Diva Challenge #348: Moebius Syndrome Awareness Day

January 24th is Moebius Syndrome Awareness Day. Moebius Syndrome is a congenital nerve disorder affecting VI and VII nerves controlling the lateral movement of one's face. Laura--aka The Diva CZT--has an adorable son, Artoo, who was born with this disorder, which only affects these facial muscles, and nothing else! Artoo, one of some 5,000 people in the WORLD with this disorder, is an intelligent, talented and fun-loving boy! If you follow the Diva's blog, you are regularly treated to cute pics and awesome updates on Artoo and his older brother, Chewie. This week the Diva asked us to tangle the logo for the Moebius Syndrome Awareness Foundation.

Last Sunday, I taught my first class on black Apprentice tiles. We had lots of fun. Here's a mosaic for our second tile.

This was only my second full week of substitute teaching since starting on January 2. Definitely a challenge to get "gussied up" five days in a row, make it to work by 7:40, face the elements for 45 minutes while I try not to frighten parents in the "kiss and go" lane with my unruly hair! Ha! For the most part, the days have gone by smoothly and quickly, but have left little time for tangling. I generally get home, change into my "active wear" and cuddle up with the cats until it's time for supper. By 8:30 or 9, I'm ready for bed! 

My office mates provide lively and thought-provoking conversation during the school day.

I did manage to do a couple "compassion meditation" monogram tiles for two of our students. Here's one.

Thanks, as always, for stopping by. I apologize for not getting around to see your posts last week, but hope to catch up!  Have a wondrous week!

Diva Challenge #347

While we don't have the arctic temperatures of Diva-land-- -40 Celsius AND Fahrenheit, for those of you who may not have seen her post from Saskatoon--here in Chapel Hill we have twelve inches (30cm) of snow!!

(Since I started substitute teaching on January 2, we have now missed five days for inclement weather. I'm hoping it will thaw out before a class I'm teaching on Sunday on black tiles. I was  planning to do snowflake-y tangles, but I might encounter some resistance! )

I am thoroughly enjoying my return to middle school. As I meet new students, sometimes I think they might like to have a special monogram, so I've been doing some embedded letters as a compassion meditation, similar to the Random Acts of Zentangle. 

These were just for fun.

For the Diva's challenge, we had to use a thing to make our string. I have been trying to convert a tripod into a document camera stand, as shown in a video that Rick posted a few months ago. (See photos below. The old one was great, but bulky, heavy and difficult to transport. The new one will fit in my bag.)  After months of "messing around", I finally decided this needed to happen before I resumed my classes at the library. I needed two more parts: a 1/2-inch washer and a flat head stove bolt. While the former was easy to find, I had to go to 5 hardware stores before I finally found the bolt yesterday. I used the washer and a misfit hex bolt for my string. The tile progressed in starts and fits, a bit like the document camera stand! I was not sure that this was going to make it, but I took advantage of being snowed in and stuck with it like a tongue to a lamp post on a snowy day!!! The stain is cactus pear juice.

The finished tripod/document camera stand

The old document camera stand

Thanks for stopping by and following my journey. Have a pleasant week!

Happy 2018!

Welcome to the new year! I hope that your holidays were happy ones, and that the new year will bless you with good health, happiness and peace.
Amidst all the bustle of the holidays, I've been trying to keep up with the Twelve Days of Zentangle project. Last night, I started Day 11. We will see if I can finish up before going back to work in the morning. (News flash: After two and a half years of retirement, I have taken a 6-week substitute teacher position at the middle school where I taught for 19 years!) I did not purchase the Project Pack kit, but managed to improvise. My heartfelt gratitude goes out to the whole Zentangle crew for these creative projects and the videos to complete them.

The fourth day of Zentangle

The fifth day of Zentangle

The sixth day of Zentangle

The seventh day of Zentangle

The eighth day of Zentangle

The ninth day of Zentangle

The tenth day of Zentangle

Then there were these gifts for my daughter and her husband:

Dorian Eng's Tree Bells

Fidget toy in blue

I gussied up a cheap ($1) planner with "Meshmerize"...

...and enjoyed a peaceful new year's eve with a Renaissance Zendala.

And, finally, this week's (today's!!!) Diva Challenge, a duotangle with Phicops and Huggins.

Thanks for visiting! Have a wonderful week!