On the third day of Christmas, Bijou sent to me . . .

. . . a trinket for my Christmas tree.

NO MISTAKES
This so very important Bijouism is one we should all consider – especially at this time of year. We seem to have less forgiveness for our own missteps. As simple as it sounds, it can be a difficult thing to master.

It takes practice. So maybe start with a Zentangle tile. A Bijou tile. Only teeny, tiny faux pas (as Bijou might say) to start with. Imagine looking at your Zentangle art, as if it were a child's. Think of only the good parts of it and focus (again with the focus) on those parts.

Guide yourself on a path of discovery, find a way to make it a jewel. Like it or not, this Bijouism will follow you into your daily life. There are no mistakes in life. Oh, we hear the reply, "Of course there are mistakes!" But, until the story is finished, who can say for certain that any event will prove to be a mistake at the story's end? At a minimum it is an opportunity to be more gentle with yourself. Then you have a chance to learn something new, an opportunity to do something unplanned, a way to save the day that perhaps you may not have given yourself a chance to consider.

So, have fun with this. It is a gift . . . from Bijou.


SLOW DOWN
This has to be the "Bijou-i-est" Bijouism, for sure! Bijou is the symbol of "slow down," with the turtle a not-so-close second. This simple and amazing creature gets done whatever it needs to get done in its own time.

So, what does Bijou teach us? Get things done in your own time. We are all tempted to drive, walk, talk a bit faster when we are under pressure. We are bombarded with the speed of life. So, let's start our journey with a Zentangle tile and enjoy all its rewards. Our strokes will be what we want. Maybe we take our time to embellish a tangle before moving on to the next. We may decide to follow a more interesting, challenging (instead of safe) path as we move through our tile, our life. All good things which seem just out of reach when we rush.

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This "trinket" was created by Julie. With a pencil, she traced the outline of a Bijou tile on a 3.5" tile, drew a larger border around that tracing, and tangled within that frame. After she finished tangling, she cut two slits on opposite sides of the original Bijou tracing and inserted the Bijouism. Once both tiles were done, she double side taped the two together back to back and punched two holes in the top corners and topped it all off with a very lovely ribbon. So simple and a very lovely trinket for any time of year!

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And the winning commenters from Day 2 are:

• Mary Tod 
• Roseanne V. Sabol 
• Ginny Styles 

Congrats!

Please send your snail mail address to Zentangle [at] gmail [dot] com and we will send along some treats!

With all the best from,

Rick, Maria, Molly, Bijou . . . and Julie!