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Thursday, January 29, 2015

A Creative Treat

Oh, the joy of spending an afternoon in the company of fellow artists - creative minds extraordinaire, bouncing around ideas, telling stories of artistic beginnings, business ventures past and present, sharing an appreciation of each other's work and a love for all things creative.  That is exactly what I did last weekend and all at the behest of the most gracious hostess, Joanne Fink...pinch me!

Friends and fellow CZTs Sindy P (Real Life Strings) and Dorian Eng (A Little Bit of Heart) joined Joanne (Zenspirations) and her friend and owner of Pink Ink Stamp Company, Peggy Jo Ackley.
Here is a picture of our gathering ~
Peggy Jo Ackley, Adele Bruno, Sindy P, Joanne Fink, Dorian Eng

It was wonderful to get the opportunity to meet Peggy.  Among her many ventures, Peggy authored and illustrated over 200 Bitty Bear books for the American Girl Doll Company.  She also designed the fabric for the doll clothing and accessories.

My own girls played with the Bitty Baby dolls over the years, so just before I left my house, I dipped into the bin of all things Bitty Baby and Bitty Bear (still in our game room) and selected a book to bring along.  Peggy graciously signed it to my girls, two of whom have girls of their own now.

Peggy showed us the display boards for her beautiful new stamps, card making ideas, and her technique for embossing stamped images with a stylus.  Her colored pencil work is phenomenal.

Peggy Jo Ackley 

Our minds raced with ideas on how Zentangle® could be incorporated with her stamps.  Joanne made copies of Peggy's Wacky Cake stamped image.  I tangled mine ~


Joanne colored one with Koi Coloring Brush Pens (Sakura) in her beautiful signature style.
Here is our little collage ~

Clockwise from top left - Peggy Jo Ackley, Joanne Fink, Peggy Jo Ackley, Adele Bruno
Do visit Peggy's Pink Ink Stamp Company website (click here).  It is chock full of wonderful things.
While the company does not sell directly to the public, her beautiful stamps can be purchased through many craft and hobby stores throughout the world and several online.

To top off our day, we celebrated Sindy's birthday (with real cake :) ~

Happy Birthday Sindy P, CZT!

I felt as if I went on a creative retreat for the few hours we spent together on a Sunday afternoon - a Funday as Dorian coined it.  Thank you for coming along.






Wednesday, January 28, 2015

Wednesday's Words of Wisdom

Adele Bruno, CZT

What could be better than love and chocolate together?
A little touch of CZT Sharon Coforio's sweet pattern Luv-a!







Tuesday, January 27, 2015

"It's a String Thing" #77

It's Tuesday and it is your good news day!

By the time the tiles from this challenge are posted it will be February.  The first month of the New Year is coming to a close.  Valentine's Day is right around the corner.

For the next two challenges we will learn and use a total of eight heart inspired tangles.
That's a lot of love to spread!

This week we begin with TanglePatterns String 077 by Barbara Finwall ~

Copyrighted image used with permission from TanglePatterns.com

The tangles include ~

Heartrope by Bunny Wright
Heartstrings by Helen Williams  (Click here to view my past post about Heartstrings)
Heartvine by Lori Howe
Luv-a by CZT Sharon Coforio

Step outs for the patterns can be found by clicking their names above, or by visiting TanglePatterns.
Use as many or as few as you'd like.

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.
 

Send in your photos - you will encourage and inspire fellow Zentangle® enthusiasts all over the world.

PLEASE NOTE: It is not necessary for you to have a blog or website to participate.

If you do have a blog or website, I will add a link upon request.  
Please include the site specific URL. 

I look forward to your emails.
HAVE FUN!

"It's a String Thing" #76 Tiles

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

The first tile arrived from Terri Young who wrote ~
I had loads of fun with String Challenge #76 using Trumpits, Oolo and Fjord. These challenges are really pushing me out of my comfort zone by using tangles I wouldn't normally try. Tangle on, my friend, Tangle On!
Tangled Tidbits -
*sparkled tangleations of Fjord
*Fjord in a grid and free of a grid
*Fjord in one, two, three, and four 'petal' versions - a tangle study in itself!



Carmela said ~
Thanks for this challenge I like the contrast between the straight lines of the string and the round curves from the patterns.
I tried to make several variations of Fjord and Oolo.
It was pretty en zen to make this challenge. My blog 
Tangled Tidbits -
*wonderful aura and shading
*a bold dark Fjord against a lighter lined one
*can't you just feel the 'zen' Carmela mentioned :)


Heidi said ~
The string resembled skyscrapers so I went with the dimensional look by using the same tangles for the 3 sides of each building. The trumpits were swirled around the surrounding spaces. It was fun using tanglelations for the "monotangle" buildings.
Tangled Tidbits -
*terrific tangleations of Fjord and Oolo 
*Trumpits on straight and sharply angled lines
*a wonderful sense of depth


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

Tangled Tidbits - 
*bold black spaces that showcase the tangles
*string lines adorned with Oolo and Trumpits - each beautifully enhanced and aura-ed
*a very clever combination of Oolo and Trumpits


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

Tangle Tidbits - 
*single Fjords atop the string line blocks
*delicate Oolos
*Trumpits is a wonderful border pattern after all!


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



Tangled Tidbits - 
*Oolo bending over the edge of the string line
*Trumpits tangled with patterns
*a fabulously looped Fjord




Cathy Cusson said ~
While they may be in my notebook, I haven't tried any of these tangles. So this was a brand new "adventure" for me. I decided I really like all three - but I think perhaps fjord is my favorite...  
Tangled Tidbits - 
*a very delicate Oolo
*Fjord featuring bold black negative spaces and two toned shading

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

Tangled Tidbits - 
*Oolo with an added square
*string lines of Trumpits


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


Tangled Tidbits -
*Trumpits flowing from atop the string block, spilling down over the sides and dangling Fjords from its ends
*gradations in shading
*dainty dots on Trumpits


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

I'm afraid the Pennsylvania weather is getting worse as I type.  Stay warm up there and keep tangling!
Tangled Tidbits -
* open and airy tangles
*Oolo loops along the string lines


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


Tangled Tidbits - 
*Oolo with darkened loops
*shading around Oolo
*wonderful contrast of black and white with Fjord


HeidiSue said -
Here is my entry for this week. It was interesting, fitting those particular patterns into that particular string! In the end, i think the tile looks like an abandoned city, becoming overgrown with plant life.
Oh! I also love oolo. It is a new favorite!
I posted on my blog
Tangled Tidbits - 
*dotted Trumpits 
*glimpses of Oolo peeking through



A very warm welcome to Ann Kobberholm from Denmark.  She wrote ~
This is my first submission to your challenge. So be gentle!
All three tangles we're new to me. But that's exactly why I like these challenges - I get to learn new tangles.
I really like the swirlyness of trumpits and the flowery character of Oolo.
Thanks for keeping me inspired!
My blog...
Ann's blog post that features this tile also includes an apple pie recipe - yum!

Tangled Tidbits - 
*delicate tangles
*wonderful white space and a shaded border
*Oolo Trumpits - a fabulous idea!


Magdalene Lee said ~
Thanks for this week's challenge. When I sat down to work on this, my shoulder was aching and my lines turned out all wonky, so I decided to thicken some of them. I ended up having fun playing around with line weights... I have put it up on my blog.
Tangled Tidbits - 
*the grid for Fjord carries through two sections of the string up and onto a third.
*the Fjord squares appear to bend over the string line
*perfs and Trumpits in Fjord


Janice L Johnson sent in this pretty tile ~


Tangled Tidbits - 
*dotted aura of Trumpits
*the alternating black and white of Oolo in Fjord
*weighted lines of Oolo



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


Tangled Tidbits ~
*multiple variations of Fjord
*delicate vines of Trumpits and loops of Oolo


Natasja Rijsbergen (the Netherlands) wrote, "I loved this week string and tangles. It made me happy to tangle this. I'm satisfied with the outcome of my zentangle."
And what a very happy outcome it is ~
Tangled Tidbits -
*swirls of Trumpits
*two dramatic versions of Fjord
*Oolo with dark loops and pretty aura


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

Tangled Tidbits - 
*trails of Trumpits
*Oolo - as Felicity noted - in exaggerated and subtle forms
*a pleasing balance of light and dark


Suzanne Moshier wrote ~
String 084 is a rather odd string with perspective from rising squares. I really like Trumpit[s]..looks like a great accent pattern. It would also make a great kite tail. I'll have to try Fjord on a larger drawing to really get the feel of it.
My blog
Tangled Tidbits - 
*Suzy's wonderful description of the string containing 'rising squares'
*Trumpits along the string lines


From Ingrid Coventon ~
A lot of thinking in advance - which is not very zentangle - I know, but I had not the faintest idea how to draw this tile. And I learned my lesson again: stop thinking and just start! And then to my own surprise: amazingly fast this tile arose. A light-hearted and playful tile in which the stringline disappeared completely. (The fear of fear is always greater than the fear itself).
Oh how I love zentangle; it is such a mild way of self-awereness.
Ingrid makes a marvelous observation about the method of Zentangle - such a marvelous metaphor for life...
Tangled Tidbits ~
*wispy Trupits that flower Oolo
*a grid free Fjord in alternating black and white



K Bish 's note describes the fun she had with this challenge ~
Enclosed please find my newest Tangle,"Spring Forward".
I had a lot of fun with this challenge. I guess I'm a little wistful for Spring. There is just too much snow on the ground here in MI. TRUMPITS is a very pretty little tangle. After reading the description of FJORD, I understood it better, it is a very bold and graphic design. OLOO, I just had fun with, my brain for a little carried away!
Tangled Tidbits - 
*Trumpits with curls
*little critters peeking from her patterns :)



Michele Wynne said ~
Boy! This string really vexed me with it's linear confines. I'm always trying to break out of the box and once again I was truly challenged. I did enjoy these patterns, none of which I've used before.
Tangled Tidbits -
*gorgeous detail in all three tangles
*Trumpits cascading over Fjord
*shading that adds great dimension



Heike, with "Regards from Germany", said ~
here's my contribution to your challenge for this week.
After a busy week it was fun for ​​me to draw this tile, especially because two of the patterns - Oolo and Fjord - were new to me.
Tangled Tidbits - 
*swirls of Trumpits
*alternating versions of Oolo
*three sides and variations of Fjord


Sue Agnew wins the day for the most clever of notes.  She entertainingly writes ~
I took a LOT of liberties with the tangles, and the string, this week. Perhaps better to call it ZIA than Zentangle ... or better yet, ZIGO (Zentangle-inspired goofing off).
I've had a fun week singing not only "76 Trombones" but ALL the songs from Music Man. That, plus the string being a series of planes, made me want to do a marching band (only 6 trombones, sorry, you'll have to imagine 70 more). I used one element from Trumpits and a couple of very teeny elements from Oolo, the shape I used to make the people and the shape I used to make the snare drums (yes those are snare drums, even though they look like toilets).
Thank you for the hearty laugh, Sue.  I needed that today - as I am sure many readers appreciate your lightheartedness as well!

We just may have to coin a new term in Zentangle - ZIGO - giving all of the credit to you, Sue. 
Thank you for the wonderful marching band (one of my favorite things).

Tangled Tidbits - 
*imagination, imagination, imagination!
*elements of Trumpits and Oolo marching along the string line


Ilse Lukken wrote ~
That was quite a challenge to me... I found it hard to combine these patterns in this string, so I'm very curious to see what other people did!
You can find my tile on my blog as well.
Tangled Tidbits -
*repeating patterns in different sections of the string
*bold black and white Fjord
*wonderful white space


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

Tangled Tidbits - 
*shading along the base lines of Trumpits
*a fabulous twist on Fjord



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


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


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

Tangled Tidbits - 
*striking versions of Fjord
*wonderful shading
*grids of Trumpits


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

Tangled Tidbits - 
*superb shading
*Fjord filled with other tangles
*large and small Oolo


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


Tangled Tidbits - 
*striped and sparkled Fjord
*aura and perfs in Fjord
*intertwined Trumpits


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

Lori wrote ~

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



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

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

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

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

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


















Thursday, January 22, 2015

Tips for Tangling Bales (continued)

In last Thursday's post on Bales I mentioned that my tangleations were simple and didn't include shading.  That prompted some requests on how I might shade the tangles, so Bales is back this week (rah! rah!) - this time with a bit of shading.

I used a grey Fabrico marker (instead of my preferred pencil) in the scanned image below.
The shaded areas show up a bit better ~


A few notes about shading tangles ~

* there is no 'wrong way' to shade a pattern - the way you shade it is the 'right way' :)

* the traditional methods for shading used in drawing can be a guide, but are not hard and fast rules in tangling  (i.e. a light source coming from one direction, casting a shadow in the opposite)

* shading illustrated for a tangle is merely a suggestion - use your own creative license

* start light as you shade - you can always add more as you go along

* photograph your tile before and after shading to better appreciate the definition and depth shading provides

* most of all, have fun


Here are the two charts side-by-side for easier comparison ~





ENJOY!





Wednesday, January 21, 2015

Wednesday's Words of Wisdom

The impossible 
is often 
the untried.
~ Jim Goodwin



This quote immediately reminded me of the Zentangle® mantra ~

Zentangle Keepsake box available @ www.zentangle.com
Try tangling today - I am very certain that a world of possibilities will open up for you.  ENJOY!






Tuesday, January 20, 2015

"It's a String Thing" #76

It's Tuesday, your good news day!

We begin this week's challenge with a string line that contains straight lines and sharp angles - TanglePatterns String 084 by Didier Gervy.

Copyrighted image used with permission from TanglePatterns.com

This is week #76 and the song "Seventy-Six Trombones" from the musical play The Music Man by Meredith Wilson keep running through my head.

I searched tangle names for anything remotely like 'trombone' and found Trumpits - close enough!
Then I scanned Linda Farmer's more recent posts and found two other tangles for us to have fun with.
Here they are:

Trumpits by Theresa Glover
Oolo by CZT Amelie Liao
Fjord by CZT Diana von Kaenel

Read through Linda's write ups - especially about Oolo.  At first glance the pattern looks like a border tangle, but it is a wonderful filler too.

The tangle step outs can be found by clicking their names above.

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.
 

Send in your photos - you will encourage and inspire fellow Zentangle® enthusiasts all over the world.

PLEASE NOTE: It is not necessary for you to have a blog or website to participate.
If you do have a blog or website, I will add a link upon request.  
Please include the site specific URL. 

I look forward to your emails.
HAVE FUN!

"It's a String Thing" #75 Tiles

For the milestone 75th consecutive week of "It's a String Thing" adventures, we used TanglePatterns String 075 by Maria Thomas and a few of my favorite tangles of hers.

My comments about the tiles will be written just a bit differently.  Instead of writing paragraphs, I will bullet point highlights and observations about each one.
Just for fun, I'll call them Tangled Tidbits.
This will allow me to finish in time to post today and still keep up with my family's hectic schedule :)

The first tile arrived from South Africa.  Susan Theron said, "I really enjoyed this challenge and I decided not to use poke leaf/root,"

Tangled Tidbits
* 'V' shaped detail lines on Bales
* weighted lines define the string



From CZT Kath Gregitis who wrote, "These challenges are so inspiring!"
Tangled Tidbits
*Ennies perfs spilling over to the background of Poke Leaf 
*wonderful variation of Bales with the entire pattern base darkened


Sandra said ~
I liked the string and picked out the patterns Echoism, Ennies and Poke Root for my tile :-) I didn't know Ennies before and when I saw it I just had the idea to use big drops for the "string-circles" :-)
I loved to tangle this tile and it helped to bring a little bit sun in my day (in germany it's very rough and rainy these days...), though there are raindrops on it ;-)
I show the tile in my blog too. 

Tangle Tidbits
*sensational shading and use of white space
*lovely variation in the sizes of Ennie's perfs


Jenna Wheatman returns ~
Here is this weeks entry. Loved the string and tangles, I did not try to combine tangles together on this one like I usually try to do, I found the tangles wanted to stand out on their own.
Tangle Tidbits
*marvelous movement in Echoism
*sparkle in Bales
*dark orbs of Ennies


Ilse Llukken wrote ~
Wow, 75 'It's a String Thing' challenges! Congratulations, Adele! Thank you for the time and energy you put into our zentangle fun.
This week's patterns are all quite busy, so I decided to leave some white space in the tile.
The result is nicer than I expected and I'm happy to have met Egoism ;-).
Tangled Tidbits
*acknowledging the fun (I just had to include that :)
*arcs of Poke Leaf and Poke Root
*complimentary dark spaces in Bales and Poke Leaf and Poke Root


Lori Byerly said ~
Here's my tile for this week's challenge. (on her blog)
It was fun to work with a collection of pieces created by one person ~ Maria Thomas.
Tangle Tidbits
*elegant use of large versions of the tangles
*thickness added to the curve and lower edge of Ennies
*just a dabble of perfs to accent her Ennies


From Heike~

Tangle Tidbits ~
*Echoism edges
*Bales changing from light to dark as it passes through the string lines


A very warm welcome to Terri Young.  She wrote, "Here is my link for the string thing 75"

Tangle Tidbits
*Bales with arua, dots, and detail lines
*dark spaces, shading, and curves along the 'stems' of Poke Root
*wonderful shading adds great dimension



Henrike Bratz writes this week from a 'not so rainy' Germany ~
Normally I don’t give my tiles any names, but last week it was “invitation” and this week it’s “embrace”. Last week I didn’t know any of the patterns, this week I knew them all.....
So, every tile is a different and unique experience. This we already knew!
Tangle Tidbits
*two delightfully dark loops
*striking Echosim tangleations
*Ennies morphing into Poke Root



Carmela described her process with this tile ~
Thanks for the great string and challenging patterns to fill in.
I tangled with a real thin pen, so I did’nt saw all the different patterns.
I took a thicker pen and began again above some leafs, but I was not pleased with the result, so I used a little color.
[on] My Blog.  

Tangle Tidbits
*Poke Leaf along the string line
*aura-ed and shaded centers of Bales
*compliments for pushing passed reservations and finding creative opportunities


Vicky Brison returned this week.  She wrote~
I liked the tangles chosen for this challenge and because of the detailed spaces on the string didn't want to overwhelm the piece with all the tangles...so I tried to combine a couple.(echoism in the pokeroot) didn't want any one to feel "left out" lol.
It is still pretty busy but I like it.... good to be back!
Tangled Tidbits
*a lovely large background of Bales aura-ed in in alternating color
*Echoism in Poke Root - how fun is that?!

Ragged Ray returns after "a few weeks away from the tangling table." ~
 I've missed it. But here I am again, eager to pick up my pen and pencil and see where they lead me!
And here was my first stop. A tile for your challenge. Like you I love Bales and it was the last tangle I used on my last tile of last year so seemed apt to start there again! Ennies is a funny tangle - it seems to lead the way and I can only follow. Not sure I've got to the heart of it yet. And Echoism tends to have me speed up and lose control of the loops. But together they do alright. I wasn't sure about that big dark section in the middle but felt the tile needed it - and I think it works. This feels like a warm-up tile - but it feels good to be warm as our temperatures start dropping!
Tangled Tidbits
*a daring and delightful dark center section
*Ennies 'drops' that change directions
*a touch of black in the loops of Echoism
*a sweet and simple Bales


Heidi wrote ~
... I am still working on the balance of light and dark and of small vs. large scale. This tangle ended up coming out looking like a nest with two eggs in it. I really liked using Bales as a border for something different...

Tangled Tidbits
*a circular Bales
*a dark surround to the center, followed by the dark middles of Bales
*the combination pulls the eye outward to the lovely Ennies corners


Fomr Juul~
Tangled Tidbits ~
*bold and black outer sections lend way to the light and center
*wispy curls added to Poke Leaf
*sparkled Ennies



A very warm welcome to Heidi.  She wrote, "...it WAS a challenge, that's for sure! still wanting to create something using all of the patterns."


Tangled Tidbits
*stipple, shading, and darkened corners
*doubled lines of the string's loops
*Ennies intermingled with its center ( I love that!)


Beverly said that she is enjoying all of the new patterns~

Tangled Tidbits
*perfs along the string line
*Bales broken from its grid - a very pretty butterfly effect



Cathy Cusson said, "I hope you are having a wonderful day! I love using pokeleaf! This is always so much fun."
Tangle Tidbits
*Poke Leaf on a string of Bales (so very clever!)
*curved and shaded Echoism 
* fabulous use of a Tangle-a-Day calendar :)


Dr. Neha Sanwalka said~
Thank you so much for It's a String Thing #75 & for the great tangelations of bales. I had fun using the bale tangelations...It's one more post to my blog all thanks to you: 

Tangled Tidbits
*terrific tangleations of Bales
*Poke Leaf and Poke Root blending together


CZT Brenda Urbanik is back too!  She wrote ~
Wishing you all the very best for 2015! And a big thank you for continuing with this challenge offering, I just find it a great way to kick start a tile and it's always so motivating to see where other artists go with the suggested string and tangles.
I loved the string you chose, even though I ignored it when I got to the centre! I also have to say that I seem to have given my Poke Root some German Measles! A few too many dots, perhaps a slight loss of concentration! Nevertheless, I loved my time focusing on this tile.
Tangled Tidbits
*Echoism in Ennies - an excellent idea
*a double aura in Ennies with a beautiful dark space
*Aura in Bales
*dotted Poke Root :)



Gillie Rhodes said ~
What lovely tangles you chose! ..all new to me and liked them all, although poke leaf won over poke root!
As you know I am fairly new to tangling and think this is the first time I have been been able to just 'let go' and not over think where the patterns should go and enjoyed it so much more going with the flow!


Tangled Tidbits
*kudos for experiencing the 'zen' in tangling !
*a full and flowing tile of tangles
*complimentary dark and light Poke Leaf


Magdalene Lee said ~
Here's my tile for this challenge. I've been trying to learn the original Zentangle patterns, so it was a delight to see five of them on your list this week! I enjoyed Ennies a lot, and I like how Bales and Echoism have so much room for variation.
I've posted my tile on my blog here too.



Tangled Tidbits
*Bales along the string loop - fascinating!
*a picture window of Bales with enlarged perfs of Ennies showing through
*Echoism loops with alternating black and white spaces


Annemarie wrote ~
Congratulations with you 75th String Thing; quite something. You have done a lot of work to achieve this so it's time for me to say: THANK YOU SO MUCH!!!!
(on her blog)

Tangled Tidbits
*Poke Leaf flowing from Poke Root
*thick line of aura around Ennies
*a very pretty scalloped aura of Bales 


CZT Laura Emler wrote ~-
This was a really fun adventure. I worked in my sketchbook (See
abbeycrosslane.wordpress.com) and then on a tile. Sure can see more
variations. Congratulations on 75 challenges! I love creating with these
challenges and learn so much!

Tangled Tidbits
*'stemless' Poke Leaf
*glorious shading


From CZT Judy Wanner~

Tangled Tidbits
*bits of Bales, sparkled and shaded
*perfs on Poke Leaf
*Terrific tangleation of Bales


From Ingrid Coventon ~

O, and it has become a very busy tile.
It looks more like a picture puzzle.
But I had fun drawing all the given tangle patterns. Played a little with the ennies and turned them into little fishes. Had a little problem with the shading this time. I hope the shading does the tile justice.

Tangled Tidbits
*Ennies as little fishies - priceless
*elegant Echoism
*darkened areas around Poke Leaf and Root 


Portia Hyde wrote simply, "Oh my goodness! Those little guys are everywhere!"


Tangled Tidbits
*Ennies "everywhere" - gotta love the flow!
*beautiful Bales
*sensational shading


From Joya ~
Tangled Tidbits
*wonderful variation of Ennies
*Poke Root and Poke Leaf in the center loops
*Ennies corners


Traci said ~
And here it is ...
This one took awhile. I 'played' with several and scrapped them; they just wouldn't flow. None of these are tangles I use frequently, except Printemps, so you forced me out of my comfort zone with this challenge. Thanks for that! I needed this challenge. Keep 'em coming!
Tangled Tidbits
*Printemps in Ennies is so very pretty
*Echoism along the string line complete with the tiniest of detail
*a spectacular variation of Bales


Jane Glotzer said ~
I kept my Bales pretty simple and used a lot of one of my all time favorites, Pokeleaf. Without any Echoism or Ennies, my piece for this week turned into a cool duotangle study in graphic black and white (with a touch of gray shading)...no lines or dots...just the solid black and white (well I guess there's a teensy line in Bales...) I love (one of the many things) how Zentangle allows me to explore negative space in both black and white...the dark backgrounds around shapes, but also the white ghost space that appears when I don't use a piece of the string or leave a shape untangled...so cool!

Tangled Tidbits
*ditto to all of Jane's observations above :)
*the shaded diagonal in the center of each Bales grid


Natasja Rijsbergen (the Netherlands) said she drew "something to relax a bit." ~

Tangled Tidbits
*pretty Poke Leaf tangled loops
*dark Ennies in opposing corners
*elegant shading


Kathryn White sent a link to her blog - It's a String Thing # 75 and said, "...enjoyed this tile, especially when I popped open the water colors."

Tangled Tidbits
*silvery shades of gray and pops of blue
*middle waves of Echoism share arua - wonderful detail!
*Bales follows the curve of the string line


Audrie Weisenfelder said ~

Wow, where does the time go? Here we are at challenge #75.Congratulations!
... it was a fun one to do, once I got going on it. The string itself was fun, too, although it doesn't really show up in the finished tile.
It's on my blog.
Tangled Tidbits
*large and lovely Poke Leaf
*darkened and shaded sections of Echoism


From Cat Trask ~

Tangled Tidbits
*pretty string line of Poke Leaf - shaded just so
*Ennies with both Bales and Echoism in its center - wonderfully done




Janice L Johnson wrote, "...My big Pokeroot did not quite turn out how I wanted but I am pleased with the overall look of my tile."
Tangled Tidbits
*a single band of Bales with a single aura
*aura-ed Ennies
*a bit of black in the center of Ennies



From Christina Luis ~

Tangled Tidbits
*Bales in a beautiful tangleation
*the perfs of Ennies echo in the background of Poke Root


From Sue Agnew~
I don't know what happened this week. I really like Ennies ... it's one of the ones I would call "pretty" tangles because you can make the outline shapes look like they're made of pearl, and the interior circles fit so nicely ... and pokeroot and pokeleaf are pretty and floral (when I visited my friend in San Francisco last fall I saw a plant growing like a weed that I thought had purple flowers but when she said it was pokeberry I could see they were clumps of surprisingly small berries that looked like pokeroot) ... and Bales is so nicely geometric and lends itself to 3-D effects ... but all of a sudden this weird snaggle-toothed face appeared (is that a toupe or a plaid hat?). The mouth is technically not pokeroot but "bumper," but I allowed myself to use it because it is also an "official" tangle and because it looks a lot like pokeroot.

Tangled Tidbits
*sparkle and great lines on Ennies
*Bales happily arua-ed
*'hats off' for letting the tangles direct you!


Sharyn Penna wrote ~
Congrats on 75 String Thing challenges!
The tangles you chose this week are full of connections. When I look at my completed tile I'm reminded of hand-holding and hugs. So comforting. 
Tangled Tidbits
*the light and weighted lines of Echosim
*an Ennies outline with both Poke Leaf and Poke Root in its center

Lily Moon said, "Congratulation on 75th challenge :)
Here's my ( a little crowded ) tile:"


Tangled Tidbits
*Echoism radiating out and up
*striped loops of Echoism
*such a beautiful Bales complete with sparkle
*the perfect balance of light, dark, grey, brown



Felicity sent greetings from South Africa~

When It’s a String Thing challenge popped up on my screen, my immediate impression was, movement and swirl. Poke Root/Poke Leaf and Bales are tangles I’ve used before, Ennies and Echoism are new and I did a practice- run with them. I decided Echoism can wait for another day.
When I started on my tile, I concentrated on the two balloon shapes. I thoroughly enjoy versatile Poke Leaf, so I’ve swirled it around in the one balloon and did a bouquet of it in the other. The droplet shape on the border of Ennies complements Poke Leaf, so this tangle pattern worked well as a bubbling background and Bales as a backdrop, to all this movement, just seems to steady all the action a bit. Thank you for your tips on Bales.

Thank you for an enjoyable, challenging challenge. Hope you and all the tanglers have a peaceful and fruitful 3rd week of 2015!



Tangled Tidbits
*the layered stems of Poke Root
*cross hatched and sparkled Bales
*Ennies and Poke Leaf morphed together


A very warm welcome to Suzy Mosh.  She has just begun a new weekly challenge on her blog "That's New to Me!"  When you check out this tile one her site (Here’s my URL for #75) be sure to read about it as well.

Tangled Tidbits
*Poke Leaf corners with just a dot of black
*colorful tangles
*deep shading


Annie Taylor wrote ~
...I would have like this to have been a more imaginative tile, which it's not - but I know for certain that there are going to be some amazing entries this week which I can't wait to see!
Tangled Tidbits
*soft and sensational shading
*wonderful white space of the string loops
*variation of line width in Echoism


Peggy Kohrmann said ~
How fun to know all but one of the tangles this week. I used Echoism the very first week I sent in a tile last February. It is a favorite but I haven't used it recently. Both of the Pokes seemed to look best as a larger tangle and with black and aura, I'm very pleased.
Tangled Tidbits
*feeling pleased with ones work - that is a huge part of tangling
*large and lovely loops of 'both of the Pokes"
*shading that makes Bales rise from the paper


And this is my contribution ~

Tangling Tidbits
*Bales in the center of Ennies
*Echoism with alternating white and dark loops



And now, the tile for honors this week was sent in by
Michele Wynne!
Michele wrote ~
Well this one was definitely a challenge for me trying to get all four patterns to fit nicely into this string. After a couple of rejects I feel pretty satisfied with how this turned out. I love how these challenges motivate me to persevere and boot me out of my comfort zone.
I learn so much with each challenge as I gone into a little more detail here on my blog.

Tangled Tidbits
*Ennies bursting into Poke Leaf
*dark surrounds in the center of Ennies
*Echoism curved, tapered, and aura-ed
*Bales with flower-like petals

Congratulations, Michele.  I have a little some thing coming in the mail for you.

Many thanks to our record setting crowd for sending in these amazing tiles.
Special thanks to Maria Thomas for our string line and tangles used this week.

Check back Tuesday afternoon for "It's a String Thing" #76!