"It's a String Thing" #76 Tiles

Now, this was a challenge.  We used a straight lined string, two free form and one grid based pattern and I must say it yielded spectacular results.
May I add too, that Sue Agnew coined a new Zentangle® term.  It is guaranteed to bring a smile to your face, so do read on...

The first tile arrived from Terri Young who wrote ~

I had loads of fun with String Challenge #76 using Trumpits, Oolo and Fjord. These challenges are really pushing me out of my comfort zone by using tangles I wouldn't normally try. Tangle on, my friend, Tangle On!

Tangled Tidbits -

*sparkled tangleations of Fjord

*Fjord in a grid and free of a grid

*Fjord in one, two, three, and four 'petal' versions - a tangle study in itself!

Carmela said ~

Thanks for this challenge I like the contrast between the straight lines of the string and the round curves from the patterns.
I tried to make several variations of Fjord and Oolo.
It was pretty en zen to make this challenge. My blog 

Tangled Tidbits -

*wonderful aura and shading

*a bold dark Fjord against a lighter lined one

*can't you just feel the 'zen' Carmela mentioned :)

Heidi said ~

The string resembled skyscrapers so I went with the dimensional look by using the same tangles for the 3 sides of each building. The trumpits were swirled around the surrounding spaces. It was fun using tanglelations for the "monotangle" buildings.

Tangled Tidbits -
*terrific tangleations of Fjord and Oolo 
*Trumpits on straight and sharply angled lines
*a wonderful sense of depth


Juul wrote, "Sooo much fun with this tile!"  Fun and fancy abound, for sure!

Tangled Tidbits - 

*bold black spaces that showcase the tangles

*string lines adorned with Oolo and Trumpits - each beautifully enhanced and aura-ed

*a very clever combination of Oolo and Trumpits

Joya said ~

It was difficult to me to tangle with these organic patterns in such a straight String. I was not really satisfied with the result, so I added some Trumpits on the outside of the fame and shaded much more as I usually would do. It's not my favourite one, but I like Fjord and will use it again I think :-)

Tangle Tidbits - 

*single Fjords atop the string line blocks

*delicate Oolos

*Trumpits is a wonderful border pattern after all!

Vicky Brison wrote, "I like this string it looks like sky scrapers ...which of course brought out the idea of Graffiti!"  Now, that is a wonderful connection to make.

Tangled Tidbits - 

*Oolo bending over the edge of the string line

*Trumpits tangled with patterns

*a fabulously looped Fjord




Cathy Cusson said ~

While they may be in my notebook, I haven't tried any of these tangles. So this was a brand new "adventure" for me. I decided I really like all three - but I think perhaps fjord is my favorite...  

Tangled Tidbits - 

*a very delicate Oolo

*Fjord featuring bold black negative spaces and two toned shading

CZT Kath Gregitis said, "I wasn't sure I'd send this one, but then I looked at it again later. It is a little "minimalist" for me."  Kath brings up a good tip.  In addition to holding the tile at arms length from time to time, it may also help to take a break and look at your tile a while later.

Tangled Tidbits - 

*Oolo with an added square

*string lines of Trumpits

Claudia aka Beewatch from Switzerland returns!  She wrote ~

It’s been a while since I participated in one of your challenges. It`s always quite a challenge to get strings and the asked patterns into something harmonic.
Sometimes it’s easier and sometimes not. This time it was somehow very difficult to get this erratic string together with the delicate patterns. But I’m quite happy what I produced.
So thank you very much for your challenging tasks.
PS. You can see the tile on my blog 

Tangled Tidbits -

*Trumpits flowing from atop the string block, spilling down over the sides and dangling Fjords from its ends

*gradations in shading

*dainty dots on Trumpits

Beverly said.""I couldn't decide I like blk/wht and wht/blk and Pa. weather is so bad plenty of time for Zentangle."

I'm afraid the Pennsylvania weather is getting worse as I type.  Stay warm up there and keep tangling!

Tangled Tidbits -

* open and airy tangles

*Oolo loops along the string lines

Susan Theron wrote, "I've enjoyed practicing the patterns and it took a long time deciding where I want to use them..."

Tangled Tidbits - 

*Oolo with darkened loops

*shading around Oolo

*wonderful contrast of black and white with Fjord


HeidiSue said -

Here is my entry for this week. It was interesting, fitting those particular patterns into that particular string! In the end, i think the tile looks like an abandoned city, becoming overgrown with plant life.
Oh! I also love oolo. It is a new favorite!
I posted on my blog

Tangled Tidbits - 

*dotted Trumpits 

*glimpses of Oolo peeking through

A very warm welcome to Ann Kobberholm from Denmark.  She wrote ~

This is my first submission to your challenge. So be gentle!
All three tangles we're new to me. But that's exactly why I like these challenges - I get to learn new tangles.
I really like the swirlyness of trumpits and the flowery character of Oolo.
Thanks for keeping me inspired!
My blog...

Ann's blog post that features this tile also includes an apple pie recipe - yum!

Tangled Tidbits - 

*delicate tangles

*wonderful white space and a shaded border

*Oolo Trumpits - a fabulous idea!

Magdalene Lee said ~

Thanks for this week's challenge. When I sat down to work on this, my shoulder was aching and my lines turned out all wonky, so I decided to thicken some of them. I ended up having fun playing around with line weights... I have put it up on my blog.

Tangled Tidbits - 

*the grid for Fjord carries through two sections of the string up and onto a third.

*the Fjord squares appear to bend over the string line

*perfs and Trumpits in Fjord

Janice L Johnson sent in this pretty tile ~

Tangled Tidbits - 

*dotted aura of Trumpits

*the alternating black and white of Oolo in Fjord

*weighted lines of Oolo

Dr. Neha Sanwalka said ~

This was a tough one. The tangles looked like a garden to me which can be tangled in a curvaceous string and so I found the string 84 to be very very difficult to tangle in. I tried tangling 3-4 times but not completely satisfied with the outcome. But as they say in Zentangle, that nothing is wrong, I am sharing 2 of the complete tiles I did with you & my blog .

Though difficult it was not impossible as Dr. Neha reminds us with her lovely work ~

Tangled Tidbits ~

*multiple variations of Fjord

*delicate vines of Trumpits and loops of Oolo

Natasja Rijsbergen (the Netherlands) wrote, "I loved this week string and tangles. It made me happy to tangle this. I'm satisfied with the outcome of my zentangle."

And what a very happy outcome it is ~

Tangled Tidbits -

*swirls of Trumpits

*two dramatic versions of Fjord

*Oolo with dark loops and pretty aura


Felicity Strohfelt said ~

Here we go Oompah-pah, Rattatetat, Blarr-blarr! Seventy-six trombones marching along. String 76. A formidable challenge at that. As you see the trombone melody stuck in my head too. Here is my hopefully melodious take on the String thing 76. Trumpits abound, great tangle. Fjord brought a stable look and Oolo was so easy to fragmentise and use as elements, some exaggerated and some peeping shyly. I enjoyed the result with this intriguing tile hope you think so too. All the best. (alles wat mooi is) Afrikaans translation!!

Oh!  I can hear the music all the way across the sea :) and yes, the tile is fabulous!

Tangled Tidbits - 

*trails of Trumpits

*Oolo - as Felicity noted - in exaggerated and subtle forms

*a pleasing balance of light and dark

Suzanne Moshier wrote ~

String 084 is a rather odd string with perspective from rising squares. I really like Trumpit[s]..looks like a great accent pattern. It would also make a great kite tail. I'll have to try Fjord on a larger drawing to really get the feel of it.
My blog

Tangled Tidbits - 

*Suzy's wonderful description of the string containing 'rising squares'

*Trumpits along the string lines

From Ingrid Coventon ~

A lot of thinking in advance - which is not very zentangle - I know, but I had not the faintest idea how to draw this tile. And I learned my lesson again: stop thinking and just start! And then to my own surprise: amazingly fast this tile arose. A light-hearted and playful tile in which the stringline disappeared completely. (The fear of fear is always greater than the fear itself).
Oh how I love zentangle; it is such a mild way of self-awereness.

Ingrid makes a marvelous observation about the method of Zentangle - such a marvelous metaphor for life...

Tangled Tidbits ~

*wispy Trupits that flower Oolo

*a grid free Fjord in alternating black and white

K Bish 's note describes the fun she had with this challenge ~

Enclosed please find my newest Tangle,"Spring Forward".
I had a lot of fun with this challenge. I guess I'm a little wistful for Spring. There is just too much snow on the ground here in MI. TRUMPITS is a very pretty little tangle. After reading the description of FJORD, I understood it better, it is a very bold and graphic design. OLOO, I just had fun with, my brain for a little carried away!

Tangled Tidbits - 

*Trumpits with curls

*little critters peeking from her patterns :)

Michele Wynne said ~

Boy! This string really vexed me with it's linear confines. I'm always trying to break out of the box and once again I was truly challenged. I did enjoy these patterns, none of which I've used before.

Tangled Tidbits -

*gorgeous detail in all three tangles

*Trumpits cascading over Fjord

*shading that adds great dimension

Heike, with "Regards from Germany", said ~

here's my contribution to your challenge for this week.
After a busy week it was fun for ​​me to draw this tile, especially because two of the patterns - Oolo and Fjord - were new to me.

Tangled Tidbits - 

*swirls of Trumpits

*alternating versions of Oolo

*three sides and variations of Fjord

Sue Agnew wins the day for the most clever of notes.  She entertainingly writes ~

I took a LOT of liberties with the tangles, and the string, this week. Perhaps better to call it ZIA than Zentangle ... or better yet, ZIGO (Zentangle-inspired goofing off).
I've had a fun week singing not only "76 Trombones" but ALL the songs from Music Man. That, plus the string being a series of planes, made me want to do a marching band (only 6 trombones, sorry, you'll have to imagine 70 more). I used one element from Trumpits and a couple of very teeny elements from Oolo, the shape I used to make the people and the shape I used to make the snare drums (yes those are snare drums, even though they look like toilets).

Thank you for the hearty laugh, Sue.  I needed that today - as I am sure many readers appreciate your lightheartedness as well!

We just may have to coin a new term in Zentangle - ZIGO - giving all of the credit to you, Sue. 

Thank you for the wonderful marching band (one of my favorite things).

Tangled Tidbits - 

*imagination, imagination, imagination!

*elements of Trumpits and Oolo marching along the string line


Ilse Lukken wrote ~

That was quite a challenge to me... I found it hard to combine these patterns in this string, so I'm very curious to see what other people did!
You can find my tile on my blog as well.

Tangled Tidbits -

*repeating patterns in different sections of the string

*bold black and white Fjord

*wonderful white space

Christina Luis said these challenges are getting her out of her "comfort zone." ~

Tangled Tidbits - 

*shading along the base lines of Trumpits

*a fabulous twist on Fjord

Traci wrote ~

Another that took me waaaaaaaay out of my comfort zone! Thank you for that!! None of these were tangles that I have used before and the string actually caused a bit of panic. LOL But it finished itself once I was in the Zen Zone.

Tangled Tidbits -
*one sided Trumpits along the string line
*gorgeous contrasts

Sharyn Penna sent her pretty tile.  It looks like Fjord should be very happy to have met her ~

Tangled Tidbits - 

*striking versions of Fjord

*wonderful shading

*grids of Trumpits

Portia Hyde said that she, "enjoyed all three tangles."  And I see they enjoyed her company as well...

Tangled Tidbits - 

*superb shading

*Fjord filled with other tangles

*large and small Oolo

From Lily Moon - and also here on her blog  (be sure to visit it!)~

Tangled Tidbits - 

*striped and sparkled Fjord

*aura and perfs in Fjord

*intertwined Trumpits

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

Lori Byerly!

Lori wrote ~

I don't know why, but this challenge seemed a bit different than most (perhaps the string was more angular, less swirly). At any rate, It was a fun challenge with a couple of new-to-me tangle patterns. Thanks for all your hard work.
You can see my tile here also. 

Tangled Tidbits -
*simple and elegant tangles
*details in shading
*differing line weight in Fjord

Congratulations Lori!  I will send a little something in the mail to commemorate the day.

Many thanks to everyone who sent in a tile for the rest of us to learn from and be inspired by, and admire.
Thank you to the creative minds behind the string and tangles used this week -

TanglePatterns String 084 by Didier Girvy
Trumpits by Theresa Glover
Oolo by CZT Amelie Liao
Fjord by CZT Diana von Kaenel 

Stop back Tuesday afternoon for "It's a String Thing" #77!