sticky back canvas flower

remember my flower on tag 12?

made with sticky back canvas instead of Grungepaper? well, i showed it to Claudine (Hellmuth) and she loved it, she is so sweet! so i am getting another link in her next linky shout. and some of you have asked for a tutorial!!! i will be doing one soon, very soon, promise! i've got to finish translating tim's tags first, he was so sweet to give me permission to do so for my Belgian readers who would love to understand every singlel detail seeing that google translater does some funny things to the language at times :)

i got all the goodiebags out the door, hope they have arrived, UK ones might take a few days.

my painmeds got upped again, yes, again! my foot is proving to be very stuborn.

got alllll my Xmas shopping done today, yes that hurt my foot loads but hey it had to be done! and it is, i am proud to say that all is wrapped and sitting under the tree,

big sigh of relief going on here!

i am not happy when it comes to showering! i can't! i have no hot water, the boiler has given upon us and it seems it going to be a very difficult call in getting it fixed or replaced, really hard when you have little kids and especially a six year old with waistlong hair!

try washing that in the kitchen sink!

it's a bummer! all i can say!

see these tatoos? i love them! i want them! smaller, lots smaller! closer together and in a hidden place, hip or something. don't know if i am getting them lol! but i want to! :)

what else have i got to tell?

oh my birthday is sooooon so if you are not yet a follower to my blog then maybe you want to become one before Monday! because on my birthday, which is huuuhhh... on Monday lol i will be giving one lucky follower a present.

have a great weekend and if you have kids you will know that Christmas holiday has started, school reports were handed over to mammy today, they were good, proud of my kids, always, no matter what, but yeah they did well, cool!

right, enough chatting!

have a great weekend

xxx

checking in

oh dear i haven't really taken time to blog! and i recieved a lovely award from Sanda but still need to put it on here and choose some wonderful blogs to pass it on to, but not today, i am so tired :)

The kids are home for the holidays so i'm spending lots of time with them, making art at night most of the time but missing out on a bit of sleep lol

i painted this Queen yesterday and sat up till late embossing her dress and crown from Ten seconds Studio metal, i love that stuff, i used Claudine Hellmuth paints and Tim's stamps for the background and then added Grungeboard wings.

voila! my shortest post ever! and now i might take a little cat nap ... lol

have a great week!!!! do some fun things!!! ( you now know i probably won't be blogging till next week haha!)

xox

playing with canvas

i told you that i was working on a sticky back canvas art project and that i would post if i decided i liked it, well i do... so here you have it!
i altered this Ikea mirror frame with Ranger's sticky back canvas by Claudine Hellmuth.

i did transfers with the studio line paints and gloss medium, stamped with Ranger's archival jet black ink, i did a resist with gesso, of course studioline! and i added a few bits and bobs, some from Tim's collection ,some from my little finds jar. i sealed the canvas with gloss medium before adding the embellishments, this will make it easier to wipe down once i hang it!

not all my transfers are brilliantly done but that is because i was a little impatient lol! i still think they are so cool though! :)

i like the way it has turned out and i am extremely happy with the colours i chose, the yellows, oranges and reds are my colours at the moment, have been for a while actually! they make me happy or maybe i use them because i'm happy?!

have a wonderful weekend!

xox tanya

a little book

okay, so here is the little present i made for J!

it's a little hand-sewn book. he writes.

the covers are chipboard covered with sticky back canvas from Claudine Hellmuth, painted with the studio paints and embellished with Tim's Idea-ology things. the pages are all cut from a large sheet of beautiful paper from the art store, coloured with the Ranger distress inks and spritzed and flicked, then stamped with distress inks, some tages added with stamped texts or handwritten and some personal (not on show hihi!).

i am certainly going to make this kind of little book again, must say that the sticky canvas is so easy to use for covering! piece of cake! and i am still very much in love with the studio paints, i got al the colours now! what a luxury!!!

i will pass the blog award on tomorrow!

today i am going to draw! i have started to try men's faces, here is one i did last night, the shading is a bit rough, i was working in bad lighting so i'll smooth that out later, and i need to work on the hair more but i think you can see it's a man, heavier chin, wider face, eyebrows and nose are different... not easy to do when i've only done girls up to now! i think he turned out pretty okay really hihi!

have a great day, the Sun is nowhere to be seen here today so i'm just going to make myself a nice hot cup of tea, put some music on and pretend it's beautiful weather.

xox tanya

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

i altered the front of my tote

* click on pic for larger image*


my tote was a mess, a few years ago i had put letters on the front and it was really cool at thetime but now it was messy, parts hanging off! i disgrace! i really couldn't travel witht this tote any longer so i came up with the idea of putting canvas on the front and mixed media-ing the whole front!

i would have loved to have Claudine's Sticky back canvas to fit but that was not possible so i took canvas from a roll and cut to size. i used gesso, multi medium, paper i inked with Ranger dye inks and brayer, i used scrapbook paper, Claudine's wonderful paints! i honestly love!!!! these paints to death! i used perfect pearls, Grungeboard, Tim Holtz stamps and pieces, i put on a Petite doll on paper first and then gel mediumed her on, i like the doll on this! she looks so cute (says the artist hihi!)

i am honestly very happy with how it turned out! i will be proud to take my tote anywhere now!

ooohhh i'm soooooooooo bad!!!

i really am bad!!! all my Xmas cards are still here! they really are! they are all ready to leave mind but they will be sooooo late! i'm really sorry things just got on top of me really! flu; kids, bad schoolresults!!! other things i will not bother you with,... i promise they are getting posted today so maybe they will be like New Year's cards instead? :-)

i did draw the winner of a Xmas gift, i can say no more than she lives in Belgium...

present will get posted today!!!!

it's been busy here with my birthday, i had a full weekend with my three eldest kids, went out for dinner, visited Maastricht, went shopping in Hasselt, went out with a couple of friends, busy busy... and i slept too little and ate too little the whole weekend, no! i didn't drink too much!!! truth is i'm just not feeling too well, can't explain what, a bug probably

i have a few days to myself now, all the kids are away, only bart is here but he's at work during the day so i have sooooo much peace and quiet, it is beautiful, just me, my music (listening to Coldplay this morning), coffee, Cadbury's chocolate and my art, i'm finishing a few Petite Dolls and starting a new one a hope, i feel like doing dolls this week, experiment with some layers and gesso

here is the Goth Doll that i finished for my 16 year old daughter, i didn't do much more to it, i added silver wax that i applied with the fine tip, drawing along the stamped swirls, i did the boots all silver and they were hillarious ugly hihi! i scraped most of it back off and painted over with red studio paint (claudine hellmuth) and i wanted to dry quickly with heattool cause i am really impatient!!! i admit and what happened? that bit of wax that was still there melted through the paint and i got this great bubbly effect; honestly, maybe it doesn't show up well in the pic but in real life it is really grundgy!so i'm pretty chuffed with my mistake of the silver boots:-) and i'm going to experiment more on wax under paint!!! it is fun!!!!

these dolls need more work, i'm not sure where i'm going on this, i started all pink and girly but then decided bah!!! so in came the orangey colours i like so much these days and a goldleaf tree that i then sanded down to age, i like this!! really great effect

this little girl i just started, i love the layers of her dress, i simply gesso (claudine hellmuth's because the structure is so nice) with paper tissues ripped up into little bits and "gessoed" down, a technique i use alot on canvas to add defenition, really cheap trick but with great results, a friend of mine does all the sides of her canvas art this way but i also use it on altered books, in paintings,...

she still need a lot of work but can you see the structure of her dress?

well, i'm off to get my hands dirty with paints! i should probably go to the supermarkrt first, hardly any food left in the house hihi! but hey! i'll do that later i really am not in the mood to go out just yet

hope you all have a wonderful day!

and my cards are on the way! again sorrrrrry for the big delay!!!!

sticky-back canvas book

ohhh it's such a dull day, a day to stay inside and drink hot drinks and create or play! howereven this morning i had to go to the doc for a check-up on my ankle. It's a really slow healing process but i'm getting there, i'm off work now till the end of January 2009 and i got another 20 visits from the pysichal therapist, i am soooo looking forward to that! (read with plenty of sarcasme!)

but no complaining from this end! at least it is getting better, slowly but surely!

i went Xmas shopping on Saturday and am pleased to announce that i did well! all the gifts for the kids are under the tree! and i bought myself 2 books for Xmas! yes i ahve to buy my own gifts, comes with being alone! i got myself the TWILIGHT book the whole world is on about! and i got the book following "the pillars of the earth" i didn't even know there was a second book so i was like a littke kid in the bookstore! i had the mgiftwrapped so i can't read before Xmas! aren't i good?!

this weekend i finished my littke canvas book i made with Claudine Hellmuth's sticky-back canvas! great stuff!

i'm pleased with my little book, happy even, it's a bit of a healing journal kind of thing, well i don't know what to call it, i did make it pretty personal, random thoughts, things that i relate to at this time in my life kind of thing. does it have to have a name? :-)

my daughter thinks the cover is a bit "nude" haha! but one needs to feel a little nude once in a while to get to the bottom of the matter... or am i just strange? :-)

i used Claudine's paints and matte Multi medium! i sooo love this medium! i even used it to adhere the goldleaf, it worked like a charm! i mixed the paints with Perfect Pearls and watered them down, i monoprinted with them, i splashed and brushed on, i dabbed them on with Cut 'n Dry foam! do i love these paints? they mix, they hold their colour! they are semi-gloss!
translucent!! which is wonderful for collage art
i used Ranger Distress Inks, Distress Embossingpowder, Goldleaf, Ranger Stickles, Paper Artsy stamps!(thanks Leandra!) i love them! ohh and i painted the flowers! they were all different colours to start wirth, all left-overs. Yes with Claudine's paints, watered down and mixed with perfect pearls and dryed with the heattool, they turned out great! i added little charms i bought in NJ, i know the flowers look a little out of place in my book, they are bright! but that is who i am! pink one day and dark the other! it's my book! i collaged with stamped tissuepaper, book pages, Grungeboard, wrapper of my fav Cadbury's chocolate! Tim Holtz' tickets,... i loved working on this book!





ohh you should see the shimmer on this red page! it is magnificant! really it is!

I never thought i would love Claudine's line so much and i never thought it would fit into my style bit it has and i am soooo pleased with her joining the Ranger Crew!!! aren't they all great!?!!! and then you all only know the designers! there are some pretty great insiders there at Ranger! Merry Christmas to you all!!! you all really made my year 2008 a happy one! especially in October hihi!

what will i do next? i think i'm going to get my Utee and Melting pot out and play!!!

hope you all have a wonderful day!

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!!!!

my first real petite doll

I think i'll call her ruby
maybe you like her maybe you don't! probably all a matter of taste. and that's fine.


i kind of love my little doll! my first attemp to draw on wood, i couldn't find the wood i wanted so i went with what i could get, it wasn't easy getting the face shading right! i did it a million times up to a point i had to stop so not to ruin her little face all together! i haven't got a blending pencil yet so it's a bit difficult, but one is on it's way!!!
i was getting all anal about it and then decided, hey! it's my first, it's not perfect! and that's okay! we are happy with that, tim would say! embrace the imperfections, tim would also say! get over yourself, mario would say! (tim's wonderful, beautiful assistant!) so i did !!!
i got over myself and feel happy with my petite doll!!

you can tell i've been to ranger!!! i used claudine's paints! they are soooo wonderful mixed with glaze!!! they keep their colour! don't go all light and pastel on you! they become translucent and wonderful! i like i like!!! t hey are not just another paint!!! they are beautiful!! and i'm not just saying that! i was sceptical about them at first i really admit!!
but believe me they are worth trying in mixed media!!!
i also used ranger inks of course, when do i not use ranger inks??? anyone who knows me i use ranger inks!!,perfect pearls to mix and i used them on their own, so much detail they gave to my piece!!, stamps, dabbers, i used suze's bedazzles!!! love the tiny little sprinkly thingys

the hearts om my art are with gold dabber, i simply dabbed them through a stencil, pretty thick dabbing and dried with my heattool to keep them all bubbled and textured, as tim taught us to!!!
i think they are really neat (awesome for the US readers!)

oh and i used the great ranger white pen to do the sparkle in the eye! is great for that! i'm so pleased with it!!!
you really should go check out all the ranger stuff, link in my list on the left<<<>

ohh my first little doll, i'm so happy!

never thought i could draw something and be happy about it!

life has so many suprises!

big hug!! tanya

Ranger U adventure

okay, here goes, i'm back from Ranger, my head totally filled with ideas and techniques, my book filled with comments, my address book filled with new friends, great people i met at Ranger U let me tell you!

Suze and Sue from Art y Fact, spain

Suze and Micheal from Jack & Cat, arizona!!
you must check out jack & cat's blog!!! beeswax art to die for!

i had a wonderful time learning all Suze Weinberg had to show on Utee! i just love ther melting pot!!! i'll be playing with that!

Claudine Hellmuth has the most wonderful paint! i was happy to play with this and i'm going to mix and make glazes for my canvas art! nothing stopping my playtime now!

and Tim, oh Tim! he is such a great educater, they all are, don't get me wrong! but Tim is really something! the way he went on for two full days! honestly, he's good! i learned a lot! i knew alot but i learned alot, i'm more than happy!!!

Tim and me! okay i am tired and it shows!!

we all went home with a beautiful frame filled with Utee examples, a box full of Claudine techniques and 51 tags with Tim's techniques! yes! 51!!! we were all so exhausted after three days! however, we could have happliy went on going, it was fun and we were a big happy family!

i was really lucky, everyone was so helful, getting me my supplies, cups of coffee, bottles of water, sweet(s when needed! i never had to walk around! i had my leg up all day and Jeanne even kept reminding me to take my painkillers :-)

we had a tour of the factory! it was fun seeing how it is all made! respect to the workers there! they are pricless!

we got to meet all the owners and got some of the Ranger history, we even got a look at the very first inkpad made by Ranger back in 1929!!

you know, it is all too much to post in one go so i'll probably come back and tell more when i get the urge

big hug! tanya