"It's a String Thing" #224 Tiles

What a very Happy New Year this is already!

So many tiles and so many lovely greetings for our first IAST of 2018 - I know it will warm your heart as much as it does mine.  Some amazing projects are pictured below as well - fuel to inspire your next creation.

Let's take a look ~

The first tile arrived from Joan Delony, CZT (Florida) ~

Happy New Year!

 Tangled Tidbits -
*just a glimpse of aura-ed Toodles
*dark, sparkled perfs of Slowpoke


From Gale Sherman, CZT (Tucson, Arizona) ~

Happy New Year World Tanglers!
I think my Toddles and Slowpoke are the "Tortoise and the Hare" in disguise! Toodles is climbing all over the year 18 while the Slowpokes are going round and round in semi-darkness. (This shows you how deceiving names can be! Toodles sounds cuddly and sweet, not aggressive. Oh well!) It's going to be a long race. We have to wait 362 more days until the finish. And those of you living on the other side of the International dateline will know the winner long before I do in Tucson, Arizona. Now, seriously, Adele, it was a fun and challenging IAST... THANKS!

 Tangled Tidbits -
That was fun to read, thank you Gale!
*rounded and intersecting Slowpoke
*perf filled center lines of Toodles



From Dani Mulyaning (Indonesia) and here on her blog ~

Happy new year. This is for challenge #224. Have a nice day.

 Tangled Tidbits -
*graceful Toodles hugs the string lines
*matching borders of Slowpoke


From Ria Matheussen, CZT (Belguim) ~

Happy New Year, dear Adele and thank you for a wonderfull start with two recent beautiful tangles.
I've used a grey tile and worked with black, braun, purple and blue pens/pencils, white chalk and a white gellypen.
I 've followed the strings but showed my tile in another position.
This first challenge has given real fun, I enjoyed this drawing very much and I hope to join many times in the new year.
I've seen on TV, even in Florida you have snow at the moment. That is amazing, isn't it. When I think about Florida, I always think about sunny dry weather...

Tangled Tidbits -

Yes, it has been very cold here - by Florida standards, that is :)
*Toodles shines in brilliant blues
*larger spirals branch off from Slowpoke

From Sabine (Germany) ~

I wish you, your family and the other tanglers a happy and creative 2018.
Toodles and Slowpoke are two lovely tangles and I enjoyed it very much to play with them. Thank you for another beautiful challenge.
Many greetings from Germany

Tangled Tidbits -
Best wishes to you, too, Sabine!

*Slowpoke full circle and also in half lines
*four pretty variations of Toodles

From Lisette (Switzerland) ~

My entry for challenge 224. Toodles - being so you - is already a favorite tangle for me. Slowpoke is great too. I really loved this challenge. But I had to add some papermint which is a lovely pattern too. May it bring some sweetness and freshness to the new year! With my best wishes to all Zentangle-friends over the world. May this year bring us PEACE, LOVE, HARMONY and Zentangle-Inspiration.
Love from Switzerland

 Tangled Tidbits -
Such a lovely greeting, thank you Lisette.
*Slowpoke filled ribbon string line
*burst of Toodles and all set against a deep black background


From Mariam G (Port Hueneme, California) ~

I am certainly looking forward to a New Year - new challenges and hopefully a fresh new outlook! Hmmmmm....Slowpoke and Toodles = a long goodbye? Nah! Just a healthy lingering look back at the past year and anticipation of what is to come. Happy 2018!

 Tangled Tidbits -
Well said, Mariam!
*weighted lines and pop of color highlight Toodles
*three glorious rows of Slowpoke


From Trudi (Woodview, Ontario, Canada) ~

Happy New Year Adele! Loved the houses you created for Christmas using Tangles. May the New Year bring even more joy than last year, it's going to be tough topping a wedding and your wonderful trip to Italy but you can have a lot of fun trying

 Tangled Tidbits -
Yes, and try we will :)
*Toodles clusters and added aura
*two circular lines of Slowpoke


From Hilary (Chicago) ~

Greetings from frigid Chicago and happy new year!
I've been spending a lot of time inside this week, so I have two versions for this week. The first one follows the string ( more or less!) while the other one is more free form.
I really enjoyed these patterns, so thanks again for the opportunity.

Tangled Tidbits - 

Stay warm up there!

*elegant Toodles - added color, weighted lines, shading...

*Slowpoke in and out of channel lines

From Donna Matoi (Long Beach, California) ~

I just want to thank you for the nice warm welcome that you gave me for IAST #222, that was so kind.
Well, I'm hoping to make IAST part of my weekly zen! I'm challenging myself to stick to it as, sometimes I feel intimidated by your strings!
After saying that, I looked at the string for this week, I wanted to turn around and hide! But, I looked and looked at the string and said, ok, let's do this, it's not the outcome, but, the process. My CZT training kicked in and I just dove in!
Thank you so much for taking the time to do your weekly strings! It is really a nice way to meet all of the wonderful people in the world and help people like me with no art experience to grow! I appreciate the time it takes to do this.

 Tangled Tidbits -
Thank you Donna.
*thicker lines, wonderful shading, and aura for Toodles
* Slowpoke trimmed with detail lines and a bit of aura


Lin H., CZT (Florida) ~

Happy New Year, Adele! The year is off to a great start by being able to submit a tile for your challenge #224. Thanks for sharing on your blog your tangled glass domed village gift to Dorian Eng and beautiful tangled bell ornaments for your children. What wonderful gifts to be enjoyed for years to come. Hope you’ve been able to stay warm during these freezing temps we’ve been having in sunny Florida. Brrrrr.

Tangled Tidbits - 

Thank you, I look forward to seeing some of the bells you create :)

*lovely variation of Toodles include highlighted center perfs shaded to both sides

*weighted line curls of Slowpoke

From Verena (Germany) ~

Happy new year 2018!
Best wishes from Germany.

Tangled Tidbits - 

*delicately detailed tangles

*three unique clusters of Toodles

From Ulrike (Germany) ~

Dear Adele, I think, it is not too late to wish you a happy new year and always good ideas for challenges and your creative activities! Many thanks for this string. It means for me not only "1-8", but also "1-0-0". This is my 100. Zentangle Tile!
Kind regards from Germany.

 Tangled Tidbits -
Congratulations - that is a wonderful milestone, Ulrike.  Cheers to the next 100!
*Toodles gathered together at the top in one section and the bottom in the other
*pretty contrast of large and small tangles, light and dark spaces


From Beth Gaughan (North Carolina) ~

Happy New Year to you and your family! I have enjoyed seeing your tangled Christmas beauties over the past few weeks. I tangled initials for my sisters and children, then glued greenery, berries and string on them to make ornaments.
Thank you for the challenges each week. Both tangles were new to me but fun to learn. I gave my tile a Knightsbridge tablecloth to recline on.

Before her tile, here are Beth's beautiful letters ~

Tangled Tidbits - 

*tangles pop against the Knightsbridge backdrop

*aura, detail lines, Tipple, and soft shading

From Jane Glotzer (Boulder, Colorado) ~

Happy New Year, Adele! Hope your holidays were wonderful and joyous!
Here is my first IAST of the new year...(did miss a holiday one, or two...)
Love that Toodles...it pretty much took over this one! Working in a sketch book again (love that tucked in the corner thing, too) I started the Toodling first, but then the auras came--:) No room for the fabulously spirally Slowpoke...but some other time!

I was fortunate to have been commissioned to do a public art piano in Fort Collins, Colorado this past December...no mosaics allowed glued onto the piano, so...of course I submitted a black and white Zentangle-inspired design! It's a wonderful program, Pianos About Town, where people can donate unwanted pianos to the city, artist are commissioned to paint them, and then they get placed around town for anyone to play...supports recycling, artists, public art, musicians...win win win win! 127 hours over 21 days, plus 42 hours in the car, 1900 miles traveled and 7 rolls of frog tape later (needed a lot more precision in paint on this larger scale project than in my sketchbook!) here are a few pix...quite amazing, if I do say--:) Wanted to add a little shading, but decided it was most effective and striking in paint in the pure black and white. Hope you enjoy!
(More pix and a short video on instagram, too. https://www.instagram.com/plainjanemosaics/)
Have a wonderful week...thanks for all you do for the Zentangle world!

 Tangled Tidbits -
*center lines of Toodles finished with different details
*wonderful aura and shading

And here is Jane's fabulous piano project ~

By Jane Glotzer

By Jane Glotzer

Jane with her incredible creation.  Be sure to view more photos on her Instagram link (above).

From Priscilla DeConti, CZT 28 (Kingston, New York) ~

Hope you had a wonderful holiday,..Loved seeing the different versions of the houses and bells. Will be working on them for the next Christmas.
Here is my take on this weeks challenge
Watercolor background with blue and green watercolor shadows and glitter pens.
Have a blessed New Year and I look forward to completing the challenges this year!

You will have to send photos when you make your houses and bells.
Tangled Tidbits -
*pretty colors and tangles
*two rows of Slowpoke move from large to smaller


From Sue Leslie (Vadito, New Mexico) ~

Happy New Years! Here is my play with some toodles going over and under slowpoke. Had some fun with a bit of tranzending on this one.

Tangled Tidbits -

*wonderful weaving of Toodles
*string lines filled with flowing Slowpoke

From Susie (Thailand) and here on her blog ~

Here my contribution to your 224 IAST challenge. I call this tile: "Tangled Up in Blue".
Thanks for Toodles. Although I have already done a few Toodles tiles, I doubt I will get tired of it just yet. What a wonderful tangle; easy to draw, but captivating to the eye.
I haven't contributed for quite a while, so let me wish you belatedly a wonderful and happy 2018 with lots of new and captivating tangles and interesting strings to accommodate them.

Tangled Tidbits - 

Thank you, Susie, and welcome back!
*deep colors and shading accented with bright highlights
*flowing tangles blend together beautifully

From Lovelygiraffe (Japan) and here on Instagram ~

happy New Year! I hope that 2018 will be a wonderful year for you. I have participated for a long time in a long time, but I will continue to learn a lot from now on.
Here is my tile for your weekly challenge.

Tangled Tidbits  - 

Welcome back!
*spirals of softly lined Toodles in changing colors
*lovely Slowpoke along the string lines and lined in lacy white rows

From Juiliane Lopes (Florida) ~

And HAPPY NEW YEAR! I managed to squeeze in time to participate in your weekly challenge...what a great way to start the year, right?
I love toodles, slowpoke gave me some problems, and shading was a challenge, but overall I am happy with the outcome...

Tangled Tidbits -
So happy to have you back!
*Hallibaugh layers of Slowpoke
*aura-ed spaces of Toodles are highlighted by the beautiful shading

From Susan Theron (Velddrif, South Africa) ~

Happy new year to all. Both of these tangles are ones that I love.

Tangled Tidbits - 

*striped and sparkle center lines of an elegant Toodles
*creative use of Slowpoke along the border

From Karin (Germany) ~

first I would like to wish you a happy and healthy new year 2018!
It is 6 months ago till I did my last tangle. Unbelievable! Sometimes my colleagues asked if I created a new tile and I always had to say that I didn´t. I even do not know why… But I am very happy that I found the time for tangling today
Greetings from Germany!

Tangled Tidbits - 

Thank you and a very warm welcome back, Karin!
*three pretty variations of Toodles
*frame of Slowpoke with aura and shading

From Ingrid (The Netherlands) ~

Happy New Year to everyone!!!!
I hope that this year will be a year with prosperity, love, many blessings, tangle creativity, a good health and that all your wishes may come through.
In the attachment my tile # 224 for this week.
With lots of love and warm hugs.

Tangled Tidbits - 

And the very best to you, too, Ingrid!
*spectacular spirals of Toodles
*perf filled variation of Slowpoke - love those curls!

From Sra (India) ~

Here's my entry for the first IAST of the year.
A very happy new year to you!

 Tangled Tidbits -
Happy New Year, Sra!
*super shading of the two large Toodles
*Slowpoke frames Toodles


From Margarete Gilge (Germany) and here on her blog ~

I wish you a happy new year full of creativity, inspiration and, of course, health!
Thank you for this inspiring challenge. Especially I like the pattern Toodles.
Best wishes from Germany

*beautiful grouping of tangles with repeating light and dark perfs

*aura, shading, dark spaces - wonderful details

...now I've drawn a second version in color to your challenge. I used an abstract image that I had edited on the PC, printed it and drew very freely on this background.

*tangles highlight the background coloring
*lovely circle of Slowpoke

From Sue Agnew (Tucson, Arizona) ~

Happy 2018 to you, and a blessed Epiphany!
When I saw the string and the tangles, it seemed obvious that Slowpoke would be the "1" and Toodles would be the "8" — so I was determined to do it the opposite way, with Toodles stacked in a border like Maria shows in the video and Slowpoke arranged around a circle. I experimented with one and with two concentric rows of Slowpokes inside a circle, and it actually works pretty well. However, I noticed that the Slowpokes in a line looked like the letter S, and since it's my initial I'm sort of partial to the letter S. So, nothing particularly innovative or creative — just relaxing to draw.
Thank you — this was a fun way to start off 2018!

 Tangled Tidbits -
Yes, a great way to ring in the New Year!
*long, lovely lines of Toodles
*dark accented line of Slowpoke


From Laurel D., CZT (New York) ~

Thank you, Adele, for starting 2018 with such a wonderful challenge!

 Tangled Tidbits -
*wonderfully round Slowpoke - notice the black border and white detail lines
*perfs, detail lines, and shading accent Toodles


From Jody Genovese, CZT (New York) ~

I’ve been enjoying all of your recent posts. You are so creative. I’m looking forward to another year of fun challenges and all of the beautiful work from my fellow tanglers.
Happy New Year everyone!

 Tangled Tidbits -
*Toodles is accented with extra curved lines
*background is as lovely as the tangles - filled with bits and pieces of Slowpoke and softly shaded to accent the tangle filled string lines


From Karen Herstowski (Atlanta, Georgia) ~

Here’s # 224. Happy New Year Tanglers!!!!
This was fun!
I foreshortened the figure 8 a bit to get some different detail in the lower right corner. Just couldn’t get the diagonal slash to work that appeared in the string on the lower left corner, so that was eliminated.
Thanks goes to Maria and Chris for these great tangles.
Thanks to you Adele for making these challenges such a wonderful opportunity to learn and share.

 Tangled Tidbits -
*beautiful layers and coloring of Toodles
*Slowpoke background features tight curls, shaded and highlighted perfs

From Sharon Fite (California) ~

Hi Adele and everyone, I'm so happy IAST is back. The holidays are great, but getting back to the routine is great, too. I loved this week's challenge. Toodles and Slowpoke are both so fun. Fun not to think about the list of things I should do; fun to be in the moment...one stroke at a time!
Happy New Year to all! I hope everyone's resolutions are going strong!

Tangled Tidbits -
Cheers to getting back to our IAST routine!
*perfs in and around Toodles - great variation
*pretty mix of brown and black for the tangles


From Lily (Hungary) ~

Here is my tile for your weekly challenge. Happy New Year!

Tangled Tidbits -
*color, detail, aura, shading, light and dark - fabulous!
*large and small Toodles and alternating colors for Slowpoke


From Susie (St. Louis, Missouri) ~

I really like this tangle. It looks pretty as just one big flower(?) or in a big bunch or just sprinkled throughout.

Tangled Tidbits -
*either way, it is beautiful with sparkle and striping and shading
*long center arc of Slowpoke


From Pat (Washington State) ~

Happy New Year Adele!

Tangled Tidbits -
Happy New Year!
*highlighted and shaded perfs along with touches of shading add fabulous dimension to Toodles
*grand details for Slowpoke - weighted lines, crosshatching, shading, highlights
(and a really nice frame!)


From Lynn G (Florida) ~

Thanks for another fun challenge Adele, and a Happy New Year to you.

Tangled Tidbits -
And to you too, Lin.
*touches of color in graceful line and glowing tangles
*mosaic look for Slowpoke

From Judy Wanner, CZT (Pennsylvania) ~

Tangled Tidbits -
*grand circle of Slowpoke wrapped in lovely shading
*Toodles flows from the corner and into the curve of the string
(That's three Tickled to Tangle frames in a row!)


From Dolly Bolen, CZT 15 (Morinville, Alberta, Canada) ~

I started with Toodles but thought I would dye the tile with tissue paper to make it more dynamic. After it dried overnight
I continued with tangling Angel Fish, Knightsbridge, Slowpoke, Striping, and Tipple. For my Toodles I always add a little Fescu
at the top and bottom of the leaf shape to add to the design. This is the first time I have tangled Slowpoke and it was a nice easy
tangle to incorporate into the tile, it really flowed for me.
I love how the tissue paper created a second string besides the IAST#224 areas, I feel it really added to my tile. I learned how to do a tissue paper tile from Jody Genovese CZT on the Zentangle Mosaic App, she provided me with helpful hints on how to get started.
I used Clear Star Stardust Gelly Roll Pen, White Gelly Roll Pen 10, General’s Charcoal White Pencil and Black Apprentice Pen to create my tile. On Toodles I also used Prismacolour Premier Coloured Pencils.
This was a really great challenge for me but I must confess I didn’t see the 18 in the string until my daughter pointed it out to me!
Thank you so much for continuing to host your blog and challenges! As a CZT, I like to try different challenges and projects to keep
my tangling fresh and to stay current with the latest for my classes!

 Tangled Tidbits -
Thank you for the thorough description - Jody is amazing, isn't she?
*glittering highlights accent the tangles
*light and dark and colorful spaces alternate


From Sharyn Penna, CZT (Massachusetts) ~

A New Year ... a Little Christmas ... two new and stunning tangles ... it all warms the heart as winter settles in on the east coast.
Something I rarely do is grab a tile and jump right in without practicing a new tangles. So I didn’t explore options, just tangled ... I can’t wait to tangle some more with both patterns.
Cheers and Happy New Year to you and all the IAST tanglers!!

Tangled Tidbits -
And to you, too!
*beautiful billowing Toodles, shaded to add depth
*Tipple surrounds the tangles, tucks under some and over others
(A record five frames in one week - thank you all.)


From Henrike Bratz, CZT (Germany) ~

it's been such a long time since I last tangled a tile for your IAST. But I found some quiet time after all and enjoyed it so much.

Tangled Tidbits - 

*Slowpoke curves and layers and surrounds all while following the string - amazing
*Perf filled middle lines of Toodles

From Karen Buse (California) ~

I really enjoyed all the swoops and curves of these two patterns. It was a great tangling start to 2018!

Tangled Tidbits - 

*Toodles cluster 'rises' from the darkened center - fabulous depth

*flowing wisps and curls

And now...

the tile for honors this week...

was sent in by...

From VenaC  from Whitby, Ontario, Canada ~

Happy New Year to everybody from a frigid Ontario. I made my Toodles yellow for the spring that I am dreaming of. We will have to wait probably three months for that.

Tangled Tidbits - 

If it feels cold here in Florida, so I can only imagine you are longing for springtime in Ontario.
*sparkle, shading, highlights, perfs, perky yellow - all for Toodles
*Toodles pokes past the shaded border
*Slowpoke shaded to one side of the middle curved line 

Congratulations, Vena!
I have a little something coming in the mail for you.


Many thank for all of your good wishes as we begin this new year, 2018.  May it be a very happy and healthy one for each of us.  AND may it be filled, as Susie (Thailand) said so well, "with lots of new and captivating tangles and interesting strings to accommodate them."

Thank you to Maria Thomas for the lovely new Toodles and to Chris Letourneau, CZT for the emchanting Slowpoke .

Check back Tuesday afternoon for "It's a String Thing" #225!