Templates to Print for Mandalas, Doodling, Drawing, and Tangling

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Mandala Templates


Simple Circles - for freeform mandalas 
(click on the image to open full size, then right click to save and print 8.5"x11")



Divided Circles - for more structured mandalas
(click on the image to open full size, then right click to save and print 8.5"x11")



Complex Circles - for detailed mandalas
(click on the image to open full size, then right click to save and print 8.5"x11")


Just let me know if you have any issues saving the templates! Happy drawing. :D ~deb


Heart Shape Template

Hey there! I was asked to put up the heart templates I used for my Valentine heart Zentangles so here they are! Should have done it a long time ago, thanks Beate for asking. :)

They are .pdf files, just click on the image or the title text to download them. They are scaled for a standard letter size page (8.5 x 11) so you should be able to print as is. If you have any issues, just let me know. 

Zentangle String Examples

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I thought I'd put up some examples of Zentangle Strings, which is the line drawn design that you put the patterns in when making a Zentangle tile.

I've found that a lot of people have trouble thinking of what to make for their string. I think it's the "blank page" syndrome thing, lol. But it's really just about making a simple scribble or a couple of lines down w/o worrying about being creative or making something "cool". Remember those scribble coloring designs we made as a kid? (well, I made them at least, lol) where you make a bunch of swirls and loops on a page with a pen and then color in all the sections with different colors? That's basically what you're doing for your Zentangle string, just much simpler, like just one or two loops. :) --although it doesn't have to be loops, it can be anything (I just thought I'd give that as an example) you can make straight lines or curved lines, abstract shapes or even a specific shape, a simple flower shape makes a good string.

Anyway, I wanted to do a series for the blog where I post a few examples of strings that I've done for your use or inspiration. Feel free to copy them exactly or just use them as inspiration.

Enjoy and don't forget to like my Facebook Mindful Doodling page, then you can just check out what's new while you're surfing your newsfeed. :)





Time-Lapse Drawing : Lotus Flower Mandala

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Lotus Flower Mandala by Deb Soromenho

My newest mandala! This one took me a little over 4 hours.

I do love it, but I really wish I could loosen up my illustration a bit. I just love the type of illustration that is loose and relaxed and more freeform and I don't know why I can't manage to do it myself. I think I'm just too much of a perfectionist, everything has to be even and symmetrical and perfect. Ugh! I'm realllllly, really going to try to loosen up. I think I'll make another Lotus Flower mandala with the focus on it being open and flowy and more freeform. Think I can manage it??? :P

Anyway, enjoy the time-lapse. I did notice while editing this video that I turn my paper a lot while working. It really helps me keep the elements even and symmetrical ****WAIT, crap, listen to me, I'm outlining part of the exact problem why I'm not able to loosen up my illustration here, lol, sheesh!**** So, anyhoo... I tried to edit out most of the rapid-fire turns, but there's still a couple nausea-inducing spots, hope you don't get "sea-sick". :)

Happy drawing! -xo deb.

DIY : Jewelry Organizer Board

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My newly made DIY jewelry organizer board

Love jewelry, hate organizing it... well, hate the process of organizing jewelry. I love it when my jewelry is actually organized and I can see everything and find what I want. Piles and stacks of jewelry spread everywhere drives me nuts, half the time I don't even remember what all I have and end up wearing the same 4 pieces all the time... cause I see them and they're convenient to grab.

So, after the thousandth thing I've tried for organizing my jewelry, I think this one might actually work.

I just took a cork bulletin board and covered in in cloth (literally just glued the cloth to the board) and added bits and stuff to it to hold my jewelry.

ooo... it's like art on my wall. :)

I knew that I had a lot of earrings and wanted to be able to easily hang them up and take them off (otherwise, I'm way to lazy and wouldn't do it, they'd still end up on the counter or thrown on a shelf)

I tried using push pins at first, which was ok, but a pain to take the earrings off. It also my the larger earrings turn at an odd angle and sometimes fall off. So I went on a search for something else, which wasn't easy, there's really not much out there that fills this purpose. 

After quite a bit of searching (read hours on google images and searches, lol) I found these on Amazon: Crazy Tackz. They work pretty darn well for holding earrings (dangly type, not posts, I haven't found a solution for post earrings yet, luckily I only own a couple pair so it's not an issue) and my rings that are of the bulkier variety.

You can see the hooks in the photo below. It'd be better if they were full "eyes" instead of just hooks, but they still work great. The back pin portion is pretty darn long, which would likely be great for holding heavier things in the hook, but they definitely poke out the back of my board (maybe it's a thin board though?). Anyhoo, they are waayyy better than push pins and I'm actually using them which says a lot coming from me, the queen of lazy. ;)

Close up of the Crazy Tackz hook pins

I kept the push pins for hanging my necklaces and bracelets, they work just fine and that kept the amount of hooks I had to buy way down.

I made little shelves out of long jewelry box tops. I'm thinking they won't last long and I'll need to actually do something more sturdy at some point, but they were quick and easy and they work for holding my bulkier bracelets and a couple misc. items. --also my 2 pair of post earrings. I just put about 5 push pins in the inside lip of the box top (sorry, don't have pic, just let me know if you're not sure what I'm talking about) to hold the "shelf" onto the board and then a couple of push pins tightly up against the bottom to help keep them up and not sagging too much with the weight. They still sag some, which is why I'm thinking I'll need to find a different solution at some point.


My Ganesha has his own special spot. :)

The most time consuming thing I did was make these ring holders (in pic below). I actually took the time to do them because I wear a lot of rings and like to have them displayed and easy to see/grab/store.

I didn't record how I made them, but basically I took strips of cardstock and twisted them into little cones. It took a few tries to get them right and still each one is a bit different. You have to make them small so that your rings will actually fit on them and that makes it hard to keep a grip on the paper as you're wrapping it and tapping it closed. The different sizes actually worked out well though because I have a lot of different sized rings and the different sizes allow them to stagger on the cones instead of all falling into the same place so you can't see them or grab them easily. 

When I had all the cones made (I made about 16 or 17 and only ended up using 14) I hot glued them onto a strip of cardstock that was the width of my long jewelry box shelves. My thinking was that this would help keep them stable and not falling over (which it does nicely) but I didn't think about the fact that if you bump or catch one cone, the whole thing falls off and rings fly all over your bedroom --yup, talking from experience here, lol-- I'm not sure what a better solution would be though, so I'm just more careful now, so far it's only happened once (and almost a 2nd time, but I caught it!)

Ring cones I made for my jewelry organizer board

All in all, I'm loving it, and actually using it which was mostly the issue with other solutions I've tried. They just weren't convenient or easy to use or whatever.... I just ended up not using them, so kinda worthless.

Hope this helps someone out there who has jewelry organization woes like I did. Let me know if you have any questions or ideas for improvement.

-xo deb.


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