Thursday, December 4, 2014

#s 195 and 196 - Catching up: Transformed Tangles and Dolls

Oh boy, we just passed Thanksgiving and I'm already behind schedule!  I worked on the challenge for last week, but didn't have time to post anything.

See, I was busy cranking out that annual feast thing.  Let me say right now, I made the best, most perfect gravy of my life!!  That is saying something because I'm a pretty decent cook (and old - I've been doing this quite a while).  I also made a new version of the sweet potato thing.  I have never been a fan of that marshmallow topped dish that everybody (except my youngest daughter) seems to crave.  I like mine baked and topped with brown sugar and butter.  Simple and straightforward.  My new husband, however, begged for the whipped ones with the topping.  Enter the new gold standard...I whipped them with butter and brown sugar, then topped them with an absolutely perfect golden tipped meringue.  Jealous yet?  The rest of the dinner was lovely, and I've been recovering and cleaning up ever since.

Now that tree box (two, actually) sits waiting for assembly.  Tomorrow... [Tuesday update - trees up and lit, ornaments in the boxes still - no sense rushing into these things... ]

...Thursday update:  tree decorated!  Now, let's see, cards to address, 20 dozen or so cookies to bake, pack and mail, hubby's costume to sew (for the 16th!!) for our Venetian Carnivale theme wine dinner (I know, that should be later, but they didn't ask me - it's the big Holiday bash and they got tired of tuxedos and sequined gowns, I guess)...  Plus, I'm going to squeeze in a class with a local CZT - Zentangle in the Round.  Can't wait - I need a push in that direction, as my tins of round tiles are just sitting there getting lonely.   Is it January yet?

You might begin to see why I am already playing catchup and am so late with this post probably three people will even see it.  Oh well.

For Challenge #195, we were to take a familiar tangle and transform it either from grid to free-form, from border to grid, from a loose and meandering to structured grid, etc.  I managed two tiles!  The first is MI2 squeezed into a diamond shaped grid, and the second is Fungees cut off at the waist, so to speak, and packed in a divided box full of  a patchwork of other tangles. Of the two, my favorite part is the bow-tie corners in the MI2 grid.  It just happened all by itself!

MI2 in formal wear!

A box full of Fungees packed in fancy paper.

 
 



For Challenge #196, the theme is dolls.  I always admire the beautifully costumed dolls that others collect and I enjoyed my own dolls as a child.  When I was in my later grade school years, the Barbie Doll was introduced, and I didn't get many of the expensive outfits for my Barbie (with a black !!! ponytail - no, they have not always been blonde).  I sewed my own outfits with little tiny stitches, adding ruffles, snap closures, gathered skirts and skinny shoulder straps.  My favorite iteration of dolls, however, has always been paper dolls.  Disney paper dolls were not only of the movie princesses, but also Annette Funicello and the other Mouskateers.  There were also dolls of Grace Kelly, Ginger Rogers and the gang from Sound of Music.  FUN!

So here is my (one lonely little) response tile to the latest challenge.  My original intention was to add a little color in the design, but I got going on all the patterns and just forgot about it.  It's a Zentangle thing, I guess:
Cut on the dotted line...

 
For the Square One focus, ING was the thing, with shading.  Here is the one I posted on Facebook for that "One".  Somebody did some fabulous 3D looking pearls on top of Hurry last week, and now half of the group is popping pearls all over the place. So fun to draw, and now I need to go that extra step and learn how to do the water drops.  

Shad-ING
 
Thank you for stopping by to view my post this week and I do read and appreciate all your comments.

17 comments:

  1. First off, yes, I'm jealous of your dinner! I'm not a great cook but ours was fair, even if I do say so myself. As always, I love to read your posts and your tiles are absolutely wonderful! I have to say though, I LOVE your little dolly dress and really do envoy the lucky little doll that will get to wear that outfit. Beautifully done and don't forget to take some time for you and chill with your tangles during the holidays *grin*

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    1. Thanks, Lezli! Fear not, I always build in a little "chill time"! I wish I had taken a photo of the sweet potatoes, but we dug in and I forgot. Next year...

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  2. Thanks for a great post and I think your tiles are all beautiful. The doll is 'old-fashioned' gorgeous. The Square One tile is also very beautiful, love the pearls :-)

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    1. Thank you! The pearls get addictive. Must....quit... hehe!

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  3. I love the patterns in your doll's dress!
    By the way: all your tiles look gorgeous ;-)

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  4. The doll challenge also reminded me of playing with cut out dolls. I only tangled a dress. You did an enitre outfit! Cute and fun.

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    1. Thanks, Suzanne. I loved doing the little shoes and socks. I should have done a hat or purse, too, right? Future project...

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  5. A wonderful Post, Antonine. You have been unbelievably busy. Your Tiles are all wonderful. Your "All Dolled Up" Tile is outstanding. Wonderful detail and I love the little shoes. I got a big laugh out of your "..popping pearls all over the place..." comment. Enjoy your "Zentangle in the Round" class.

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    1. Thanks David! See the next comment down for another pearl devotee. And I loved doing the shoes most of all. I wish I had the Imelda Marcos shoe collection - I "heart" shoes!

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  6. Gravy is our thing too. Anyone asks about our Thanksgiving, the answer is always in terms of the gravy, not the turkey. Funny, huh? We also gave up on the marshmallow goop. We make sweet potatoes whipped with eggs, and baked with a brown sugar, pecan and toasted coconut topping. We're grownups for heaven's sake! Love the 3-D pearls. Look for them in my tangle next week. (grin)

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    1. Sounds great! I never tried putting egg in the sweet potato, and coconut would be a hit at our house too. I'm just happy to be able to keep learning new things - kitchen and otherwise. I'll look for those pearls, too!

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  7. Aahhh!! love that the little tabs are attached to the dress. Superb.

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  8. I am surprised that you had time to do a single string let alone all of these beautiful tiles! You are a wonder! Beautiful each one...hope you enjoy the rest of December and have a few moments for you!

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  9. Incredibly beautiful, absolutely every one of your tiles is a wonder!
    I gather your meal was delicious, being French, you can guess, food is of the utmost importance. I usually bearly survive through December (I always get to cook too because I'm an OK cook) and we don't even have Thanksgiving! Congratualtions for all of it! Bravo!

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  10. Beautiful tiles, so rich and elegant.
    I love the "box full of fungees", and how you played with shapes and anti-shapes there.
    I love the doll tile, and the way you created the intricate details. Looks so real.
    I also love your ING, especially the depth effect that you created

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  11. Antonine, all of your pieces are beautiful! I absolutely love your doll challenge. The paper doll dress is adorable, and your selection of tangles really mimics fabric. I love the shoes too! Any doll would be lucky to wear such a fun dress. Thank you for playing with my challenge this week. :-)

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