For The Love of Zentangles ® by Laura Fraedrich

I am hopelessly in love with Zentangles®. What's not to love about an art form that has been referred to as 'yoga for the brain'? There's nothing more calming than getting out a  Micron marker and sketch pad and mindlessly drawing repeating shapes which will end up turning into an amazing piece of art. I started by trying to draw them myself, then decided to invest in a book that taught me how to draw some patterns. After awhile, I began adding colors to my designs and loved how they contrasted with the black and white patterns of the 'tangle'. I took it a step further by taking a class at  Art Unraveled in 2010 with Rena Tucker on how to use Zentangles® to enhance other media such as collage. Shortly thereafter, I started noticing fabrics in the stores that had small black and white repeating patterns and just had to have them. Born were my 'Zentangle® Inspired Art Quilts' (which can be found in the Winter 2012 issue of Sew Somerset).

My latest project is also inspired by this captivating art form. I found some Zentangle-ish paper in the scrapbook section of my local craft store and knew exactly what I was going to do for my first project as a returning guest designer for Art Glitter. May I present to you...

Zentangle® Inspired Glittery Ornaments

How to make them yourself:

Supplies needed:
• paper mache ornament
• black and white patterned scrapbook paper
• collage adhesive
• small sponge brush
• ribbon that is the same width as the side of the ornament
• Designer Dries Clear adhesive
• small wooden letters to spell Joy and/or Love, or whatever other word you choose
• paint that cooridnates with your ribbon
• paintbrush
• coordinating glitter,  Gala Glitz and/or Dazzlers Art Glitter
• small jingle bell
• assortment of fibers
• black permanent marker, such as a Sharpie

Instructions:
1. Start with a paper mache ornament, which you can get at your local craft store. Tear up pieces of patterned paper and collage them onto the ornament with a collage adhesive such as Collage Pauge and a small sponge brush. Seal by applying another layer of adhesive. Don't worry about covering up the sides completely (see step 2).

2. Cut a length of ribbon that will wrap all the way around the sides of the ornament. Glue on with Adhesive Dries Clear.

3. Cut a few 4" lengths of coordinating fibers and tie around the hanger of the ornament. Use one of the fibers to tie a jingle bell to it. Make sure you make a tight knot so it stays in place, or use a small dab of glue to hold it.

4. Paint the wooden letters with acrylic paint and let dry.

5. Put a healhy coating of Designer Dries Clear adhesive on top of each letter and sprinkle on the glitter, Gala Glitz or Dazzlers of your choice. I used the following colors:

        Joy -  Ultrafine Opaque glitter in Summertree (j and y)
                  and  Gala Glitz Teal (o)

        Love - Vintage Glass Glitter in Thistle (l, v, e)
                    and Dazzlers Fruit Punch (o)

6. Once dry, glue the letters onto the ornament with Designer Dries Clear adhesive and let dry.

The Zentangle® art form and 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.