Yesterday was Orthodox New Year’s Day. Happy New Year again! Now that Alexa is safely at school and the house is mostly back in order, it feels like it’s time for a “new year,” like it’s time to get back to normal. Whatever that means.
The Zen Den is dry, and the professionals have taken all of their equipment and gone away. It is still pretty much a mess, though, and I have a ton of work to do in it. But, on the bright side, I would rather do most anything than deal with the mess down there. My brilliant daughter advised that the best way to deal with procrastination is to find something else you have been procrastinating on and do that instead. So far, it’s working. My website is updated with all of my winter classes, I made events on Facebook, and I sent out a newsletter. And I worked a bit on the book. I even unpacked and put away my clothes that have been sitting in the spare room since our trip 2 weeks ago. My daughter is wise.
Also by way of procrastinating on important things, here is this week’s Diva Challenge. I thought it was freezing here until I read Laura’s story. If I lived there, I would probably not leave my house from October to May.
We are supposed to trace found objects to use as our string. I didn’t want to trace anything tiny as I’ve done in the past. So, I opened my desk drawer and grabbed some larger things. But then I needed a bigger tile, so I cut a piece of Stonehenge brown paper the size of an Apprentice tile. Here is my “found objects” string.


And, since I was already procrastinating, I thought I would see if this paper takes colored pencil better than it does graphite. Not really. There is too little tooth. But it is not as delicate as Renaissance tiles, so you can press harder without worrying about damaging the tile.
Are you a procrastinator? If so, do you have any good tips?
Love the outcome of your tile! colors look bright, and the tangles are so well chosen Cris.
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You may not like the paper, but what you did with it is amazing!
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I love both versions, especially the soft gray moonstone half hidden in the middle!
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Beautifully done! Inspiring!
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Cris, these are both really pretty – love your shading and colour, though I think I like the first one just a bit better!
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Funny you should mention procrastination. That word also popped up in my blog post for the Diva challenge this week. Clearly, I am not the person to give you any procrastination avoiding tips. Your daughter is very wise. In any case, you made good use of your procrastination time. Thanks for sharing the two versions of your tile. I was going to comment on how striking the first one was with your excellent use of white, but then I saw the second. Now, if you’re not done procrastinating, I’d advise trying some metallic gelly roll pens to see how that changes the look. 😉 Happy New Year. Procrastinators of the world unite! We have nothing to lose, but more time.
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Both tiles are beautiful, but the first is my favorite! Maybe I a traditionalist. 😉
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I do like that ’tile’ you created!!! Isn’t it great to have wise daughters? I have one too.
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Love the color in the tile! I can’t help you in the procrastination department… I am pretty good at that myself! 🙂
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Procrastinators Unite! Tomorrow!
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Like what you did with the string. I really have just felt blocked lately which is why I just went with simple tangles.
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