Yoga Experience, Flagstaff AZ

This Tangled Little Card was left at the Yoga Experience in Flagstaff, AZ.

After a bit of zen doing yoga, who do you think ended their experience with this TLC?  What a great way to end a yoga experience!

Bijou style!

Here is a Tangled Little Card, Bijou style, sitting atop a container of yogurt!  This is an unique TLC because it is the first, to our knowledge, to be created with Bijou tiles... so that means this is a tiny TLC!  Fabulous, isn't it!  We are only left wondering who Bijou shared the yogurt with!?

Bijou, waiting patiently to have yogurt with a new friend!

Glendale AZ

This Tangled Little Card finds itself hanging out near the entrance of Little Siagon in Glendale AZ.

We have learned that they have the delicious Pho (pronounced "fa").  If you are here eating Pho... close your eyes and sense the motorcycles rushing by or the crowds at the Ben Thanh Market... perhaps not what you would imagine while eating Vietnamese food but the traffic and market are so fundamental to Ho Chi Minh City. 

Poway and Ramona CA

These Tangled Little Cards found their way to sunny southern California in December (2014).

The cities of Poway and Ramona are tucked inland and are surrounded by vineyards and equestrian estates. 

This TLC was bound to make someone smile while they got their favorite cup of coffee/tea at the Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf in Poway...

  
We wonder what Red Velvet Mocha mix is like!?!

This TLC is poolside at the San Diego Country Estates in Ramona...

BASIS Flagstaff and wonderful 5th Graders

Combine kindness with kids and what do you get... magic!

Art teacher, Jessalyn Carpino, at BASIS Flagstaff introduced Zentangle to her 5th graders as well as the Tangled Kindness Project.  She challenged her students to link kindness with creativity which lead perfectly into students making Tangled Little Cards.  We are talking nearly 100 students -- that is a lot of Tangle Little Cards entering the world and it makes the Tangled Kindness Project's heart sing!

Here are a few pictures of students working on their Tangled Little Cards... never have you heard an art classroom so quite.  Every student was diligently working on tangles, quotes, and making each card absolutely perfect.  

Little hands making little cards...

Students used some of our favorite tangles!!!  In addition, they had a little inspiration from TanglePatterns.

 

Students were also encouraged to create their own, unique tangles!

Students were thoroughly engaged in the project and proudly admired their work.

Where do you think these Tangled Little Cards will be placed?  They will surely make someone smile!

Ms. Carpino, you are simply amazing!  Thank you for sharing the Tangled Kindness Project with your students.  And thank you, students, for contributing such beautiful cards to the project!  

 

Phoenix AZ

This Tangled Little Card found it's way to the Phoenix Art Museum!!

Browning MT

These Tangled Little Cards found their way to a small town in Glacier County Montana... Browning. 

From the official Browning website, we learn that it is the largest community on the Blackfoot Indian Reservation and is home to nearly 9000 members of the Blackfeet Nation.

Main Street Browning MT

Only thirteen miles West of Browning is an entrance to Glacier National Park.   

One of those Tangled Little Cards ended up in Teeples IGA, the local grocery store...

Teeples IGA, Browning MT

TLC in the COE at NAU

How's that for a title of acronyms!

I was in the COE yesterday while it was completely deserted; what a quiet place without students and faculty.

This Tangled Little Card was left near the front entrance.  Do you think someone will pick it up first thing this morning or will it sit there for others to enjoy until finally someone takes it?

Interestingly, I went back the next morning for an 11:00 meeting; the TLC was still there! 

Nevada... Have you seen this tree?!

This is a wonderful story from Sue Williams:

"My husband and I were making our way through the Nevada desert from Wendover, NV to Death Valley when we came upon this tree right by the road.  There were no other trees around, not for what seemed like a hundred miles or so, just desert.  I call it "the giving tree" because people had hung hats, shoes, shirts, mugs, bottles, scarves, and more all over the tree.  I taped one of my cards on a branch.  I was so moved by this experience and so happy I was on that road to see it.  The world may seem like a deserted desert at times but we are surrounded with loving people with kind hearts."

That last sentence is so simple yet it says so much!  I imagine that at times everyone feels like they are in a deserted desert and there is nothing like a speck of kindness to bring about change. This tree radiates with kindness.

What great photos of "the giving tree" -- can you find the Tangled Little Card, before scrolling to the third photo?!

"The Giving Tree" by Sue W.

"The Giving Tree" by Sue W.

"The Giving Tree" by Sue W.

Thank you, Sue, for placing a TLC on this beautiful tree.

Around Town

Today at Bookman's I was talking to a young woman about her dog.  When she left, I noticed that she put this on a table as she passed by it.  I love that others are sharing artistic acts of random kindness!

Then off to the Aquaplex so the kids could play in the water. I did this Tangled Little Card (even though my only source of ink was a Sharpie!) and left it in the lounge area.

Where will the next Tangled Little Card land; and who will find it?!

Karma

About 9 months ago, I discovered Zentangle.  It was about that time that I also found a Ben's Bell hanging from a tree near my local library.  The mission of Ben's Bell is simple, admirable, and embraces humanity... 

The mission of Ben's Bells is to inspire, educate, and motivate people to realize the impact of intentional kindness, and to empower individuals to act according to that awareness, thereby strengthening ourselves, our relationships and our communities.

Ben's Bell was my muse to start this project.  (One of the contributors to this project has also found a bell.) I felt that I could contribute to spreading kindness, intentionally, by creating and placing Tangled Little Cards in random locations for people to find.  Since January, when the project was started, Tangled Little Cards have traveled the world and people have reported back the profound impact of finding one has had on them.   I feel my mission, in support of Ben's mission, is being accomplished.  

Well, the other day, the most remarkable and profound thing happened.  I found another beautiful Ben's Bell!  I can't begin to express my feelings; amazement (I mean, really, what are the odds?!), joy, surprise, gratification...   By finding that bell, did I receive a "thank you, carry on" or was it just karma?  

The first bell, actually found by my daughter, is hanging in my mother's most beautiful garden.   This bell is hanging on my patio in remembrance that intentional kindness has some serious power and influence!

Thank you Jeannette.

Experimenting

There is a saying; if it isn't broken, why fix it.  Well, our Tangled Little Cards aren't broken and don't need fixing, however, it has been fun experimenting with them!

To make a TLC we use Zentangle tiles,  water color paper (140 lbs or more work best), and recently coasters.  The challenge with coasters is that they absorb, absorb, absorb!  Ink bleeds, the surface is rough so a delicate Micron pen is not a good match, but... coasters seem to work well with Micron Gelly Roll and Glaze pens.  The Glaze pens are fun because they are 3D -- adding a nice effect to any tangle!  Tangling with color allows shading to be done with colored pencils... and the end result is wonderful!  

Then there is the issue of assembling the TLCs.  Regular packaging tapes works well.  The coasters seem to need something a bit more durable however, so our answer has been Duct tape!  

Here are a few Tangles Little Cards done on coasters, with Gelly Roll and Glaze pens, and put together with Duct tape.

 

CT CZT making TLCs like crazy!

There is a Certified Zentangle Teacher, Maureen , in Connecticut that I think is on a mission to get Tangled Little Cards out into the world and into the hands of as many people as possible... a woman after my own heart!  Thank you Maureen!  I know that the people that find these TLCs will appreciate and enjoy them!  The project greatly thanks your efforts and admires your spirit and enthusiasm!

Maureen has been enthusiastically ordering supplies, making Tangled Little Cards, and sending them off to far away places.  Here is a photo of the first three TLCs she made...

Running Meditations

It is responses like this that make my heart sing!!!

I received an email from Rebekah; stating she wrote about her encounter with human kindness here...

Her blog is called Running Meditations. She eloquently shares her story of finding a Tangled Little Card.  I certainly don't know how the card got from Ohio to North Carolina but it is bound to have a wonderful story!  Rebekah and I don't know each other, not when she found the card anyway, but are certainly bonded by kindness. It is so heartfelt that she is leaving it for another to find and enjoy.

So, read her post about the Tangled Little Card she found...

Telling a Story

I carry Tangled Little Cards with me every where I go, including on vacation and travels to here and there.  Recently my family went on a Caribbean Cruise.  I placed Tangled Little Cards in hotels, on the ship, and in every country we visited.  Keeping track of where I placed cards tells a little story.  For example, this card; it reminds me of the splendid day we spent wondering Key West FL.  We stopped in so many galleries, ate key lime pie, and visited Hemingway's house.

Can you find the Tangled Little Card on the window ledge?!

Ginny... Sharing the Kindness

I only started this project in January this year, not even two months ago.  It is exciting how quickly it is growing -- but then again, sharing kindness is pretty cool if I do say so myself!

What is so wonderful is Ginny Stiles, an artist from Florida/Wisconsin, has began what appears to be a mass sharing of kindness!  Thank you Ginny for creating Tangled Little Cards and leaving them in special places!  Do check out her blog... her work is beautiful!

So, it is with giddy happiness that I receive notes from people that are taking the project into their own hands and running with it!

Thank you

Thank you

Thank you

Tangled Little Cards by Ginny Stiles

Read Ginny's post about the Tangled Kindness Project.  

NOLA ~ Ohio ~ Virgin Islands and beyond!

I am so giddy happy; seriously, it is impossible to state how communication from one person (a stranger, even!) can impact someone so deeply!  Just the other day I received an email from an artist, one who found a Tangled Little Card. It is wonderful to think that something  so little can make such a big impact and that something so little can be shared vastly. 

Thank you Angela for believing in the Tangled Kindness Project!  She took it upon herself to make Tangled Little Cards and send them out on their own journeys.

With permission, I share her email; know that it made me cry! At the end of Angela's texts is a photo of the beautiful cards she made.

Kindness is a beautiful thing! 

Hi Amy,

My name is Angela Gage.  I am an artist and I found your card at the Lafayette Cemetery in New Orleans.  My daughter just moved to New Orleans last August.  I have never visited there and I went to visit her in January. She lives in an apartment in the Garden District and we walked to the cemetery.  I know this sounds weird but I was thinking before we got there that I would love to find something in the cemetery. We walked around a bit and then came to the tomb with the pansies in front and I found your card! My daughter looked up the Tangled Kindness Project on her phone and we knew we were allowed to take the card.  It is my favorite souvenir from that city!  I love the whole concept behind your cards.  I showed everyone I could when I got back home to Columbus Ohio.

I work in a wholesale frame shop, where we cut mats also.  My boss and his wife were going to go on vacation to Tortola in the British Virgin Islands. I wanted to make a card for them to take and spread the kindness.  I made three cards and they picked one to take with them.  I put the Tangled Kindness Project on the back.  I hope that is ok.

On a separate note, I teach Oil Painting, Drawing and Pastels.  In my Drawing class, we touch on pen and ink. I have never heard of tangled designs.  I have thoroughly enjoyed making this type of artwork.  Normally I am a very realistic artist.  I paint commissioned portraits also.  Doing this artwork is very relaxing.

Thank you so much for your card!!  I really love it!

Angela Gage
  

Tangled Little Cards by Angela Gage

New Orleans Louisiana

My family recently visited New Orleans.  The city is so rich in history, culture, music, food -- we certainly could have stayed much longer.

Of the many highlights of our trip, one was exploring the cemeteries -- St. Louis Cemetery No. 1 and Lafayette Cemetery.  In the St. Louis Cemetery we found the tomb of Henry Plessy while in the Lafayette Cemetery we found the tomb of Judge Ferguson.  If those names don't ring a bell, think separate but equal... 

Plessy v. Ferguson (1896).

Can you find the Tangled Little Card at the Lafayette Cemetery?

Lafayette Cemetery, NOLA

Another highlight was riding the St. Charles Street Car.  Aside from being an efficient means of transportation, it is simply fun!

This Tangled Little Card was left on the street car for someone to find...

St. Charles Street Car, NOLA

 So, we left a little tangled kindness in New Orleans... I wonder who picked up the Tangled Little Cards?



 

This is how we do it...

I am so excited that this project is off and running!

Here is a sequence of tiles that when put together make up the perfect Tangled Little Card.

Front of card

Inside of card

Back of Card

If you have a tangled tile you would like to donate, please use the comment form on the blog.

Seattle WA

The first requested shipment of Tangled Little Cards are on their way to the Pacific Northwest!  Makes me excited to think of where they will be placed, who will find them, and what their reaction will be?!

Thank you Linda for the request; enjoy spreading the kindness!

The picture is a  little blurry but the Tangled Little Cards are bound to make someone smile!