Tips for Tangling - An Afternoon With Inaura

This week's "It's a String Thing" includes the wonderful tangle Inaura by CZT Bunny Wright.

I spent an afternoon with this interesting pattern and here are some of my results ~

The first tile is a monotangle that I completed following Bunny's step out.
This is what it looked like with half of the shading completed to illustrate the dramatic difference it makes ~

And here is it totally shaded ~

Next, I experimented with the step out.  What if I tangled Inaura in reverse?  I wondered if the finished look of the pattern would be noticeably different if I began with the inner small shapes and aura-ed outward.
 
I began with the inner small shape of a circle...

 and aura-ed outward ~

Adding more shapes...

 Until I was satisfied with the amount of larger shapes in the space ~

Then I began to fill in the background as I did for the first monotangle pictured above.

Once I was satisfied with the amount of Inaura in the space, I shaded it ~

I am still amazed at what shading adds to Inaura!

The order of the step out did not seem to make a marked difference in the finished look of the tangle.

Still enamored, I thought I'd try another monotangle adding sparkle to each of the larger shapes ~

I do like what that little bit of sparkle adds.

Lastly, for a grand finale, I began with the larger shapes but this time I tangled them each in detail ~

Then I added the smaller shapes in the background as usual and once completed and shaded this is how it turned out ~

So there are the fruits of my afternoon spent with Inaura.  I must admit it was difficult to stop. Before I finished one tile another idea begged to be expressed - but the laundry was calling and dinner needed made :)

I heartily recommend spending a block of time with a tangle you like.  Explore what it can do and see where it leads you.  It is time well spent.

ENJOY!

Ash Wednesday's Words of Wisdom

Inaura Ash Wednesday Tile by Adele Bruno, CZT

"... for dust you are and to dust you will return." ~ Genesis 3:19

"It's a String Thing" #80

It's Tuesday, your good news day and we are now in the 80's!

We begin this week with TanglePatterns String 080 by CZT Jane Dickinson ~

Copyrighted image used with permission by TanglePatterns.com

Then we will use just two patterns this week.  It will give us time to really get to know them:

Kozy by Marieke van Nimwegen
and
Inaura by CZT Bunny Wright

The first is the newest tangle posted on TanglePatterns - Kozy by Marieke van Nimwegen.
The name drew me to the tangle (pun intended :) with winter's hold on so much of our world.
Though I must admit at first glance Kozy reminded me of many other tangles, after a study of Marieke's step out, I have become a fan.

The second pattern, Inaura, is one of those magical ones that begins very simply and with aura and shading unfolds as only a classic tangle can.


Step outs for the patterns can be found by clicking their names above, or by visiting TanglePatterns.

Simply pencil the string line onto your tile and tangle away!  
Keep in mind that the string line is merely a suggestion, let the tangles lead you.

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" #79 Tiles

This week's challenge combined two grid based and two free form tangles.  These patterns worked well with the string line that began with a loop and ended with a flourish similar to a letter Z.
Let's take a look ~

A very warm welcome Joanne Hawes.  She not only sent in the first tile of the week, but this is her first time joining in the festivities.  She wrote, "Featuring inapod,poser, a wonky and a triangle version of puf, purk and bublz in string 076..."

Tangled Tidbits -
*great depth of shading
*complimentary tangles to the given four

From Heike ~

Here's my contributionfor this week.
It was fun for ​​me to draw this tile, especially because I knew only the pattern Buttercup before.

Tangled Tidbits -
*dark to light background of Buttercup
*two grid sizes for Puf
*Inapod on a string


Lori Byerly wrote ~

I look forward to your challenge each week. The combination of string and patterns is usually a stretch for me. It's funny how limits push you to think outside of the box and put an edge on your creativity.
You can see my tile here also...

Tangled Tidbits -
*sparkle and shading of Puf
*lovely movement in Inapod with little escaped orbs :)



Jane Glotzer wrote ~

So much for my recent embrace of white space--:) I used up all there was, and Inapod even took up a little more...I like how it looks like it is laying on top of the tile...it is a favored one of mine, so that's where I started along a piece of the string and then I moved on to Puf...always so amazing how its look changes so dramatically once you put in the connecting lines. My large Pozer came next, although since I chose to fill the whole area with one big one, and aura-ed the petals, it looks more like Arc flower, or some other tangle I've seen, but it's cool, nonetheless...I did the small, "traditional" Pozers next and finished with the Buttercups. Fun choices this week...and this is the first challenge in a while where I have used all the ones suggested, so all in all, I am happy with how it turned out--:)

Tangled Tidbits -
*deep dark backdrop for Pozer
*one large layered Pozer
*narrow petals of Buttercup


Joya sent greetings and mentioned that she loves grid based patterns ~

Tangled Tidbits -
*bursts of Buttercup in the string's loop
*Pozer peeking out from under Buttercup and Inapod

From Vicky Brison ~

Tangled Tidbits -
*a Buttercup string line
*Pozer and Puf in the center of Inapod - how very clever!



Sandra sent "many greetings from Germany" and said ~

 ...many thanks for your new challenge :-) I really liked the string and this time I tried to use all four patterns. I did'nt know Inapod and Puf before and I loved to tangle them!
Though I think my tile is a bit woozily... But it always is a big joy to tangle your string-thing-challenges :-)
I posted the tile on my blog too.

Tangled Tidbits -
*wonderful light and dark spaces
*shaded background of Buttercup


Ilse Lukken wrote, "Thanks for another fun challenge!  I put it on my blog as well."

Tangled Tidbits -
*wonderful white space highlights the tangles
*dark back drop for Inapod



Carmela said, "I liked the string with the round curve and the straight lines.

Also the patterns are beautiful. I used them all.  On my blog..."

Tangled Tidbits -
*Pozer along the string line and in the loop
*lovely black spaces that make the tangles shine

Emily Shelton wrote ~

In addition to Buttercup by CZT Sandy Bartholomew
Inapod and Puf by CZT Carole Ohl and
Pozer by Beth Snoderly
I used Furrballs and Footlites by Carolyn Coyle
Sooflowers by Livia Chua
Dragonair by Norma Burnell
And Florz Zentangle(r)
This was my first half-way decent attempt at dew drop. Still need some work
here!

Tangled Tidbits -
*a grand dew drop effect :)
*a pleasing mix of additional tangles


CZT Lucy Banta said, "...Here's my tile for your challenge this week. I loved all the tangles. Thanks for another fun week. Here's the link to my blog..."

Tangled Tidbits -
*a singular sensational Buttercup
*pretty Pozer that even graces the border line

Magdalene Lee said ~

Here's my submission for this week's challenge. I thought the loop was in a good spot for a dewdrop, but I don't think my dewdrop turned out successfully! Nevertheless I enjoyed this challenge. The tangles were all new to me and Inapod will probably end up being one of my favourites.
I've also put the tile up on my blog.

Tangled Tidbits -
*a very successful Puf dew drop
*Buttercup gracefully breaking free of its grid


Cathy Cusson said, "I met some new "friends" this challenge! I hadn't really played with pozer or buttercup and I enjoyed getting to know them..."

Tangled Tidbits -
*a very pretty look to Pozer using more uneven curves
*Buttercup playfully stretching to fit its given space


Cindy Straight wrote ~

Lots of fun with this one...I haven't played with Buttercup or Pozer before, but they will definitely be used more now. They are both very relaxing and versatile. Inapod and Puf have been favorites of mine since I started tangling. [here on her blog]

Tangled Tidbits -
*varied sizes of Inapod
*Puf with Buttercup's form
*aura and shading

Michele Wynne said ~

Here's my submission this week. Another great challenge, vexing me at all turns. I had several fits and starts with this one, trying to get all four patterns to work with the string with any kind of finesse . I love all of the patterns. I've used Inapod several times but the rest were relatively new to me. I really love "Puf". I wanted to use more of it..and surely I will.
Once the inspiration came it was like a light bulb went on. I wrote a bit about it on myblog

Tangled Tidbits -
* a very informative post about her thought process - check out her blog link above
*gorgeous highlight and shading

Portia Hyde wrote, "I must be a bit compulsive…give me four tangles and I use them all. This is busy but I used what I learned doing this on another couple of tangling pieces."

Tangled Tidbits -
*Puf in the string's loop
*aura-ed Pozer
*wonderful shading and highlights


From Juul ~

Tangled Tidbits -
*an Inapod string loop with striped aura
*beautiful black backgrounds and shading


Kim Winebrenner wrote ~

Here is my tile for #79. I really enjoyed learning Pozer. I wonder if I am the only person who is [amazed] by how the "X" in Puf completely transforms the pattern. This was a fun one.
Thanks so much,

Isn't it fun when a tangle unfolds so magically?!

Tangled Tidbits -
*opposite corners of pretty Pozer
*Puf nicely shaded

Natasja Rijsbergen (the Netherlands) wrote, "Here is my string from this week. As always I'm looking forward for the challenge and It's so nice to see what other people draw."

Tangled Tidbits -
*a fan of Buttercup
*lovely layers of Pozer
*alternating dark and light spaces of Inapod

Susan Theron said, "Here is also my contribution to a string thing #79. I liked the challenge and also posted in on my blog..."

Tangled Tidbits -
*delicate line work
*shading of Inapod makes it rise above the neighboring tangles


Ingrid Coventon mused ~

O dear, this week's challenge, really was a challenge to me. Usually I send you my first and only made tile I did for the challenge, but this time I had to start three times over. But none of the tiles could make me happy...But I loved all the tangles for this week. Inapod is one of my favorites and Puff is a wonderful magical pattern. 

Tangled Tidbits -
*every tile is a masterpiece and so is this :)
*Buttercup in the string loop
*great sparkle on Inapod

Sharyn Penna said ~

The tangles you gave us this week are all so much fun to work with ... but the string was a real doozie! I think the secret to this string is to vary the size of each tangle. Something I realized all too late in the game...

Tangled Tidbits ~
*the secret to a string is finding out what you want to do with it - and this is wonderful!
*a pile of pods - Inapods that is :)
*a curved grid for Buttercup



From Heidi ~

Fun tangles this week even though I struggled with the string and what fit where. Love the "cushy" qualities of Buttercup and Puf. Inapod ended dividing the tile and floating away.

Tangled Tidbits -
*free floating Inapod with cute curls
*a Pozer filled loop


Annemarie said, "On my blog I have explained why" this tile is not one she liked to show...

Tangled Tidbits -
*all tangles are wonderful :)
*Puf in Inapod
*very pretty Pozer

Annie Taylor said, "I really enjoyed Poser, which I haven't done before. And this is also my first attempt at Puf, which I need to practice. The others are old favourites."

Tangled Tidbits -
*great movement in the curve of the grid for Puf and Buttercup
*wonderful layers of Pozer highlighted with fabulous shading


From Efie and on her blog too ~

Tangled Tidbits -
*detailed tangles
*clever use of Puf without the center aura
*a "fan" of Pozer



Felicity said ~

 ...Initially I thought I’d skip this week. Then strangely... it all gelled and tile 79 popped up, proving that zentangling really gets into one’s blood. Buttercup, Puff and Pozer were new to me. Pozer, posed some problems, Buttercup is great to do, as is Puff. So there,” Inapod” is my tangle 79 for this week... 

Tangled Tidbits -
* shading gives the fabulous effect of depth and space
*the large loop of a single Inapod, sparkled and shaded, appears to float off the tile
*perfs in Buttercup



Suzanne Moshier said, "Here’s my tile for string thing #79.  I went a bit color crazy, but at least it’s not drab!" [on my blog]

Tangled Tidbits -
*large and small grids
*sparkle on dark Inapod centers

And now, the tile for honors this week was sent in by Ann K from Denmark!

Ann wrote, "Loving all the tangles for this weeks string thing of which only was know to me. I had fun with this and Inapod is now a new favorite of mine. I also posted this on my blog."

Tangled Tidbits -
*Inapod tucked into a grid
*delightful details in Buttercup
*a single stunning Pozer

Congratulations to you Ann.  I have a little some thing coming in the mail to you.

Thank you to everyone for sending in your wonderful tiles this week.

Many thanks to the creative minds behind the string and tangles we used ~

Buttercup by CZT Sandy Bartholomew                       
Inapod and
Puf by CZT Carole Ohl
Pozer by Beth Snoderly

and
TanglePatterns String 076 by CZT Pat Ferguson

Check back Tuesday afternoon for "It's a String Thing" #80!

"It's a String Thing" #78 Tiles

Hearts, hearts, and more hearts!  That is what we have been tangling through "It's a String Thing" #77 and #78.  The latter combined a double heart string and four LOVE-ly tangles.  Let's take a look ~

The first tile arrived from Kristen Kostelnik Killips who wrote ~

What a fun challenge! I haven't done much tangling this year so far, but I'm hoping to find more time. Why is it that when we would most benefit from Tangling we seem to have the hardest time finding the chance to do it? I guess the same can be said for most things that are good for us.
Oh well, here's to more time for Tangling!

And here is to more tangling time for all of us!

Tangled Tidbits -
*lovely rows of Hearline
*alternating black and colorful spaces of LG


Along with "many greetings" Sandra note read ~

I loved the patterns and used three of the four. I didn't really know how to tangle the fourth one also in just one tile ;-)
To tangle the tile made my day!
My blog-post .

Tangled Tidbits -
*Heartline in a heart shape
*beautiful shading

Carmela wrote, "All hearts.................................
On my blog. "

Tangled Tidbits -
*so many happy hearts and awesome aura
*Love Line along the heart shaped string line

Cindy Straight said, ..."The string was perfect to accommodate the lovely patterns...."

Tangled Tidbits -
*aura and tipple around Love Line

*complimentary swirls of LG, Hearline, and Hearty 


CZT Lucy Banta sent "Greetings from snowy New Jersey." She added, "Great string this week and great tangles. I struggled to use all four, and I thought I did until my sister pointed out that I didn't. Haha. Here's the link to my blog"

Tangled Tidbits -
*pretty perfs
*Love Line cleverly tucked into LG

Vicky Brison wrote ~

..and here is this weeks submission!...Loving these heart challenges!
This string reminded me of a heart shaped box of chocolates...yummy
so I gravitated to the brown(chocolates) and red(cherries) pens. Several
variations going on here...looks good enough to eat!

Yes, it does!

*fabulous details
*sparkle and shading
*beautiful variations of Hearty and Love Line


Dr. Neha Sanwalka wrote ~

What a lovely string you gave us to tangle this week. Loved tangling it. Its two of us at "Tanglicious Connections" who blog together and this time your challenge was so fun that both of us tangled for your challenge. The pink one is mine and white one is my friend Roshni's tile. We posted it on our blog too. 

Tangled Tidbits -
*twice the fun to tangle with a friend :)
*Heartline along the heart shaped string line
*bold background of Hearty


With greetings from Germany, Heike said, "The patterns were all new to me. I would have not tried any pattern with hearts [but] still enjoyed it."

Tangled Tidbits -
*light and dark aura
* a billowing LG

Emily Shelton wrote, "...I added some dangles and two Zentangle® patterns: Steps by Helen Williams’ and Kiss by Katie Booth. What would a Valentine’s Day/Heart tangle be without a Kiss?"

Tangled Tidbits -
*Love Line dangles - so pretty!
*pleasant mixture of light and dark spaces

Judy Wanner sent "Valentine hugs" and said that the string reminded her of "Meghan Trainor's pop hit, "All About That Bass"...!!
Thank you for that - made me laugh as I am sure most who read this will laugh too :)

Tangle Tidbits -
*sparkle in Love Line
*gorgeous line work in the three large hearts

Michele Wynne wrote ~

Wow, so many great patterns! This was a fun one and seriously challenging. It was not an easy task figuring out what to use where and there were a couple of rejects along the way. The best discovery was "LG" This one goes into my keeper file. I am not a "hearts & flowers" kind of girl (though I've found myself embracing such motifs over the last week or so) and I love the graphic boldness of it. I found that I like a good dose of black with my hearts and flowers;)

Tangled Tidbits -
*LG with sparkle and dark aura
*thin and thick strokes of Heartline



Ilse Lukken wrote, "Thank you for another nice challenge, it was fun to use your pattern LG!

You can also see my tile on my blog."

Tangled Tidbits -
*two lovely and detailed LG
*shading against the dark outline of LG


Amrita said ~

...Got to play with all new tangles. Heartline proved tricky for me....but all in all it was some good learning and lots of fun.
Also, on my blog 

Tangled Tidbits -
*Hearty string lines
*fine lines of LG make the center hearts pop
*detailed shading

Ann K said ~

Still feeling the love for the hearty challenges... Great patterns this week too...
All those hearts just calls for color!
I also posted this on my blog 

That is a very pretty tile and back drop, too.

Tangled Tidbits -
*an elegant mix of patterns in the string spaces
*stacks of Hearty, large to small, with wonderful bits of white

From CZT Joan Delony -

Tangled Tidbits -
*fabulous striping, sparkle, and shading, oh my!
*aura added to Love Line

Lori Byerly wrote ~

Hearts everywhere! I've added several new heart patterns to my tangle collection, thanks to you. Thanks also for creating a heart string for us to use in the challenge.
You can see my tile here as well. 

Tangled Tidbits -
*Lacey Heartline vines
*shaded layers of LG
*dotted border line


Annemarie wrote ~

So, the second tile with Valentine's Day as the subject. I liked working on it, however I liked my tile from last week better.
Here is the link.

Tangled Tidbits -
*Annemarie's pretty hand painted paper
*tipple with LG

Magdalene Lee wrote ~

Here's my tile for this week, and it's also up on my blog here. I thought this week's tangles allowed for more variation than last week's, and I had fun playing with them! I'll admit Heartline stumped me a bit as I found it difficult to get the hearts to align properly. But LG let me draw the heart shapes I love to draw so much and it's a great way to fill up space in a tile. I also enjoyed creating variations of Love Line.

Tangled Tidbits -
*striking mix of dark and light spaces
* sparkle and aura
*a gorgeous variation of Hearty

Susan Theron said -

Loved this challenge. I've tried other combinations, but liked this one best. I cheated a bit by adding heartstrings as a filler and too late realised that perhaps I should have added a bit of sparkle to the heartstring-filler .

That is not cheating, that is creative license :)

Tangled Tidbits -
*Heartline string lines
*beautiful dark back drop for the lightly lined LG


A very warm welcome to Kim Winebrenner who also posted her tile here on her blog ~

Tangled Tidbits -
*alternating detail lines in Heartline
*Hearty in a heart :)

Felicity said -

Firstly thank you Adele for the heartily, lovely string this week. One look at the string, and I was off to a heart-stopping rendezvous with Love Line, Heartline, and their sis Hearty to meet up with LG! I’m sure you can see I really had a great time. So many possibilities, and also a fantastic learning curve with three out of four of the great tangles. I have enjoyed using LG before, but the others were all new to me. The touches of colour are a must for my Valentine “series”

The energy in Felicity's words carries over to her pretty tangles~

Tangled Tidbits -
*aura and shading of Love Line
*a melding of Heartline and LG

Natasja Rijsbergen (the Netherlands) said ~

What a lovely string you made!!
It was a pleasure to tangle this string.
All tangles are beautifull and matches perfect together
I really like my finished zentangle.

It is beautiful!

Tangled Tidbits -
*a heart string line of Love Line with a striking white center
*Hearty lines on opposite sides
*lovely LG


Heidi wrote, "... I was a little stumped with all the linear patterns so I decided to use them as ribbons behind two large hearts. I really enjoyed all the tangles but especially Hearty."

Tangled Tidbits -
*Hearty and Love Line as a backdrop
*arrows in Heartline

From Ingrid Coventon -

This tile was really fun to do. Although the result is a bit disappointing me. I loved all the suggested patterns. I'm curious what others have made of this week's challenge. I think it will be very heartwarming to look at all the tiles loaded with hearts.

Tangled Tidbits -
*the patterns are so very pretty in pink

*a wonderful blending of LG and Hearty

Sue Agnew will get us all singing with her note ~

First of all, I have to "thank" you for an earworm ... don't know if you're old enough to remember the song "love grows where my Rosemary goes" ... but it's been haunting me all week. And the really funny thing about that is that I think of your LG tangle as standing for "life is good." But the power of suggestion is strong!
I wanted to use LG someplace besides the obvious place, in the heart shape. However, that's where it wanted to be so there it is. Love Line makes me think of bows tied around the bases of hearts ... so I tied a Love Line bow where the hearts meet, and then I paid (a very faint) homage to Heartline with the curvy ties of the bow.

Tangled Tidbits -
*a masterful blend of the patterns
*sparkle and dainty detail lines

Jane Glotzer describes a wonderful 'zen' experience with her tile ~

Another "love"ly challenge this week in honor of the day of celebrating all things LOVE. I started with LG, and as you can see, I ended there, too! Once I got going, I was addicted, and this piece ended up as a monotangle of your pattern--:)
I originally thought there'd be some Hearty or Heartline or Love Line in there somewhere, but I guess the zen of Zentangle had its own idea this time and once those blank empty heart spaces were staring at me, I decided to know when was done--:) A teeny bit of black background spaces, some red for the holiday, a touch of shading, and voila! simple, but sweet. That seems to be my approach for your challenges, lately... (and I'm pretty sure I will be using this or last week's challenge for my valentine's cards this year, so thanks very much for that!!!)
Wishing you, your family and the entire Zentangle community lots of love, passion and creativity for this week's Valentine holiday!

Tangled Tidbits -
*a glorious use of one pattern to define the spaces of a string line
*gotta love the white space hearts!


Joya said, "... I wish you all a great Valentine's day ♥"

Tangled Tidbits -
*a variety of pattern sizes gives them each emphasis
*shading LG around the heart string lines gives the area dimension
*rich touches of red


From Sharyn Penna ~

Wasn't this a happy follow up to your last prompt!
Helen Williams has such a unique hand to tangling ... very free spirited ... I think my hand is much more conservative than my thoughts and intention. My Heartline disappointed me at first, but once I began shading LG I realized, the conservative approach suits this tile. I hadn't used any of the heart themed tangles, and now I'm wondering why I waited so long. Thanks for all the heart-felt fun! Happy Valentine's Day! 

Tangled Tidbits -
*beautiful string lines of Heartline and Love Line pulled together with Hearty
*wonderful layers of LG

Peggy Kohrmann wrote ~

I love your string and all the tangles though new seemed easy to do and understand. I used all four of the tangles and hopefully my shading will make the big hearts look like they might spin.
Happy Valentines day to everyone and enjoy the time with family and friends!

Tangled Tidbits -
*alternating shading of LG does add another dimension
*very pretty border of Love Line



Lily Moon sent her festive tile and also posted it here on her blog ~

Tangled Tidbits -
*two frames of a delicate Love Line
*so many detailed layers of LG
*aura of Hearty

From Efie van Rekum-Derksen -

Tangled Tidbits -
*a clever use of the tangles to accent the heart string spaces
*shading adds depth

Traci wrote ~

Another fun challenge!
Had to add a little red for my Valentine!
Thanks so much for your weekly challenge. I'm sure I speak for all ... We love it!

(And I love seeing what everyone sends in!)

Tangled Tidbits -
*curls on Love Line
*gorgeous variation of Hearty

*pretty pop of red

Cathy Cusson said,"Here we go! I loved this week! It was so much fun to play with the Valentine type tangles and string. I sort of compressed the sting into one of the tangles. [On] my blog. "

Tangled Tidbits -
*Love Line and Heartline blended
*aura of Heartline compliments LG


Suzanne Moshier said,"I really like [Love]line and the way it turned a simple string into flowing curves!"  [on my blog]

Tangled Tidbits -
*bright and beautiful tangles
*pretty string line of Love Line

And now, for a special treat, everyone who submitted a tile this week will receive a Valentine email from me as a thank you.

Thank you all for sharing the Valentine love and good wishes.

Many thanks to the creative minds behind the tangles used this week ~

Heartline by Helen Williams
Hearty by Livia Chua
Love Line by Judy Murphy

It was a pleasure to know so many of you enjoyed my LG.  

HAPPY ST. VALENTINE'S DAY!