Weekly Creative Roundup

I've put pen to paper recently and got back into tangling... First was my tribute to India on August 15th - Independence Day. Here I tried out a freehand Mandala, which I then coloured.

Next I drew this piece. I used two of my tangles, Dilmore and Panzi, and added a few of my faves Dugwud, Voga and Miasma. I like how it came out!

Laura's last challenge was to use your non-dominant hand - for me this means my left hand - to draw a monotangle of Bales. I enjoyed the process on this one. I took the opportunity to be mindful and focus on my breathing. I concentrated on one stroke at a time and I love the result. I think the wobbly lines add to it's charm!

Also over the last week I've been working on my first bigger piece. It took me a few days - but I got there in the end. 

Besides tangling, I've enjoyed taking photos when out on my walks with Coco recently. Here's a few snaps - you can see more on my Instagram account.

Look carefully at the bottom two pics - eye spy...

Stray pup

I've also been inspired to walk more - I've downloaded a pedometer app for my Android phone, called Accupedo. It's great. I can track my walking on a daily basis, and best of all - it's free from the Play Store. 

I've also been creative in the kitchen recently. I've made Chilla. 

It's like a pancake, except the batter is made from Besan (Chickpea flour), soaked and ground Yellow Moong Dal, water and a splash of oil. Throw in a few spices and some fresh coriander and you're done! I also added onion and tomato to mine, coz that's the way I like them. 

I also made my own coconut milk from a fresh coconut. It was really simple to do! Next I'll try making coconut chutney.

I look forward to more creative times in the near future.

Happy creating...

Claire

Dex-teria

As I live in India, it's evening by the time Laura posts her weekly challenge. As usual, I checked it out when I was on my way home from a long day at work.

A little later in the evening I sat down to tangle. And it was only once I'd finished and was about to start shading, that I remembered it was a monotangle challenge - oops!

After my first attempt I decided to do a second one... A monotangle this time.

So here are my two Zentangles. I'm really happy with both of them as Dex is not a tangle that I find easy to use.

Not a monotangle! 

Dex monotangle 

Happy tangling...
Claire

Weekly Creative Roundup

I've been off the grid for a month, as I decided to turn my free time away from Photo-A-Day, Zentangle challenges, ICAD and blogging, to reading, my ongoing quest to learn Hindi and cooking.

I became a silent observer, and enjoyed the experience. 

Now I've started to take photos again, but not in response to a challenge, although I still love and follow everyone else's FMS Photo-A-Day snaps.

I've picked up with Laura's {I am the Diva} weekly Zentangle challenges. I think I will catch up on the recent ones I've missed, because these challenges never feel like a chore.

129. TanglePatterns string 004 

130. Henna Drum v.1

130. Henna Drum v.2

I love my ICAD little booklet and will definitely come back and add to this sometime in the future.

Reading has always been a passion and when I don't get enough of a regular fix I suddenly go book crazy. I think I read 12 or 13 books in my month off! Most of them were either romance or murder mysteries, but I also read and enjoyed the Hunger Games trilogy.

I will continue to struggle with Hindi. It keeps getting mixed up with French in my brain! It doesn't help that I work for 9 hours a day at an English speaking company, but that's not going to change anytime soon - I love my job!

मैं हिन्दी सीखती हूँ।

In July I learnt to make Aloo Paratha {recipe from Home Cook's Recipes}, and Mixed Dal. I also improved my technique on Misal Pav, Bhindi and Chapatis {some are nearly round!} I might even get round to posting a few recipes... Who knows!

Happy creating! 

Claire