Hi there my tangling friends!
Canadian tangler Cyndi Knapp is back with us today to share another of her stellar tangles 😉 and Estrella has a holiday feel to it. Between tangles and tutorials Cyndi has shared lots of creative ideas with us so be sure to check out everything tagged cyndik.
Cyndi shares her inspiration for Estrella and explains its name:
This pattern was inspired by a photo I took near the Barcelona Cathedral in Barre Gòtic, the historic heart of Barcelona Catalonia.
More specifically…the window grille (below) on a building by “The Monument to the Heroes of 1809” (above) in Plaça De Garriga I Bachs.
At the time, it seemed that creating the pattern would be a daunting task. But by the time I got around to it, I had an epiphany … use a dot grid (exaggerated in the Steps).
Considering where the inspiration came from and that part of the pattern has a four sided star quality, it was named Estrella – “star” in Spanish.
ZIA with Estrella and Kiki (v) – Colour & Watercolour pencils and a Pilot Metallic Gold extra fine marker for accents/star fill
Once you get the knack of it, Estrella is fairly easy to tangle. For the best end result, it’s a good pattern to practice and take your time to tangle. It’s quite versatile in application and allows for some variation and embellishment. With its baroquishness, it would be great for seasonal tangles and decorations.
ZIA tile with Estrella, Inapod (v), Kuke (v), Mooka (v) and Tipple. Colour pencils and a Pilot Metallic Gold extra fine marker for star fill.
For my simple example of Estrella I added inside auras then once I started inking them in there was no going back. A bold version we’d have to say.
Cyndi illustrates the step-by-step instructions for drawing Estrella below. In her sample Zentangle tile she features “Romanancy and some variations of Estrella.”
Image copyright the artist and used with permission, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. These images are for your personal offline reference only. Please feel free to refer to the images to recreate this tangle in your personal Zentangles and ZIAs. However the artist and TanglePatterns.com reserve all rights to the images and they must not be publicly pinned, altered, reproduced or republished. (Small side note: if you look at the legalese in Pinterest, you are legally responsible for obtaining permission to post every photo that gets ‘Pinned’. Giving credit or sharing the source link doesn’t count.) Thank you for respecting these rights. “We must all face the choice between what is right and what is easy.” ~ Albus Dumbledore
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Check out the tag cyndik for more of Cyndi’s tangles on TanglePatterns.com.
Zentangle-Inspired Seasonal Tutorial Coming This Weekend
When Cyndi sent her Estrella tangle submission, she also sent along a super idea for a Zentangle-inspired seasonal tutorial. Her suggestion deserves special attention so instead of combining it here I’m preparing it to add later this week. Aiming for Saturday, so keep an eye on your inbox!
BTW – If you have an idea for a tutorial of interest to the Zentangle community any time of the year, by all means send me an email with the suggestion and we’ll go from there. I know there are many CZTs out there with creative Zentangle-related ideas to share but this invite is by no means limited to CZTs. I welcome all ideas! My email address is on the ABOUT > CONTACT LINDA page.
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Related Links
- Looking for tangles by Artist or Type? For details visit the ABOUT > HOW TO FIND TANGLES BY ARTIST OR TYPE page on the top menu bar of any page on the site.
- What is a Zentangle? — if you are new to the Zentangle Method, start here for the fundamentals.
- Zentangle terminology — a glossary of terms used in this art form.
- How to use the site — an excellent free video tutorial showing how to use the site as well as pointing out lots of useful features you might have missed.
- Linda's List of Zentangle-Original Patterns — here is the complete list of original tangles (aka "official tangles") created and introduced by founders Rick Roberts and Maria Thomas, including those not published online. If you are new to the Zentangle Method I highly recommend learning a few of the published Zentangle classics first.
- "A Zentangle has no up or down and is not a picture of something, so you have no worries about whether you can draw a hand, or a duck. You always succeed in creating a Zentangle." Patterns that are drawings of a recognizable naturalistic or actual object, figure, or scene, are not tangles. A pattern is not always a tangle — here's what makes a tangle. TIP: tangles never start with pencil planning.
- Un motif n’est pas toujours un tangle — Qu’est-ce qu’un tangle ?
- Un diseño no es siempre un tangle — ¿Qué es un tangle?
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November 12, 2025 | 
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