Xmas card list

don't forget to get yourself on my Xmas card list!!!! one lucky person will receive a present along with their Xmas card! you never know... you might be lucky!

comment here or mail to wattstanya@synet.be

you have until December 1st to get on my list

for SALE: one painful throat, a banging headache and an earache that is killing me, anyone want them?... hummm didn't think so!! i'll just have to get rid of them with medication then....

i've done some blog hopping since i passed on the award and i came across a great blog from a northen lass just like me so i put http://thekathrynwheel.blogspot.com/ new in my bloglist! be sure to go check it out!

what a weekend!!!

what a weekend i had!

first of all i had a great "Be Rangerized"workshop at Hobbyfarm, it went really well!

it was fun to see everyone getting their hands dirty and getting into distress inks, paint dabbers, perfect pearls, Grungeboard...

it was a fun workshop and i am happy to say that i received very nice comments and thank you's afterwards, a very rewarding day and i thank everyone for joining me!

On Saturday evening i stayed in Ghent to take my two eldest out to dinner for their birthday's, Inez is 21 and Bart 19! time flies!!!!

my brother joined us with his girlfriend and we had a fun evening out with nice italian food! Sunday started off a peaceful relaxing day, still in ghent, we were going to the cinema but then decided to stay in a watch a dvd instead, hot chocolate and sweets at hand, i fell asleep during the film as usual and when i woke up an hour later i found it had snowed sooooo hard that it was impossible for me to drive to go pick up my other three kids ! they were about 20km away! looking out the window i saw cars skidding all over the road, people pushing their cars, at least trying to! it was a circus!!! and dangerous!!! i had to stay in ghent another night ! so i just got home a few hours ago to find it was snowing hard here in limburg so i head off to the shops to get enough food in for the next week! LET IT SNOW!!!!

what else? yes! i recieved an award from eveline, a belgian scrapstore owner and a scrapper herself! thank you eveline! hihi !she used to stalk me :-) but that is a different story haha!

The rules:
1. The winner may put the logo on their blog
2. Put a link to the person who sent you the award
3. Nominate 5 blogs for the award.

okay so i'm going to give it to:

Michelle

Ranger girl! altered artist! we connect! i really wish i lived closer!

Sue

my soulmate in spain!!

i simply love this woman! what more can i say?

Patty

a wonderful!! eclectic artist!

wish we had the chance to play together.

Lisa

ohh fairy lisa! sparkles everywhere!

ooohhh i could spend a few weeks with her!

Micheal

my favourite beeswax artist ever!!! he is really good!!!

a super great guy! really!

i'd love to meet his wife!

why is Arizona soooo damn far away?

there! i passed this award on and hope you check out their blogs! it is more than worth it! get yourself a cup of tea or coffee or a glass of wine, what ever works for you and take some time to

visit these friends of mine!

i'm off to get myself a well earned cup of tea!

hope you all have the most wonderful day, evening, ...

Christmas Card List

Xmas is coming! soon!!!! believe me!

If you would like to be on my Xmas Card List then all you need to do is comment to this post, or mail, if you mail be sure to put Xmas Card List in as subject so i can sort the mails into the right box! I don't care if you live on the other side of our planet! if you are on my list you will recieve a handmade Xmas Card, don't forget to add your address (in mail, don't post in comment here! just give me your email so i can ask for your details later), i promise to keep it private and never to use it for any other reason than your Xmas Card! You have my word on that! You have up to the 1st of December to get on my list! and one lucky person will recieve a present along with their card, i will randomly choose from everyone on my list!! i'll put all the names in a hat !

Don't be shy! put your name on my list, i want to spread some Xmas Joy!!!

xx Tanya

workshops

first this!! >>>if you like collage images then maybe you can go and give jack & cat a visit!
some really nice images to use in your altered arts! New images added yesterday!
i met micheal ( jack ) at Ranger U, he was the only guy in the group! he is a really highly talented beeswax artist! honestly if you haven't checked this blog you really should!
if it wasn't for Arizona being soooooo far from Belgium i would be sure to go and take some classes!

BE RANGERIZED WORKSHOP

this Saturday i have a great workshop planned at Hobbyfarm, eeklo, belgium

"be Rangerized" a workshop filled with 12 techniques using Ranger Distress Inks, Perfect pearls, Adirondack Dabbers and more! a fun packed workshop really worth taking!

Sadly two people had to cancel so 2 spots have become available so if you are quick you can still get in, just give Hobbyfarm a ring.



also at Hobbyfarm! 29 & 30 November there are Xmas days!!! Demo's on Saturday and Sunday, you can see me demoing on the Saturday and on the Sunday i have a great workshop plannedn if you are qiuck you will still find a couple of spots are still free but be quick because i'm sure that they will be gone by next week! we'll be doing a 6x6 inch chipboard book filled with techniques such as background stamping, painting, colour blending, distressing, Stickles, Perfcet Pearls, Cuttlebug embossing...! we'll be working with wonderful Black Magic ColorCore paper! If i wasn't giving the workshop i would want to follow it myself haha! honestly! it's a beautiful little book



well, that was that for now, i'm really tired, my ankle is hurting, one day i think it'll get better very soon and the next day i'm in more pain than ever! Nature's way of saying:" don't overdo it Tanya!" but if you know me... i"m pretty impatient...


but anyhow, i'm off to read in bed with a Cadbury's hot chocolate....


night night! don't let the bedbugs bite!

xx tanya

Creating with Ranger

Why do i love Ranger so much? bacause their products are so versitile, brilliant quality, easy to use, fun to use, their colour range is perfect for my style! i just love them!

these days i see myself using pretty much nothing else when it comes to inks, paints and powders! i have them on my table 24/7!

am i addicted to Ranger stuff?

i don't know but when i start smelling Tim's wonderful Grungeboard and have a sniff of the Distress embossing ink then i often wonder if there is is magic hidden in their products to make us love them... well i think they are magic anyway!!!

there, you have it! i love Ranger stuff!!!!

so what have i been up to?

i 've been working on my 2009 workshops, "be Rangerized 1" workshop a 13 technique workshop covering distress inks, paint dabbers and Perfect Pearls, "be Rangerized 1+, a 20-23 technique workshop... all in handmade portfolios, Tim Holtz style!! you've got to love him!!!

i have finished my "4-Seasons" workshop!!!! (i called it 4 seasons because of all the colours, the flowers, snowflake, embossed leaves, are you with me on this? i thought of the title after i had made it! hihi!)

Ranger techniques on Metal, Glossy paper and Mica or Glass, using Alcohol inks; Dimentional Pearls, Adirondack Dye ink and Archivals, including resist techniques, Agates, Embossing, monoprinting,.... so much to do in this workshop

these photo's don't do the colours justice! they seem to clash in the picture but in daylight they match perfectly! going from Spring to Winter... nor can you pick up on all the beautiful shiny details! shame! it's this dull Autumn light... it's such a dull day today!

My first "4-Seasons" workshop will be at Hobbyfarm in Eeklo, we still have to set a date but we will be doing that very soon, you can get yourself on the list to ensure your spot! i only take on 15-16 people at a time, i like to have enough time to assist everyone.

(Color Core Black magic pp, Ranger Glossy pp, Adirondack alcohol inks, Prima flowers,...)

i made a birthday card that needs to be sent off today! my eldest daughter Inez is 21 this Saturday! yes!!! i have a grown daughter! it's hard to believe sometimes, where does time go!!!! ohhh don't get me started!!!

i'm off to get myself a cup of tea and back to the drawing board so to speak, so many ideas for workshops jotted down, now i have to make them happen!!!

have a nice day!!!

my new shoes!!!

yes yes yes! today is the day! i got rid of my huge ugly heavy walking boot! okay! it was useful! i don't want to sound too ungrateful towards my friendly boot! after all it did help me through the last 9 weeks!!!

but now!!! i have new shoes! well i don't really love them yet, i had to buy this specific type of shoe! doctor's orders really! he said, and i quote! " thick soles, no heels, ankle high, shoelaces, heavy duty, nothing girly! go for CAT or Timberlands" so first off to the medical store to go but support stockings for my foot-ankle-leg! my leg is so thin! no power in the muscles what so ever! so, got the stockings! cost me a fortune but okay i'm not one to complain (am i?...) then off to the shoe shop, i did have a quick look in the women's section and sighed and went on to the Timberland section! i had already decided i needed black ones! and of course, and i kind of already knew this! they only had brown!!! you know natural colours! so after a bit of a pout i did try on the brown ones and the first ones were way to difficult to fit over my swollen ankle but the next were fine, so soft and souple so i kept them on! i walked out with my new brown BOY'S boots! yes! i had to get them from the junior men's section!!!, well it looked a bit like walking haha! i have a strange twist to my step at the moment but it will get better!

i'm happy!!!!

what else have i been up to? my eldest son turned 19 on Saturday so we had cake, played poker the whole afternoon and went out for dinner in the evening, quiet birthday for a 19 year old but that's what he likes to do!


*i made him a birthday card inspired by the latset Tim Holtz November technique, go visit his blog!

*I'm working on my 2009 workshops, working out some ideas, incorperating Ranger products into my ideas, not that that is hard! i'd use Ranger anyway hihi!

*I've nearly finished reading "Pillars of the earth" ohhhh i so don't want to finish it, i hate saying goodbye to a good book! do you know the feeling?

so there you have an update :-)

big hug!!!

my first Gothic Arch

i made my first Gothic Arch, there is something about this shape that i find really appealing and apparently i'm not alone, i found http://gothicarches.wordpress.com/ where you can download free arch templates to get you started, i found this address when reading the November issue of Craft Stamper, a UK magazine i just love!

anyway, i printed my own artwork, Oracle card "strength" onto this really thin newspaper-like paper, it went really well with my Canon printer, i dried the ink with my heattool cause i like things quick!

i beeswaxed my print with natural beeswax to a background i had painted and masked with Ranger Dabbers, Distress inks, papers and bits of bookprint, it turned out a touch dark so the next time i will keep my background a little lighter! i added some gold and bronze beeswax! i used my craft iron, melted the wax up against the iron and ironed it on straight away, i'd never done it like this before, i usually use the little spade on the stylus tool! this was quick! less accurate but fun because it left space for chance!

i added a dotted ribbon at the bottom, waxed it and dragged some bronze and gold wax across it, i addes some flowers with brads, i cut off the prongs a attached with Glossy Accents, Ranger, a inner watch piece, a rub-on at the tpo, some buttons, a found plastic object and a cool little piece of glass that i glues onto a piece of book page with Glossy Accents, i was so lucky to just pick up a piece that i had torn earlier for a diff project and the word "strength" just jumped out at me!

i also made soem of these cute little houses! i've been wanting to make some for ages and never got round to doing them, so now i did!

i like them, i want to make a whole bunch of them before Xmas ( i know! i love Xmas!!!!) they would look so nice all together like a little village, very nostalgic even.

i even want to make my own pattern for some house of my own, it's pretty easy really!

i love these ones mind!!!! they are by Julie van oosten.

Oracle card "Children"

here i want to show my second Oracle card, as i said before we were challenged by the adorable Suzi Blu to create an Oracle card, mine was Strength (posted in October) and now i decided to do some more so i researched Oracle cards and found soem i liked and could relate too and so now i've finished nr 2 of i thik 45 cards that i would like to make! note that i'm not promising to make them all! i want it to be something that i feel free to do or not! part of my new plan on saying YES to certain things and definitly saying NO to other things!

anyway, i'll explain my card a little seeing that i'm the creating artist :-)

this card represents Children, being the children in my life or at times my own inner child, therefor it is colourful! my children colour my life, they are pretty and sparkle with energy all the time and that's how i see them! fresh and bright and colourful and sparkled!!

lots of red gold and the tiny purple hearts were not actually part of my design at first! this morning my lttle five year old daughter decided to punch hearts instead of getting dressed for school! when i caught her doing it she replied (very cunningly, i might add!) that she thought they needed to be done because she loves me so much and i might need them today in my art! now that is an answer one can't be angry with! and so i used them today in my art! i have such a wise and smart little kid!

November already!

oh dear doesn't time fly!

i feel like the year has passed me by without me noticing it at all! of course that is not true when i stop to think harder, a lot did happen this year and of course the year is not over yet and i'm quick to start collecting a year's memories, i know!

and i'm already counting the days until i can put up the Xmas tree!

i 'm such a kid haha! honestly i can't wait to get my old nat king cole & dean martin cd out! old-fashioned Christmas songs, the kids hate them, i play them every year the whole month of December! exept for one year! they hid the cd!!!! i got a copy! and we were back! with a hohoho and a hahaha!

but hey, life does go fast you know! i'll be 41 next month and i still remember turning 40 only yesterday! i'm okay with it all, i'm just saying! i realize i have to live now and not tomorrow!

enough of talk like that! tanya, pull yourself together woman!!

i had a peaceful weekend, rainy weather, pretty gloomy and cold though, i got the fireplaces all lit here in the house, nice and cosy, the kids watching Disney films on dvd, the eldest glued to the computers! and me just having a play at my worktable as usual, i made 2 lay-outs for the Hobbyfarm challenge, i'm part of their Designteam so i make examples every month and people can join the Challenge, it's fun!

i liked the paper i got ot work with!

the idea was to follow a sketch! but if you know me! i see a line and i need to cross it! so maybe my lo's don't even resemble the sketch! well they do a little if you look hard enough :-)

this one is of my 16 year old daughter Debby and myself, photo taken this Summer out in the garden, we were making necklaces out on a blanket on the lawn, it was a great day!

this one is a picture of my youngest, Estée, she's 5 now but this an old picture, she was not yet 3 at the time, but i like the photo so much i wanted to use it for this project

what else did i do?... ah i started another petite doll, a Gothic one for Debby, she nagged me until i gave in, so now instead of shading a pretty face i need to do a corpse colour! what a challenge! but it's turning out fine i think, i'll show it once it's finished.

oh and i played with beeswax! i got this really cheap wooden chest and beeswaxed it! i used copper, red, black and pearl, i used a stylustool to get the wax on and then wooshed it around using my brand new Ranger heattool! i love my heat tool Sue! then buffed it up to an amazng shine! i love the shine of beeswax!!

i like the way it had turned out, i accidentally created some fun patterns, i'll probably add some Grungeboard letters and details and store my little blocks of wax in the chest.

oh yes! i took my son for his first drive on the motorway! i've been teaching him to drive for a few months now, i had to really due to my ankle! i can't drive!!! anyway! his first drive on the motorway, he had been dreading it and i wanted to put him out of his misery! and i did ! he did just fine! and he is so releaved to have done it now! and we drove to Stonemanor, an English store in Everberg, that's near Brussels! i little piece of England! i love it!!! no Flemish only English, only English and some US products, a real expat store!

i loaded up on the teabags, i hate the ones we get here in Belgium! i got lots of Cadbury's chocolate, fruit & nut, flakes, curlywurly, buttons,...!!! sure!!! also cheese, crumpets, a white loaf, thick sliced for the most wonderful toast! digestives with and without chocolate and i bought a beautiful old fashioned jar of Cadbury's biscuits with Crunchie and raspberry delight filling! OMG!!!! they are so deliccccc....

it was a good day! we came home all happy and it felt like Xmas (i know! it's not Xmas yet!!!)

i got the kid's chocolate-filled stockings for XMAS! well i had to!!!! they sell so quick there! :-)

okay i'm hungy now!!! oh it's way past lunchtime so i'm off to make myself a sandwich and a wonderful cup of tea :-)

have a wonderful day! and if you are a mom in Belgium you'll be as happy as i am that the school holiday is over !!! oh the peace and quiet.... i am so enjoying it!!!!