A Research Project

There is a research project lerking here...

I went to an appointment and left this Tangled Little Card in the entry of the office building.

Two weeks later I returned for a follow up appointment.  The card was still there!

 
The Tangled Little Card had obviously been moved so perhaps read and enjoyed.  Interesting, huh?!  It was left behind by at least one person... did they obtain enjoyment from the little card and want to leave it there for someone else to find and enjoy?  Why didn't they take it?  I find it fascinating that for two weeks it could have been potentially enjoyed by several, each person leaving it for the next.

I did go back to the office building a week later just to see if the card was still there; it was not.  

Flagstaff AZ

I love a good Chai Latte.  This Tangled Little Card was left at a place in Flagstaff that makes the best Chai Latte... a mix of sweet and spicy!  Do you know where this card was left?!

Sharing the Kindness-- Sue Williams

When I first started this project, I left a Tangled Little Card in a cemetery in New Orleans.  That card was found by Angela Gage who has now passed the passion of spreading kindness via Tangled Little Cards to one of her students, Sue Williams.  Sue's blog is Lighting the Candle, do check it out, her art is gorgeous!

In a July blog post she mentions the Tangled Kindness Project and an upcoming vacation from Ohio to California.  In the post she writes:

"I thought it would be fun to participate in this project and make and leave cards along our journey.  So I now have a purpose to learn this method of art.  Pictured is my first card to take and leave on my journey".  

It is the purpose comment that gives me goose bumps; I am so happy and grateful that the purpose of spreading kindness is enjoyed in this project by others.  Thank you Sue for spreading kindness!  Your work is beautiful and I know that the finders of your Tangled Little Cards will cherish them!

Here is her first Tangled Little Card... who do you think found it?!

Tangled Little Card by Sue Williams

Jordan Valley OR

I have been traveling for the past 4 months placing Tangled Little Cards in random, beautiful, carefully selected, obscure, and wonderful places!  My apologies for neglecting the blog; I will find a balance in traveling and blogging sooner than later... I get so carried away with making placing cards that I don't post.

So, here is the first post in a long time.  

In our Western US travels we over nighted in a Jordan Valley OR.   We have traveled through before but this time opted to stop to experience the Basque culture... and I still don't know how to play Basque handball!  There is a Basque restaurant, the Old Basque Inn, that serves lamb chops with lots of garlic, just how I like it!

OLD BASQUE INN

So, on to Tangled Little Cards.  The hotel we stayed in was pretty... basic. Although it did have great views!

View to the West from our hotel room.

I took this picture of these trucks, well, just because I thought they were pretty cool!  Plus they reminded my kids of the movie Cars which was a bit hit in my family.

View to the South from our hotel.

The morning we left, I placed this Tangled Little Card on the steps near our hotel room.  I always wonder who finds them...

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?!