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Cassowary Coast, North Queensland, Australia heychrissie@ChrissieMurphyDesigns.com

Chrissie Murphy Designs

Mixed media artist, Certified Zentangle® Teacher (CZT39), and always exploring beauty, curiosity and the little things that make us smile.

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Tag: #sentiment

December 2, 2020April 4, 2021Chrissie Murphy Designs1 Comment on Grateful cards

Grateful cards

chrissiemurphydesigns

🎨 Certified Zentangle Teacher (CZT39)
☕ The kettle's on and the pens are out.
😊 Come for the art. Stay for the smile.
👇 Step into the studio

Over in Zentangle Down Under Land on Facebook this

Over in Zentangle Down Under Land on Facebook this week, we’re looking at #MagnifiedFragments A6, using Zenbossing as an Enhancer technique.

This is my tile from when I first completed it, and I have to admit… I wasn’t particularly happy with it at the time. 😔

Zenbossing was a technique I struggled with, and I remember feeling quite disappointed with how this tile turned out.

But looking back at it now, years later, I can see things I really like about it.

For one, I LOVE how much white ink I used for the tangling. I don’t do this nearly enough these days, and looking at this tile has made me wonder why! There’s something about that white against all those rich colours that just works.

And those colours! 💜🧡 Oh, they are gorgeous. Purple and orange together are so wonderfully zesty!

It’s funny how time can change the way we see things. What once felt like a disappointing tile now has plenty of little details that make me smile.

Now… if only I could remember that while I’m actually struggling with something today. 😂

#zentangle
#ZentangleInspiredArt
#zentangleart
#ChrissieMurphyDesignsStudio

Some creative days leave you with more than a fini

Some creative days leave you with more than a finished tile. They leave you smiling 😀

On Saturday, I spent the day at the Mindful Marks Workshop, hosted by Heidi Froelich, CZT.

There were three sessions. Three very different approaches and three very different tiles were created.

🌿 Floating with @heidi_froelich CZT
🌌 Off the Grid, Onto the Orb with @ashe_x CZT
🌀 Pattern Remix with @katrinasartroom CZT

From floating botanicals and a rather eccentric little galaxy, to letting tangle elements walk away from their usual grid.... every session took us somewhere different.

The best thing though.... was spending a wonderful day creating alongside so many other Aussie and New Zealand tanglers.

I've shared my experience on the blog, including what I loved about each session and what I took away from the day.

👉 Mindful Marks Workshop: A Day of Creative Exploration is now on the blog. Head to the link in my bio to have a read.

And keep an eye out here over the coming week, because I'll share a closer look at each of the three tiles individually. I absolutely love them all.

Thank you, Heidi, Ashe and Katrina, for such a wonderful day of creative exploration. ❤️ You guys were amazing!

#Zentangle #ZentangleArt #ZentangleInspiredArt #ZentangleLovers #ChrissieMurphyDesignsStudio

Day 1 of Project Pack 30 with Zentangle ✨ And so

Day 1 of Project Pack 30 with Zentangle ✨

And so it begins!

This is my first time on the new Zuade surface by Zentangle, and I have to say… I’m rather smitten 🥰

Zuade was developed from the idea of a blotter mat and you can definitely see that heritage when you work on it. The ink takes its time drying as it soaks into the surface — which is exactly what a blotter is supposed to do. Of course, this also means that if you aren't paying attention, you can give your lovely tangles a little accidental smudge. Zoom in and ask me how I know. 😂

I also found that the white chalk needed quite a bit of pressure to apply the depth I like. It ended up working beautifully, but it did make me wonder whether I’ve been doing things in the wrong order 🤷‍♀️ Next time, I think I might experiment with putting the white down first, then adding the other coloured chalks.

And talking about the chalks… just look at them!
The way they sit on the Zuade surface is just glorious 🙌 There’s a softness and luminosity to them that I really wasn’t expecting. It's like this surface was made for them 🫛

So, despite my little smudges and a bit of elbow grease, I absolutely adore how this has begun. And Day 1 has already given me something to experiment with.... yep, I'm always exploring 😀

#PP30Day1 #Zentangle #ZentangleArt #ZentangleInspiredArt #ChrissieMurphyDesignsStudio

💢 This was one of my favourite #MagnifiedFragments

💢 This was one of my favourite #MagnifiedFragments from the Project when it first began - Fragment A5 with Coffee Stain Map Tangling as an Enhancer. I just love Map Tangling 🤎 and I love a good coffee...

Over in Zentangle Down Under Land this week, we are working on this fragment. There has already been some delicious coffee being splashed over tiles ☕️ making a girl thirsty 😉

I can't wait to see what the rest of the week produces 😃

#ZentangleInspiredArt #Zentangle #ZentangleArt #ChrissieMurphyDesignsStudio

So believe it or not, this started with a gardener

So believe it or not, this started with a gardener on YouTube. 🌿

What caught my attention wasn’t just what he was making for his garden, but how he was making it — and by that, I mean using bits and pieces of things he already had at home.

It got me thinking… Why am I not doing the same thing with my art supplies? 🤔

I've been on this mission of trying and do better with this for quite some time. So I dug out some old tags I’ve had sitting around for years. I found some leftover washi tape and gathered up scraps of collage paper that had been waiting patiently for their moment. 😂

And then I made this.

I must say, its rather satisfying to give old bits and pieces a new life instead of always reaching for something new ✨ it's something I'm going to try to do more of going forward 💪

#ZentangleInspiredArt #Zentangle #ZentangleLovers #ZentangleArt #ChrissieMurphyDesignsStudio

And the very last page in my Project Pack 6 journa

And the very last page in my Project Pack 6 journal is complete 💫 Just in time for Project Pack 30 😀

#ZentangleInspiredArt #Zentangle #ZentangleLovers #ZentangleArt #ChrissieMurphyDesignsStudio

I thought I'd share this tile from a few years ago

I thought I'd share this tile from a few years ago where I was playing around with a pattern called Tissoooh by @tomas_padros. It's not a pattern I have tangled much since then....

It might be time for a revisit hey 💫
Happy Friday friends 🤗💕

#ZentangleInspiredArt #Zentangle #ZentangleLovers #ZentangleArt #ChrissieMurphyDesignsStudio

All that's missing is a Milo 🤎😃 #ZentangleInspire

All that's missing is a Milo 🤎😃

#ZentangleInspiredArt #Zentangle #ZentangleLovers #ZentangleArt #ChrissieMurphyDesignsStudio

💢 Over in the Zentangle Down Under Facebook Group,

💢 Over in the Zentangle Down Under Facebook Group, we've reached #MagnifiedFragments A4, where Aura is the featured enhancer.

This is the tile I created for the project a few years ago. At the time, I added an Aura around most of the fragment, but looking back now, I can see there are so many more creative possibilities to explore.

I'm really looking forward to seeing how everyone interprets this week's prompt! 😀
Happy tangling 👋🖊

#ZentangleInspiredArt #Zentangle #ZentangleArt #ChrissieMurphyDesignsStudio

✨ A little exploration of Flux, a pattern deconstr

✨ A little exploration of Flux, a pattern deconstructed by Zentangle®. Doesn't it look wonderful en masse?

#ZentangleInspiredArt #Zentangle #ZentangleArt #ZentangleLovers #ChrissieMurphyDesignsStudio

✨ Have you ever surprised yourself by enjoying som

✨ Have you ever surprised yourself by enjoying something you thought you wouldn't?

There aren't many pages left in my Project Pack 6 journal now, and this latest one came from a challenge I missed during one of @heidi_froelich Detangle with Heidi classes. Thankfully, Heidi filled me in afterwards 🙏

The challenge was to create a wreath using Zenith by Zentangle® and Zenplosion Folds by Danielle O'Brien CZT 👩‍🎨

I have to say, I don't usually gravitate towards bold, angular patterns on this kind of scale. Yet as this piece slowly came together, something shifted.... Somehow, it just worked 🙌

That's one of the things I'm appreciating most about Heidi's classes. They gently stretch the way I think about pattern and design, encouraging me to try combinations I would never have chosen on my own. Sometimes those unexpected combinations do things I'd never expect 🤯😮🧡

#ChrissieMurphyDesignsStudio #ZentangleInspiredArt #Zentangle #ZentangleArt #ZentangleLovers

💢 Playing around with some Chainlea by Norma Burne

💢 Playing around with some Chainlea by Norma Burnell CZT 🖊🤗 I love how versatile this pattern can be 💫

#ChrissieMurphyDesignsStudio #ZentangleInspiredArt #Zentangle #ZentangleArt #ZentangleLovers

Some letters refuse to sit still. 😄 This Vietname

Some letters refuse to sit still. 😄

This Vietnamese-inspired N certainly had ideas of its own, winding its way through a sea of blues and weaving between plenty of leafy Pokeroot. 💙💚

It was created as a birthday card for someone whose favourite colour is blue and who has a bit of a soft spot for indoor plants 🪴 That was all the excuse I needed to combine all three.

I'm happy to report the birthday girl loved it... 🥳 which is always nice, because once I've handed over a card, I can't exactly ask for it back. 😉💙🌿

#ChrissieMurphyDesignsStudio #ZentangleLovers
#Zentangle
#ZentangleArt
#ZentangleInspiredArt

Well, the kettle's on... and I'm getting ready to

Well, the kettle's on... and I'm getting ready to make a Milo. ☕️

If you've been enjoying the artwork, blog posts and little creative adventures I've been sharing lately, I'd love to invite you a little further into my studio 👭

I've just opened Always Exploring - it's my monthly newsletter where I share new artwork, stories from the studio, creative adventures and the little discoveries that make me smile 😀 Every now and then you'll even get a sneak peek at what I'm working on before it appears anywhere else.

So pull up a chair, bring your favourite cuppa, and save yourself a seat at the studio table. I'd love to have you join me 💕

🌿 You'll find the link in my Linktree.

#AlwaysExploring
#ZentangleInspiredArt
#Zentangle
#ZentangleArt
#ZentangleLovers

💢 My Project Pack 6 journal is getting close to be

💢 My Project Pack 6 journal is getting close to being finished 🤗 On this page I tangled K.G.I. by @aya36_czt36 - such a great pattern 💕

#ChrissieMurphyDesignsStudio #ZentangleInspiredArt #Zentangle #ZentangleArt #ZentangleLovers

A little close-up from a tile where was exploring

A little close-up from a tile where was exploring colour. 🌈
I may have used more colours than usual... I just couldn't bring myself to leave any of them out. 😉🎨

#ChrissieMurphyDesignsStudio #ZentangleInspiredArt #Zentangle #ZentangleArt #ZentangleLovers

Hasn't it been great to see all the tiles tanglers

Hasn't it been great to see all the tiles tanglers over the world have created to celebrate the International Day of Zentangle® 🤩

Living in Far North Queensland 🐊🦋🐸 meant the live event began at midnight, and despite my best efforts, sleep won out and my pillow called! 😴 Thankfully I was able to enjoy the recording the following morning over a decaf and crumpet ☕️

I've shared a little more about the day, what made this year's celebration so special, and why "one stroke at a time" has become about so much more than drawing for me 🙏

If you'd like to read more, you'll find the full blog post on my website. ⏫️ Linktree in my bio

#IDOZ2026 #ZentangleInspiredArt #Zentangle #ZentangleArt #ZentangleLovers

👭 This week the Aussie and New Zealand tanglers in

👭 This week the Aussie and New Zealand tanglers in the Zentangle Down Under Facebook group are working on #MagnifiedFragments A1 using Rounding as an enhancer.

I thought it would be fun to look back at the tile I created for this week of the project all those years ago. 🤗

I really love what Rounding does to a tile. It softens everything so beautifully and seems to bring the whole design together. These days I struggle to leave it out of a tile... I think I'm a little bit addicted to it.
A bit like Milo really. 😉☕️

💢👋 Happy tangling!

#ChrissieMurphyDesignsStudio
#ZentangleArt
#zentangleinspiredart
#zentangle

It's super satisfying when you return to an unfini

It's super satisfying when you return to an unfinished piece and finally give it the attention it deserves 🫂

Over the weekend I joined the monthly @yintangles Meetup hosted by my wonderful friend @yvorein, where we explored a pattern by Easy Art from Facebook.

As part of my mission to work through some of my unfinished projects, I decided it was time to revisit this journal page. It had been sitting with only the border completed for quite some time. Now, with some beautiful tangling added, it finally feels done diddly done 😀

It's always fun to learn alongside other tanglers and spend a few hours chatting away.
Thank you, @Yvorein, for another fantastic class. 💕

#ChrissieMurphyDesignsStudio
#ZentangleLovers
#zentangleinspiredart
#zentangle
#zentangleart

✨️✨️ Lots of drama in this addition to my Project

✨️✨️ Lots of drama in this addition to my Project Pack 6 journal. This pattern is called Stargazr by @gaughanbeth CZT ✨️✨️

#ChrissieMurphyDesignsStudio
#ZentangleLovers
#Zentangle
#ZentangleInspiredArt
#ZentangleArt

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Recent Posts

Mindful Marks Workshop: A Day of Creative Exploration August 17, 2026
Participating in the International Day of Zentangle® 2026 July 21, 2026
Why I Still Tangle Every Day After More Than a Decade June 15, 2026
A World Needing More Beauty and Delight May 13, 2026
Exploring Isometric Grid Art: A Joyful Blend of Geometry and Pattern April 15, 2026

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