Zentangle Bookmark Technique

[Deb Lovett]

I received this amazing bookmark from J3annin3. You will find her excellent and detailed instructions in the second post.

[Deb Lovett]

J3annin3 posted these details in the September ATC Technique swap. J3annin3 and I are starting this new thread so the Zentangle Technique will be easy to find and enjoy!

Hey Deb!
the bookmark back i made with the Smooch marbling technique and i stamped over it using Colorbox black pigment. The front,

i carry the purchased bookmark blanks with me so i can work on them when i have a few minutes. I draw the designs with various sized Micron Pigma pens by Sakura. I carry them with the bookmark blanks in a small container along with a pencil, a blending stump, an eraser, a regular Sharpie and one of the new Sharpie pens. The regular Sharpie i only use to fill in large black areas, i don't use it for the lines since on that paper the regular Sharpie will bleed and blur. The Sharpie pen works fairly well though. Zentangle purests don't use erasers, they might/would use the pencil and stump to smudge any pencil lines into a kind of shading. i haven't progressed to using shading yet and erase my lines after i let the ink dry.

To start, i begin with the Zentangle method of using a frame, in this case the biggest outline, the long rounded rectangle that holds all of the smaller sections. I start with a dot in each corner then connect them with a hand drawn line, i've known a couple of people who like to use a ruler but i like the wobble of my hand then when i draw the pattern lines they all look 'right' together. if i started with a ruler then i might feel i had to use a ruler for every line and then it wouldn't be so much fun or easy. Then i draw one loop or 4 or 5 loops and those will become the sections of the inner design. Each section gets a different design/pattern. Zentangle-ist would call this looping line 'dropping a thread or string' since the idea is to let the line fall randomly like a string on to the frame, it's meant to be loose and fluid or hard and sharp- any way that it comes out is fine. Even the frame could be any shape; a circle, a heart, a hand.... The idea behind Zentangling,( as far as i understand it,) is that a repetitive action like making dozens of the same small line is relaxing and peaceful and fun! So getting tense or restrictive is counterproductive. i take this to be that what's 'RIGHT' is just what i want to do, however things work best and most relaxing for me. So far the doodle police haven't knocked at my door

If i'm feeling careful and persnickety i will draw all my lines in pencil first and then ink over them if i find them pleasing. If i'm feeling brave or carefree i just use the pens straight off. Sometimes i will just practice one pattern in a square with pencil (to save ink and money) until i think i have a feel for it. I did draw the flower in on the front but i used the pencil to get the lines just where i wanted them before i inked them. I do consider the section patterns with the various values of black and white and visual grey in mind, hoping to make a pleasing composition. And i goof around with it and practice, a lot There are books and videos and a couple of websites will offer a new pattern every week. (Design Originals and i think maybe Outlines Rubber Stamps) The Zentangle books have pattern samplers and they give the various patterns names i don't get that elaborate, i think most of us have been doodling since we were able to hold a crayon and while i really appreciate and admire the way Zentangling has given it a form and forum, mostly i think it's something intrinsic and natural.

After i finish a bookmark front i adhere it to a backing page. At first i used plain cardstock or old stamped scraps, then stamped designer scrap-booking papers because the intensity of the design on front can balance a lot of design on the back, and sometimes i use some found paper like a placemat from a Chinese restaurant. i started making and using the marbled papers cause it's just too much fun; like coloring eggs they are endlessly new and intriguing. But i'm sure any smooth background technique would work or even nothing but the plain bookmark blank back. It wouldn't have to be smooth at all except i like to laminate the bookmarks. i stamp a design over the backing paper. i like silhouette designs and flourishes because they do well in just black and i like the way that works with the black and white front. I use what ever ink will work with the papers. I trim the backing paper to the edge of the original bookmark blank and re-punch the hole at the top. Then i use a cold laminate- front and back, to give it depth, make it shiny and more durable: then i again trim all that to the edge of the bookmark, (though if i kept a small margin of the laminate all the way around and extending over the edge of the papers it would be almost waterproof) i like the clean edge so i trim it flush, then re-re-punch the hole at the top and add a ribbon or some kind of tassel thing. For yours and the others i'm working on just now, i've been using a wheel and teaching myself some very simple Kumihimo type braiding.

I apologize for using so very many words to describe this, it's not complicated but explaining it seems to be

Truely Deb any way you want to do it is good. If you have more questions let me know.

[Theresagram]

Pretty! I love making bookmarks.

[TheAfricanQueen]

That would make a great and inexpensive Christmas gifts for distant nieces and nephews!

We used to make a lot of bookmarks for an animal shelter fund raiser. They were fun to make & didn't last long.. I've never " Zentangled " one though, need to try it !

[TheAfricanQueen]

What exactly does Zentangle mean?

[j3annin3]

i'm not sure what Zentangle means, i've thought of it as a contraction of Zen and rectangle, something reminiscent of a peaceful square/place.

but this a link to their homepage
http://www.zentangle.com/about-what-is--1.php


it offers good information,


and also there is Stampin Stacy's RSC thread
http://rubberstampchat.net/showthrea...ight=Zentangle


thank you very much Deb Lovett for starting this thread, it is very thoughtful of you to have done so.


i really enjoy making bookmarks too. i agree they do make nice gifts, i've given hand made bookmarks with a good used book fairly often,

i started doodling with them (a real Zentangle-ist would say 'i started tangling them....')when i wanted to find a convenient size to carry with me and make something useful, though just drawing is really good too.

wolfeyesone, how did your animal shelter use bookmarks to raise funds?

I gave this a try about this time last year but then got busy and set it aside. I need to give it a try again. It is a great do anywhere, keep the hands-n-mind busy, pass the time away "hobby". It can be hard to give yourself permission to let go and just doodle though. I think I try too hard sometimes and then get stuck instead of letting go.

Here are some more useful links:

http://beezinthebelfry.blogspot.com/

http://zentangle.blogspot.com/

http://joyfuldia-doodle-art.com/

Originally Posted by j3annin3

i really enjoy making bookmarks too. i agree they do make nice gifts, i've given hand made bookmarks with a good used book fairly often,


wolfeyesone, how did your animal shelter use bookmarks to raise funds?

I agree they do make nice gifts, great stocking stuffers too.

Every year we had a craft Bazar, everyone made cards, bookmarks, ornaments ect.. the donations/$ went to the shelter. We would also keep some bookmarks/cards at the shelter counter, & bring them to the "adoption days" events. Eveyone loved that they were handmade & supported a good cause.

[j3annin3]

that's pretty neat wolfeyesone, why did the shelter stop?