"It's a String Thing" #162 Tiles

Marla Mendenhall begins her note this week by saying, "There's got to be a law against having this much fun!" That sentiment echoes through my mind every Monday when I sit down to write this post.

We had a Hollibaugh fest this week - tangles by Molly Hollibaugh, CZT and a string in her honor.
The diversity of the results is once again a remarkable thing to behold.

There are two tiles this week photographed on Tickled to Tangle frames, see if you can spot them.

Let's take a look ~


The first tile arrived from Lori Byerly (Washington State) and here on her blog ~

Another great challenge. Thanks so much for all you do in creating the challenges and putting together a gallery of tiles each week. I learn so much from seeing how each person interprets the string and patterns.

 Tangled Tidbits -
*bold black and white Ing
*shading along Hollibaugh edges as well as the overlaps creates an even greater illusion of dimension


From Trudi (Woodview, Ontario, Canada) ~

Greetings Adele. Well you picked some nice Tangles this time I knew two of them so I only had to look up bubbles. I was going to do a preliminary drawing to see which Tangles worked where best. I ended up liking the first one so much I just kept doing it.
Thanks again for your hard work in doing this for us.

 Tangled Tidbits -
*field of curvy Hollibaugh flow from doubled string lines
*red Ing along the curved string line


From Jonesy (St. Louis, Missouri) ~

Tangled Tidbits -
*large Bubbles with blackened spaces around them
*Hallibaugh filled Ing complete with rounded corners



From Lily Moon (Hungary) and may also be viewed here ~

here is my response for your weekly challenge. Great string and the choice of tangles are perfect. Thank you! :)

 Tangled Tidbits -
*shading and highlights along with aura add tremendous depth to the tangles
*Bubbles pops into both Hollibaugh and Ing


A very warm welcome to Nadine Roller, CZT (Cologne, Germany) and here on her blog ~
With the help of a friend and a small clipboard, Nadine discovered a way to tangle while caring for her newborn baby.  She writes:

My daughter is 6 weeks old and i spend a lot of time sitting with here
nursing - i missed tangling sooooOOOOO MUCH and i really
felt bad just watching at my work desk without tangling.
A friend of mine had a great idea.... :
Now, i have a little clipboard always at my side...
Maybe this is a handy hint for other nursing mothers or people, that
can use only one side.
I always wanted to take part at your nice challenge and now it is the time:
jipiijipihhhjeahhhh. REALLY HAPPY about this.... :-)
Best wishes to you and thank you so much for your inspiring challenge.
Must be so much work.... THANKS A LOT!!!

Tangled Tidbits -
*Ing filled string lines
*Bubbles bubbles around the border and off the tile and the larger black shadows compliment Hollibaugh


From Miriam G (Port Hueneme, California) ~

I haven't been able to participate in the challenges lately, but this one really caught my eye. I had seen several variations of Ing and was eager to try a few. This is the one I am happiest with (although looking at it now, I think maybe the Bubbles should have flowed down the tower - it looks rather like a fountain...) Oh well - for another time and tile!
Thank you for the challenge - always inspiring!

Tangled Tidbits -

*curved outer lines of bold Ing
*Bubbles and Hollibaugh filled Hollibaugh

From Ilse Lukken (The Netherlands) and here on her blog ~

Your string of this week somehow inspired me to think outside the box :-)

Tangled Tidbits - 

*inventive Ing variation
*single line of Bubbles along the curved string line - the dark shading layers above the other tangles

From Joan Delony, CZT (Florida) ~

Thanks, Adele for your continuous challenges. They are always inspiring.

Tangled Tidbits - 

*shadowed, light Ing
*Bubbles filled Hollibaugh sections - notice how some tuck under

From Cheryl Stocks (Arizona) and here on her blog ~

These are my offerings for this week's IAST, a tribute of sorts to Molly Hollibaugh. And Providence, as in Rhode Island. Driving there you are never far from water, imagery that filters in when I think of PVD. I worked at the airport for a couple years; Newport is one of my fave places to visit. Thanks for the opportunity you offer each week for us to create.

 Tangled Tidbits -
*rounded edges of Ing and curved aura add to the water imagery
*all the tangles are tucked into Hollibaugh spaces

*weighted lines of Hollibaugh
*triple aura of rounded Ing

From Margaret Bremner, CZT (Saskatchewan, Canada) ~

... I really like both Ing and Hollibaugh, and your string intrigued me: how to deal with the spirals? A little Paradox crept in because it just fit that little square in the corner. And some Black Pearlz too, because they creep into a lot of my work!

Tangled Tidbits - 

*an elegant Ing flows into spiraled Hollibaugh
*black sparkled Bubble Pearlz

A very warm welcome to Danita (Houston, Texas) ~

Thank you for doing this weekly challenge! I've been doing zentangles on my own for years and didn't realize there is such a supportive helpful online community! I don't have a blog or website at this time. I am posting on the zentangle app Mosaic as Danita.

Tangled Tidbits - 

*Ing swirls into Bubbles
*Hollibaugh weaves in and out

From Julie (North Carolina) ~

Hello here is my tile for this week's challenge.

Tangled Tidbits - 

*aura-ed Ing
*contrast between thin lined Hollibaugh and larger rounded Bubbles

From Susan (United Kingdom) ~

ING was a great new tangle for me. I like the structured approach to drawing it and the way that the tangle suddenly becomes 3D with shading. My notebook is covered in it now!

Tangled Tidbits - 

*three variations of Ing and a nice review of the tangle too
*Bubble tipped Ing covered string curve

From Renee (Tennessee) ~

Tangled Tidbits - 

*Hollibaugh variation looks like nailed lumber
*curls to accent Ing

A very warm welcome to Siri P (California) and here on her website ~

Thanks so much for sharing such an interesting string and tangle patterns. I am a newbie to Zentangle and have been doing it on & off to relax my brain.I am from California and so thrilled to participate this week. I hope to continue to send in my entries for your future challenges too.

Tangled Tidbits - 

*variety of tangles sizes
*three variations of Ing

From Hilary (Chicago) ~

I have to admit this was one of my favorites, and I really enjoyed doing this. On the other hand, it seemed to take forever! As always I'm curious to see everyone's creations. When I decide how I want to proceed, I only see that way. Then I'm amazed with what the others come up with.

Tangled Tidbits - 

*oodles and oodles of Bubbles fill dashed Hollibaugh spaces
*Tippled Ing

From Karen, The Creative Miss L (Canberra, Australia) ~

Enjoyed this week’s challenge very much. Got right into the Zen of it. I sprayed my tile with Glimmer Mist to add a bit of dimension to the white spaces that I’d intended to leave.

 Tangled Tidbits -
*layered single line of Bubbles
*shadow of Bubbles in the middle string section



From Val Steele (Johannesburg, South Africa) ~

This is my tile for the week. Using ING, Hollibaugh and Bubbles.
I enjoyed doing this, but find it looked a little dirty after shading. Any suggestions on how to stop the shading from spreading?

 Tangled Tidbits -
If you want a smaller area covered with shading, use a lighter touch with the pencil and a fresh blending stump.  The graphite can build up on the stump making the shaded areas darker.
*Hollibaugh string lines and curves
*pretty variation of Ing


From Jennifer (Switzerland) ~

Thank you for the weekly challenge – I look forward to it so much! It’s great seeing so much lovely art from all the contributors.
Unfortunately you can’t see my shading here, the scanner didn’t pick it up. I feel quite satisfied with the pile of bubbles, though!

 Tangled Tidbits -
*and quite a pretty pile of Bubbles!
*light Ing border



From Patrica (Switzerland) ~

I found the bubbles very challenging!

 Tangled Tidbits -
*...challenging, but you did it!  The dark background makes them pop.
*aura-ed Hollibaugh spaces




From Karin (Germany) ~

this is my entry to challenge no. 162
The last weeks I was very busy with rehearsals for a jazz concert. Tonight we will play and the challenge was the right thing to calm down
Many greetings from Germany

 Tangled Tidbits -
*inner arua for Ing in three variations
*one weighted line for each Hollibaugh section



From Anita A Westin (Dalarna, Sweden) and here on her blog ~

This was fun Adele! But the Bubbles just overwhelmed the whole thing! And this happened to be one step further for me!

Tangled Tidbits -
*'overwhelmed' in a very good way - wonderful details

*alternating light and dark string spaces

From Becky Welty (North Carolina) ~

Tangled Tidbits - 

*Ing pushes out passed the border lines at both curves
*pleasing balance of circles, lines, and triangles

From Gabriela (Alberta, Canada) ~

Hi everyone, here is my entry for It's a String #162. I love the string lines so much that I decided to use their shape for my hollibaugh strands :-) I really enjoyed this challenge, thank you Adele!

 Tangled Tidbits -
*beautifully highlighted, shaded, and colored ZIA
*Hollibaugh twists and curls


From Ingrid (The Netherlands) ~

The Adirondack chair you tangled is soooo gorgeous. Wonderful work!  In the attachment my IAST # 162 tile. It was the first time I tried my hand on ING and I really like this tangle. I will use this tangle more often I think.

 Tangled Tidbits -
*tangles seem to hover above the deep black background
*rounded inner corners of Ing


From Jody Genovese, CZT ~

I thought this one was going to be fairly easy for me, but you got me…I struggled a little more than I thought I would have, but kept with it. Bubbles was new to me, but actually fun to draw.

Tangled Tidbits -
*positive and negative Hollibuagh springs from Ing
*multi-layered, light and dark Bubbles


From Jami (Ohio) ~

This challenge took me in unexpected directions. I do like how all the tangles came together in the end. I also used a tangle that I found, created by Alice Henson, called Cee-a-mosa. I cannot wait to see what everyone else has created.

Tangled Tidbits -
*curved Ing
*all sizes of Bubbles, black filled spaces


From sra (India) ~

Lost my way with Ing for the most part as I drew it along the curve and lost the orientation when I rotated it, but am not displeased with the effort. It was done well past midnight without prior planning and practice.

Tangled Tidbits -
*It is good to relax and enjoy the free flow of the tangles and Ing does flow along the string curves
*each Bubble is shaded from the outer rim inward



From Lin H.(Florida) ~

Thanks for the challenge, Adele. I was anxious to try out some new Faber-Castell 'sepia' color pens which turned out to be more of a dark brown in color but I like the color on the tile anyway.  The Andirondack chair you tangled is absolutely gorgeous. I just love your talent.  Thanks for sharing it with us.

Tangled Tidbits -
*Tripoli inspired Ing
*Hollibaugh weaves in, out, and through



From Michele Wynne (California) ~

Thanks for another challenging challenge. This was a hard one. I can't say that I'm the biggest fan of ING. I like the concept of it-it's easy to draw and I like playing with the triangles, but I can never get the finished composition to gel. I thought of scrapping this several times but I kept at it. I "Hollibaughed" ING and tried a curvy version as well. It actually turned out much better than I expected;-P

Tangled Tidbits -
*wonderful versions of Ing - way to push through!
*Bubbles clusters taper off to dots



From Sharyn Penna (Massachusetts) ~

I hope you'll get to meet the raffle winner who gets to take home the Adirondack chair you tangled! Such a stunning piece of functional art!
This week's prompt gave me a reason to try Margaret Bremner's curvy variation of Ing (link). Loved the process! I had to practice Bubbles a bit before I put pen to tile ... my hand wanted to draw Printemps.  Cheers to tangling small scale and large!

Tangled Tidbits -
*Mooka inspired Hollibaugh
*curvy Ing even more dimensional  with the rounded corners of the inner aura



From Sue Agnew (Tucson, Arizona) ~

OMG your tangled chair is BEAUTIFUL! (sorry for shouting!)Here's my String Thing #162. Ing kept making me think of a strip of paper that's folded accordion-style, so sometimes you see the front and sometimes the back. So I went with that effect. Bubbles always looks to me more like a washer than a bubble -- that is, I see the the black edging as indicating the edge of a hole rather than the edge of a poof. So I decided to go with that too. Hollibaugh is a tangle I really like other people's efforts more than my own. This time I opted for a "less is more" and liked it. It was fun!

Tangled Tidbits -
*Bubbles rings around Hollibaugh intersections
*sparkled Ing
Thank you for shouting :)



From Vicki Mitchell, CZT (Moscow, Idaho) ~

Here are my tiles for this week's string. The first tile is my practice tile, since I had never done Bubbles before. I think I like how it turned out better than the final version, because the ING-as-Hollibaugh "board" idea is clearer and the Bubbles do a good job of defining the string, even though the string is going the wrong way. In the second tile, I continued the "ING as Hollibaugh boards" idea, but it is only clear in the middle section because Bubbles took over the show. I tried to emphasize the INGs with shading in the side sections, but they are just too busy. Still, I like the drama of the middle area.

 Tangled Tidbits -
*Ing in Hollibaugh fashion
*shading and oval Bubbles add great dimension to Ing

*Ing blends into Bubbles
*two variations of larger Ing


From Jenny Hopkins (Australia) ~

Thank you for another great challenge. "Bubbles" is my favourite word because they say that you can't say it with an angry voice, so it was lovely to tangle Bubbles this week. I have never seen Ing and I liked how different it could look depending on how you drew it and filled it.
Congratulations on your tangled chair. The time you have spent "getting to know it" have paid off in the creation of a wonderful piece of art. It is spectacular and I am sure that it will go very well for the charity.

Tangled Tidbits - 

*dainty Ing string curls

*Holligaugh emerges from the curved lines of Ing

...and I love that fact!  Bubbles is indeed a happy word.

From Susan Theron (Velddrif, South Africa) and here on her blog ~

Hi, Mine. My curvy Ing was a challenge.

Tangled Tidbits -
*multi colored, curved Ing
*light/dark/thin/thick Hollibaugh


From Aloyna Pakhomova (Toronto) ~

Sorry for being late with my tile. It looks like school is back with me still in relaxing summer. :)

Tangled Tidbits -
*weighted lines, deep crescent shapes, cross-hatched background for Bubbles
*Bubbles filled Ing


From Felicity Strohfeldt (South Africa) and here on her blog ~

Congratulations! The Zen chair tangled is beautiful. Truly a work of art, destined to fill a special place in a home.
Now to tile 162. Hollibaugh, as you rightly mentioned, is a tangle pattern all of us learnt right at the beginning of our respective zentangle journeys. Now an old favourite that comes easy now, in comparison with my first halting step at the beginning of my zenventure. The string this week reminded me of the H in Hollibaugh and to boot you set Ing by Molly Hollibaugh as part of the challenge. So I was all set for the journey this week to honour Molly Hollibaugh by using her great patterns and also adding some bubbly fun with Bubbles by Suzanne McNeill. Enjoyed this challenge.

 Tangled Tidbits -
*multiple variations of Ing interlace with Hollibaugh
*Bubbles bubbles over from the string's curls


From Pat (Ohio) ~

I'm really enjoying revisiting some of the patterns I first learned.

Tangled Tidbits -
*string defines the light and dark Hollibaugh
*Ing and two large Bubbles form on the middle string line


From Simone Menzel, CZT (Germany) and here on her blog ~

I nearly forgot to send you my contibution to IAST#162.... I finished this tile on Stuttgart Airport while waiting for my flight home which was delayed about 45mins. I had the time to post it on my blog and than it was finished and I forgot to send the email to you when I came home.I hope it is not yet too late now- let me mention that I love the string this week very much and the chosen tangles as well.

Tangled Tidbits -
*Ing string lines filled with Hollibaugh
*middle string line travels under Ing and Hollibaugh



From Brenda Urbanik, CZT (South Africa) ~

So here is my contribution to your latest challenge. It was particularly enjoyable to tangle Hollibaugh and ING after not having used them in a long while.
And those Bubbles are quite meditative.
Thanks again for the challenge.Hugs from South Africa

Tangled Tidbits -
*aura-ed and darkened Hollibaugh spaces
*lovley Ing/Bubbles variation



From Adri van Wyk (Upington, South Africa) ~

Tangled Tidbits -
*curved and sparkled accent lines of Hollibaugh - beautiful light/dark contrasts
*Fassett inspired Ing



From Jane Glotzer (Boulder, Colorado) ~

Loving my Ing...left it really simple, even leaving out the last triangle line and focusing on the "folded" aspect...Hollibaugh around and about with one woven through a section of Ing...and lovely Bubbles along the S curves of the string line with some "shadow" bubbles in the background...not much dark ink at all and the shading makes it all come to life...

Tangled Tidbits -
*Hollibaugh pierced Ing - so clever!
*dark and light Bubbles


From midori, CZT (Florida) ~

pulled out a black square tile, somehow hidden under stacks of classic white squares. this 2 am insomniac quietude in the dark perfectly sets the mood to stroke ing in white... with golden hollibaugh reflecting ambient lamp light. thank you for this opp to tangle...

Tangled Tidbits -
*rounded corners for a glowing Ing
*line thickness varies in the golden Hollibaugh


From Shelley Wickes (Adleaide, South Australia) ~

Have attached my 162 challenge :)

Tangled Tidbits -
*elegant Ing variation
*white crescents and dark centers for Bubbles


From Susie (St. Louis, Missouri) ~

 Tangled Tidbits -
*black perfs accent Ing
*shading adds depth

*curved Ing hugs Hollibaugh center
*Bubbles shaded to the right of each enter circle


And now...

the tiles for honors this week...

were sent in by...
Marla Mendenhall (California) !

Marla wrote:

There's got to be a law against having this much fun!
I love what happened in Tile #1 when the lines defining Ing flowed out into Hollibaugh swirls. In Tile #2, horizontal and vertical lines originally formed the Hollibaugh, but then diagonals crept in and it ended up like a cane weave. Don't ya know I almost lost my mind and my eyesight on that one. And since I couldn't make my Bubbles look like bubbles instead of donuts, I decided to draw bubble-bubbles instead, and gave a nod to Bubbles by placing crescents in the orbs within Ing. And Tile #3 was, well, just more fun. Who doesn't love blowing Bubbles?
Terrific combo this week of string and patterns...

  Tangled Tidbits -
*you gotta love that it 'happened' - Ing flowed into Hollibaugh
*weighted lines and Bubbles filled spaces

 *tapering Tripoli Ing
*'cane weave' with Hollibaugh - how did she do that?!

*billowing Bubbles - notice the shadow the pipe forms
*Hollibaugh weaves through Ing


Congratulations, Marla!
I now, I have three little somethings coming in the mail for you.

A huge thank you to all of the contributors to this week's challenge.

Please know that I appreciate and treasure your kindnesses and encouragements.

Many thanks to the creative minds behind the tangles we used along with my string:

Ing   and  Hollibaugh by Molly Hollibaugh, CZT

Bubbles by Suzanne McNeill, CZT


Check back Tuesday afternoon for "It's a String Thing" #163!