Zentangle Wrapped Journal - New Sizzix dies by Eileen Hull!

This month Eileen's Inspiration Team is sharing posts using dies from Eileen's new Book Club - Chapter 2 Collection.  

These dies are available NOW from your local retailers and will be available at Sizzix on July 5th!

Today I have a Zentangle Journal to share with you that I made using the new Wrapped Journal Die, along with - Floral cutouts Movers and Shapers, and Book Plate Hinges and Label Thinlits

I die cut the journal out of black felt, inserting the Floral Cut Outs die inside the opening on the journal die before cutting.  I made 4 signatures out of watercolor paper - cutting 8 pieces 7" x 5" and scoring them at 3 1/2" on the 7" side and folding them in half.  I rounded the outside corners.  I lined up the centers of the pages with the holes in the journal, marked them on the pages and punched them.

To give the felt journal a little more 'body', I sewed it to a panel cut from Kraft Paper Stash Motif from Tim Holtz 

 (I don't think it's available anymore - I've had it forever and this was the first time I used it!)  

the stars are like clear embossed on it - rather a fun look!

I used black elastic cord to bind the pages to the journal looping each signature through a different hole in the binding of the journal.

I added copies of some of the Zentangles I've drawn, leaving lots of blank pages for new Zentangles to be added!

Here's the cord, knotted in the center of one of the signatures.

I added a key chain looped through a piece cut with the Bookplate, Hinges and Labels dies.  I used my Brother Label Maker for the ZENTANGLE.

I adhered the back of the ribbon to the journal with some glue so the ribbon would stay on the journal when you untied the front.

Here you can see how nice the floral cut out looks with the kraft paper behind it.

This wide grosgrain ribbon is easily tied into a lovely big bow!

During the month of June - all of the Inspiration Teams posts using Eileen's new Book Club - Chapter 2 Collection will be gathered and posted on Eileen's blog so please be sure to check it out for inspiration!

This new collection is available NOW at your local retailer and will be available at Sizzix on July 5th!

Paper: water color paper - Canson, Paper Stash Motif - Tim Holtz
Accessories:  Wrapped Journal Die, Floral Cutouts Movers and Shapers Die, Book Plate, Hinges and Label Thinlits dies - Eileen Hull/Sizzix, black felt, Zutter corner Rounder, Brother Label Maker, Key chain, Zentangles, wide striped Grosgrain Ribbon, black elastic cord.

Preview of Eileen Hull new Sizzix Wrapped Journal coming in May

Eileen Hull's Inspiration Team is sharing sneak peeks of Eileen's new Book Club Chapter 2 dies over on her blog.  These will be available May-June 2018.

Here is a journal I made to put my Zentangle designs in using the wonderful Wrapped Journal die.

The flowers are cut with another new movers and shapers die Floral Cut Outs

The fun new wrapped journal is approximagely 5 1/4" x 4 1/4" when folded up.

We will all be having full tutorial posts when the dies are released in May-June 2018

Doodle A Tangle

One of the classes I'm taking through Wanderlust (see my side bar) was on Zentangle - which is like a meditative doodling but you doodle specific patterns - each pattern is called a tangle. A Zentagle is a mix of several tangles that you draw with a 1.0 Micron black pen on a 3 1/2" x 3 1/2" piece of card - preferably Fabriano.  There are rules for this art form - but, of course, you really can do whatever you want!  

I loved the on-line class (you can see some of my Zentangles here) and wanted to learn more.    I ended up purchasing the book by the teacher of the class - Beckah Krahula - the book is called One Zentangle a Day.

 So here is my first tangle from the book -  it's called Poke Root - and I made it on a 2" x2" piece of Fabriano card.  This is the first time I've drawn this tangle - it's my practice piece (but now I'll have to make another since I put this one on my card!  And you, obviously, get better each time you draw it.

 I decided to make a note card with my tangle -  I cut the front flap of the card smaller than the back and adhered the tangle half off the edge of the front - just to kind of spotlight the tangle.  I drew this very simply - just doing the Poke Root repeatedly and filling in the spaces with tiny circles - it's really easy using the 01 Micron Pen.

I could either stamp a verse inside behind the front panel - being sure I didn't go past the edge (!) or I could write a note in the same space.  The card  back measures 4 1/4' x 4 3/4" and the front panel is 2 3/4" x 4 3/4" so it fits into a regular envelope.

It is really fun to Zentangle - and I'm looking forward to practicing and using all of the Tangles that are in the book!

I'm linking my card to:

CASology Cue Card - Doodle

Paper:  Fabriano Card
Accessories:  01 Black Micron Pen - Sakura, pencil, Blending Stub, Scotch Quick Dry Adhesive.

Do You Zentangle??

I love Zentangle - every time I see it somewhere I am totally enthralled with the 3D look you can achieve with lines, shapes, and a 01 Micron black pen!   Up until recently - I had only tried it once - back in 2010 I did one for a challenge on Splitcoaststampers seen here.

Fast forward to January 2016 when the Wanderlust classes started (see my side bar for link) - and before the actual classes started - they posted a wonderful video by Beckah Krahula called Zentangle 101.  

Each design shape is called a 'tangle' and Beckah showed us several that I have used on my Zentangles.  Tipple - the circles on the bottom area, Hallibaugh - the stick shapes above the Tipple, A Maze Meandering Line on the left above the Hallibaugh, Printemps Closed Coil to the right of the maze, Knights Bridge that looks like a checkerboard and Flux Tangle that looks like a leaf stem.  I filled the area in between the tangles either with solid black or with tiny circles.  

I made this first one during my lunch hour at work - and I can't tell you how excited I was when I was done -  it has so much dimension IRL - the photo flattens it a bit in comparison -  I hope you can feel the 3D of it a little bit.

There are hundreds of Tangles - but since I'm a newbie - I just used the ones Beckah taught us!  Here are two more that I made last night sitting in front of TV.  You start by drawing the outside shape with a pencil.  Then you just start filling in the space.  I don't really have a plan when I start, I just start drawing Tangles!

 For my third Zentangle - I drew a square frame to start.  When you have filled your shape with Tangles you then shade the designs with a pencil and blend the pencil lines with a paper blending stub. 

I'm going to layer these to black cardstock - and will look for some pretty frames to put them in.

 Happy weekend everyone!  It's a long one for me - we have Martin Luther King day off on Monday!

Supplies:  
3 1/2" x 3 1/2" piece of a Fabriano paper  (you can use any kind of paper you want - some are just better to draw on - so try out what you have. The official Zentangle paper is Tiepolo by Fabriano a 240 lb printing paper ,  I had some Fabriano blank notecards in my stash - so I cut that to size and used that)
01 Black Micron Pen
Pencil
paper Blending Stub