Friday, December 17, 2010

Fun! Two-pencil strings!

Now here's a fun idea! 
I used an elastic band to hold two pencils together and drew strings with a double pencil. I found that - with curving, and changing angles - often one or the other pencil would skip, so I'd have to add that bit of the string once I'd finished the main part.

In the two tiles below you can see that I also did the initial border with the double pencil. The double pencil gives a really interesting ribbon effect to work with. The tile on the left has a 'loop' string; at the center is my Lotus Pods tangle. The one on the right uses the familiar 'Z' or 'N' string -  much of it is filled with Tipple - and the center has my Ninja Stars tangle.


Here are a tile and an ATC I did using a two-pencil string. On the tile I used two '8's for the string, overlapping at right angles. It's an interesting string, although it can make the center a bit crowded. You can't see a lot of the ribbon effect of the double pencil, except that there's a lot more string than there might normally be!









On this tile I used the double pencil twice. I drew a two-pencil trefoil string. Then I placed pencil-tip-A where pencil-tip-B was on the first go-'round, and drew the same string again, following the first string's pattern. Clear as mud?

12 comments:

  1. Margaret, what a wonderful effect this duo-pencil string gives. It's so interesting and intricate. I especially like the last one, where you used the double-pencil twice.

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  2. Wow - very creative - the ribbon effect is very eye catching. Thanks for sharing this - will have to give it a try.

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  3. This is really a cool idea! Something new and looks like fun. Thank You.

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  4. What a brilliant idea, Margaret! I've got 'double pencils' - often used for learning new calligraphy alphabets (so you can see the 'skeleton' of the letter forms). I always used to use the rubber band, home made technique. But recently I was passing a sewing store and found these 'Seam Tracer' pencils (http://www.clotilde.com/detail.html?prod_id=2225) which come in two different widths! Yet another fabrics tool that found its way into my art supplies. [smiles] They're pretty easy to find here in Australia. So I hunted down a USA link to include above. [dashes off to try out double pencil strings!]

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  5. Thank you a thousand times! This is the solution to my problems of having not enough space left for my strings – or getting confused with its twists.
    :-*

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  6. Thanks, Margaret! A fun idea, indeed! And fun seeing your examples.

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  7. Thank all, hope you have fun with it too! 'Phine', I'm not sure I understand your problems, but I'm delighted to have been of assistance! Let me know how it goes.

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  8. Excellent idea!

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  9. This takes me back to high school, this is what I would do when I had to write lines.

    I will not talk in class.
    I will not talk in class.
    I will not talk in class.
    I will not talk in class.

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  10. Love. Love. Love! I'm going to go try it this minute!,

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  11. I used the two pencil technique maybe 50 yrs. ago in doodling, but had totally forgotten about it.....Thank you for the blast from the past!!! :)

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