I hadn't planned on posting on Wednesdays during my crazy November full of writing, but during my breaks from writing. (Which have been many...) I've been doodling like a mad woman. I call it doodling, because that's what it is to me. It is doodling in a controlled, artistic format. And this doodle is called a Zentangle. 

Oh my goodness. I first discovered these a about a year and a half ago and fell in love. 

This was my first ever Zentangle. Like I said. It is just glorified doodling!


This one has things from some of my favorite books.


I love Zentangling because it doesn't have to be perfect. I messed up so many times in this one, but it still looks great!


I like to put my Zentangles in a circle shape. It gives me a set area to work with when I'm drawing. And I like the circles because I like to hang them up in my room. Like this:



Cute huh?

But you don't need to stick to the basic circle if you aren't into that. You can Zentangle however you want.

And this started out as a complete scratch paper and turned into one of my favorites. I think she looks like a fortune teller!

If you aren't sure you can handle something this complex to start with, I recommend just drawing random lines and filling each in with a different doodle.


This one is one of my favorites. All I did was trace the outline of a CD a few times and filled in all of the blank spots. So simple, and yet so awesome!

And this one was done the same way. I just traced four circles. Think Zen Diagram Zentangle. Hehehe.


And for this one I just filled an entire piece of paper with circles and squares of different shapes and sizes.

Zentangling is so easy. Even if you don't feel like you have an artistic bone in your body, I guarantee you can do this. It just takes some patience and practice.

To start, I just outline a random design on a piece of card stock paper. I use a fine point Sharpie because it makes everything stand out so much better than pencil or pen! When you start, it will look something like this. A little cheesy? Don't worry, once it's finished, it will look awesome!

Every so often, I'll get in a mood to Zentangle and pop one out like a warm and yummy toaster pastry. And the past few days, I've been in a Zentangling mood! A few things have been getting me down, and losing myself in the small intricate doodles really helps me.


This one was signifying how I was feeling. The heart is black and hard to read until you get a closer look. Then you can see the ache that is there.

And while I was searching the internet for fun new doodles to use in my Zentangle, I saw a lot of people who incorporated faces into their designs. So I tried it. I LOVE how it turned out!


I am very thrilled with this one. It's my favorite of all time.

You should all try Zentangling! It's SO much fun! I would love to see any that you come up with!