What better way to cap off our birthday week than with a display of beautiful tiles.
The accompanying sentiments leave me feeling humble and thankful and very much appreciated.I am unable to convey all of that in the printed words, "thank you", but I hope it is felt as you read on. I thoroughly appreciate the privilege of hosting this vibrant community.
The tiles and notes are listed in order of arrival in my inbox. Along with the name of each tangler is the IAST challenge number when they first participated. Some brand new, some not-so-new, and some very early tanglers sent in their tiles and congratulations. I present them here for all to enjoy ~
The first tile arrived from Lori Byerly(Washington State) and here on her blog, with IAST since #48 ~
Happy 5th birthday to you and IAST. I hope you have many more birthdays to come.
Here's my tile for this week's challenge.
Thank you, Lori.
I love those Kitl corners.
From Angie Gittles (Maryland), with IAST since #242 ~
Happy 5th Birthday to IAST! I got a little carried away with my candles. So, there are 5 candles and one for good luck - using Knightsbridge and O.
The buttery yellow O's are pretty finishes for your colorful Knightsbridge candles.
From Anselm (Berlin, Germany) and here on his blog - with IAST since #228 ~
happy birthday to your "It's a String Thing".
Here is my tile to help you celebrating this birthday. I used the four suggested patterns and added some Narwal to the tile. And like for some of my latest tiles for IAST i drew the outline with a pen. Now it looks like a frame and enhances the tile.
Greetings from Berlin
Thank you, Anselm.
Narwal is a great addition, and each tangle shines in its own string candle space.
From Sally Whiteman (New Zealand), with IAST since #239 ~
Happy 5th Birthday - 260 challenges. That is a lot of time and effort which is greatly appreciated.
Attached is my tile for challenge 260.
All the best
Thank you, Sally.
Those layers of colorful O flames are fabulous.
From Lisette (Switzerland), with IAST since #168 ~
Happy 5th Birthday!
This is my contribution to the celebration. It was fun playing with these amazing patterns. Before I could stop tangling two Emoballs sneeked in and started singing HAPPY BIRTHDAY!
Birthday-Hugs
Thank you, Lisette. They are sneaky little things, aren't they?!
The lighter lines of O play so well with the alternating black and white spaces of the other tangles.
From JoAnne (Ontario, Canada), with IAST since #255 ~
Congratulations on your 5th birthday!! I know I’ve only just joined this group, but I do look forward to Tuesday’s email for the weekly challenge. I can’t imagine the work involved in maintaining a blog, but am thankful to you for all the time and effort. I enjoyed drawing these tangles and am inspired by other’s works.
PS.... I just gave your blog and website a plug on Instagram, where you will find me, js.tdam
Thank you, JoAnne, and thank you for the Instagram plug.
The alternating patterns and colors show the tangles off beautifully.
From Mariam G. (Port Hueneme, California), with IAST since #94 ~
Happy 5th Birthday to IAST! A wonderful milestone and a tribute to your dedication to keeping us all on our creative toes. It has been a pleasure to be a part of this lovely community - here's hoping we will all be together for number 10! Thank you, once again, for the time you put into this weekly gathering and for being such a creative force and inspiration.
Thank you, Mariam. I was going to say something clever like, after all these years I know how to spell Port Hueneme, and then I looked at your tile. Oh my goodness, I see many of my tangles included here: Ann, Bud, Fancy Nancy, Lanie, Teenos, LG - what a treat. Thank you so much!
From Ulrike (Germany), with IAST since 214 ~
Happy 5th Birthday, IAST! Many congratulations and thanks for your wonderful weekly challenges, Adele!
Thank you, Ulrike.
The Emingle filled Knightsbridge makes a beautiful background.
From Gale Sherman (Tucson, Arizona), with IAST since #212 ~
Congratulations Adele on your 5th anniversary & THANK YOU for leading us to the path of creativity each week!!! I hope you don’t mind I turned you lovely #O on its side. For celebrations I like colored candles so my watercolor pencils came in handy. I’m sending hugs to you from Tucson!
Those Kitl mirrored flames are fabulous and what a great use of O!
From Marjan Heemskerk (The Netherlands), with IAST since ##206 ~
Congratulations with this beautiful lustrum:). You are an inspiration every week. Thank you!!
Thank you, Marjan.
O brightly shines fitted to the string's flames and darkened spaces of Kitl ground the other tangles.
From Ragged Ray (United Kingdom), with IAST since #7 ~
In a world where so much changes, and sometimes so suddenly I hold tight and dear to those things that remain. Those true and trusted foundations that I return to. And you and your IAST challenges remain a lighthouse as the tides of Zentangle pull me this way and that, as I skirt distant and familiar shores. Your light always guides me back to where I need to be. Always keeps me safe. Thank you for your commitment, encouragement, enthusiasm. Thank you for the time you give to this, to us. Happy 5th Birthday to It's a String Thing!
Layers of Kitl and Beadline filled Prestwood - gorgeous!
From Susan (United Kingdom), with IAST since #127 ~
Happy Birthday to everyone. Thank you to Adele for all your hard work and to all who have contributed.
Five numbered flames with lovely coloring pop against the Knightsbridge background.
From Shirley Wohlsen (Queensland, Australia), with IAST since #172 ~
Happy 5th Birthday It’s A String Thing!
And may there be many more Birthdays to come.
O rings on a candle, Kitl flames and alternating Kitl lines are wonderful ideas.
From Amy L (Connecticut), with IAST since #237 ~
I want to thank you for all the work you do on this blog. I am always excited for Tuesdays to get the latest challenges, and I love seeing all of the beautiful tiles and different interpretations of the challenges. Although I have only joined recently and don’t always find time to do every week’s challenge, I love learning and being inspired by your blog. So thank you and happy birthday! And here’s my tile:
That O/Kitl combination is striking.
From Ria Matheussen, CZT (Belgium), with IAST since #178 ~
Thank you very much for your lovely encouraging tile with all our names.
This is my contribution for this special 260 th challenge.
Congratulations from the bottom of my heart!!!
Thank you, Ria, I feel it!
I am fond of hearts and this is beautiful.
From Margarete Gilge (Germany), and here on her blog, with IAST since #201 ~
Congratulations to the fifth anniversary of your challenges. I would like to thank you again for your great commitment. I have been following your blog for a long time, even though I did not send my drawings to you from the beginning. Every week, I'm looking forward to the "Good News Day" because it's always a lot of fun to work on your topics.
My first version for the fifth birthday in black and white was not gorgeous enough for the occasion, so I drew a second one. On the abstract watercolor background I used a brown fine liner and glitter gel pens, that are barely visible on the scan. The result is a bit kitschy, but the fifth birthday of your challenges just have to be a little glamorous. Both tiles can be found on my blog under the link .
I wish you a lot of success and all times happy tangling.
Best regards from Germany
Thank you, Margarete.
A delightfully detailed birthday treat, all tied up in a bow - just beautiful!
From Lin H, CZT (Florida), with IAST since #125 ~
Happy 5th Birthday, Adele and fellow tanglers. It’s been a lot of fun taking part in these weekly challenges and I look forward to hopefully many more. As I submit my tile today, Friday, my hope, prayers, and best wishes go out to the folks in our southeastern states that are going through the wrath of Hurricane Florence. I wish you all the best.
Thank you, Lin. With several of our children in its projected path and now safe, we are most grateful and continue to pray for all effected by the storm.
Alternating light and dark spaces and a softly glowing O, all wrapped up on a TTTFrame - lovely!
From Trudi Taylor (Woodview, Ontario, Canada), with IAST since #155 ~
Happy Fifth Anniversary Adele! Putting in 5 years encouraging us to excel is a wonderful achievement. I remember my fifth anniversary I wanted to buy a wooden grandfather clock, I'd ordered it but the salesman made a mistake and he would have lost his job if we insisted the sale go through. Here were are just celebrated our 52nd last week and we never did buy a grandfather clock.
Aww, but now you get to live in Woodview :)
Thank you, Trudi, and congratulations on your 52nd anniversary.
Kitl and Knightsbridge make a great combination - wonderful contrasts.
From Laurel Davis, CZT (New York) with IAST since #202 ~
Happy Fifth Birthday! Thank you for all you have done for the Zentangle community💕
Thank you, Laurel.
Colorful candles glow against Knightsbridge. Your backgrounds are always so interesting and this one is a party in itself :)
From Hilary (Chicago) with IAST since #122 ~
Congratulations, Adele!
Five years is such an incredible accomplishment! Think of the hundreds of people you’ve inspired 260 times. Congratulations!
I loved your thank you card, although we’re the ones who should be thanking you!
Here’s my tile for this celebration.
And here’s to another five years!
Thank you, Hilary.
Your lovely, embellished Kitl will make Jem (its creator) smile, as it did me.
From Nor'dzin (Wales, United Kingdom) with IAST since #231 ~
Happy 5th birthday!
I had very little time this week but did not want to miss out on joining you and everyone in celebrating. So here is a simple contribution.
Thank you, Nor'dzin.
That is such a creative use of Knightsbridge.
From Sue Leslie, CZT 22 (New Mexico), with IAST since #201 ~
Happy Happy 5th Birthday!! What an awesome thing you are doing for well over 400 of us. Thank you, Thank you and Thank you again.
Todays IAST was done while waiting on my Mom to have cataract surgery in one eye, so all the O’s ‘eyes’ In the tangle kept reminding me of her and hoping for the best with her surgery. And it did turn out great! As I hope everyone’s tangles turn out great for this birthday bash as well. Here’s to seeing all the fun things everyone does with this 5th Birthday Bash Zentangle. I’m off to Rocky Mountain Zentangle Retreat tomorrow, so looking forward to an awesome week. Prayers and safe thought to all one the East coast of the US with this hurricane and all the rain.
Thank you, Sue. I'm glad to know your Mom is well and that tangling this helped you through the waiting. Let us know how the RMZT was.
That curved Knightsbridge is eye catching.
From Maike (Germany), with IAST since 259 ~
Happy 5th birthday for your IAST! 🎉
My tile looks like a Christmas tile with little dwarfs ...
Thank you very much for your warm welcome and for the photo with my name on your worldmap! I really appreciate that and was very delighted and proud to be a part of your tangle community. 😀
Best wishes from Germany!
Tipple topped O and sparkly Ahh are beautiful.
From Jutta Gladnigg, CZT (Germany), with IAST since #151 ~
My warmest congratulations to your wooden IAST anniversary! Thank you so much, dear Adele, for everything you have been doing so far to create such an inspiring ‘tangling family’ by and around your weekly challenges!
Thank you, Jutta.
Exquisite shading for all tangles, notice that O is shaded to one side and that gives it so much movement.
From Inge Frash, CZT (Bavaria, Germany), with IAST since #138 ~
as you have a jubilee I had to make a tile for you. I was experimenting with my M(ooka)-M(olygon) roses these days and thought they would pretty well express my congratulations.
Wishing you all the best for the next 5 years
Thank you, Inge.
The roses are just right for the celebration as are the Lanie filled candles, thank you!
From Anita A Westin (Dalarna, Sweden) and here on her blog, with IAST since #101 ~
Whow! Congratulations Adele for making this going for 5years! It is impressing and you share so much fun creating these challenges!
Thank you, Anita.
Kitl colored the way you did makes it looked lined with pearls, very pretty!
From Gudrun (Germany), with IAST since #160 ~
congratulations – 5 years full of inspiring challenges – please keep on
Many thanks and greetings from Germany
Thank you, Gudrun.
Beautiful tangles, and a wonderful Coaster border.
From Sherry Conte (Sanford, Florida) ~
Happy 5th Anniversary!
Shaded Knightsbridge creates a beautiful background and I see Snag, too!
From VenaC (Whitby, Ontario, Canada) ~
Happy 5th Birthday to IAST. Another celebration! I wasn't sure how I was going to fit all these patterns in so I got ideas from the entries from previous years and rearranged the string. This was a lot of fun. Thanks for that, Adele.
Thank you, Vena.
That was a great idea to reference past tiles and the candles are beautifully set off with the tangles surrounding them.
From Sidney Kapinos (Virginia), with IAST since #89 ~
Happy 5th Birthday to It's A String Thing! Many thanks -- and congratulations -- to you for running this fun and edifying Zentangle challenge for the past five years! I am very happy to be able to take part in the celebration, and can't wait to see all of the beautiful tiles. :)
Thank you, Sidney. I like your chop :)
Darkening in the Kitl loops creates a lace-y look.
From Lily (Hungary), with IAST since #32 ~
Congratulations to this special birthday!
A VERY HAPPY 5th BIRTHDAY! Many thanks to you for more than 250 awesome and inspiring challenges. You're doing an amazing job!
Zenhug
Thank you, Lily. Thank you for sending along the video, too. I couldn't upload it to post, but must tell everyone that the gold and silver glimmer when the tile is turned creating a beautiful effect.
The Kitl and O combination is grand.
From Ingrid (The Netherlands), with IAST since #20 ~
Congratulations with 5 years of IAST.What a milestone!
As far as I remember you never skipped one week to provide us with a challenge in the last five years. Chapeau!
Thank you so much for every, every input and effort to give us some Zenfull moments every week within and outside our comfort zone.
Cheersto five more inspiring years.
Fabulous contrasts in every tangle created with bold black and white spaces.
From Lynn F (Florida) ~
Happy 5th!
I used Mofins for the 5th candle, it is one of my favorite tangles.
I also added Raindotty in gold and used other gold accents to bump up the festivities.
Here’s to another five years!
Thank you Adele.
Thank you, Lynn.
Each candle and flame is uniquely tangled and topped with a bit of happy Raindotty.
From Judy Wanner, CZT (Pennsylvania), with IAST since #127 ~
5 years, 5 years of pure delight and appreciation of IT’S A STRING THING! It is certainly a highlight of the week for so many. Thank you for your dedication, talent, teaching, sharing and hard work! I am one of your biggest fans....but then I always was.....from way back when! I am going to practice Uncorked in your honor NOW😉
Thank you, Judy, have a glass for me, too!
Judy sent two tiles and asked me to pick one. Since she is doubly special to me, I am posting both :)
Tangles are finished with wonderful sparkle and O flames glow with color and shading.
From Jane, CZT (Surrey, United Kingdom), with IAST since #231 ~
Thanks for all you do Adele, love the challenges you put together for us, and your great, interesting and informative blog!
I used watercolours on my tile, adding the red in the flames reminded me of little faces so couldn’t resist adding the rest of the features!
Those Kitl, smiley faced candles just melt my heart.
From Karen Herstowski (Atlanta, Georgia), with IAST since #207 ~
Happy Birthday Adele!!!
I wanted to try something different for this celebration: Candle #5 is coming in to ignite itself from candle #4. Working with some shading to get it to look as though it is not in the same plane. It looks a little dimensional to me but could use a little more practice! Joining the flames was a bit more challenging.
Thanks to all of you for this happy, happy 5th birthday occasion!!
Thank you, Karen.
Brilliant 3-D effect- from the hovering candle to the flames, to the shaded and highlighted candles -brilliant!
From Susie (St. Louis, Missouri), with IAST since #57 ~
Pretty, alternating tangles and O to fit the string spaces. Thank you, Susie.
From Teddy G (Maryland), with IAST since #192 ~
Congratulations on IAST's 5th Birthday. I haven't submitted a tile for awhile but I check in every week to view the beautiful tiles. Thank you for the time and energy you put into these challenges.
Thank you, Teddy.
Clever inverted Kitl flames top alternating curved and straight lined tangles.
From Sue Agnew (Tucson, Arizona), with IAST since #3 - woohoo!
First, thank you so much for five years of hard work on your part, organizing this blog and keeping it going! It means so much to so many people and brings people together in unexpected ways.
So ... I made the mistake of looking back at my tiles for the first four birthdays ... I discovered that all of my creative ideas for the tangles I'd already used in previous years! Then while I was drawing the string in a continuous line I realized how much like Kitl it is. So I decided to abandon the birthday candle motif and use Kitl for the string, with Prestwood and O to decorate the big loops, and Knightsbridge in the background with the small loops acting as dewdrops. I don't quite understand the physics of a dewdrop so I just guessed. I'd started to fill in the dark squares with fine lines, but once I'd added Prestwood and O there were too many fine lines, so I blackened them, which also helps the dewdrops to show up. That makes two weeks in a row that I've uncharacteristically used quite a bit of bold black. I guess change happens!
Thanks again!
Thank you, Sue - all the way back to IAST #3!
That is a great connection between the string and Kitl and I always love reading the description of your process.
From Jody Genovese, CZT (New York), with IAST since #156 ~
Happy Birthday Adele!
Congratulations on 5 years of “It’s a String Thing”. It was actually on your 3rd birthday that I first joined the challenge so that makes this my 2nd birthday with you.
Do I have you confused yet? :o)
I applaud the hard work and effort you put into your website every week and thank you for giving us something to look forward to. I’m so honored to be one of your 442. Here’s to many more birthdays.
Thank you…
Thank you, Jody, happy 2nd birthday together :)
O looks like lit sparklers, so vibrant and celebratory!
A very warm welcome to Erin (San Antonio, Texas), a brand new to IAST contributor ~
I just returned to Zentangle last week, after more than two years away. So many of my hand skills are lost, but the heart skills remain! I’m getting back in the groove with Bechah Krahulah’s book One Zentangle a Day. By chance, the tangles for Day#2 included Knighsbrigdge, which overlaps with the IAST #260 for the birthday celebration. It was easy to use the String for Knightsbridge and Fesu, assigned in Krahulah’s book — but getting in the Nekton was really a struggle. Still, I am more glad than sad with the result. Hurray! The JellyRoll Stardust doesn’t show much in the picture, but I’m still grateful to have something to submit. Many thanks for the many years of keeping this great challenge going
Fescu is a playful addition to top the candles.
Welcome to our IAST community and welcome to our Tangled Map ~
From Priscilla DeConti, CZT (Kingston, New York), with IAST since #201 ~
Happy Happy Birthday IAST
You have stretched me in ways I did not even imagine. And to see all the lovely work from all around the world has been a special joy and privilege.
Thank you Adele for having this group. I do appreciate all you do.
Looking forward to another 5 years of fun and tangles.
Thank you, Priscilla. You certainly spread that joy.
Kitl filled flames shine in three directions.
From Sharon Fite (California), with IAST since #178 ~
Congratulations, Adele! Five years of amazing commitment to the IAST community. I said it before but it's worth repeating, these weekly challenges keep the pen in my hand and tiles on the table! 442 contributors! Amazing! We owe you a huge debt. Thank you, thank you!
Thank you, Sharon, I never tire of hearing your phrase :)
That looks like a card I would get in the mail - love the base for the tangles - beautiful!
From Pam Clower (London, United Kingdom), with IAST since #139 ~
Hi Adele! Joining back in after a long absence and a move from Germany to England. Enjoyed playing around with the number 5 and groups of five this week in honor of your fifth birthday, hence the Roman numerals, the number 5 around a pentagon, the tally marks, and the five petaled flowers. Many thanks for doing these challenges.
Thank you, Pam.
Fives rule here with so many playful uses for the numeral, well done!
From Ute Andresen, CZT (East Frisia, Germany), with IAST since #207 ~
Dear Adele, here I’m sending you my contribution for this week’s It’s a String Thing.
Happy Anniversary! Congratulations for five years and most of all thank you for your inspiration and your work with this challenge, which brings together people from all over the world.
And what a nice thing your mandala of names. Good to know myself being among all them somewhere in between.
The tangles layer over the penciled string line and shading add wonderful depth.
From Maria B (Canada), with IAST since #242, and on Instagram ~
Happy fifth birthday to IAST and wishes for many more to come!
Thank you, Maria.
Kitl changes direction to fill the candles in just so and it tops them, too.
From Sharyn Penna, CZT (Massachusetts), with IAST since #27 ~
The milestones: the tangles ... the many many posts of tips for tangling ... Wednesday words of wisdom ... where I tangle ... help us all stay grounded in this chaotic world ... help us all find our zentangle-y groove.
Cheers to five birthdays ... cheers to you and your boundless energy and creative gift. IAST is an international treasure!
Thank you, Sharyn, and cheers to you and to all that is positive in this world!
O's glow over Kitl topped candles - beautiful.
From Ilse (The Netherlands), and here on her blog - with IAST since #53 ~
Congratulations and many thanks!
Thank you for keeping with us for so many adventures, Ilse.
O rimmed flames accent the string sections and wavy Knightsbridge accents Kitl and Prestwood curves.
From Susan Theron (Velddrif, South Africa), with IAST since #55 ~
This is to celebrate the 5th anniversary of 'It's a string thing". Thanks Adele for a lustrum of challenges. It is much appreciated because and I think all of us hope you will be able to carry on because not only to think about a challenge, but to copy all the entries into a post, is a lot of work. So many challenges were stopped in the past year or two. I have not participated regularly for a while, but I still admire the tiles of the participants. Well done everybody!
Thank you, Susan :)
Kitl and Prestwood, and Knightsbridge all share white dotted black spaces and wonderful shading, too.
From Felicity Strohfeldt (Velddrif, South Africa), with IAST since #65 ~
Firstly, I hope your family and friends are safe in the stormy, cyclonic season on the east coast. Looks terrifying.
Well here we go. Happy 5th Birthday IAST! Congratulations to you Adele, the inspiration and creator of a weekly challenge that challenges all of us who send in entries. I’m sure I speak for all the team, when I say we all look forward every week to what you have in store for us. Five years! Amazing! Good luck for the next five years.Stay strong!
Tile 260! I suddenly was inspired to change the style and string somewhat. The 5 Flames represent each of the five years. The Kitl circle symbolises you, the centre flame of each week’s challenge and the O flames in the background suggest each of us who participate every week through each year. Prestwood binds all the flames together and circles Knightbridge, that could be an image of all the thousands of Micron pens used by “us” tanglers through the years.
Thanks to Ragged Ray, Margaret Bremner, Maria Thomas and you for the great patterns this week.
Was a great birthday challenge, thank you.
Looking forward to all the other entries.
What a wonderful description and display of your tangles! "Thousands of Microns", indeed!
From Cyndee Pelley (Oklahoma), and here on her blog - with IAST since 189 ~
Congratulations on 5 wonderful years! I've only been submitting for the last 2 years but I cannot tell you how much your challenges have taught me. This is too late to be included I am sure but I wanted you to have it for your celebration anyway! I've been sick so I felt it lacked creativity, but I wanted to share with you and thank you for the challenges AND for your words of wisdom. So often, they speak to me at just the right times. Thank you so much for your dedication!
Positively brilliant tangles, color, details, sentiment - gorgeous.
From Jenny Hopkins (Australia), with IAST since #91 ~
Happy 5th Birthday! I just had to join in the celebrations and wish you all the best on such a wonderful occasion. A great achievement. Thank you for the love and joy that you bring to all of us through It's a String Thing each week.
Dots and aura set off O and the string candles against the wavy Knightsbridge.
From Dolly Bolen, CZT 15 (Alberta, Canada) ~
... As a tangler and CZT, I really appreciate all the time you put into creating your IAST challenges. I haven’t participated a lot but I do know you put your heart into each and every week planning an interesting challenge for all of us!
So here’s to you and your creativity, celebrating all you do with an open heart, always giving us so much! This was a very interesting challenge because the tangles Kitl, O (used in the candle flames) and Prestwood were new to me but each of them were so meditative to draw. I added in my tangle Dove (Stepout found on the Zentangle Mosaic App) instead of Knightsbridge as the candles needed a little something different. Of course I had to add my signature bling with Sakura Stardust Gelly Roll Pens, my fave!
I look forward to many more challenges in the future!
A special thank you to faithful IAST contributors that for reasons of time, travel, or ill health, could not join in our celebration. Shout outs go to Marla Mendenhall (California) and Juul (France) especially.
Thank you to the creative minds behind the tangles we use for our birthday bash along with my O ~
Kitl by Ragged Ray
Prestwood by CZT Margaret Bremner
Knightsbridge - by Maria Thomas
Thank you all for celebrating our first lustrum, cheers to the next!
Check back Tuesday afternoon for "It's a String Thing" #261,
the beginning of our sixth year!
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