Jenny Hopkins from Australia wrote, "Tuesday may be our 'good news day' but the fun lasts all week."
A very happy sentiment - and a very true one, especially this week.
There are over seventy tiles here to devour, admire, learn from, and be inspired by. It may just take the better part of this week to take them all in.
If you are reading from the northeastern United States, our hearts go out to you as you weather the blizzard. Here's hoping you are safe and cozy and still tangling.
Let's take a look~
The first tile arrived from Juul in France ~
Sooo sorry but with this tangle paradox I'm not able to stop until the tile is completely filled up !!! (as usual haha)
I like hypnotic allso but that one will have to wait for another tile.....
I find paradox really magic. You just start and cannot understand what you did afterwards. But the result is allways "spectacular"
Tangled Tidbits -
*gorgeous Paradox monotangle
From Joanne Faherty (United Kingdom) ~
Love this one know both patterns already just a quick look up of hypnotic to remind myself, and away I go. Very zenned out wasn't thinking of anything while drawing this. Had fun doing variations of hypnotic. I now wish I had balanced out the black and white hypnotic more, but that's what happens when there is no plan :)
Tangled Tidbits -
*striped sparkled lines repeat in both tangles
From Henrike Bratz (Germany) ~
just sat down this afternoon tangled straight away.
You wrote, the string begged for simplicity. Sorry, but I did it in a different way. This seems to be a theme of my life at the moment – not to act as expected. The first thing I did was to ignore the straight lines and put paradox in a circle. Everything else followed this tiny revolution. I hope you like my tile anyway.
Tangled Tidbits -
*very complicated, beautifully executed spiraled Paradox
From Bhamathi Pai (India) and
here on her blog ~
I am so happy to be back!! I loved doing Hypnotic with your tips for tangling! Its the first time I am doing it. I think its such a simple fun-to-do tangle. I definitely will be using it again.
Tangled Tidbits -
*two pretty variations of Paradox
From smgg (Taiwan) ~
Have a nice day!
Tangled Tidbits -
*four lovely variations of Hypnotic
From Jenny Hopkins (Australia) ~
Thanks as always for a wonderful challenge. I really enjoyed this one. I think my zentangle reminds me of a box of chocolates. Help yourself!
Tangled Tidbits -
*Hypnotic filled spaces of Paradox
And a few days later this note arrived from Jenny ~
I wouldn't normally send a second tile but it was so much fun, I decided to have another go at this challenge. This one seems to have come to life - whirling and twirling and swirling around. The different ways of drawing Paradox make it appear to be a different tangle altogether. It is a fun tangle to experiment with.
Thanks again. Tuesday may be our "good news day" but the fun lasts all week.
Tangled Tidbits -
*string sections filled with large, striped Hypnotic
From Stephanie Jennifer, CZT (Singapore) and
here on her blog ~
Thank you for hosting this challenge. This is the second time I've submitted to your challenge. I hope to make it a habit. :)
This week's string was lots of fun. There are many possibilities to use it. I chose to just use Paradox.
Tangled Tidbits -
*pretty Paradox monotangle - alternating white on gray and black on white
From Ilse Lukken (The Netherlands) and
here on her blog ~
Tangled Tidbits -
*straight lines of Paradox seem to curve with the arcs of Hypnotic - fabulous shading
From Sidney Kapinos (Virginia) ~
My entry for this week's (#128) challenge is attached. I opted to only use Paradox this time. Paradox was initially very difficult for me, but with practice it has become one of my favorites.
Tangled Tidbits -
*matching Paradox swirls in each string section
A very warm welcome to Leigh (Alabama) ~
This is my first time submitting. I’ve always intended to participate in these challenges just never got around to it in time. I really loved this challenge. My tile this week celebrates oneof the fundamental elements of Zentangle…there are no mistakes. Fear of mistakes or less than satisfactory results sometimes paralyzes me. I generally don’t use my Zentangle tiles even though I love working on them because they are expensive and I’m afraid of messing them up. So this challenge was two-fold for me. I would do the challenge on my “good” tiles and go where it led me. Well half way through I realized I didn’t like where this was going at all! Having the two tangles side by side the way I was doing it was way too busy for my tastes. I really like boldlines and separation so I spontaneously just decided to black some sections out. I really like the result and the reminder of what Zentangle is all about.
Tangled Tidbits -
*a wonderful reminder of the tangling experience - with beautiful results
From Tina Kirchhübel (Germany) and
here on her blog ~
This week's string reminds me of a windmill or a pinwheel. And like a windmill the two patterns you choose also have a lot of movement. I had a lot of fun with the challenge. Thank you!
Tangled Tidbits -
*swirls of Paradox seem to propel the Hypnotic pinwheel - great shading and sparkle, too.
From Jennifer Sparrow (North Carolina) ~
I loved this string--and your choice of tangles! As you mentioned, it begs for simplicity, which is often just right up my alley!!! I've posted it on my blog.
Tangled Tidbits -
*grid lines of Hypnotic follow off the tile
From The Creative Miss L (Australia) and
here on her blog ~
This week’s challenge was so much fun. I love drawing Paradox but haven’t used it for ages. Hypnotic is new to me but one I will use again. These two Tangles bounced off each other and opened lots of possibilities. Hypnotic reminds me of Beelight and Flux. I’ll play around with these later to see if they work together.
Here’s my favourite of the tiles I created for this week’s challenge.
Tangled Tidbits -
*Paradox triangles appear to float over the beautiful Hypnotic background
From Cheryl Stocks (Arizona) ~
Probably too predictable, but I unleashed some of the Hypnotic circles.
Papermate pen and a number 2 pencil, primary tools if there ever were.
From the Big White Tent in Scottsdale Arizona!
Thanks for the challenge, Adele!
Tangled Tidbits -
*Hypnotic free from its grid
A very warm welcome to Sandy Kelley-Jones (Texas) ~
Hi, this is my first submission!
Tangled Tidbits -
*wonderful contrasts - straight, larger spaced lines of Paradox and tighter, circles lines of Hypnotic
From Silvia Kunz (Switzerland) ~
Dear Adele, thank you very much for "It's a String Thing". I enjoy it every week. I like to do it and also to watch all the beautiful tiles from the other participants.
This time a had a lot of fun with Paradox and did several tiles. Here are to of them.
Tangled Tidbits -
*boldly striped Paradox
Tangled Tidbits -
*random grid squares of Hypnotic - gorgeous Renaissance tile
From Ragged Ray (United Kingdom) ~
One of the things I love about Zentangle is the way that you can revisit a tangle again and again and learn something new about it, some way to work with it, tweak it, all based on your use of other tangles and processes.
So it goes with both Paradox and Hypnotic for me. I've used them both at various times over the last couple of years and each time I see some new way to work with them. This time I did pairs of lines on Paradox and then darkened them. And I gave Hypnotic my 'bulging ends' treatment that I favour for Moving Day. And I love the result. I kept a record of the tile as it grew which I thought I'd share with you too.
Tangled Tidbits -
*sterling Hypnotic, large and small, thick and thin, tucked into Paradox
Thank you, Jem - that is a fabulous learning tool for all of us.
From Susan (United Kingdom) ~
Thanks for the challenge. Paradox is one of my favourite tangles. I love how the individual shapes join to make fans and twists. I included a circular one, some squares and many triangles, and they all merge so you can’t tell where one ends and the next starts. There is also a tiny Hypnotic!
Tangled Tidbits -
*great variety of Paradox shapes - and nice play on words!
From Talia Maynard (United Kingdom) ~
Here's my attempt at this weekend string.
Talia Maynard ~
*repeated triangles - even for Hypnotic
From Lily Moon (Hungary) ~
Dear Adele, here is my entry for your weekly challenge. ZenHug:
Tangled Tidbits -
*Hypnotic centered Paradox - wonderfully weighted and sparkled lines
A very warm welcome to Katrina Handson ~
I really like your zentangle blog I've been doing zentangle for about a month. Thanks for the challenges I've played with a couple of them :) paradox in this challenge was a great choice!
Tangled Tidbits -
*pretty tangles accented by soft, smooth shading
From Anita A Westin (Sweden) ~
Here comes my entry! I liked the string very much, so I´ll try it more!
Tangled Tidbits -
*Hypnotic dots repeat in, and soften, Paradox
From Michele Wynne (California) ~
This was the perfect challenge to try out my new set of traditional calligraphy pens. This started off as a practice piece and I was really liking the way it was looking and feeling especially the variation of line weight I was getting while drawing Hypnotic. I watered down the ink to get some grey tones. I was nearly derailed by the big drip but decided that it was all part of the new experience I wrote about it my blog.
Thank you for another wonderful challenge!
Tangled Tidbits -
*two sizes of Hypnotic complete the monotangle
From Linda (Pennsylvania) ~
I had fun with this. I just wasn't sure what Paradox was "supposed"
to look like, so in the end, just gave up and had fun. Happily waiting
for our first big snow...
Tangled Tidbits -
*the tangles are meant to look the way you draw them - the fun shines through!
From Toby (Illinois) ~
I really had fun with this one-I love playing with Paradox. I did one, and then while I was drawing Hypnotic, I kept thinking of the backs of Tarot cards, and I just had to do a second one :)
Tangled Tidbits -
*thicker outlines and aura define spaces for the pretty patterns
From midori, CZT (Florida) ~
while feeling a surge of anxiety, i was able to calm my nerve and to enjoy a moment of reassurance, rendering this week's tile. sipping my hot mint tea and taking my time, i really enjoyed stroking 'paradox' and appreciate its beauty. now, i am hoping that more 'hypnotic' will induce self-doubt to just melt away...
Tangled Tidbits -
*alternating light lined and dark striped triangular Hypnotic surrounded by heavenly Paradox swirls
From Hilary Merola (Italy) ~
If I were keeping a diary, my entry for yesterday would be that I learned how to do Paradox! I've tried it before with dismal results but your advice made all the difference. I kept repeating your mantra of point, space, point, space. The hints from Margaret Bremner were so helpful too, especially about keeping the lines close together.
Thanks so much for these great challenges and learning opportunities.
Tangled Tidbits -
*masterful Paradox border - congratulations on learning the tangle so well. I am happy to know that the Tips helped.
From Trish O'Leary, CZT (Florida) ~
Left some open space and added Knightsbridge which I kind of like!
Tangled Tidbits -
*striking string lines of Knightsbridge
From Karin (Germany) ~
this was a very cool challenge. I really like those symmetrical and straight patterns.
First I wanted to make a monotangle using only Paradox but I didn´t know Hypnotic yet and I just was too curious…
Thank you very much and greetings from Germany!
Tangled Tidbits -
*two variations of Hypnotic - awesome idea to use multiple dots before adding aura
From CZT Judy Wanner (from snowed in Pennsylvania)~
Tangled Tidbits -
*added angled aura lines - love the movement they give
From Lin H. (Florida) ~
I love the patterns Paradox and Hypnotic together and they filled the string perfectly for me. I had the weather channel on TV while working on the tile and while I've been nervous about Winter Storm Jonas hitting the mid-Atlantic states where a lot of our family and friends reside, tangling helped me relax through it all.
Tangled Tidbits -
*equally spaced lines for both tangles, softly shaded
From Ingrid (The Netherlands) ~
It was very relaxing to do this tile and I am so pleased with how it turned out.
With lots, and lots of love and have a blessed week.
Tangled Tidbits -
*Hypnotic center for an elegant Paradox
From Kate (United Kingdom) ~
My contribution to challenge 128 - I really enjoyed this one. Paradox
lent itself so well to the string, but I had to think harder to decide
where I could fit Hypnotic!
Tangled Tidbits -
*Hypnotic filled Paradox, detailed shading
From Sally (Massachusetts) ~
What fun to have a pattern unfold in unexpected ways. I am not an artist and have no training but when working with a pattern like paradox that creates curves from straight lines it is exciting. Thank you Zentangle and thank you, Adele, for choosing the strings and patterns that make it possible for someone like me to have so much enjoyment.
Tangled Tidbits -
*Paradox builds from the center outward Sally, you are an artist - look what you created :)
From Susan Theron (South Africa) and
here on her blog ~
I've really enjoyed this tangle.
Tangled Tidbits -
*pretty swirls of Paradox repeat in the same direction in the four sections
From Cathy Cusson ~
I love this string and the two tangles you chose! Awesome job, Adele! Even though I love hypnotic, I decided to limit it a bit by putting it inside paradox. I like the effect.
Tangled Tidbits -
*great effect, especially the elongated points
From Linda Bladen (United Kingdom) ~
When is it too late to say Happy New Year? Not too late I've decided, as we're still in January and this is my first entry of the year
I love tangles with lots of straight lines, find them very therapeutic. I always enjoyed math at school and they remind me of geometry.
At last this week I've managed to do a tangle in time for the Saturday deadline, in fact I managed 2!!
Tangled Tidbits -
*large Hypnotic sans grid
Tangled Tidbits -
*sparkled, striped Hypnotic - love the roundness in a triangular space
From Jane Glotzer (Colorado) ~
Hope this finds you well...and, I guess the name of the game for this week's challenge is LINES, LINES, LINES...
I did decide to start out with a circle to balance all the straight lines in the string...
Began with Paradox in the "flag" section of the pinwheel...kept them all going in the same clockwise direction...then added Hypnotic in the larger triangles, having divided them into a wonky grid of 6 spaces...Considered leaving the last spaces blank, but decided to Paradox them too, (counterclockwise) and I ended up with those cool "fans." I kept wanting to add something to all the lines...maybe some solid black around some of the circles, or even some red, some hatching lines, or even all three! But in the end, I left it alone, not wanting to "ruin" it, and knowing when to say when! :) Ahh, symmetry...I do love it!!
Crazy weather in a lot of the country today, but probably not where you are--:)
Not here, either--nearly 60 degrees! Enjoy your weekend and thanks for all you do every week.
Tangled Tidbits -
*wonderful thought process for us to follow - and resulting zendala!
From Cath G, CZT (New Jersey) ~
Hope you are warm and dry in Florida. Here in New Jersey, we are in the middle of a major snow storm. So, I had no excuse not to tangle!
Tangled Tidbits -
*Hypnotic takes center stage and Paradox supports beautifully
From Jean Beckstrom (Alabama) ~
Tangled Tidbits -
*single grid lines of Hypnotic flow from Paradox
A very warm welcome to Mary (Illinois) ~
First off let me say I love your tangles and the fabulous way you create your step outs!!!!
I am a beginner and so far self taught. This challenge was very educational and fun. Learning how the placement of the tangles creates a whole other shape inspired me to add notes to this effect in my step out books. And, as I'm almost finished shading, I realize I could have added rounding to paradox. Could have started over but I missed last week's deadline and wasn't going to miss this one. Live and learn :)
Thank you for your generous time inspiring us all
Tangled Tidbits -
*Hypnotic bubbles through Paradox
Welcome to the world of tangling, Mary!
From Becky Welty (North Carolina) ~
Tangled Tidbits -
*Paradox swirls from a center point, shading adds to the look of overlapping
From Lisa Preston (Georgia) ~
What a great challenge! The tangles complemented the string so well. I had a zenderful time completing my tile. I love Paradox, and Hypnotic is definitely a new favorite. What a cool effect.
Many thanks for all your ongoing hard work!
Tangled Tidbits -
*curved, random grids for Hypnotic make the tangle shine
That's a new word, "zenderful"!
A very warm welcome to Caroline (Bristol, England) ~
Tangled Tidbits -
*Hypnotic string lines with pretty pops of Paradox
From Lucy Banta, CZT (New Jersey) and
here on her blog ~
I guess it's safe to assume you are not getting hit by the blizzard of 2016! Here's my tile for the week, which was fun to draw while snowed in up here in NJ.
Tangled Tidbits -
*center burst of Paradox - Hypnotic cleverly popping through
From Sharyn Penna ~
I love Paradox ... so many options and possibilities. Hypnotic tucked in between the shells, and shading put me in a happy dimension.
With all the crazy weather this weekend I send warm thoughts to all. Cheers
Tangled Tidbits -
*lines of Paradox center and border flow together - brilliant!
From Marla Mendenhall (California) ~
My first husband - a creative genius in both fine and commercial art - once told me the easiest way to draw a straight line (or in my case at least straighter line) is to site ahead of your pen point where you want your line to go, ie the end point, and your hand will follow your eye. I use the technique with drawing circles too, in fact. Works for me, anyway, and I worked it a lot this week. But boy I sure had fun!
Paradox is one of my all-time go-to faves anyway - I've spent days working it in every geometric shape imaginable - and playing with different forms of Hypnotic just tickled me all to heck. Some days I did one tile as I enjoyed my coffee, some days I did more when the inspiration struck. And the string, while initially seeming to be a simple pin-wheel design, yielded all manner of variations. Hubby, my biggest fan, insisted I send them all to you - sheesh - but I chose three that seemed the least dissimilar to one another. (I won't tell him if you don't!)
Tangled Tidbits -
*elegant swirls of both tangles
*elongated aura for Hypnotic
*Hypnotic and Paradox mimic each other, yet retain their character, stunning!
From Deepti Jois (India) ~
I was very hesitant to send you this tile as I was unhappy with what I did. But then, I realized that I have to accept what emerges and make the best of it.
Tangled Tidbits -
*various sizes for each of the tangles - along with a great attitude :)
From Felicity Strohfeldt (South Africa) ~
Now to the weekly challenge. Thank you Adele for a fascinating challenge this week. I’ve avoided Paradox, as I found it difficult when I first started on my Zentangle journey. Now
your challenge has made me look at the pattern with a more intuitive eye this time, and low and behold after studying your tips and Maria’s great tutorial, the penny’s dropped
and I feel much more confident using Paradox at last. String 128 by Nancy Smith is brilliant and Hypnotic by Elena Hadzijaneva was hypnotizing. This all came together and I was inspired
to do two versions of the challenge.
Thank you for all your hard work and encouragement each week.
Have a peaceful week.
Tangled Tidbits -
*fanned Paradox center
*Hypnotic tipped lines of Paradox - so very clever
From Kirsten Bish (Michigan) ~
Enclosed please find my newest Tangle...
I had a lot of fun with this challenge, as you can see.
PARADOX is one of my absolute favorite tangles. In this challenge I also fell in love with HYPNOTIC.
My 'little friends' are reminiscent of one of my heroes, and his creations. Jim Henson.
Thank you for this wonderful challenge,
Tangled Tidbits -
*depth created with shading of Paradox and multiple fine aura lines of Hypnotic
A very warm welcome to Charlene Petersen (Florida) ~
Hope this worked. First time I have submitted a tangle. My friend, Lin, introduced me to zentangling, and I am hooked. I enjoyed using the 2 tangles together. Look forward to more of your challenges.
Tangled Tidbits -
*wonderfully random collection of the tangles in the string sections
A very warm welcome to Dorrit Tompkins (Florida) ~
My first submit! I really enjoy the challenges; they make me try new tangles and I love to see all the other submitted tangles thank you
From: Dorrit living in Punta Gorda Florida, the west coast of Florida🌴🌴🌴
Tangled Tidbits -
*shading provides a layered look to the tangles
From Elspeth (Wyoming) ~
I may be too late, but I haven't even completed one in awhile! This
one was pretty simple, didn't get too creative :)
Tangled Tidbits -
*a bit of darkened space and tips of lines adds greater depth to Paradox
From Rhonda Koplin (Georgia) ~
Once I decided to do the tiles with a goal to convert to coloring pages, I rethink the lines. I was about to add tangles within the larger Hypnotic tangles, yet realized it would be too detailed to color. I am now hooked on Paradox!
Tangled Tidbits -
*varied line spacing for Hypnotic - great look.
From Tonilyn and
here on her blog ~
Here is my adaption of this week's string challenge, Hope you all like it :)
Tangled Tidbits -
*Hypnotic in diamond and triangular sections that fold beautifully into Paradox
And now...the tile for honors this week
was sent in by...
Simone Menzel of Germany
(and
here on her blog)
Simone wrote ~
this week`s IAST challenge was a great pleasure for me.
Paradox is one of my absolute favourites... I love to play with it.
And the string is just perfect for this pattern.
The other tangle - Hypnotic - is really fun as well.
Thank you, Adele, for this beautiful challenge! I wish you a nice week and I am looking forward to see all the other tiles next tuesday.
Tangled Tidbits -
*the tangles shine on the Renaissance tile, with white highlights, and black and brown ink
*the four middle string lines are bright white
*Hypnotic grid fills Paradox
*white charcoal highlights, squared off edges, and pencil shading make Paradox fans glow.
Congratulations, Simone. I have a little something coming in the mail for you.
It is such a gift to learn from each other in this creative community.
Many thanks to the talented tanglers who sent in their tiles this week.
Thank you to the creative minds behind the string and tangles we so enjoyed ~
TanglePatterns String 129 by Nancy Smith
Hypnotic by Elena Hadzijaneva
Paradox by Rick Roberts, Zentangle® co-founder
Check back tomorrow afternoon for "It's a String Thing" #129!
