time to take it easy

hiya friends, i have been so busy these last few weeks,

hardly time to breathe it seems and i do actually feel pretty tired yet happy!!

don't get me wrong, i have been having a blast! always time to have a few laughs!

My friend Sue came to visit, it was a shame is was so busy, i feel like i should have more free time to share but it was a bit hectic making samples with Tim's new stamps for a promotion magazine, getting ready for demos and life in general with the kids.

Next time she comes we will plan it in a more peaceful week lol!

(it took Sue about 3 shots to get this crazy pic of me! geeee thanks Sue! lol)

I got to work side by side with Tim Holtz, need i say that kinda made me happy? owww i admit i was over the moon! i got to chat with him off and on all day, shared my heattool lol, got to get my hands on some of his cool new embellishments and paper and even went home with all his demo products, i'm talking the new Distress Inks, all 12!!! the new colours perfect pearls and all other powders and paints he had his hands on in Germany and The Netherlands lol! i am happy happy, noooo i am not a Tim grouppie, where did you get that idea??

(I love this cool pic of Tim, myself and mario!!)

(mario at my side! kind looks like i have a fan! lol he is so sweet!

oww and notice how Sue managed to get a cool effect on my face? lol) ( me, pouring UTEE like a pro! see the concentration on my face? ahhh!)

some of my sample pieces for the promotion magazine for Tim's newest stamps! i love them!

and the new Distress Inks are all FAB FAB FAB colours!!! believe me when i say you won't be able to choose! you will want them all, they are the best yet, my opinion that is :)

anyyway! this week is more peaceful, the kiddies are at their dad for the week so i will sleep in tomorrow morning! yay!!!! and i'll do some painting this week, i haven't painted in a month or so, except for my livingroom but that is really not the same!!! no no! i want to paint a pretty angel and just chill out with some music and enjoy the free time i am treating myself too.

hope you are all doing well, i have been reading your blogs!

ow and today i noticed i have 48 followers! kinda coooool! lol

take care xxx

Tag 10 quick quick

first of all, i love Ti'ms colourful tag!!!i only have one fillable pen with cranberry in it so i went for the one colour on my tag which makes it totally diffferent than with the colour blocks. i did go back in the end with some wild plum on a felt but it isn't so easy cos of he thickness of the grungeboard letters so i got a real random look which is actually pretty but does not show on pic at all. i went with an espresso dabber instead of the black, just felt a little too harsh with my one colour. i wanted to add some stickles somewhere... hummm might still rub some on.

i have been playing with Ten Second Studio metals for a while now but i didn't have the metal foil so i had to use cheapy narrow metal and put down strokes of it! and it was way too thin and ripped so i needed to put down a second layer, you see, a tag with issues lol but still fun even with my limitations of materials. we did something like this at Ranger U and i loved it then too! In 2010 it will be turning up on some of the classes so watch out. there is something relaxing about embossing metal... aaaahhh

well, anyway, my tag much prettier in real, pic is not doing it any justice at all but i am not going to take a new pic lol i am in painting mode!!! painting ANGELS!!! maybe that is why the tag is a quick quick version. i want to paint!!!! what can i say? i'm having fun with the big wings and the soft faces and the light coming from all around... ok you get the picture, you know what kind of mood i'm in lol

oh and angel in the ba&ck is nowhere near finished so don't judge her apperiances just yet :)

off to my physical therapist for some pain and suffering no doubt! thne back to painting

hope your day is a supercool one! xxx

good weekend

hi all!

glad the weekend is over hahah! it was a good one! filled with loeds of Ranger fun and education but a heavy one to say the least, lots of teaching, travelling, eating out of the house, and that doesn't go down well with me!

i went for dinner with my friend L on Saturday evening and once again i ended up being really ill, all night! getting up at 7 the next morning didn't leave me much time to feel alot better before i started teaching, but i managed and as the day went on i felt okay! only after the lesson i kind of got hit by a hammer and had a hard time driving home, 2 hours drive, got some coffee and chocolate to help keep me going! but as soon as i got home i got the kiddies off to bed and i was in bed by a quarter past nine myself. i don't know what it is with me and food; i am never ill when i prepare food myself, i use hardly use oil and when i do it's sunflower sometimes but mostly olive, i never use salt, just generally eat healthy even thougfh i do stick frozen pizza in the oven once in a while, they don't make me sick. whenever i eat out i end up ill, really ill, the whole deal! it is frustrating really cos i don't know why? i'm starting to think it has something to do with animal fat or something, maybe food prepared with butter, cream, milk? i don't eat meat as it is, only fish but that is a different kind of fat isn't it? and i did have vanilla icecream for dessert! i don't know but i am going to try and get to the bottom of it cos it is realy difficult seeing that i do eat out quite often.



anyway, appart from that i had a good weekend! a great workshop on Saturday! my ladies all madfe wonderful boxes with a collage of Ranger techniques: alcohol inks, dye inks, dimensional pearls,... we had a fun time and they all went home with a finished box and were all pleased with themselves, they never thought they would get it finished in that time but then they should know better hihi! we get things done!



Sunday i had a shop owner and an educator to tutor, i Rangerized them with 26 techniques and tons of product info, they were over the moon with their tags on a ring, we worked hard! it was fun and a good thing for me to be able to repeat some of what Tim taught me! a good reminder for myself going through it hihi! nothing i enjoy more than teaching Ranger! but you already all know that i suppose :-)



today is my day of rest, the kiddies have a week off school for carnaval but they are off to the after-school-care, having fun with the other kids and letting me have a bit of a rest, i'm picking them up in a little while so that we can still do some fun stuff together today that way they get the best of both worlds hihi! playing with their friends and then some serious mom time!

it is a juggeling job being a single mom but i manage pretty well i think, i hope...



my 7 year old son got into bed with me this morning and told me i am the most beautiful mom he has ever seen. now how's that to start my day haha! he is so cute! hope he stays like that! he'll make some woman happy one day!


see the flowers on this lo? well it seems everone is so into this type of punched circle flowers so i kind of tried my Grungy twist on them, Colorcore, wrinkled, scratched, sanded down, ripped at the edges and a heart of tim's cool sprocket gears and brads, i think they turned out pretty cool :-) icould of put some ink to them, ummm ...well next time...
so yesterday i spent a fortune on circle punches hihi! i have all the Cricuts in the house put spent all that money on old-fashioned punches, i know i'm strange huh! but i love them!

okay! you all have a great day! i've got another half hour before i'm off to my physical therapist so i'm going to do some reading with a cup of tea

byebye! take care! have fun!

xox

29 days of giving!

oh dear i accidentally deleted my whole post when it was nearly finished, bummer!

okay so again....

hi everyone!

fisrt i would just like to tell you about http://www.29gifts.org/, it's a 29 day giving challenge i joined, i came across it while blog hopping and signed up straight away! i like to think i give every day anyway, as a mother we do give every day but that doesn't really count, it does, but you know what i mean. it's not all about money, giving is also letting someone come on to the road in front of you, letting someone pass you in the line at the supermarket, making someone a cup of tea, holding doors open, picking up a lost glove, going out of the way of a mum with a stoller, .... little things that might just makes someone's day! and be honest, it does feel good to give doesn't it! well i joined this challenge just to be a bit more aware, it is important to give, that is my belief anyway.

I still feel the flu in my body, my head still aches, my throat still hurts, my joints ache and my ear is still thumping but okay i suppose it will pass and i'm hoping it was a good flu aznd will be so kind as not to come back all this Winter!!! i 'm hoping!!!

i haven't been very busy, i've actually done a bit of reading, watched some tv, that doesn't happen very often!

but i did make this layout with the December sketch for Hobbyfarm where i'm a designteam member

i finished all my Xmas cards for my list, it was a long list so i made lots of similar cards yet not one the same! and i'll be sending them all out this week, well nearly all of them, i still need a few addresses. i'll be putting all the names in a hat this week and letting my youngest draw a name for the Xmas present, who knows? it might just be your name! i don't know if i will announce it on my blog or let the lucky person just be suprised, hummmm what shall i do?

i also made this single ATC, not much of a job hihi! but a hint of my Xmas cards!!!!

i'm working on something with Claudine Hellmuth's sticky-back canvas! it's cool but i'm not showing until it's finished and i'll be giving it in workshop soon!

ah before i forget, i have a few dates for my workshops at Hobbyfarm!!! the first will be on 21st of February 2009 we will be doing this decorated teabox, covering 8 great techniques on Adirondack Alcoholinks, Dye inks, brayering, metal embossing,... really worth joining! it's a brilliant workshop even if i say so myself hihi! if you would like to join don't wait too long, some places are already taken and i know that my workshops fill really fast once the word is out at Hobbyfarm, so you are warned, sign up now if you want your chance to join me on this "Be Rangerized" journey!!!

also 21 of March i'll be doing a Clearbook filled with techniques on Alcoholinks, blending, mixing, details, different methodes of applying and loads of ideas for layout, embellishments and so much more, too much to mention and too much to miss so sign up as soon as you get the chance!

2 more dates are set for my workshop at Hobbyfarm: 18 April and 13 June, i don't exactly know what we will be doing then but probably a beeswax collage and altered art, i will work out more details and come back on it.

so!!! i'm off to do some TIM tags!!! you know what TIM tags are? if not!!! ooooh dear!!! go check out his blog befoer you do anything else!!!!! and see the most beautiful techniques on Xmas tags ever! he is genius!!! he really is! i still feel so honoured and blessed to have spent two full days of learning from him at Ranger U, and from Claudine and Suze!!!!

it's been a good year!!!!

ps if you see typos!! !well it's because my hands are kind of letting me down, they are aching and i can tell when i'm typing that my fingers react later than they should ans letters get switched or i even hit the wrong key with funny word as a result, please read through them :-) i try to fix them when i notice but sometimes they slip my sight...

have the most wonderful day!!!!

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!!!