checking in

it's been a few days, i've been busy, i've been lazy too! i had another Rangerized workshop and it went well, some total beginners who had never even used embossing powders before, this is fun really! they are amazed when i show them the difference between clear embossing, frosted crystal and distress embossing powders for example! it's like magic to them. i like beginners, gives me so much pleasure educating and helping them. they all went home with a finished portfolio of 13 techniques using distress inks, powders and perfect pearls. i was totally proud of them all! yes you too Anna!

today i had a day of rest, had a wonderful long msn chat with my friend j who is miles away again for the next few months. i'm going to try and squeeze in a visit combined with a trip to Milton Keynes to go to Linda Brown's store to get myself some kabukas and big daddy moulds and some beautiful ten seconds studio metal and tools to play with, i could get everthing sent to me but i love to feel and touch what i buy and it'll be a great roadtrip for me to do on my own, just getting a hold on things and thoughts, feeling a bit stronger, feeling British soil under my feet, doing something for myself and meeting up with j for dinner, walks and talks, i'll book a little bed and breakfast and come home the next day,sounds like a good plan! don't you think?

it is great to talk to that someone who really gets my Soul, my thoughts, my not so hidden fears and things i won't even admit ot myself at times. it is nice to have that listening ear and a voice that is not scared to disagree with you and tell you so! true friends are irreplacable.

but first i will be off to Spain for a few days of girly fun with my great lovely friend Sue, we met at Ranger U six months ago and got on straight away, from the very first second we spoke! it doesn't happen often that i make friends so easily, i'm an outgoing person at first sight but i never really let people get too close, with Sue i feel totally comfortable and i am soooooooooo looking forward to my visit. i hope we are lucky enough to have some sunshine it'll go well with the cocktails we are planning hihi! and the trip to the antique market.

my friend Micheal posted on his blog (see jack & cat) and i was happy to read his update, i've been missing the news from Arizona. Micheal was one of the Ranger U attendees last October, now nearly six months ago, looking back on it i still think it was a great experience! i met great people and i still have contact with most of them. I still have contact with Tim and Suze and Claudine at times and the wonderful other Ranger girls like Patti, Michele, Jackie!!!, Debby, Bonnie,... and i've been lucky to have been able to do quite some Ranger educating since i got my certificate. i love doing it, i love educating all things Ranger.

well, i have a pretty normal week this week, some things to do, workshop as usual and seeing a new specialist about my ankle on Thursday, hopefully i'll get some anwsers and a solution for my pain and constant swollen ankle, i wouls so love to be fully back on track again and go maybe dancing!? i so miss being able to move around freely without pain.

art: not much art done, i did draw a few dolls and did some face shading and some painting, i'm still progressing on this and i love it.

i got myself all the colours of Claudine Hellmuth's studio paint! i'm in love with this paint, i've said it before i know. but it is great paint. i gor some more of her brushes too, they are brilliant and i love the sticky back canvas and got some more of thet too. it was a treat!

i really have to clear my studio! i've been on the move so much, alot of my things are spread all over in boxes and bags, so i'm hoping to get everything back nice and neat some time this week so i can work and play a bit easier and more organized. it is a mega mess believe me!

well, off to do some preps for tomorrow, a day of photographing step by step storyboards and some filming of techniques, it'll be fun!

talk to you all soon! have a great week! remember that every moment is filled with love and joy! try not to forget even if you are having a tough time or an off-day or whatever!

xox

free time

i have been working way too hard so i decided to take a little time off, i still have things on my planning that need to been done of course but in between that i will be chilling, reading, painting, making art for the sake of it! My youngest daughter Estée has her 6th birthday this Wednesday so we will be having a fun day then! off to a theme park in the afternoon and eating cake!

i have my divorce tomorrow of course, final day!!! after that i am soooooo single forevvvvvaaaa!

i love being home, my cosy own place where i can see my orchids grow, i am so proud of my orchids!!! they are doing so well; lots of new buds and some beautiful flowers.

i love being able to enjoy my home in peace and quiet, kids off to school during the day, just me and my doggy Jimmy, he sleeps most of the time though, he is so lazy for a Jack Russell!

i had a good workshop this weekend, clear albums and Ranger of course, so a Rangerized Clearbook so to speak! the girls all had fun, and all made different books, i like it when they all go home with their own style, that way i know they really learned something! they don't just copy! it is wonderful to see them all try new things and put up with my bold teaching hihi! i can be strict! i can be hard! i will tell them a thousand times how to ink up a stamp hihi! i teach lots in one class so there is a swift tempo to it! but i always have happy people in the end, people who go away with new things and that is what it is all about! here are some pics from the workshop!

don't forget to send me pics of the finished book before MAY 1st! i will ask some of my followers to choose a winner and the lucky one will recieve a present! so that should be soem incentive to finish your book hihi! have fun with that!

okay! i 'm off to do some shopping before i start painting! there is an echo when i open the fridge hihi!

have a wonderful Spring day! remember to breathe deeply and let go of any crap holding you back and be truly happy and grateful to be here! that is what i tell myself everyday! xox

oh dear i got tagged

oh my goodness! Sherri tagged me! i have to take a picture of myself right here, right now, as i am, no doing up my hair or putting on a bit of make-up first! no!!! just take a pic and post!

and i am lazing in the sofa with my mini laptop on my knee,so tired, combination of having a super cold and having been to the trade show in Paris, this is going to be a great picture! but fair is fair and i play by the rules so here i am... i sight for sore eyes! (more like a sight tot cause sore eyes hihi!)

so now i will pass this on and tag some others and challenge them to do the same!

Sue ***Evelien***Mariska***Kate***Barb

have fun with this girls!!!!

okay! i'm off to get my stuff sorted for the my workshop.it's going to be a long day and a short night! i'm due in court tomorrow morning for my divorce and it is a few hours drive due to traffic around Brussels so i'll have to get up really early to avoid getting stuck and turning up too late!

i am not looking forward to tomorrow but i suppose it is just another step in the right direction and it needs to be over and done with! no use getting myself worked up about it all.

xox tanya

another day in Paris

again some quick pics from the trade show, it has been a long busy day, can't complain , i did lots of make & takes and their was a lot of buzz and sparkle (i'm working with glitter!) flying around.

i do have the worst cold ever! i suppose because of the air-co at the show so today i had a bit of a heavy head on me and i found the french language just a bit more non-understandable then yesterday hihi but out of it all i did well, pleased with my own efforts really! :-)

i took my 45 min break and went straight to Tim, Suze, Mario and Leandra a mais oui!

Tim made me the most beautiful flower brooch using Grungepaper! it is ab fab!!! after he made it he even kept looking at it and i told him he was not getting it back hihi! Suze was coughing up ideas about making a hairpin out of it but it is going on my leather jacket and i can't wait to make some myself and do this in a workshop! when i get my hands on the Grungepaper that is!

anyway! here are the pics! Jan just gave me whisky to tackle my cold and to have a good night's sleep! the Ranger crew are not at the show tomorrow and i'll be leaving early myself so probably no pics tomorrow or maybe some of me working!? ah, could do that.... prove that i don't just wander around bugging Ranger :-), i can't help myself, i want to know everything! as a Ranger Educator i want to stay tuned and totally up to date! ( good excuse, you think?)

okay, we are pulling daft faces and that is all Mario's fault! he was being funny! we are not to blame for this! you reading this mario!!!?

after spraying, drying and stapming some die-cut Grungepaper flowers Tim painted and distress-stickled some die-cut andCuttelbugged Grungeboard and then put together to make a geat brooch! for me!!!
Mario then said! go on! we need antoher picture , now with the brooch! so again tim and i broke out the smiles and after a couple of really sillp ics this one turned out pretty much usable hihi!

those guys crack me up!

this is the finished brooch in all it's glory on the bedside table in my hotel room! is it not fab??? i love it! i am blessed to a have recieved some beautiful art from now Suze and Tim! and again some brilliant ideas to work with!

Suze was over the moon with a ring she made at the stand i was working! she made it with Inez, lovely girl! Suze was still showing it off hours later, believe me! hilarious she is sometimes! you gotta love her!! i'm sure she will blog all about it soon so go check her out.

okay! off to bed with cuppa and the rest of the film i didn't finish yesterday!

tomorrow i'll be back home and not sad for that either! not that i will be sitting on my backside! workshops to be done and another Be Rangerized the coming weekend! looking forward to that!Anything for Ranger! you know that!

xox night night

Paris Trade Show SMAC

okay, as promised some pics from Paris Trade show SMAC, quickly cause i'm pretty shattered, i didn't sleep all that well last night and it has been a busy day which is a good thing of course.

I had a quick chat with Tim, he was in action as usual

a longer chat with Suze

and she made me a cool piece of Utee art with a happy accident that we both loved to bits!!!

Tim thought we were a bit wacky but hey! we don't care hihi!

i had a few chats with Mario bless his soul, he is the cutest guy ever! i mean that! he is so relaxed it always makes me smile and feel happy when i see him! he like a happy tablet hihi!

it was a busy day but i did take about 45 minutes break to have a bite to eat while i had a look around the show, tomorrow i will do the same. it is not a bad idea to take breaks, the days are long and speaking french the whole time is so damn tiring! hihi at least i try to speak it! don't think it is that good mind! people do understand me so i'm okay, i can live with it!

i'm going to jump into the shower, then off to bed with a film on my laptop and a nice cup of tea.

hope i'm not up all night because of the food i had, i tried to keep it low fat and simple so wish me luck.

talk to you soon

xox au revoir

yes!

yes yes yes!!! i found that *stupid* missing part of my charger!

hummmm... at the bottom of my... handbag?! i know! terrible really! it was the only place i had not turned upside down! so before going to bed (cos i'm not a quitter!) i simply emptied my handbag onto the table...one GPS, diary/agenda,shoppinglist, reciepts, enough loose change to buy a coffee even in the US hihi, pens, pencils, rulers, yes plural! terrible but i go nowhere without some drawing supplies! 2 notepads, deodorant, 2 bottles of perfume, chapstick(s) paracetemols to last a year! throat tablets,other medication, earphones for my cellphone/mp3, polo mints (don't think i'll eat them!!!gah!) and some more items and then tadadada.... the very last find was the plug part of my charger!!! dancing around like a looney!!
let it be a lesson!!! (note to myself!)

so !!! i hope to get lots of pictures taken at SMAC in the short breaks i will be trying to have!

have a good one! hope you don't have a sore throat, headache and temperature like i am at the moment! causing me to lay awake at four in the morning sipping tea and surfing the net!

good thing i have a strong mind cos the body isn't really working with me hihi!

xox

checking in

just checking in!


i have been a bit absent, for several reasons: i'm not really doing much art at the moment, too busy preparing for Paris and other things to be playing and creating for myself.

and... i lost a part of the charger for my camera!!! so the battery is obviously dead and i can't charge so i can't take pics... so i can't put any pics on my blog!!! i have nooooooooo idea what i have done with the part! i had it in my suitcase on my last trip, that i am certain of... i didn't even use it on that trip! but now it is nowhere to be seen! i have checked everywhere i can think of and more! i give up!!! well for today! i would love to load the battery before going to Paris!!! imagine not being able to take pics of Suze and me, Tim and me, Mario and me, okay you get the picture hihi!

what have i been up to? well i've been working on samples and make & takes for SMAC Paris, sunny bright little projects with lots of flower power and glitter! i am covered in glitter as we speak!! it is e-vvvvvvvvvvv-erywhere! i think i'm even breathing in glitter! *cough* yes! glitter!

i recieved this from Mariska it's a top 10 favourite blog award! thanks Mariska
the idea is that i pass it on to my own top Ten favourites!!!

i can't send it back to Mariska, though she is one of my favourites! Evelien already recieved this from Mariska si i won't send it to her though she too is one of my favourites!

you know what??? i suggest you give everyone on my blogroll a visit!!! they are after all my favourites!!!

i recieved this friends badge from my lovely Arizona art pal Sheri!!! we have never met in real life (yet!) but we got to know eachother through Micheal aka jack & cat, my favourite beeswax guy evver!! his wife is an artist too, they are so lucky to be able to work together! they make cool stuff ( check them out if you haven't already!) they are on my blogroll

anyway, here is the friends badge

These are the guidelines that came with the badge:
"These blogs are exceedingly charming. These kind bloggers aim to be friends. They are not interested in self-aggrandizement. Our hope is that when the ribbons of these prizes are cut, even more friendships are propagated. Please give more attention to these kind writers."
When you pass the award along please include these guidelines. I am to choose eight friends to share this with. again a very difficult task!! who do i choose? i have lots of online art friends who blog! not all of them are on my blogroll because some of them are only in dutch and not understandable for the rest of the world! that is the only reason you are not on my roll my flemish and dutch pals!!! i can't put links up that my visitors won't be able te read.

having said this, i get complaints that my blog is only in English!!! and not in dutch too! pfff i know my friends but at the end of the day, i am english! it is easier for me to write english even though my dutch is just as good, and then the fact that it is all a bit time consuming for this single- self-supporting- working- sometimes tired mama- artist, you understand? don't you? hope you all do cos it is just not do-able for me to do two languages.

my 8 friends i want you to check out!

Sue, she is soooo my pal!!! my mate! my friend! i can't wait for my visit to her in Spain in April!!

Kate, northern lass like me! i love her ATC's, check her blog out!

Barb, she is going for her dream even though it is not always easy!

Michelle, my Jersey Shore girl! wish i was closer! i know a great place for cocktails in Long Branch!! :-)

Evelien, well, what can i say? she used to stalk me, you know? !she is okay now hihi

Suzi, a wonderful wacky artist with a heart and soul i love! she is moving to San diego as we speak! go girl!!!

Margie, i just met her a few weeks ago! but i love her vibe! doors will open!!!

and last but not least

Tim he shares and supports like no other! he deserves to be on my list! i know he hasn't got time to pass this one, he is on his way to Paris it this very moment!

did i mention that i am going too?! did i? haha

so that was it for now, back to my samples, packing my bags, getting the cupboards and fridge filled, ironing to be done, bills to be paid, dog to be washed! he smells!!!! i don't know what he has been up to! pffff

hope you are all having a wonderful sunshine-filled day, like i am!

xox tanya

wonderful sunshiny day

it is such a nice day today,

the Sun is shining, the Skies are blue,

pretty fluffy white clouds floating by.

tiny buds visable on the trees,

snowdrops hanging their heads so pretty and shy

yet proud and far stronger than one would expect!

daffodils are coming soon! i can see them peeping through the soil.

in the house all my orchids are budding and blooming!

so pretty!

my heart feels liking leaping and singing and dancing,

all at the same time.

the Sun warms my heart, makes me feel everything is possible,

all will be okay, all is okay!

i've been working on some really colourful projects for Peel-off for SMAC Paris and yesterday i had a make & take with a small version of one of my projects and everyone went home cheerful because of the colours we used! i loved it!

putting smiles on so many faces made me forget how much pain i was in!

super!

because i've been working on projects that i can't show just yet i have no art to show.

my head is full of ideas, i want to make some soldered collage memory frames,

i want to beeswax my tim holtz stampcases,

i want to draw dolls, i want to do pages in my journal,

i want to get some paint on my fingers, some glitter or gesso in my hair...

but... i still have loads to do for SMAC so i need to work and not play ...

anyway, i hope you are all having a great day!

i know some places over in the US are having some beautiful snow hihih!

and that is great too!

but i am enjoying this feeling of Spring that is in the air today here in Belgium!

taking deep breaths of fresh air.

filling my lungs with pure happiness and joy for life!

enjoying the moment.

i have a few other reasons for feeling happy and blessed

but just let's leave it at the Spring feeling making me happy and cheerful hihi!

have a good one! xox