Tangle Organization

I have been tangling since 2004 and I guess it is fair to say that it has taken me almost about 8 years to find/develop a tangle organization system that works for me.  When tangling was brand new, it was pretty easy.  I had a nice print out of tangles given to me in my first class and from there I advanced to my kit.  Then zentangle kept growing and growing and in 2009 I attended the first CZT training.  There I received my CZT "bible" and I was super excited to have an organization system already made for me.  But the tangles didn't stop there.  Right there in that first CZT seminar we were asked to go out and create our own tangle pattern.  That is when I came up with Koryl and so I needed to figure out how to add all the wonderful new patterns that were appearing on blogs, the Zentangle Newsletter, the web and of course TANGLEPATTERNS.COM!!  How the heck was I going to keep track of all of these?  I won't drag you through the years, but it took many trials, reading about what others were doing and eventually creating my own system.  I am happy to report that after about a year of using this system, I am still using it and it really seems to work for me.  I needed to create a system where I could categorize the tangles and be able to easily see them.  I am pretty sure that my Virgo nature played a role in my need for categories.  So here is what I came up with, I have created four categories that I break out tangles into:

• Grid Patterns
• Border Patterns
• Filler Patterns
• Shapes Patterns

I find that I am able to fit every new tangle I encounter into one of these categories.  It doesn't mean I have to use a border pattern only as a border, but I know where to look....and with all the tangles displayed on baseball card size cards there is easy viewing for the next tangle I want to try.  On the back you can draw the step outs for the patterns.  

If this sounds like a system that might work for you, visit my Etsy shop where you can download the PDF files for the cards.  Then you can choose your own colors of cardstock and print as many as you like!  I have also added a 5th category as a separate download via request for an Original Zentangle Card that can also be downloaded.

There are lots of other ideas about organization out there.  A great resource is this post by Margaret Bremner, CZT where she includes her systems and links to others.  

Keep Tangling!

Challenge 116: Blind Sighted

I am spending the week back in Rhode Island to help my mom following surgery. She is doing well but her recovery will take some time. We have had a nice quiet evening for her first night home and I have had some time to tangle while relaxing and watching TV. This week's challenge from the Diva was to draw a blind string and then tangle. Well, my string turned out all squished up and I forgot to take a picture of the tiny tangled mess it was, but here is what I came up with and I am surprised at how many tangles I squished into this squishy space.  This is not one of my favorite tiles, but not sure if I will have time to do/post another so I just need to let go and let it be.  Please excuse the quality of my images for the next couple of weeks.  I will be away from my scanner and will be at the mercy of my IPad/Phone cameras.

Tangles: Ojo, Knightsbridge, Printemps,Mysteria,Msst, Scallops (variation), Ahh

Keep Tangling!

Challenge 115: "Amanda Day" - Earth Day

This week's challenge is in honor of Earth Day and it immediately made me think of the elements that make up our wonderful Earth: Water, Fire, Air and Earth.  So I set out on my quest to find a tangle that represented each and here is what I came up with:

Tangles: Lamar (Water), Flying Geese (Air), Candle Glow (Fire), Sand Swirls (Earth)

Keep Tangling!!