"Zentangle Tiles"

In the past several months I have completed many drawings using Zentangle Techniques.  It didn't hit me until this weekend that I have not completed one true Zentangle Tile ... that being a picture that is pure design and patterns, there is no up or down, it has no subject matter that is discernible and is created purely to please the creator and the viewer.  A Zentangle Tile has a universal size of 3.5 inches by 3.5 inches. 

I had hit an artistic block this past week and my "Inspiration GPS" just wasn't working ... I think I needed to charge its batteries.  That being the case I decided why not try some of these Zentangle Tiles?!  I proceeded to cut myself up a small stack of 3.5x3.5 squares and settled back, relaxed and enjoyed creating the following four Zentangle Tiles.  These will be listed in my Etsy Shop shortly, but I wanted to share them with you first.

Since Zentangle Tiles do not have a subject matter I was having trouble with giving the pieces titles ... I finally decided to just give them numbers as I progress.  So here they are:

Zentangle Tile #1

 

Zentangle Tile #2

Zentangle Tile #3

Zentangle Tile #4

Best of all, after finishing these 4 little drawings, I found I had recharged my "Inspiration GPS"!   I now have several new ideas I can't wait to get started on tomorrow!

Moral of this little story:  If you are having trouble recharging your "Inspiration GPS" ... try recharging with a few Zentangle Tiles!

Happy Day!
Karen Anne aka IrelandBrady

"Home of One Dollar Open Edition ACEO Art Prints" Plus Free Shipping in the USA for the month of May!

I was going through my shop the past few days and realized I needed to restock.  I also checked to see what other artists are selling their ACEO Prints for and soon realized I was one of the very few who offers $1 Open Edition ACEO Art Prints.  So, I thought I'd dub my shop "The Home Of The One Dollar ACEO's" .... kinda catchy, don't you think?

Anyway, in looking over the number of One Dollar ACEO's I have available I realized I have over 100 One Dollar ACEO's in stock!
You can find over 90 different ones in the One Dollar ACEO Prints Section
and over 30 in the One Dollar ACEO Alphabet Section.

In addition to a great supply of ACEO's on hand, I am also offering free domestic shipping for the month of May!  To apply the discount enter the code FREESHIPPINGUSA on your order form in the coupon box as you are checking out!

One dollar ACEO's and free shipping - Wow!  You can't get much better than that!


May you always have
Love to Share,
Health to Spare,
And Friends who Care!

Karen Anne aka IrelandBrady

The Times Of Danny Boy

Good Day!  I have four new ACEO's to share with you.  These little drawings are all based around the character and antics of our little min pin, Danny Boy.  Danny Boy loves to be outside when it is warm and the sun is shinning.  But occasionally he does get

"Caught By April Showers"

At other times he will be outside, enjoying a warm breeze and soaking up the sun when out of no where he will be surprised by 

"Danny Boy's Nemesis"

Most of all Danny Boy loves going on long walks in the early evening hours with his "Dad".  Danny Boy especially enjoys the springtime and is constantly stopping along the way and 

"Taking Time To Smell The Flowers"

Once he and "Dad" get home from their evening walk, Danny Boy proudly bounds into the house to let "Mom" know he has done his job and exercised "Dad"!  For this outstanding job he earns a reward of some kind, in this case it was one of his favorite treats - A Chew!  Unfortunately, this presents the poor little fellow with 

"A Dog Gone Dilemna"

And he is confronted with the challenge of finding the ultimate safe hiding place for his treasured treat!

May you always have

Love to Share,

Health to Spare,

And Friends who Care!

Karen Anne

"Two New Fantasy Illustrations!"

I must have been in the mood for a bit of fantasy when I illustrated these two little numbers which I have titled "My Inner Elfs" and  "A World Of Our Own".  These are black and white illustrations complete with elves, mushrooms, plus much more.   I have just listed them for sale as authorized art prints in My Etsy Shop.


In addition to being black and white compositions, they also makes dandy coloring pages! Children of all ages (we all have an inner child in us somewhere) will find delight in coloring them in using colored pencils and fine line color marking pens. When completed, if one decides to add their own color, one can add to the bottom of the page "Colored by ________________".  Thereby adding their own creativity to the piece!  

"MY INNER ELFS"

"A WORLD OF OUR OWN"

May you always have

Love to Share,

Health to Spare,

And Friends who Care!

Karen Anne aka IrelandBrady

"Would You Like To Be Included?"

Hi!  The other day I was wondering how I could better connect with people when I complete a new art piece.  I currently post them on my blog and list them in My Etsy Shop; the only additional places I promote my work are on My Twitter,  My FaceBook Fan Page, sometimes in Etsy Team Forums, plus The Acetsy Team Blog and VAST Team Blog.

What I really want is to connect more personally with those who have expressed in interest in my pieces.  So I sat down and thought why not make up a group email list of those people?  That way, when I complete a piece of work or have a special promotion I can let them know before the general public.

In these group mailings I will send all participants only "Bcc" copies so that your email address will NOT be shared with others.  I don't work fast enough to be overwhelming your inbox with a lot of excess mail so, if you would like to be included, you can let me know by sending an email request to me at     IrelandsMusings@mail.com     (an address I set up just for responses to this post).


May you always have
Love to Share,
Health to Spare,
An Friends who Care!


Karen Anne Brady aka IrelandBrady

"Discount Coupon for Blog Followers"

As a small thank you to all of my blog followers, for the entire month of April I am offering a discount of 30% on all items in My Etsy Shop.  If you would like to make use of this discount, use the code MYBLOG30 on your order form when you are checking out.  The discount will be automatically applied to your purchase.  The discount will not apply to shipping and handling.

May you celebrate a joyous Easter Season!

Karen Anne

"Celtic Knotwork Designs" by Sheila Sturrock-Exercises #58 to #63"

Today I was able to work in six exercises from Chapter 6 of Sheila's Sturrock's book "Celtic Knotwork Designs".  With each design I find my confidence building and the ribbons are becoming more consistent in their widths.  By coloring them in I am adding my own personal touch to each design.

Today my husband asked, "Just how many exercises are there in that book?", so I took a look ... there are at least 222 exercises!  As I am now only up to 63 that leaves 159 exercises to complete, hmmm .... I may not be posting all the exercise designs in my blog after all.  I'd probably end up boring you all to tears!

I will keep my goal of completing the book, however .... I think I am going to have to pace myself and get some art pieces for My Etsy Shop completed and posted; otherwise people may think I have fallen off the planet because I am not adding to my shop's inventory.  Don't want that to happen!  I think I'll try to incorporate some of what I have already learned into my next art work.

"Exercises 58 through 63"

Take care all and God Bless,

Karen Anne aka IrelandBrady

"Chapter 6 - Exercises #52 through #57"

I was back to the drawing pad with some celtic knot designs today, not as many as yesterday but I did manage to get in a couple.  I have now entered into Chapter 6 of Sheila Sturrock's "Celtic Knotwork Design" and am relaxing enough to have a bit of fun by coloring them in.

Today I completed designs number 52 through 57.  Would have completed more but regular life imposed upon me (doing dishes, cleaning up messes, paying bills, preparing food ... you know the mundane stuff that keeps one's life comfortable), oh to have a house keeper!  That is my fantasy dream!

With no further ado, here is what I completed today:

"Exercises #52 through #57"

If you should ever decide you want to try your hand at celtic knotwork, get Sheila's book;  she has brilliantly laid out and simplified the art of celtic knotwork!  

Take care and happy day!

Karen Anne aka IrelandBrady

"Five New ACEO's!"

I just love ACEO's!  When you have a little bit of time you can create a little piece of art.  An ACEO creation can be created just about anywhere, snuggling up on the couch, sitting in a car, camping, in the middle of the night when you can't get back to sleep, filling in time at a local art show .... they have to be an artist's best friend when one has only a bit of time and not enough energy to work on something larger.

That said, I have been squeezing in little ACEO's here and there for the past week and finally got them photographed and ready to list in my Etsy Shop later on this week.  In the meantime, I thought I'd take out a bit of time to share them with my friends.

"A Floral Knot"

"A Knot of Shamrocks"

"Three Tortoises" (already listed in my Etsy Shop)

"Mushroom"

"Mushrooms and Fern"

Thank you for taking the time to visit my blog and letting me share my artwork with you.

Karen Anne aka IrelandBrady

"Obsession? or knot?"

I found this adorable crochet pattern for a flapper cloche hat and made up a few dozen to give away to friends and family at Christmas time. I loved the webbed design in this hat and decided it needed a little something extra so I added a darling crocheted carnation (with a safety pin for easy removal) to the side. 

Since then I seem to have become obsessed with crocheting this particular hat with flower and in the evenings, when I am sitting back watching television, my hands just seem to have to be crocheting one after another. I now have more than enough for this coming Christmas and am still making more!

Finally, my husband pointed out that I have more hats than I need, especially if I keep on making them. Both he and my daughter (who loves her many hats) suggested I list them in My Etsy Shop and share them with others. So that is what I am now doing. 

No two hats are exactly alike since I do like variation (except for the pattern).

"Pale Green Flapper Cloche with Deep Green Carnation"

"Pink Cloche Flapper Hat with White Carnation with Black Center/Base"

Happy Day!

Karen Anne aka IrelandBrady