"It's A String Thing" #67 Tiles

It is the week of Thanksgiving here in the States, but for this week's challenge, we have all taken a pause not only to tangle, but to ponder our many blessings.   The string line resembled a mobius triangle allowing the option to write in each space.  We used the patterns Crescent Moon and Cornerz.

The tiles are as beautiful as the sentiments that accompanied them.  Let's take a look ~


This tile is mine.  The first three three things that came to mind are dotted with red hearts for the greatest of gifts - love.  I added three more words that kept popping into my thoughts.  It is very fitting that tangles surround them all because I am so very grateful for Zentangle® and all of you!

I must admit that it took me quite some time to get acquainted with Cornerz.  Our first meeting did not go smoothly but time and practice helped and now I do like it very much.


From Cheryl Stocks ~

Th[is] linky ... should get to my challenge response this week. The toughest part of it was drawing out the string. I let my sleeping brain figure out what to do with it last night and this is what I got!
Thank YOU for all the work you do for the likes of all us tangly people.
Have a brilliant day!

Cheryl did a very brilliant thing here - she used Cornerz and created letters that stand for her blessings.  That is brilliant and clever as is the reference to all of us as "tangly people" ☺

Lori Byerly said ~

I so enjoyed this week's challenge. It's always a good time to be grateful for the people and things in our life. :)
You can also see my tile here 

Cornerz's lines run parallel to the string line and make a deep diamond grid.  Having struggled myself with how detailed to make this pattern, I appreciate Lori's sweet, simple, and shaded version.  When that is paired with the dark Crescent Moon the result is very dramatic.

Kirsten Bish presents her "Serengeti Sunrise ~

While I love Cresent Moon, Corners was new to me. And when I started with it, it was hard to stop. When I finally did, I played around worth a couple ideas on what to do next. I decided that to decorate the half circles would just make them too busy. So, I shaded the instead., not really knowing how it would turn out. But I got to work... And what should happen? I end up with something like an animal print. A happy surprise indeed. Then I got to thinking, ya know those Cresent moon shapes look kinda lime bamboo. Thus, the title.

The thoughts of a tangler as they create are priceless - as is the result.  Cornerz is beautifully drawn with darker lines and shading.  This is a very happy tile.

CZT Sue Jacobs said ~

This was a fun challenge. Since there were only two tangles I had fun by trying out as many tangleations as I could come up with for Crescent Moon. I'll have to put this in my notebook to show students when we talk about tangleations in class! [You can view this here on] my blog .

Not one of Sue's Crescent Moons is the same - fifteen variations.  That is a wealth of information for all of us to use with many thanks to Sue.  A simple, well shaded Cornerz pops from the center and the surrounding white spaces highlight Sue's tangles.


Sandra Shon wrote ~

Thank you again for a wonderful challenge! The idea of your challenge this time is really great, because we all know that we often take things as a matter of course (is this correct in english??? I hope you know what I mean!?) and we should really be more greatful for so many things in our life...
So here is my Zentangle for this week :-) I posted it to my blog as well.

Sandra included three variations of Cornerz, added a rich red, created yellow banners for her wording over them, and a striking black and white Crescent Moon.

Eloquence from Ragged Ray ~

Thanks for the latest challenge - it was a fun one, getting me to think as well as draw!
The three words I chose because each in themselves are important to me, and coincidentally taken together they form a neat little sentiment too. I'm grateful for QUIET both inside me and outside me. I love peace, just gentle sounds of birdsong and wind-shifted leaves. I'm grateful for TIME - time to pursue the things that bring me pleasure, and time as a concept. Either the man-made kind - divided into equal portions - minutes, hours, days, years. Or the natural kind defined by the sun and moon and turning of our planet. And I'm grateful for the concept of TOGETHER - either together in myself, whole and intact in mind and body and soul, and together with precious people, those close to me or those far away bought near by shared pleasures (like right now with this Challenge!).
As for the tangling itself - I shrunk the string a bit so that all the corners of the triangle fitted in. And then I popped little quarter circles of Crescent Moon into the Cornerz grid. A bit of colour and there you have it!

She makes it sound so simple :)   Actually it is - it is simply elegant.
Shrinking the triangle a bit shading it just so make it appear to float over the sea of Crescent Moon infused Cornerz.  

Annemarie said this was a "very pleasant challenge" and she has it posted here on her blog as well.

She colored her paper with a spray of blue and then tangled.  Crescent Moon is aura-ed and then finished with Tipple - that is terrific.

A very warm welcome to brand new CZT Laura Emler who is joining in for the first time.  She said that she practiced on two previous tiles before sending in this one ~

She said that it took that long to see "Cornerz develop" - and she really did get it to flow.  Notice how she added Crescent Moon inside of the grid.  Laura also posted it here on her blog.  

Carmela said ~

Thanks for this wunderful challenge.
String 70 is lovely. I made variations from Crescent Moon, but i found Cornerz at some way difficult.
I dont know if i made it right and here i tried also to make different varaiations.
I tangled with zen
On my blog. 

She tangled 'with zen' and she created beautiful variations of both patterns.  That is a wonderful accomplishment.

Kathryn White managed to tangle while attending her "175th Annual Diocesan Convention where hundreds of Episcopalians from around Chicagoland gather for two days of worship, study, celebration, and deliberations on the business of the church."

It sounds wonderful and wonderfully busy and very impressive to have tangled while there.  Kathryn created some very pretty tangleations of Crescent Moon.  She also posted her tile here on her blog.


Felicity Strohfeldt wrote ~

It’s been a hectic week. End of the year functions are queuing up to be attended (South African tradition). Wonder if you have the same in the States. Anyway just finished my tile, feel it’s bit shaky, but I did enjoy crescent moon and cornerz (new to me). Great focus too, considering one’s blessings...

Felicity covered her background with a grid of Cornerz and her triangle with wonderful variations of Crescent Moon,  She finished it all with lovely shading.

(Yes, we do have many functions for the end of the year here :)

Portia Hyde, who said that she is not used to hand lettering and could have fooled me.  She filled the lovely letters in with tipple and made them pop out by adding a lighter version of the tangles to the triangle.  That is such a fabulous idea.  She wrote, "Did first about husband and children. A bit cluttered. Did second on Family, Love, Life and had some more fun...."

Check out Crescent Moon in her tile above - wonderful!  Look more closely and you can see the letters of her words in those Crescent Moons.  That is so very clever.

Ingrid Coventon said ~

What a good opportunity to realise my blessings. In the daily rush of life most of us( of course me too) take the good things for granted. But that is not. The good things are worth it to be realised every day. With trial and error I do my best to be a grateful/ happier person. Grateful people who care about people,and animals in a sustainable healthy environment for all living creatures can save the world for our grandchildren and their next generations.
My tile is what it shows. Crescent Moon already was familiar to me, but Cornerz was new to me. I had fun with it. In advance you do not know how the pattern is to look when you finish it. Nice.

The first thing that strikes me about Ingrid's tile is the beautiful balance of light and dark.  Then there is the billowy Crescent Moon she created with her subtle shading.    Add those to her thoughtful sentiments and you have a wonderful piece!

Susan Theron wrote ~

Here is my entry for this challenge. Cornerz is a tangle that I will have to practice more. The names is my tangle is of my family: Husband and 2 very spoiled and beloved dogs.

So much fun in one tile!  Notice how Susan tangled Crescent Moon around the name Ruben and then aur-ed outward.  It makes the name float up and off the page doesn't it?  She playfully added the tangle around the border in various directions - very sweet.

A  very warm welcome to Kay Owen for her first entry ~

Kay created a fun tile here.  Notice how her aura line around Crescent Moon, since they are spaced apart, has a longer line connecting the upcurve?  She also blended the two tangles together in very ingenious ways.

Jane Glotzer said ~

What a wonderful challenge this week...always a good thing to take a moment and be grateful!!

I am very lucky!...so many more than three things popped into my head for which to be thankful--my incredible husband, children, family and friends; the amazing natural beauty of the place where I live; our warm, comfortable home; inspiring beautiful music, dance and art in the world! and my passion for creating...so when I couldn't really narrow it down to three words, I decided to go with this 3 word phrase that sums it up...life is good!

I started with Crescent Moon in the center...who doesn't love that one? I didn't think I really had the hang of Cornerz at all when I started with the "Life" section, or that I liked it very much, but as I moved onto the "is" section and finally, the "GOOD" section, it became really fun and one of those quite addictive patterns--:) Did a very quick shading with Crescent Moon and around the "ribbon" and for the overlapping parts...probably could have done a bit more with Cornerz as far as the shading goes, but it was getting kind of late, and I wanted to get my submission in to you!

The energy and gratitude that Jane tangled this with is evident when observed.  The feelings are contagious and the tangles are terrific!

From Lucy Banta, CZT ~

Three large and lovely variations of Crescent Moon surround her gifts and frame the Cornerz center.

You just have to love that pickles is one of her blessings!

Sue Agnew thoughtfully submitted this note and tile ~

Thank you so much for this. It was a nice way to spend a little time putting things into perspective. "Choices" was my first word ... trying to express the fact that we are really very fortunate in many ways ... even though we may be frustrated by certain life situations (who isn't), we really do have a lot of choices in our lives compared to many (like we can choose WHAT to eat, versus wondering if we WILL eat). So then I went with "creativity" to express both art (including Zentangle!) and music, the things I do that are my outlets. The third idea I wanted to express was family and friends, relationships, so I admit I googled "synonym" to find another "C" word, which turned out to be "companions." Including people I have never met, such as you and the rest of the "gang" on Ticked to Tangle.
Since you called it Zentangle-inspired art, I wanted something really pretty and flowery, so I experimented with Heartvine and Scrawlz, and then found one called Vigne, which I could use as a VERY modified form of Cornerz.

Freedom, artistic expression, and companions on the journey - comforting thoughts and so much to be grateful for.

Sue's use of Vigne as a fancy Cornerz is very creative - and her signature sparkle in Crescent Moon and its auras is glorious.

Sharyn Penna sent this gorgeous tile and sweet reflection~

Family is the center of all that I'm thankful for. We guide, comfort and inspire our kids, and as they've grown I've found they guide, comfort and inspire me. The circle of life.
I used black Sakura glaze for the words in the surround.
I think the surround words also apply to your blog ... So thankful for your prompts and thoughtful posts, and for all the lessons found in each tile shared on Mondays. Happy Thanksgiving week to all! 

Notice how Sharyn wrote the word "family" in the center of the triangle.  Then she created a sea - I should say sky - of Crescent Moon.  It is just magnificent to study and imagine where she began and how she managed such a feat.  

I appreciate the heartwarming sentiments.

CZT Joan Delony wrote about the process in creating her tile ~

As I sat down to draw this weeks challenge, I automatically wrote the first 3 thoughts of gratitude in the string. I drew the tile and it just didn't "speak to me". After a couple more similar tiles, I stopped and took time to think about what I was extremely grateful for at this time in my life.
Of course, I am very grateful for my family, friends, health, and home; but I wake up every day thankful that I have opportunities to create, accessibility to materials, and the means to follow through. Read more about it on my blog.  

So much to take in - and admire - yet my favorite thing is what Joan called her post about this tile - 

"Gratitude on a String".  Read more on her sea-inspired blog. (link above)

Janice Johnson said, "This is my entry for this week's challenge. It is difficult to choose just three things to be grateful for. I chose my daughter, health and life for the purposes of this challenge."

It is very difficult to narrow the focus of your appreciation to just three things, but Janice did it so well.  Notice how she lettered each one in a different style.  She added terrific tangles and a bit of color, too.

Cat Trask wrote ~

Thank you for this weeks challenge. It was yet one more reason to reflect on this past year and think about all the things that I have to be thankful for. My gratitude list is far too long to incorporate into a tangle, but as I was working on this tile I had the pleasure of thinking of so many other blessings. Please know that YOU and this weekly challenges are among the things I am thankful for.

Cat and everyone reading this post must know that I am thankful for you as well - how much fuller and wonderfully creative life is with you all!

Cat's bold letters float on her pretty patterns and the surrounding white space makes them both stand out.

Annie Buckley exclaimed ~

What fun! I had to learn both Cornerz and Crescent Moon, and enjoyed playing around with both. I'm not sure what that is in the middle; it just sort of grew there. Maybe it's something I learned a while back, and now have no name for. Alas, my Cornerz looks nothing like Didier's, but it's really interesting to play with, and I look forward to trying more variations of it in the future.

The tangle in the middle is Rick's Paradox and Annie tangled it beautifully.  She layered Crescent Moon and the aura lines are mesmerizing.


Lily Moon sent this celebration of a tile ~

She included delightful details that include the grid lines of Cornerz breaking away, spirals and dots to decorate Crescent Moon, and gorgeous accent on her red lettered words.  

It can also be found here on her blog. 

Peggy Kohrmann reflected ~

Thanksgiving is almost upon us and I want to wish you a very Happy Thanksgiving. I appreciated your challenge because as a child we would make a big calendar and every day add something we were grateful for. So first thing I did was choose the three things I am most grateful for during this part of my life.

Took awhile to find my wide calligraphy pen but I was excited to write on my tile. I used variations of Crescent Moon and Onamoto and a bit of Cornerz in the corner!!

What a wonderful childhood memory that is - and something we can all practice.  

The calligraphy looks bold and beautiful against her daintier tangles.  Peggy's shading and position of Crescent Moon make the triangle pop.  

Ilse Lukken sent in these sunny thoughts ~

... This week was much more busy than I had thought, so now was just the right timing to sit down, close my eyes and think about the things I'm grateful for.
Sun maybe is an unexpected word, but it represents two things to me: I'm always more happy when the sun is shining, and I'm grateful for my sunny character, which gives me strength in hard times.
I put this tangle on my blog as well.

That is truly a gift - a sunny disposition and a humble heart to appreciate it.

Ilse shaded Crescent Moon and it emphasizes the white spaces that frame her thoughtful words.  

From Elena Müller ~

Notice how Elena wrapped the lines of Cornerz around the border of her string line.  That is a wonderful detail as is her shading.

And now, the tile for honors this week was sent in by 

Annie Taylor of Spain!

Of her work, she wrote ~

Now please don't think me shallow or without gratitude for all things I treasure...but you did say close your eyes and think of the first three things. And here on my tile are those things that just popped into my head!
Chocolate - because it always makes me feel good; Sunshine - because it's such a joy to live in a sunny place, like Andalucia. And Scrabble - because I keep in contact with my mum and my sister in the UK on a daily, competitive and fun basis by playing games online with them and I do think it keep my wits just a little bit sharper.
Not being in or from the USA, Thanksgiving isn't a usual festival for us but I wish every one of my US friends a wonderful Thanksgiving this year. And thank you for an unusual and interesting String Thing this week, Adele. I enjoyed the process very much indeed.

Annie had me at "chocolate" and then she followed it up with even sweeter thoughts and remembrances.  Her tangles are lovely, especially the lace like edge of Crescent Moon.  She added depth with shading and highlights with white.

Congratulations, Annie.  I will be sending you a little something in the mail.

From the bottom of my grateful heart, thank you to everyone who sent in their precious artwork and sentiments this week.

Many thanks to the creative minds behind our string and tangles ~

TanglePatterns String 070 and Cornerz by Didier Gervy and
Crescent Moon by Rick Roberts and Maria Thomas

Check back Tuesday afternoon for "It's a String Thing" #68!

If you learned something from a particular tile, or want to share an observation of your own, please leave a comment below.  We learn from each other.