"It's a String Thing" #75 Tiles

For the milestone 75th consecutive week of "It's a String Thing" adventures, we used TanglePatterns String 075 by Maria Thomas and a few of my favorite tangles of hers.

My comments about the tiles will be written just a bit differently.  Instead of writing paragraphs, I will bullet point highlights and observations about each one.
Just for fun, I'll call them Tangled Tidbits.
This will allow me to finish in time to post today and still keep up with my family's hectic schedule :)

The first tile arrived from South Africa.  Susan Theron said, "I really enjoyed this challenge and I decided not to use poke leaf/root,"

Tangled Tidbits
* 'V' shaped detail lines on Bales
* weighted lines define the string

From CZT Kath Gregitis who wrote, "These challenges are so inspiring!"

Tangled Tidbits
*Ennies perfs spilling over to the background of Poke Leaf 
*wonderful variation of Bales with the entire pattern base darkened

Sandra said ~

I liked the string and picked out the patterns Echoism, Ennies and Poke Root for my tile :-) I didn't know Ennies before and when I saw it I just had the idea to use big drops for the "string-circles" :-)
I loved to tangle this tile and it helped to bring a little bit sun in my day (in germany it's very rough and rainy these days...), though there are raindrops on it ;-)
I show the tile in my blog too. 

Tangle Tidbits
*sensational shading and use of white space
*lovely variation in the sizes of Ennie's perfs

Jenna Wheatman returns ~

Here is this weeks entry. Loved the string and tangles, I did not try to combine tangles together on this one like I usually try to do, I found the tangles wanted to stand out on their own.

Tangle Tidbits
*marvelous movement in Echoism
*sparkle in Bales
*dark orbs of Ennies


Ilse Llukken wrote ~

Wow, 75 'It's a String Thing' challenges! Congratulations, Adele! Thank you for the time and energy you put into our zentangle fun.
This week's patterns are all quite busy, so I decided to leave some white space in the tile.
The result is nicer than I expected and I'm happy to have met Egoism ;-).

Tangled Tidbits
*acknowledging the fun (I just had to include that :)
*arcs of Poke Leaf and Poke Root
*complimentary dark spaces in Bales and Poke Leaf and Poke Root


Lori Byerly said ~

Here's my tile for this week's challenge. (on her blog)
It was fun to work with a collection of pieces created by one person ~ Maria Thomas.

Tangle Tidbits
*elegant use of large versions of the tangles
*thickness added to the curve and lower edge of Ennies
*just a dabble of perfs to accent her Ennies

From Heike~

Tangle Tidbits ~
*Echoism edges
*Bales changing from light to dark as it passes through the string lines

A very warm welcome to Terri Young.  She wrote, "Here is my link for the string thing 75"

Tangle Tidbits
*Bales with arua, dots, and detail lines
*dark spaces, shading, and curves along the 'stems' of Poke Root

*wonderful shading adds great dimension



Henrike Bratz writes this week from a 'not so rainy' Germany ~

Normally I don’t give my tiles any names, but last week it was “invitation” and this week it’s “embrace”. Last week I didn’t know any of the patterns, this week I knew them all.....
So, every tile is a different and unique experience. This we already knew!

Tangle Tidbits
*two delightfully dark loops
*striking Echosim tangleations
*Ennies morphing into Poke Root

Carmela described her process with this tile ~

Thanks for the great string and challenging patterns to fill in.
I tangled with a real thin pen, so I did’nt saw all the different patterns.
I took a thicker pen and began again above some leafs, but I was not pleased with the result, so I used a little color.
[on] My Blog.  

Tangle Tidbits
*Poke Leaf along the string line
*aura-ed and shaded centers of Bales
*compliments for pushing passed reservations and finding creative opportunities


Vicky Brison returned this week.  She wrote~

I liked the tangles chosen for this challenge and because of the detailed spaces on the string didn't want to overwhelm the piece with all the tangles...so I tried to combine a couple.(echoism in the pokeroot) didn't want any one to feel "left out" lol.
It is still pretty busy but I like it.... good to be back!

Tangled Tidbits

*a lovely large background of Bales aura-ed in in alternating color

*Echoism in Poke Root - how fun is that?!

Ragged Ray returns after "a few weeks away from the tangling table." ~

 I've missed it. But here I am again, eager to pick up my pen and pencil and see where they lead me!
And here was my first stop. A tile for your challenge. Like you I love Bales and it was the last tangle I used on my last tile of last year so seemed apt to start there again! Ennies is a funny tangle - it seems to lead the way and I can only follow. Not sure I've got to the heart of it yet. And Echoism tends to have me speed up and lose control of the loops. But together they do alright. I wasn't sure about that big dark section in the middle but felt the tile needed it - and I think it works. This feels like a warm-up tile - but it feels good to be warm as our temperatures start dropping!

Tangled Tidbits
*a daring and delightful dark center section
*Ennies 'drops' that change directions
*a touch of black in the loops of Echoism
*a sweet and simple Bales


Heidi wrote ~

... I am still working on the balance of light and dark and of small vs. large scale. This tangle ended up coming out looking like a nest with two eggs in it. I really liked using Bales as a border for something different...

Tangled Tidbits
*a circular Bales
*a dark surround to the center, followed by the dark middles of Bales
*the combination pulls the eye outward to the lovely Ennies corners


Fomr Juul~

Tangled Tidbits ~
*bold and black outer sections lend way to the light and center
*wispy curls added to Poke Leaf
*sparkled Ennies



A very warm welcome to Heidi.  She wrote, "...it WAS a challenge, that's for sure! still wanting to create something using all of the patterns."

Tangled Tidbits
*stipple, shading, and darkened corners
*doubled lines of the string's loops
*Ennies intermingled with its center ( I love that!)

Beverly said that she is enjoying all of the new patterns~

Tangled Tidbits
*perfs along the string line
*Bales broken from its grid - a very pretty butterfly effect

Cathy Cusson said, "I hope you are having a wonderful day! I love using pokeleaf! This is always so much fun."

Tangle Tidbits
*Poke Leaf on a string of Bales (so very clever!)

*curved and shaded Echoism 
* fabulous use of a Tangle-a-Day calendar :)


Dr. Neha Sanwalka said~

Thank you so much for It's a String Thing #75 & for the great tangelations of bales. I had fun using the bale tangelations...It's one more post to my blog all thanks to you: 

Tangled Tidbits
*terrific tangleations of Bales
*Poke Leaf and Poke Root blending together


CZT Brenda Urbanik is back too!  She wrote ~

Wishing you all the very best for 2015! And a big thank you for continuing with this challenge offering, I just find it a great way to kick start a tile and it's always so motivating to see where other artists go with the suggested string and tangles.
I loved the string you chose, even though I ignored it when I got to the centre! I also have to say that I seem to have given my Poke Root some German Measles! A few too many dots, perhaps a slight loss of concentration! Nevertheless, I loved my time focusing on this tile.

Tangled Tidbits
*Echoism in Ennies - an excellent idea
*a double aura in Ennies with a beautiful dark space
*Aura in Bales
*dotted Poke Root :)



Gillie Rhodes said ~

What lovely tangles you chose! ..all new to me and liked them all, although poke leaf won over poke root!
As you know I am fairly new to tangling and think this is the first time I have been been able to just 'let go' and not over think where the patterns should go and enjoyed it so much more going with the flow!

Tangled Tidbits
*kudos for experiencing the 'zen' in tangling !
*a full and flowing tile of tangles
*complimentary dark and light Poke Leaf


Magdalene Lee said ~

Here's my tile for this challenge. I've been trying to learn the original Zentangle patterns, so it was a delight to see five of them on your list this week! I enjoyed Ennies a lot, and I like how Bales and Echoism have so much room for variation.
I've posted my tile on my blog here too.

Tangled Tidbits
*Bales along the string loop - fascinating!
*a picture window of Bales with enlarged perfs of Ennies showing through
*Echoism loops with alternating black and white spaces


Annemarie wrote ~

Congratulations with you 75th String Thing; quite something. You have done a lot of work to achieve this so it's time for me to say: THANK YOU SO MUCH!!!!
(on her blog)

Tangled Tidbits
*Poke Leaf flowing from Poke Root
*thick line of aura around Ennies
*a very pretty scalloped aura of Bales 


CZT Laura Emler wrote ~-

This was a really fun adventure. I worked in my sketchbook (See
abbeycrosslane.wordpress.com) and then on a tile. Sure can see more
variations. Congratulations on 75 challenges! I love creating with these
challenges and learn so much!

Tangled Tidbits
*'stemless' Poke Leaf
*glorious shading


From CZT Judy Wanner~

Tangled Tidbits
*bits of Bales, sparkled and shaded
*perfs on Poke Leaf
*Terrific tangleation of Bales


From Ingrid Coventon ~

O, and it has become a very busy tile.
It looks more like a picture puzzle.
But I had fun drawing all the given tangle patterns. Played a little with the ennies and turned them into little fishes. Had a little problem with the shading this time. I hope the shading does the tile justice.

Tangled Tidbits
*Ennies as little fishies - priceless
*elegant Echoism
*darkened areas around Poke Leaf and Root 


Portia Hyde wrote simply, "Oh my goodness! Those little guys are everywhere!"

Tangled Tidbits
*Ennies "everywhere" - gotta love the flow!

*beautiful Bales
*sensational shading


From Joya ~

Tangled Tidbits
*wonderful variation of Ennies
*Poke Root and Poke Leaf in the center loops
*Ennies corners


Traci said ~

And here it is ...
This one took awhile. I 'played' with several and scrapped them; they just wouldn't flow. None of these are tangles I use frequently, except Printemps, so you forced me out of my comfort zone with this challenge. Thanks for that! I needed this challenge. Keep 'em coming!

Tangled Tidbits
*Printemps in Ennies is so very pretty
*Echoism along the string line complete with the tiniest of detail
*a spectacular variation of Bales


Jane Glotzer said ~

I kept my Bales pretty simple and used a lot of one of my all time favorites, Pokeleaf. Without any Echoism or Ennies, my piece for this week turned into a cool duotangle study in graphic black and white (with a touch of gray shading)...no lines or dots...just the solid black and white (well I guess there's a teensy line in Bales...) I love (one of the many things) how Zentangle allows me to explore negative space in both black and white...the dark backgrounds around shapes, but also the white ghost space that appears when I don't use a piece of the string or leave a shape untangled...so cool!

Tangled Tidbits
*ditto to all of Jane's observations above :)
*the shaded diagonal in the center of each Bales grid


Natasja Rijsbergen (the Netherlands) said she drew "something to relax a bit." ~

Tangled Tidbits
*pretty Poke Leaf tangled loops
*dark Ennies in opposing corners
*elegant shading


Kathryn White sent a link to her blog - It's a String Thing # 75 and said, "...enjoyed this tile, especially when I popped open the water colors."

Tangled Tidbits
*silvery shades of gray and pops of blue
*middle waves of Echoism share arua - wonderful detail!
*Bales follows the curve of the string line

Audrie Weisenfelder said ~

Wow, where does the time go? Here we are at challenge #75.Congratulations!
... it was a fun one to do, once I got going on it. The string itself was fun, too, although it doesn't really show up in the finished tile.
It's on my blog.

Tangled Tidbits
*large and lovely Poke Leaf
*darkened and shaded sections of Echoism

From Cat Trask ~

Tangled Tidbits
*pretty string line of Poke Leaf - shaded just so
*Ennies with both Bales and Echoism in its center - wonderfully done

Janice L Johnson wrote, "...My big Pokeroot did not quite turn out how I wanted but I am pleased with the overall look of my tile."

Tangled Tidbits
*a single band of Bales with a single aura
*aura-ed Ennies
*a bit of black in the center of Ennies

From Christina Luis ~

Tangled Tidbits
*Bales in a beautiful tangleation
*the perfs of Ennies echo in the background of Poke Root


From Sue Agnew~

I don't know what happened this week. I really like Ennies ... it's one of the ones I would call "pretty" tangles because you can make the outline shapes look like they're made of pearl, and the interior circles fit so nicely ... and pokeroot and pokeleaf are pretty and floral (when I visited my friend in San Francisco last fall I saw a plant growing like a weed that I thought had purple flowers but when she said it was pokeberry I could see they were clumps of surprisingly small berries that looked like pokeroot) ... and Bales is so nicely geometric and lends itself to 3-D effects ... but all of a sudden this weird snaggle-toothed face appeared (is that a toupe or a plaid hat?). The mouth is technically not pokeroot but "bumper," but I allowed myself to use it because it is also an "official" tangle and because it looks a lot like pokeroot.

Tangled Tidbits
*sparkle and great lines on Ennies
*Bales happily arua-ed
*'hats off' for letting the tangles direct you!


Sharyn Penna wrote ~

Congrats on 75 String Thing challenges!
The tangles you chose this week are full of connections. When I look at my completed tile I'm reminded of hand-holding and hugs. So comforting. 

Tangled Tidbits
*the light and weighted lines of Echosim
*an Ennies outline with both Poke Leaf and Poke Root in its center

Lily Moon said, "Congratulation on 75th challenge :)
Here's my ( a little crowded ) tile:"

Tangled Tidbits
*Echoism radiating out and up
*striped loops of Echoism
*such a beautiful Bales complete with sparkle
*the perfect balance of light, dark, grey, brown

Felicity sent greetings from South Africa~

When It’s a String Thing challenge popped up on my screen, my immediate impression was, movement and swirl. Poke Root/Poke Leaf and Bales are tangles I’ve used before, Ennies and Echoism are new and I did a practice- run with them. I decided Echoism can wait for another day.
When I started on my tile, I concentrated on the two balloon shapes. I thoroughly enjoy versatile Poke Leaf, so I’ve swirled it around in the one balloon and did a bouquet of it in the other. The droplet shape on the border of Ennies complements Poke Leaf, so this tangle pattern worked well as a bubbling background and Bales as a backdrop, to all this movement, just seems to steady all the action a bit. Thank you for your tips on Bales.

Thank you for an enjoyable, challenging challenge. Hope you and all the tanglers have a peaceful and fruitful 3rd week of 2015!

Tangled Tidbits
*the layered stems of Poke Root
*cross hatched and sparkled Bales
*Ennies and Poke Leaf morphed together


A very warm welcome to Suzy Mosh.  She has just begun a new weekly challenge on her blog "That's New to Me!"  When you check out this tile one her site (Here’s my URL for #75) be sure to read about it as well.

Tangled Tidbits
*Poke Leaf corners with just a dot of black
*colorful tangles
*deep shading

Annie Taylor wrote ~

...I would have like this to have been a more imaginative tile, which it's not - but I know for certain that there are going to be some amazing entries this week which I can't wait to see!

Tangled Tidbits
*soft and sensational shading
*wonderful white space of the string loops
*variation of line width in Echoism

Peggy Kohrmann said ~

How fun to know all but one of the tangles this week. I used Echoism the very first week I sent in a tile last February. It is a favorite but I haven't used it recently. Both of the Pokes seemed to look best as a larger tangle and with black and aura, I'm very pleased.

Tangled Tidbits
*feeling pleased with ones work - that is a huge part of tangling
*large and lovely loops of 'both of the Pokes"
*shading that makes Bales rise from the paper

And this is my contribution ~

Tangling Tidbits
*Bales in the center of Ennies
*Echoism with alternating white and dark loops



And now, the tile for honors this week was sent in by
Michele Wynne!
Michele wrote ~
Well this one was definitely a challenge for me trying to get all four patterns to fit nicely into this string. After a couple of rejects I feel pretty satisfied with how this turned out. I love how these challenges motivate me to persevere and boot me out of my comfort zone.
I learn so much with each challenge as I gone into a little more detail here on my blog.

Tangled Tidbits
*Ennies bursting into Poke Leaf
*dark surrounds in the center of Ennies
*Echoism curved, tapered, and aura-ed
*Bales with flower-like petals

Congratulations, Michele.  I have a little some thing coming in the mail for you.

Many thanks to our record setting crowd for sending in these amazing tiles.
Special thanks to Maria Thomas for our string line and tangles used this week.

Check back Tuesday afternoon for "It's a String Thing" #76!