it did! ^_^ Undu (named so because it's very undulating - I know, I'm not creative) is pretty easy and forgiving, although it definitely requires some focus if you want to get all the auras juuuuuust right. The steps are simple:

First, draw a squiggly line going across your section.

Aura it a few times (I did 3).

Then add more auras...but have them "diverge" from the previous ones (this picture got flipped 90 degrees somehow, but you get it. I hope.)

Then aura the "sections" created by those a few times.

...And repeat.

Here it is finished - and looking quite bold with some of its lines filled in! This works really well to cover up those little "hand spasms" or whatever you want to call them (not mistakes!).

Hope you enjoy using Undu! Be inspired! ^_^

Diva Challenge 200!!!!

200 challenges...wow. I haven't been doing these for very long, and I'm not all that good with words, so I don't have anything profound or eloquent to say...but congrats, Laura!!! ^_^

I think this challenge is great for Laura's goal of getting 200 entries, since there's almost no actual challenge factor (not like that's a bad thing) - just pick your favorite tangle and jump in. My favorite tangle is Mooka...so many delicious, swooping curves ^_^ So, here's my fairly simple 200 Mooka tile.

Tangles used: Mooka...duh

I also did a tile using my new tangle Heavenly, named for the brand of paper towel that I found its inspiration in. And yes, I did actually find a tangle in a paper towel. I think I might be a little too obsessed ^_^ Here are the steps.

First do a seed grid like Mi2 or Summer Sitter, then add 4 dots in the centers 

Then follow the curves of the sides of the seeds to make "pinwheels" on every other section.

Double them up...

...And add the secondary ones behind them.

Here it is in action with some shading. I used regular pencil to shade over the marker as well and was honestly a bit surprised on how nice it looked. I think you could also add extra lines at the points where the 4 "bands" converge to make it look even more woven...but you'd have to be pretty precise in the beginning to make it look neat. Ah well, neatness is overrated. ^_^

Tangles used: Heavenly...again, duh

My Tangle: Lian

Lian came out of this post and is rather obviously the tangle on the right. I did toy with calling it "Migraine" like Sandy suggests, but...yeah, I changed my mind. Since I'm currently enrolled in Chinese I in school and loving it, I decided to name my tangle Lian - a Chinese word for chains. Hope you enjoy ^_^