The First Year of "It's a String Thing" - By the Numbers

Alas, our birthday week has come to a close.

I've spent the better part of the weekend pouring over the "It's a String Thing" challenges and have come up with some statistics that I thought you would enjoy...

There were:

52  weeks of challenges

51 strings (#19 was string-less)

230 tangles

1,201 submitted tiles 

122 participating  artists 

from

12 countries around the world - Australia,The Netherlands, The UK, Germany, Switzerland, France, Spain, Hungary, South Africa, Russia, The United States, & Canada

including 

20  U.S. states and

3 provinces of Canada

It is exciting to think where the next 52 weeks will take us!

"It's a String Thing" First Birthday Presents

"It's a String Thing" #52 marked the one year birthday of the challenge - woohoo !

I don't know about you, but I like to spread birthday celebrations out for days, sometimes even longer :)

So here are two little presents - new pages on the header bar of my blog.  Look just above my smiling face to the right and you will see them.  In the picture below they are marked with a yellow star.

In each of the new pages, I've listed the challenges in numerical order and each title is a link.  Just click on the one(s) you want to view.

This makes it easier to review previous "It's a String Things" as well as catch up on some you may have missed.

All of the results are here too - easy to access and in chronological order.

Enjoy the year-in-review when you get the chance!

Happy Birthday!

Time to Catch Up!

Over the last week, I have posted results for four challenges in an effort to be up-to-date.

Thank goodness I have given up the pursuit of perfectionism because there were a few over looked tiles in my inbox.  They deserve their own time to shine, so today is the day.

The first two tiles are for "It's a String Thing" #51.

Sue Jacobs sent in this beautiful blue tile.  She wrote ~

Such pretty tangles to work with this week. I ended up using the strings only as suggestions since I wanted to use the variegated edges of the tangles.
It will be on my blog...(click here)

The second is from Janet Massey, CZT ~

She chose large lovely tangles and a bold splash of orange.  She also posted it here on her blog.

From Ingrid Coventon ~

Her first tile was for #49, the 'Zenth' anniversary celebration. She chose dainty lace-like tangles and framed them with love :)

The second tile, #50, showcases Ingrid's attention to detail and eye for balance.


CZT Carolyn Russel also sent a tile for #50.  She said:

I had time this week to participate! I really enjoyed the patterns and string. Cack just seemed to fill up the middle with the other patterns filling in the rest. I really enjoyed drawing all the patterns. You never know how the finished product will look; it's always a surprise. My dog and cat are laying right here beside me as a draw. They have kept me company all week. I think they like me drawing too.

This is such a happy tile - so many delightful variations of Crescent Moon and the sparkle on Cack makes it shine.

 And lastly, from Juul - who's email got lost somewhere on its way from France ~

A very happy birthday tile indeed!

Thank you all for your masterpieces and your patience waiting to see them posted.

"It's a String Thing" #53

Today is Tuesday, your good news day.

It is also the start of the second year of "It's a String Thing" - thank you for joining the party!

We begin with TanglePatterns String 054 by Hope Martin ~

Copyrighted image used with permission from TanglePatterns.com

We will use the following patterns, as they cover most of the letters in Hope ~

Hurray! by Agneta Landegren
Onomato by Maria Thomas and Rick Roberts
Planateen by Sandra Strait
and
Pokeleaf by Maria Thomas and Rick Roberts

You can find step outs and links to these patterns on TanglePatterns.

Use as few or as many patterns as you wish.


Simply pencil the string line onto your tile and tangle away!

Here are the (Not so) Official Guidelines: 
* Challenges are posted on Tuesdays.
*Use the string posted for the week and patterns that begin or contain the letter(s) indicated
* Submit a photo of your tile saved as jpg or scan your tile (300 dpi or higher) and save as a jpg
*Email your jpg file as an attachment to - brunoadelem@gmail.com
*Entries are to be submitted by Saturday evenings.
*Photos and 'Best of Show' are posted on Mondays. 

Use this special occasion to send in your photos -  you will encourage and inspire fellow Zentangle® enthusiasts all over the world.

PLEASE NOTE: I will add a link to your blog or web site with your tile photo, upon request. The site specific URL must accompany your request.

I look forward to your emails.
HAVE FUN!

"It's a String Thing" #52 A Very Happy Birthday Tiles

One year of "It's a String Thing" and it is a very happy birthday.

When the challenge began last August, I could never have imagined this wonderful community we've come to enjoy, the gorgeous art work shared, the friends made, the joys multiplied, the seasons celebrated, the tangles learned.

I cherish the notes that accompany your art work.
I appreciate knowing things like the temperature of the Baltic Sea, that a tile was drawn by an open window on a warm Seattle morning or lakeside in Ontario on vacation,  that winter is approaching in South Africa or a heat wave swept through British Columbia.

I recognize inner artists awakening and  confidence building.

I enjoy the descriptions of how tangles take on a life of their own and how new ones are developed and named.

I celebrate when I read that Zentangle® was just discovered and a self taught tangler takes the plunge and submits a tile for the challenge.

I delight in recognizing the particular style of an artist when I view an entry.  (I can usually guess who tangled it, and I love that.)

I could go on...and will in posts to follow this week, but for now - here are the tiles with just a little catch.

I usually edit out the personal compliments because they are just that - personal.  My goal is to present the art work with the artist's comments and make positive observations we can all learn from.

This week is a just a bit different.  I am posting notes as (mostly) written so we can all soak up the love and celebrate!

From Lily Moon ~

Here's my tile for your special weekly challenge. Happy 1st Anniversary Adele :)
... I wish you good health and a lot of strength for your additional works and for your wonderful and inspirational blog. (Blog link)
A large hug:
Lily

From CZT Joan Delony ~

Congratulations on making it one year! I remember when you started. It's a String Thing has become a popular challenge. Best Wishes for the future. Please attach my website

From Linda Bladen~

I'm attaching my tile for this week. I used all of the tangles and really enjoyed doing this tile. The sun was out and the birds were twittering away in the garden whilst I was happily tangling away.
Lotus Pods is a tangle which doesn't appeal much to me - I'm not fond of tangles with a lot of black areas, but I was pleased with how well it worked here as the candle flame. On the other hand I do love tangles with lots of line work so I really was in my element this week with A-Fog, Meringue and Roscoe. I'll be using all three again soon I know.
I've added this tile to my blog here
Best wishes

From Audrie Weisenfelder ~

Another auspicious occasion; and a chance to celebrate! ...
Here's my birthday entry. First I tried the string out on a Twinchie, then followed through with a full sized tile. It was fun and easy; in true Zentangle fashion, one tangle after another just fell in place. On my blog

From Ragged Ray ~

And Happy Birthday to the Challenge!
I can't believe it's been just over a year since I discovered Zentangle. I can't believe it's been nearly a year since I've sent tiles to you. Zentangle, the Challenge and you are now an established part of my week! ... this world of little tiles and tangles is perfect and I love it - and I'm sure it will be with me for life. And who knows where we might end up - the possibilities are literally endless! Thank you as always for your boundless encouragement! I'm not sure I would have got even half as much out of it without you.

And thank you for your compliments on Kitl and for choosing it for the challenge. I set myself the goal of trying to create one tangle this year and I've already done two!
And so to this week's Challenge. A tile for you. With a single candle burning bright within a dark and ancient cave. To think our distant ancestors discovered fire and also the desire to make marks on the walls of their caves. The drive to paint and draw and decorate our world has been with us from the beginning. And we carry on that tradition in our own tangly way!

From Meridiana, with her blog link ~

A very warm welcome to Joya ~
                      I'm Joya and I want to participate to the actual "string Thing". Happy first birthday :-)
                      My blog 

From Lori Byerly ~
                   Happy Birthday! It's a lovely milestone to reach. :)  - and her blog link

From  Cheryl Anne Day-Swallow ~

Another cool challenge. Thank you !
I named my art piece Zentangle CupCake
A Zentangle cupcake, such a treat
Happy 10th birthday, now lets eat !


Candle wick was made using A-Fog
Candle flame outline was made using Kitl
Candle flame was made using Merigue
Frame was made using Roscoe
Frame corners made using Kitl
Frame twinkles made using Lotus Pods

A warm welcome to Cheryl Stocks ~

I wanted to do a more traditional Zentangle this week. I chose to keep the candle part as white space and worked around it, utilizing all the tangles in the box! Reminds me of a woman in a long dress and a cape, but that's just what I see. I hope it's a fitting prezzie for your blog challenge first birthday. Thanks for the chance to slow down and meditate.  (Link to blog)

From Cathy Cusson ~

 Here is my challenge - realized only after scanning it the background tangle - one side is different than the other! Oh well, I will do better next week. I like the variation, just wouldn't have put it on the same piece!

From Carmela ~
                             ...I wish you Happy Birthday on the First Year and 52 beautiful string things 

                             which gives me much pleasure to make them. (blog link)

From Jane Glotzer

Here's my entry for the anniversary string--
I started with a bit of Meringue for the flame...
Lotus pods for the candle...
Roscoe in the background...wasn't too happy with it until I started the shading...wow, what a difference it made--:)
Finished with the border that I thought was going to be more Lotus Pods, but then just decided on a simplified version of some Black-Eyed Peas.
I started participating in your challenges around #34, and I've seen so much growth in my work just since then...keep up the inspiration for us all...sending a big, sincere THANKS and Happy Anniversary, once again!

From Jocelyne Pigeon-Bernier ~

First, good first anniversary of your blog. It's a lot of work, but you managed the challenge very well!
Here is my project this week. I did it more "clean" and added a touch of fantasy, a colored flame. ;-)

From Peggy Kohrmann ~

Happy first birthday!! I love your continuous line candle!
I went with the expected choices for the candle, Meringue for the flame and A-Fog for the candle.
Roscoe and Lotus Pods are my background. Footlites seemed to be necessary for this celebration so I added it.

From Sal ~

Hi
Another zendala – I could have made any number from the candle-in-a-square string.
Template here 

From CZT Sue Jacobs ~

Happy Birthday to you and your challenge. It's hard to believe it's already been a year!
I enjoyed the new tangles that were included here. I think Roscoe may be one of my new favorites!
(Link to blog)

From Christine Forrester~

Thank you for setting the challenges for the last year.
I used Meringue and Kitl for both candle and bows. I had to add a touch of Tipple and CO2, Ahh and Joy, and used glitter pens. And I had a little help from my cat.
She wanted to get in on the celebrations.

From Anna Houston, CZT~

Here's my entry for the Happy Birthday challenge. Not my favorite but an interesting challenge to be sure.
Congratulations on a year of fabulous challenges!

From LonnetA ~

Happy Birthday to your wonderful "It´s a String Thing!" ... 1 year ...wow!
I thank you very much for making it possible for us to take part in this challenge!
Also your weekly presentation of all pictures with your kind and warm-hearted comments is really fabulous and laudable!
For all this ... thank you, Adele!:-)
Your Birthday String is so lovely and I had a lot fun with this. For my tile I used all the five tangles and my special favorite is Roscoe!
My blog-link

From Melanie Ringler ~

Happy First Anniversary on your It’s a String Thing Challenges!
Attached is my submission for this week.
You can find it on my blog here.

From Sharyn Penna ~

You created a stunning anniversary string for this week's challenge. I started a tile and abandoned it half way...I had no focus that day. The next day with a clear mind and clean tile everything connected.
Congrats on this one year milestone! Hoping there are many many more zenniversaries for A String Thing! Cheers! 

From Jackie Becker ~

Happy String Thing Birthday! So excited for you. While my tangle is very basic, my "thanks" to you for continuing this challenge from week to week is far more than I can express.

From Debra Yabczanka ~

                  Happy Birthday!!!!

From Sue Agnew ~

My one big regret is I didn't find out about this till like #3 or #4 ... but congratulations on your first anniversary!
I really tried to bond with Roscoe but couldn't quite figure it out. So I stuck with Meringue (a natural for the flame) and A-Fog as the candle, and Lotus Pods as the background.
Welcome back! And thanks for a fun year!

From Annemarie~

It's time to say 'thank you' to you, because you provided all these challenges for us.
(Blog link)

From Henrike Bratz ~

I did a small Bijou for your anniversary.
Happy tangling

From Kirsten Bish ~

Here is my entry for the challenge. Sorry to get it to you so late. Congratulations on one year on the blog! I love how it challenges me to learn new tangles like Rosco. I loved this one so much, I got a little carried away. 

From Lucy Banta ~

Happy birthday to your string challenge! That's quite an accomplishment, and I'm thrilled to have been a part of the celebration (and thank goodness for your extended deadline).

I loved all the tangles you selected, but only used three in your candle string (Kitl, Meringue, and Lotus Pods).

Here's the link to my blog post.

From Kia Richardson ~

Congratulations and happy first birthday for sting things. I've done this particular tangle three times because, unfortunately, what seems to be a recurring theme, I didn't read the complete instructions and I missed the particular tangles to use. But my second and third attempt just didn't cut it. So, it's late Sunday afternoon and I don't feel like doing a fourth. Therefore you get my first attempt, which was done with celebration in mind, using the tangles, parteh, partay, ornamation (and something I can't identify in the flame of the candle).
Don't worry if you don't want to publish it. I just wanted to celebrate your achievement.

From Ingrid Coventon ~

                            Happy birthday I wish you to!

A warm welcome to Janice L Johnson ~

I am attaching my entry for It's a String Thing #52. Thank you for having this challenge and Happy Birthday.

From Caroline Moore ~

Happy Birthday Adele! I loved this week’s challenge, especially the candle shape and my new favorite tangle, Kitl! I love tangles where the possibilities are endless. I’ve also posted this challenge on my website.
Thanks for your continued fun challenges!

From Jenna Wheatman ~

Here is this weeks string challenge. All the tangles were new to me, I love the tangle meringue. As usual I tried to get the tangles to blend with one another but it mainly turned out with lots of meringue.

Congratulations on reaching your 1 year anniversary of hosting 'Its's a String Thing' challenge. Thank you for all the time and effort you put into posting these challenges and also sharing your lovely work. I have been inspired so much by many of your projects and the tiles shared by others around the world.

And from Deanna Spence who has the great distinction of being the only tangler to submit for the very first challenge and the 52nd. - along with many in between!

Happy Birthday "It's a String Thing" and happy birthday to us all!

Many thanks to the creative minds behind the tangles used with my string in the challenge this week ~

They include:

Meringue by CZT Kelley Kelly
A-Fog by Kathy Redmond
Roscoe by Vicki Bassett
Kitl by Jem Miller AKA Ragged Ray
And for sentimental reasons, we will also used CZT Margaret Bremner's pattern
Lotus Pods.  The very first challenge featured this wonderful tangle.

Tomorrow we start a new year!

"It's a String Thing" #51 Tiles

The string line for this challenge featured a set of straight diagonal lines along with some very lovely tangles.  Let's take a look ~

The first tile arrived from Colette Horsburgh ~

She used Fang, Fairy Wings and Facets to complete her tile.  She also posted it here on her blog, along with more of her work for various challenges.

Juul wrote, "Here is my contribution to the challenge n° 51. Very nice string and tangles!!! Merci mille fois!!!

Lucy Banta said, "Here's my tangle challenge #51. I LOVE Fancy Nancy and Fandango--two new favorites that will be really handy for future use.

Lucy varied the size and direction of her tangles, included several versions of Fancy Nancy, and added wonderful shading.  She also posted it here on her blog.

Linda Bladen wrote ~

I don't have any of the Renaissance tiles yet but have admired others who have produced some beautiful effects with them. I colour washed a square of watercolour paper and as it turned out a brownish colour I decided to use a brown pen and crayon. The colour reminds me of autumn and just today I noticed little acorns coming on our oak tree for the first time. Where is this year going?

That is very creative - not only did Linda color her own Renaissance tile, her tangleations of Fancy Nancy and Falz are fabulous.  She also posted it here on her blog.


Jocelyne Pigeon-Bernier stumbled upon a new look for Falz - isn't it pretty?

Note how she added perfs to Fandango and darkened in the spaces on either side of that pattern.


Sara Belmont-Kleingeld wrote ~

Attached is my version of your challenge. You may notice my Fandango and Fancy Nancy are not exactly as they are supposed to be, more like my 'interpretation'... is that ok or are you supposed to do them exactly as they are drawn on Tangle Patterns?

That is more than OK.  I liken patterns to handwriting.  We all write the same letters, but lend our own style to them.  Enjoy the freedom of making a pattern your own by adding your own touches to it - just like Sara did.

Ragged Ray wrote ~

What a striking string - I think I'll be using this one again went I want something a bit different.
I knew what I wanted this tile to look like - as if someone had torn away a strip of wallpaper to reveal yet another older pattern beneath. Which I've sort of achieved - but the colouring went a bit wrong and it came out rather too fleshy looking (I was going to tweak the colours on the computer but I thought that would be cheating!). But I like the way your Fancy Nancy is so eager to escape it's bursting out of the strip!
Fun to do, if not quite the result I hoped for!

 It is a light and lovely Fancy Nancy, complete with interlocking loops, dots, and tendrils - makes me so proud!

From Caroline Moore ~

Pretty Falz and aura lines fill the middle spaces and note how she used Facet in the corners.  She also posted her tile here on her blog.

Henrike Bratz chose a zendala ~

She said that the round tiles are now available in Germany - very exciting! - and this is the third one she has completed.  Note how she created a round border of Fandango and mimicked the dark line of it again in the aura of Fancy Nancy.  

From Carmela ~

See how she changed the angle of her patterns from one section to the next and added some wonderful shading.  She also posted it here on her blog.  

Kia Richardson wrote ~

Here is my entry for the It's a string thing # 51 challenge. I used the tangles Fassett, one of my favourites, Fancy Nancy, Fans and Fanz. I actually did it first without the line of Fanz, but despite my liking for white space, I actually like the more crowded version better. So here it is.

It is a very pretty tile and yes, Fanz fits just so.  The darker spaces in Fassett add a nice anchor to either side of the lighter, daintier center.  

She also posted it here on her blog.  

Annemarie sent this tile ~

What a wonderful treat of lines and shading!  She also posted it here on her blog.

From Cathy Cusson ~

I open the emails and post tiles as they arrive.  It is a rare time when tiles, similar in rendering come through.  Annemarie and Cathy live an ocean apart and look at their work.  Isn't that amazing:!!

Debby Yabczanka said ~

This one was a lot of fun. I started with fandango, I love this tangle! I bordered fandango with fancy nancy and then skipped to the corners with facet.
I saved falz till last and tried it in 2 directions and sizes. I like to add some shading at the end for a bit of grey tones.

That is a perfect description and a very beautifully tangled tile.

Deanna Spence said, "This week's creation is attached. I am now a fan of "Fandango"!

Deanna added aura and darkened in the spaces and that framed the tangles beautifully.  The larger shaded areas make the patterns stand out even more.

Sue Agnew said that she was surprised how Cruffle-ish Fancy Nancy turned out to look..."

She wasn't certain of sparkle on Fancy Nancy, but it looks great and plays nicely with the sparkle on Facet.  See how she lined the curved line of Fandango and shaded on either side - good idea!

Sal sent in this ~

She drew the string line in four directions and look how wonderful it turned out.  The added touch of pink is very pretty.

Sharyn Penna said that all of these patterns were  "new to her hand" ~

Nice and new! - and what a great tangleation of Fancy Nancy.

From Jane Glotzer ~

She so enjoyed Fascet that only at the last minute did she pop in a bit of Falz - what fun to be carried away!

Sherrill Herron said that she loved the challenge and it helped "break up her hectic schedule" - we can all relate to that ~

Sherrill sent Fancy Nancy dancing down the middle - a very nice touch.

Anna Houston is back from a long time away traveling and this is her tile ~

In addition to her terrific tangles, Anna's shading of them is wonderful.  Note how she shaded Facet and Falz especially.

Peggy Kohrmann wrote ~

With all new tangles to learn I found that Falz and I are not meant to do together!!
Fandango was my first line and because of my string is a tad off center. The center one had five fan lines-- it's busier but I like it. Grabbed Facets to put in the corners after placing auras around the Fandangos. Shading on all the tangles makes a big difference.

:Yes, shading does make a difference on all of the tangles, especially the way Peggy shaded them.

Audrie Weisenfelder sent in a color study of her tile.  Here is her original ~

And here is her wonderful color study ~

 She said she is not sure which is her favorite.  It is too difficult to choose one!

A very warm welcome to Kristen Kostelnik Killips.  This is her first submission ~

She said that she began with white pen on a black tile, but then "it just screamed for color."  Color suits it very well!

Annie Taylor thought she was late with her entry - but I am even later posting it, so here it is ~

It's a pretty one, too, with the border of Fancy Nancy and Fandango and the elongated Facet - yum!

Cristiane Plate said this was one of four tiles she completed ~

So many wonderful details here - shading, tangleations, aura, Facet corners - just to name a few.

From Cheryl Anne Day-Swallow ~

About this wonderful tile, she wrote ~

I entitled The Zentangle Zipper
Zipper teeth were created using Facets
Hand stitched area was created using Fancy Nancy
Pouch material/design created using Falz

And she included this poem ~

Poem.
A Zentangle Zipper - just wants to be
Out in the open - for all to see
Zip up my pouch – we’re on the go
Going to Zentangle – with a neighbor I know.

That is fabulous!

Meridiana sent this duotangle ~

It is such a pleasing blend of lines, straight and curved.


CZT Joan Delony sent this from her sketch book ~

Facet looks lovely centered and large - as does Fancy Nancy in the corners.  Aura, varied light weight, and shading are happy details.

From CZT Kathryn Crane ~

Falz is a nice focal point in her tile.   Shading and that wonderful edging finish it off beautifully.

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

She called it "Hanging Vines".  I could get lost in it - crisp white spaces, dark contrasts, her neat lines, and the greens - it's gorgeous.

She also posted it here on her blog.

Many thanks to all the talented tanglers for sending in tiles for this week.

Thank you to the creative minds behind the string line and patterns used in "It's a String Thing" #51 ~

String 049 by Linda Farmer and TanglePatterns
Facet by Nancy Pine, CZT
Fancy Nancy - one of my patterns
Falz by Sue Clark, CZT
Fandango by Vicki Bassett

Stop back on Monday for the results of "It's a String Thing" #52 - A Happy Birthday Celebration.
It is not too late to join in, so please do.  This week I will be accepting submission all the way up to Monday morning!
For all the details, click here.

Have a wonderful weekend!