New tangle, Oussia, and Review of Geneviève Crabes Tangle Organizers and Journal 2012

Zentangle addicts, there is now a tangle organizer specifically made with you in mind!  (For those of you unfamiliar with zentangle, please see my page What is a Zentangle ).

CZT, Geneviève Crabe offers Tangle Organizers in 4 different formats.  

Whether you like the 'classic' look that allows six steps and an example of the tangle pattern or prefer to just show small examples of the pattern with no steps, you're covered.  

I chose to buy Layout #1, because I think it is best for sharing tangles online.  There's an ample box for each step and a large tangle example.  For my own personal use, to carry around, I think I'd go with Layout #4.  With 100 pages and 12 tangle examples per page, you could get 1200 tangles in the book!   But if you want larger examples, or room for steps or notes Layouts #2 or #3 might be a better choice for you.

My new tangle pattern Oussia.

The layouts leave enough room that you can write yourself notes.  

She also offers a Tangle Journal 2012,  which is a planner with line drawings designed to stimulate your own artistic talents.

Although Geneviève is calling this book a tangle journal it could be used as coloring book, a weekly planner, an art prompt journal or a combination of all of these. There isn’t anything inherently ‘tangle’ about it, other than lots of cool line art you can tangle in.

At a 7.5x7.5 inch size, it is large enough to let you get fancy, but small enough to be portable. 

The left side of the journal is formatted as a two-page-a-week calendar, running Monday through Sunday (had to mention that for my US readers), starting at Dec. 26, 2011 and ending on Jan. 6, 2013.  At the back of the book there is a two page calendar with a section for every month of 2013.   





Some of the line-drawings are abstract, mandalas or patterns, and some are realistic, ranging from teacups to parrots.  These line art prompts are simple in design, just enough to stir your creativity. 

As I mentioned before the paper has enough tooth that color pencil works well.  I added as many as four layers of color in some areas, without having it turn slick or refuse to take more color.  I believe I could have continued to layer if I so desired.  The quality of your color pencils will determine how much you can do, but whether cheap or expensive pencils, you’ll do well on this paper.

One notion that struck me, with this journal, is that it would be an excellent first planner for a child, inviting them to jot down and organize their ideas, but flexible enough that they could let their imaginations run wild, as well. 

Not such a bad idea for us adults, either.  I know I’ll be tucking both Organizer and Journal into my purse, and will be proud to be seen working in them as I wait in lines, or for a meal.  I fully expect to engage in conversation with strangers, as I explain what they are, and what zentangle is.

The Covers and Paper  

Both Organizer and Journal are spiral-bound with cardstock covers.  The spiral-binding allows the books to lie completely flat, or to folded back, but for a leftie, like myself, might cause problems.  I did have to rest my hand on the binding, but it was small enough, and gave enough, that it didn't hinder my drawing.

In the Organizer, Geneviève explains that she chose economical paper that would do the job.  I think she made a good choice, especially for the journal, because the paper holds a crisp line yet has enough tooth to allow layering with color pencil.  


As you can see, from the Journal page below, done with Sharpie Fineline pen, shadows do come through on the back of the page.  I didn’t find that a problem, but it might be disturbing for some.  The paper also allows some transference of ink, and Geneviève suggests placing a sheet of card stock behind the sheet you are working on.

Tangled with Sharpie Fineline Pen (NOT MARKER)

The paper is off-white, with a parchment-like sound and feel. You won’t want to use markers on it, but most ballpoints, gel pens and art pens will work nicely, and the paper color is white enough for clarity, and brilliance.  Pen colors are sharp and clear, and you can get subtle effects with colored pencil.  

I tested with a Micron Pigma, size .01, .02, .05 and .08 in Dark Sepia and Black.  I also used Sharpie Fineline pen (NOT markers) in both red and black for drawing my pattern steps; a Pilot B2P ballpoint pen, and a Lamy Safari fountain pen with Diamine Chocolate Brown Ink, Colored Pencils and even Watercolors! 


I honestly wouldn't recommend either fountain pens or watercolors, but this paper held up better than I expected with both.  The fountain pen feathered slightly, and left spots if I rested in one spot too long or blacked out too large an area.  The watercolor made the page buckle, and showed through heavily on the back.  You find out the best in a paper by throwing the worst at it and this paper did a decent job in handling media it wasn't designed for.  I've had watercolor paper that buckled worse.

B2P Ballpoint Bottle Pen

Lamy Safari Fountain Pen

Lyra Rembrandt Watercolors

Watercolor-not recommended, but the paper handled better than expected

The winner of prize package 1 is carirabz and of price pacakage 2 is Lori Bradford. The Giveaway is now closed.

The Giveaway

Yes!  A new giveaway!  Two winners! The prizes:

Prize Package 1: A Tangle Organizer, signed by Geneviève Crabe

4 Micron Pigma Sepia-colored pens—one .25mm, one .45mm, one 1.0mm and one brush tip.

4 Sharpie Fineline pens-Black, Blue, Green and Red

Prize Package 2:  a Tangle Journal, signed by Geneviève Crabe

4 Micron Pigma Sepia-colored pens—one .25mm, one .45mm, one 1.0mm and one brush tip.

3 Pentel Slicci Mettalic Pens-Copper, Gold & Silver

Please read the rules.  They are simple, but must be followed or your entry will be voided.

1. Leave a comment on this post with an email where I can reach you.
2. Only 1 entry per person.  I’m running this giveaway at both of my blogs—please only enter on one of them.  All duplicate entries will be eliminated from the giveaway.  If you accidentally comment twice, email me at lifeimitatesdoodles@gmail.com and I’ll remove the duplicates.
3. If you don’t wish to leave an email in the comments—copy your comment post, paste it into an email and send it to me at:  lifeimitatesdoodles@gmail.com. 

I hate to be so insistent but I had a giveaway where two people claimed they were the winner, and it was very upsetting because I didn’t have an email I could use to validate the correct person.

The contest starts at midnight 12/8/11 PST, and ends at midnight when 12/12/11 PST becomes 12/13/11.  The winner will be posted on 12/13/11.

Each comment will be assigned a number, and the winning numbers  will be chosen by random generator.  The first number drawn will receive Prize Package #1 and the second number drawn will receive Prize Package #2.


I want to thank Geneviève.  I bought an Organizer & Journal for the purposes of this giveaway, and when I contacted to see if it was possible to get them signed, she generously offered to send me more!  This let me use the copies I bought for a review, and I’ve spent the weekend designing patterns and tangling!  My kind of weekend!


I will try and get the winners their prizes before Christmas, but I can't guarantee it (especially if it's shipped outside the U.S., so if you want one of these for a present, I suggest going to Geneviève's blog and ordering as soon as possible.  Organizer Order Page.  Journal 2012 Order Page.


Update! Geneviève just told me that Lulu is having a 25% discount on all orders until December 14th, with Coupon code COUNTDOWN.

Good luck, everyone!