"It's a String Thing" #26 Tiles

Instructions for today's blog - 

     *Take a break from your busy day and read it when you have time to relax.

     *Grab a cup of tea or coffee.

     *Put your feet up

     *Proceed carefully so no detail is overlooked

Is all that really necessary?  

No, but there is just so much here to enjoy that you'll wish you did.  And besides, at the very least, you now have a smile on your face as you begin.  Gotcha!

The string used this week was heart-shaped and submissions were to include tanglers favorite patterns, the ones they loved to draw.

CZT Cheryl Rotnem said this was "so much fun to create."

She added a little color to finish it off.  Sand Swirl is lovely tucked in with Crescent Moon, isn't it?

Vicky Brison dubbed "It's a String Thing" #26 the LOVE IT challenge - great name!  And look what she did with it -

She said that the string was "most amazing" and she was so pleased with how her tile turned out, that she is using the image on gifts for Valentine's Day.  That's some wonderful love to spread, for sure - it's stunning.

Cathy Cusson said she loved the string, but was not as pleased with her version.  I'm pleased she sent it along.  It is a wonderful tile - very nautical.

She said that Betweed is one of her favorite tangles - she loves it.  It looks so nice wrapped around the circular string line.

Peggy Kohrmann is a new tangler and a friend of Sue Agnew and therefore a friend of ours :)

She chose tangles that began with the letters L-O-V-E:  Lotsadots, Onamato, Veezley (her own heart variation), and Echoism.  That was a wonderful idea and a great way to learn new patterns.

What a lovely, lovely tile.  Hat's off to you, Peggy!  

Jenna Wheatman said that her challenge this week came from having to choose which tangles to use - her favorites constantly change the more she learns.  (I think we can all relate!)

She did however, say that she thinks she may "have fallen in love with Aquafleur" and it shows - this is just breathtaking:

Jenna also sent this gorgeous tile:

Thank you, Jenna!

Cheryl Anne Day-Swallow said that this challenge was fun and her enjoyment shows:

The doves are a sweet touch and the Hollibaugh nest is very clever!

Marie-Therese Dubois said that she likes Aquafleur very much and has used it a lot in her work lately -

Oh! The red Aquafluer is stunning and the Knightsbridge back drop lends a gorgeous contrast.  

CZT Sue Jacobs' tile is a treat for several reasons.  Most notably, it is bordered with her new tangle pattern Ditto. You can find the step-out for it here on her blog.  As her "mac and cheese" she also used Bales.

Sue echoed the string line in her border - a creative touch - and added such a lovely shade of pink.

Annemarie said that she "really liked this one and enjoyed working on it."

She also added, "Accompanied with lovely music, I made it yesterday evening."  

Thank you Annemarie for that wonderful thought and a gentle reminder. Lovely music is very much a part of the experience and ceremony of the Zetangle® method.

Sue Agnew said that her absolute favorite tangle pattern is Bucky (used in the center of her heart shape).  She said, "I think because it's impossible to think about anything else while drawing it, which makes it really absorbing."

With a description as inviting as that, I think many more of us will be using Bucky in our work. She adds, "The heart is outlined in Fricle and Inapod, it's filled with Bucky, the upper right is Cubine, lower right is Dex, lower left is Flukes, and just a little bit of Footlites in the upper left."

 It's just beautiful.

Now, here is a love story for you - Robin Grosland has been teaching her husband, Bill, the basics of Zentangle and they both have really enjoyed the process.  She writes:

Since this week's challenge was somewhat Valentine's in nature, I decided to invite him -- my valentine -- to participate with me. We worked separately so we didn't influence each other's work, but we were still working on something together. We were both very excited to show each other our work. This might become a regular thing for us.

One of my favorite patterns is Widgets. I decided to add a heart-shaped one, in honor of Valentine's Day. I also added touches of green and blue (my favorite color and his). It's kind of like this tile is a blend of both of us -- very Valentine-y.

"This is my husband, Bill's, first tile. He's very proud of himself. I'm proud of him, too."

What a great story and beautiful work to show for it!

Joan Delony sent this along - 

Joan chose wispy, detailed tangles while leaving airy spaces for them to breathe - it's stunning.

Ingrid Coventon said she added a "little colour" to her entry-  

It is a lovely mix of patterns and color.  One of the patterns she chose was my new tangle LG (view the step-out here) - and with red hearts!   It's a really pretty tile. 

Brenda Urbanik said, "What a fun string!" She had a "wonderful time with some really nice tangle patterns!"

Yes, this looks like fun! The brown Micron adds a lovely touch of color and her choice of patterns makes the string line less dominant - wonderful!

Annie Taylor wrote:

 "Oh I DID enjoy this one! I used some of the tangles I love (no room to use all the ones I love) and it includes old favourites Mooka, Tipple, Onomato, Florz and Heartstrings (plus that 'leafy' one whose name I never remember...) and some newer ones like Aquafleur, a single Fasset triangle and Ditto."

She also has it posted here on her blog.  The red Mooka heart is a perfect accent!

Annie closed her note with - "Great fun! LOVED it."  It is so very elegant.

Charlotte Carpentier said that as a new tangler, she doesn't "really have any specific favorites yet."  She used the ones she learned in class and wanted to try again because she "enjoyed them!"

Charlotte darkened in the spaces of N'Zepple and created a pleasingly bold look to the pattern.  Her shading is fabulous and it lends a beautiful compliment to the pink accents.  How very pretty!  

Anna Houston sent this happy tile - 

The way her tangle patterns 'move' along her string line and reach and flow is inspiring.  Anna gave Bales an entirely different look when she added the darkened spaces - great idea!

Sherry Siercks sent in this picture.  It was out of focus, but I wanted to be sure to include it.  

She wove a nice selection of tangles together here and made them very colorful.

CZT Sindy P joined in the challenge this week - yay!

This heart is full of energy - and pretty patterns, too.  Swirls, swooshes, and shading all add up to a Valentine-y masterpiece. 

Once Audrie Weisenfelder got started with this string, she couldn't stop she said.  She first tangled this tile -

 And soon had five more completed - all with some variation of the first but with added color (s).

She left the choice up to me - and it was a difficult one, but I selected the two above.  The first because it shows her initial tile and the second because it captured her eye for adding color.

She has them posted here on her blog if you want to stop by and see them :)

Celeste Hickey - another first time participant (hooray!) - was excited to finish one for the challenge.

It is exciting to see it!  What a great tile.  She used Sue Jacob's new Ditto -(that makes three, Sue!) - along the string line and the red background is just gorgeous.

Amy Curtis described the string line as a "sweet heart string" and so it is, especially on her tile - 

She added her favorite tangles and the result is beautiful.  You can also see it posted here on her blog.

Sharyn's tile is captivating.  

Here is her explanation of how she created this fascinating tangleation -

My favorite tangle right now is a combination of Well & Mooka...I added rounding and shading then highlighted with a white Sakura gelly roll. The final design reminds me of lima bean sprouts.

(On a side note:  Sharyn might just have a new tangle pattern here.  It almost has a feel to it - like lima bean sprouts, as she said.   I am reminded more of seeds in water - the way fresh pumpkin seeds look when rinsed.   Couldn't you just reach into that tile and feel them?)

Aren't you glad you followed my advice at the beginning of the post?!  Can you even believe all of the loveliness here in these works of art?

Many thanks to the talented tanglers who sent in their works of heART!

I have a little something coming to each of you via email to show my appreciation.

Have a wonderful Valentine week and do check back tomorrow for "It's a String Thing"#27!