Why are they all about leaves?

Brianna was looking over my shoulder as I was posting on my other blog this morning when she asked,

"Why are they all about leaves?"

She was talking about the small pieces I write almost every day on my other blog, www.pausingforsmallstones.blogspot.com. Each piece is a small observation of something that day (or sometimes from the day before). I guess I have been noticing leaves quite a lot recently as it is Autumn here. 

Here are the last three of my short observations (or small stones) - 

2015 - April 18

leaves spinning

along the gutter

across the road

2015 - April 17

leaves

bright reds and yellows

shine among the puddles

2015 - April 16

collage of leaves

on the car's back window

rain as glue

This week particularly I have been noticing the vibrant reds and yellows and a couple of days I have enjoyed walking in the slight rain. On Thursday I was walking through town and it was raining slightly. The leaves were stunning on the pavement and tables, mixing with the rain. I really wanted to linger and take multiple photos but unfortunately was in a rush that day and my phone battery went flat anyway. I did manage to get one quick snap before the phone turned off. 

Leaves on a table top

I took a couple more shots today when leaving the shops. 

Leaf on wet brick path

"Why don't you take a photo of those ones in the drain?", Brianna challenged me.

If it wasn't raining so much this afternoon I may have gone for a walk to notice the leaves some more and get some photos. It was, however, a very wet afternoon. There was a Beachside Food and Wine Festival planned nearby which unfortunately had to be cancelled. What a shame - it sounded like a wonderful event and I'm sure there were many people looking forward to it as well as many people who had done a lot of planning and organising. 

So I don't have any photos of red leaves but did pop out to the backyard and got a photo of some of the leaves on the apricot tree at the moment. 

This is a Six Word Saturday post. To see how other people describe their week, or part thereof in six words go to www.showmyface.com. 

Tangle with D-E-F

I'm back for week 2 of Diane and Carolien's Weekly Zentangle Challenge. This week the task is to use tangles beginning with the letters D, E and F. I am finding this a great way to discover and practice tangles. I'm actually a couple of weeks ahead with the challenge as it is following the alphabet and will post the tiles I've done at the appropriate times. For now though here is my tile for week 2 - 

The tangles I used are Drupe, Eye-wa, Fescu, Florz and Flux. Find out more about tangles and how to draw them at www.tanglepatterns.com. 

If you would like to join the fun go here. 

Ixorus and Indy-Rella - a first attempt

I do say this blog is about play not perfection but I did have some reluctance to post this. I'm finding that some of the tangle patterns are more forgiving than others. Some mistakes are easier to cover up or incorporate into the design. 

After completing the Diva's challenge (see previous post) last night I had an idea. I really liked the Ixorus within a circle and also the background I used which I thought was Indy-Rella. I thought it would be a good idea to do a piece using just those two patterns. I just looked at the tangle patterns website (there is also link in my sidebar) and noticed that Indy-Rella is composed of curved lines whereas mine are straight so it's a slight variation and mine are wider too. Combining these two will be worth having another go at I think but for now here's the first attempt. 

The Diva's Weekly Zentangle Challenge #213

I'm back again for the Diva's weekly zentangle challenge. The challenge this week was to trace around found objects and use the result for the string. I'm on a very steep learning curve when it comes to zentangling and enjoying it immensely. 

Here's what I did and the result - 

I found a cute little cardboard tag and noticed it was an interesting shape so traced the top part of it onto the bottom of my piece. 

Next, I found some large buttons in my mass of craft supplies. It was difficult to choose which one or ones to use. I ended up deciding on the star and tracing it with one point over the other shape. 

and then I traced the circle on the other side

Here's the string I ended up with to roughly guide my tangling. 

I decided to stick to tangles I've been learning over the past week or so (and that's quite a few). 

What a lot of fun that was!

See lots of other responses to this week's challenge at www.iamthedivaczt.blogspot.com. 

Take some money to the library...

A reminder to myself as my six words this week for Six Word Saturday. 

Take some money to the library

I went to poetry group this morning. It is held in a local library and I was there a few minutes early and discovered that there was a secondhand book sale on so I was able to have a look. I quickly found a few great books, one of which I have borrowed from the library before. They were at bargain prices too - $1 for hardbacks and 50c for paperbacks. I checked my purse and only had $1 (I don't often carry much cash these days) and was contemplating asking if I could bring some money back later when a friend gave me a couple of dollars. Thankyou!! 

Apparently there will be more books put out later too. I'll go back with some money. There are book sales in the libraries during most school holidays. I have got quite a few bargains in the past. Last holidays I got some fairly recently published books as the library was getting rid of extra copies that I assume were used for book clubs. I've also picked up some favourite children's picture books in other sales. 

Today I bought A Maze Me: Poems for Girls by Naomi Shihab Nye, Loose Cannons, Red Herrings, and other lost metaphors by Robert Claiborne and Dr Suess: American Icon by Phillip Nel. 

This is a Six Word Saturday post. To see how other people describe their week or part thereof in six words head over to www.showmyface.com. 

Another challenge - Tangle with A-B-C

I found another challenge that seems quite interesting and thought I'd tag along. It's the first week this week too! 

The challenge is to use tangles starting with A, B and C. You can use tangles only beginning with those letters or add other tangles too. I'm only just beginning to explore zentangle and don't know many names of the tangles yet so this challenge is a good way to learn some. 

I decided to choose one tangle for each letter. Somehow I ended up with two for C and I also added some Tipple. The tangles I used are Arukas, Betweed, Chainlette, Cirquital and Tipple. 

If this is new to you too and you would like to know more, there is a wealth of information with names and detailed descriptions of tangles and who designed them at http://tanglepatterns.com. 

I'll certainly be back there and back to Diane and Carolien's weekly zentangle challenge as well. For now though, here's my tile - 

Another zentangle - The Diva's weekly challenge #212

I'm back again for The Diva's weekly challenge. The challenge this week - to use Fanz by Susan Goetter. On the first Monday of each month Laura chooses a tangle that has been submitted by challenge participants and this week it was Susan's turn. More details and a link to detailed instructions are available at http://www.iamthedivaczt.blogspot.com.au. 

I found this one quite a challenge and wasn't happy with the shapes of my Fanz and unsure of how to incorporate them. After a few attempts yesterday I tried again this afternoon and enjoyed seeing a piece that I was happier with taking shape. I scanned it before I attempted some shading. 

Turning 3 fun - Happy Birthday Selena!

Three years ago my six words for a Six Word Saturday were 

Meeting Selena - easily this week's highlight

Three years on and this week my six words are 

Turning 3 fun! Happy Birthday Selena!

Photo by Aunty Lou

She has changed so much and remained as gorgeous as ever. Yesterday my niece Selena celebrated turning three with a Frozen theme party. So much fun with family and friends, games, a bouncy castle and plenty of yummy food. She found being the centre of attention overwhelming at times but had a lot of fun, as did her friends, as well as her sister and friends. Lots of fabulous food was prepared by her parents and others and fabulous cupcakes were made by her Aunty Mel. 

Photo by Aunty Lou

To see how other people describe their week or part thereof in six words or to join in too, go to www.showmyface.com. 

Olaf's nose

My niece turns 3 tomorrow and loves everything from the movie Frozen. I wrapped her presents with a snowman theme and particularly like the onesie which is wrapped to look like a carrot (or Olaf's nose). Glad I bought that coloured tissue paper at the last minute! 

Structure and creativity

I'm back for the second time for the Diva's Weekly Zentangle Challenge. During the week I was thinking about what I like about blog challenges as I have enjoyed participating in a few and continue to do so. Part of what I came up with are that structure and creativity are very important ingredients. 

Enough structure to get me started and enough room to be creative to keep me satisfied. Even though I may not know the other people participating it's nice to think there are other people all over the world thinking about the same challenge and it's great to see the variety of responses too! 

This week's challenge was to use flux, for which the instructions can be found at http://zentangle.blogspot.com.au/2015/03/flux-and.html. 

Here's what I came up with -