Happy Canada Day to my fellow Canadians! It was rather nice that the holiday fell on a Tuesday this year, combining with my usual Monday off to give me a whole bunch of free time – a four day weekend, if you please! – to ease myself back into tangling after a break to prepare for and visit with our houseguests. My creativity is a bit creaky from disuse, so I’m still not back up to my usual pace – but I’ll get there! In the meantime, I have plenty of new stuff to share, so I hope you enjoy today’s Tangled Tuesday post. 🙂
Tangling Goodies
In all the excitement of having visitors, I completely forgot to mention in last week’s post the delightful little bag of tangling goodies my sister brought as a gift from my family – some of my favourite black Pigma Micron pens, a rainbow of coloured Pigma Micron pens, and several blending stumps in various sizes. Talk about spoiled! These treats will definitely be put to good use over the next months.
A word about blending stumps. If you haven’t yet discovered these wonderful little tools, you are totally missing out and should remedy this ASAP! I love the entire tangling process, but one of my favourite parts is when it comes time to do the shading. Effective shading takes a flat drawing and tricks the eye into seeing it as three-dimensional – a little bit of magic, if you ask me. Of course, you can always use your finger to blend the pencil shading, but I find blending stumps to be far more effective. For one, they’re cleaner (less chance of unintentionally smudging my drawings with grimy graphite-covered hands), plus they allow for far more precision and detail in small areas than my stubby fingertips ever could. I swear by blending stumps (just in case you couldn’t tell)!
I mentioned in a previous Tangled Tuesday post that I’d ordered some Ten Thousand Tangles business cards from Moo. Well, they arrived this week (speedy delivery!), and I couldn’t be happier with them.

Aren’t they pretty?! (Am I allowed to say that about my own work?!) I’m looking forward to handing them out and talking tangling at BlogHer ’14… hopefully these little cards will do their job and, eventually, pay for themselves.
New Tangles
This week I learned Cubism, Daisy Beads, Dandelion Seeds, Droplets, Etcher, and Flake, all from Joy of Zentangle. (If you’re following along in Joy of Zentangle you might notice that I’ve been skipping a few of the designs. This isn’t because I didn’t like or want to do them, but because I’ve previously learned them through one of my other books. As I mentioned in an earlier post, there is often overlap and some repetition between the various Zentangle®1 books.)
Tangling-in-Progress
I am STILL working on designing the letter G in my alphabet series – in fact, I didn’t even touch it once this week! Here’s hoping I can get to it – and FINISH it – in the days to come… and then move on to the other letters.
Finished Projects
My first priority was to design a bookmark for a sponsor.
I’m happy with how it turned out, and I hope she likes it too!
On a whim, I thought I’d try my hand at tangling a Canadian flag in honour of Canada Day. Though the end result looks fairly simple, it actually took the better part of an afternoon to complete. Fun project!
Coming Soon
This week’s tangling goals include:
- Photograph my previously-completed set of four Zendalas and set up listings to sell the originals in my as-yet-to-be-opened Etsy store. (Yes, I know this was on my list previously… and yes, I DID add it to my Filofax last week… but it still didn’t get done and has been brought forward to this week. Sigh. Hopefully I’ll have something new to report next time!)
- Carry on with my Zenletter collection.
- Continue adding products to Ten Thousand Tangles.
- Create pieces for new sponsors.
P.S.
Previous posts in this series are all tagged Tangled Tuesday.
For background on how I discovered and got involved in Zentangle, and links to further information and resources, check out my blog post For the love of tangling.
You can browse my entire tangle gallery at Ten Thousand Tangles.
And, if you’re interested in having a little piece of my art for yourself, please click on the GoFundMe button below for more information and also visit my Zazzle shop Ten Thousand Tangles. (Pssst… links to my international Ten Thousand Tangles shops are in the Alphabet Salad sidebar – just click on the appropriate flag and you’ll get to the place you need to be!)
1 The Zentangle® Method was created by Rick Roberts and Maria Thomas and is copyrighted. Zentangle® is a registered trademark of Zentangle, Inc. Learn more at zentangle.com.

Your art is beautiful and fun. I’m glad I bumped in to you through the Ultimate Blog Challenge. How long does it take you to do something like the bookmark?
As a blogger, I am curious to learn how you embed links to more information into your text – like Canada Day leading you to wikipedia or any of the other red underlined links. I’m rather new to blogging and using this challenge to both expand readership and learn more techniques from other bloggers.
I will return to look at your art…..
Cathy Chung recently posted… A Challenge
Twitter: alphabetsalad
July 2, 2014
Thank you so much, Cathy! It depends on the complexity of the design, but a bookmark probably takes around an hour or so for me to complete.
As for embedding links, it all depends on what blog platform you use. I use WordPress.org, and when I’m composing a post there’s an “insert link” button on the toolbar. I would imagine it’s similar for WordPress.com and Blogger. Hope this helps.
Thanks for stopping by! 🙂
Laurel Regan recently posted… Photo A Day Challenge – June 17-30, 2014
Twitter: vidyasury
July 1, 2014
Happy Canada Day, Laurel!
Yes, you may say your work rocks. The cards look beautiful! And so does the bookmark for your client.
Hugs!
Vidya Sury recently posted… The Pebble In The Shoe
Twitter: alphabetsalad
July 2, 2014
Thank you so much, Vidya! 🙂
Laurel Regan recently posted… Photo A Day Challenge – June 17-30, 2014
Twitter: atime2shine
July 1, 2014
Oh how beautiful Laurel. I really like that. I love the bookmark. I am going to check out your items to see if you have something like that I can buy with my initial on it. I love personalized item. Your creativity is really refreshing.
Twitter: alphabetsalad
July 2, 2014
Thank you so much, Kimberley! I’m still working my way through the alphabet, but once all the letters are done I’ll definitely start offering products with initials. Hopefully it won’t take me TOO long to get it done! Glad you stopped by. 🙂
Laurel Regan recently posted… Photo A Day Challenge – June 17-30, 2014
Twitter: indywrites
July 1, 2014
They are so beautiful, your cards. And all the lovely designs, I totally dig the bookmark.
Happy Canada Day.
Hope your projects are a great hit.
All the best.
Inderpreet Kaur Uppal recently posted… Emotional Yet Resilient Love: WHEN I SEE YOUR FACE by Devika Fernando
Twitter: alphabetsalad
July 2, 2014
Thank you very much! 🙂
Laurel Regan recently posted… Photo A Day Challenge – June 17-30, 2014
Twitter: Sophie_Bowns
July 1, 2014
Ah!
I really love your card designs!
Twitter: alphabetsalad
July 2, 2014
Thank you so much! 🙂
Laurel Regan recently posted… Photo A Day Challenge – June 17-30, 2014
Twitter: jayantatewari
July 1, 2014
All your crafts – tangles, book mark are so wonderfully done…The Canada flag one is awesome. Happy Canada Day :-).
Jayanta Tewari recently posted… Have you listened to the wind lately?
Twitter: alphabetsalad
July 2, 2014
Thank you very much! 🙂
Laurel Regan recently posted… Photo A Day Challenge – June 17-30, 2014
Happy Canada Day to you. Hope you had a beautiful holiday. And yes you are allowed to say good about your own work… you do deserve it… it looks really beautiful. 🙂
Sheethal recently posted… UBC Day 1 : Where did she go wrong?
Twitter: alphabetsalad
July 2, 2014
Thank you very much! 🙂
Laurel Regan recently posted… Photo A Day Challenge – June 17-30, 2014
Twitter: SusanF_mt
July 1, 2014
And I thought I was being creative just icing a cake like a flag – your tangle flag is beautiful – and so are your business cards! Happy Canada Day!
Susan – ofeverymoment recently posted… Happy Canada Day!
Twitter: alphabetsalad
July 2, 2014
That sounds very creative to me – definitely beyond my abilities (and probably delicious to boot!). Thank you very much. 🙂
Laurel Regan recently posted… Photo A Day Challenge – June 17-30, 2014
Twitter: kajal_kapur
July 1, 2014
Lovely designs…I totally love your zentangles…love the bookmark.
Happy Canada Day , Laurel 🙂
Kajal recently posted… Acceptance
Twitter: alphabetsalad
July 2, 2014
Thank you so much! 🙂
Laurel Regan recently posted… Photo A Day Challenge – June 17-30, 2014
Ohh gosh such beautiful designs 😀 I am loving them 😀
Rajlakshmi recently posted… UBC Day 2 – Blues and Blacks
Twitter: alphabetsalad
July 2, 2014
Thank you so much! 🙂
Laurel Regan recently posted… Photo A Day Challenge – June 17-30, 2014
Laurel -if this is you “rusty” you should take breaks more often :-). Everything is gorgeous!! Love the bookmark, and the pattern in the maple leaf in the flag. Tuesdays are so much fun.
Sammy D recently posted… Spring Bloomin’ Bike Ride
Twitter: alphabetsalad
July 2, 2014
Thank you very much, Sammy! 🙂
Laurel Regan recently posted… Photo A Day Challenge – June 17-30, 2014
Twitter: beloome
July 2, 2014
The cards are beautiful. And so is your Canda Day/Maple Leaf design 🙂 Happy Canada Day, Laurel. And happy tangling with all those new goodies you got. And who knows maybe through all that tangling, some knots may get untangled too 😉 That’s how I feel about any creative process.
Beloo Mehra recently posted… Beads that Matter
Twitter: alphabetsalad
July 2, 2014
Thank you so much! I hope so. 🙂
Laurel Regan recently posted… Photo A Day Challenge – June 17-30, 2014
Twitter: CorinneBlogs
July 2, 2014
I can totally see that Canada day card catching on, Laurel! It’s brilliant.
Corinne Rodrigues recently posted… Responding To An Invitation To Joy
Twitter: alphabetsalad
July 2, 2014
Thank you, Corinne!
Laurel Regan recently posted… Beauty in the Eye of the Beholder
Twitter: 1951
July 2, 2014
Your designs are just beautiful. A friend gave me a beginner’s kit and I keep looking at it, fearful I couldn’t make mine look good but also knowing that I don’t need one more distraction from things I need to be doing this month. So, I ‘ll enjoy yours for now.
Carol Cassara recently posted… Closure ain’t all that
Twitter: alphabetsalad
July 2, 2014
Thank you so much! And you know, it’ll always be there for you, if and when you decide to start. 🙂
Laurel Regan recently posted… Beauty in the Eye of the Beholder
… oh my goodness.
And now I know what “tangling” is, and it has nothing to do with hair care.
🙂
Thank you for all of the informative links.
Michaele Sommerville recently posted… NaBloPoMo July Day 2: From White Snow, to White Sands
Twitter: alphabetsalad
July 2, 2014
You’re most welcome! 🙂
Laurel Regan recently posted… Beauty in the Eye of the Beholder
Twitter: rvidsigns
July 2, 2014
Hi Laurel, I got so excited when I found your post because I’m a zentangler too!!!!! I just started (well officially I suppose because I’ve always been a doodler!) and I posted a blog post on zentangling as well! Your work is lovely, I will definitely visit your blog often!!!
Sherri Hayter recently posted… Driving Past Beauty
Twitter: alphabetsalad
July 2, 2014
Thank you so much, Sherri – nice to meet you, and glad you stopped by!
Twitter: twinklingtina
July 3, 2014
Beautiful.. i didn’t know what this tangling was until now!! And yes I am so hoping for a 4 day weekend some time soon!!!
Tina from The Sunny Side of Life
Twitter: alphabetsalad
July 3, 2014
Thank you, Tina – glad you stopped by! 🙂
Laurel Regan recently posted… Words have Power
Laurel, the designs are fabulous. Canada Day flag is superb!! Why don’t you write a tutorial about designing these book marks?
Twitter: alphabetsalad
July 3, 2014
Thank you so much! I’d never thought of a tutorial, but perhaps some day!
Laurel Regan recently posted… Words have Power
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