Happy Mother's Day

Happy Mother's Day to all the wonderful mums.

My mother's day so far has consisted of sleeping in because the littlies are at their dad, it is his weekend to have them so i will see them later today when i pick them up.

So sleeping in was my luxury though i would have prefered to have kiddies jumping on my bed bringing me burned toast and weak coffee and dandilions from the garden :)

however my 20y old son did make me (half burned) toast and scrambled eggs and brought it out into the garden without even a mumble of happy mother's day haha and then went off inside to watch a recorded film from last night... typical my son lol!

so again peace and quiet...

except for my little buddy blackbird who i have named George :)

my sweet son did give me a gift certificate for new sunglasses so yesterday we had a nice day in the city, choosing some pretty cool sunglasses that i will have by the end of next week, lunch out in the sun, well not so much sun but it was nice enough.

I'm not one for expecting gifts for Mother's day, whenever my kids used to aks what i wanted i always replied that it would be fantastic if they would for one day not fight or make a mess and make me a cup of tea without me asking for it... i always got the tea!

motherhood is quiet a ride, one that i have learned lots from, with five kids there is a lesson every day! my hardest lesson has been to let go... my teenage daughter taught me how to do that, in not such a soft way (some of you will remember she ran away from home in feb 2009 and is now living with her father) it hurt like hell and on some days it still does... but i have learned to let it go as much as i can, she is nearly adult now, 18 in June.

My own mother died last year in September and that too was a hard thing to deal with in different ways than most of you would expect.

She died at the age of 59 after a seven year struggle with Alhzeimers

we never had a connection, i only met her for the first time as a teenager so it was not the average mourning journey i went through...

this morning sitting out in the garden, for the very first time in my life i felt she might just be watching over me after all and it made me cry and then i started to miss my runaway teen and that made me cry and then George started singing and that made me smile and cry... and then the song hallelujah came on my ipod and ok... you get the picture.

****************

i went to a really cool party on Friday night.... oh i got home at 3.30am after playing taxi for a sad soul who's car had broke down ;)

i met so many cool, beautiful, crazy people, we laughed so much and omg you don't want to knows ome of the convo's we had, hilarious believe me!!

so happy Esther invited me :))

and i made her a little present because the very first time we met she fell in love with my framed collage necklace and insantly dived into my cleavage lol... she is like that!

(here is what i made for her, not so good pics but it is hard with the glass that reflects)

she pretty much squeeled with delight and we immediatly fitted the chain to fit and then she had to change her earrings because they didn't match lol ... and every one just had to admire it! she gave them no choice lol!!

ah well i'm going to let you all have a wonderful day and i'm going to continue to relax out in the sun, today the sun seems to have come back to play and i am not complaining!!!

love & peace

tanya xx

where does time go??

it might be just me but i feel like this year is moving on at high speed, some how it is almost half of April without me realizing...

due to the hernia, which is causing me more pain and grief than i care to talk about, i haven't been up to much, i did work on this painting though, a work that took about two weeks for me to finish, i had to learn to paint at my easle sitting down, not the easiest thing with this 54X107 cm painting!!

Absolem Butterfly Girl paintingthis beautiful butterfly that a friend gave me after the Alice in Wonderland film, was my inspiration

it was quite a journey, a new adventure actually! first i painted my girl on wood as i usually do, this time i painted a bit smaller than i am used too and that proved a bit tricky for me to do details but it didn't matter reaaly, i painted on 15X30 and then i had it scanned at the photographer, Paul Croes in Hasselt, he printed it on to canvas with the Epson fine art printer. a really nice starting point for me to finish off my art on this huge size!

the nice thing is that i had the finished piece photographed in the studio so now i can sell prints on canvas that i can further embellish if i please, this way i can make more people happy withmy painting at a lower cost. the original is no longer available.

i have already had the draft version printed again, flipped horizontally so she is now facing the opposite direction, this one i will be painting in very different colours, a totally different butterfly girl! i wil show once finished.

ok that is enoigh blogging for me, my back is aching like razy so i better take the lie-down

hope you are all enjoying Spring! here in the countryside the first blossoms are starting to show, hopefully the weather will stay nice and then we will have the full white burst of the apple, pear and cherry trees! it is a wonderful sight!! tourist come from all over to visit our area then.

talk to you again soon!

love & peace
tanya

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

my pretty girl

just checking in, letting you all know i'm not lettng myself go with this whole dystrophy thingy!!! actually, now that i know what it is i feel a little better in a strange way, even though the doc says it is the worst outcome of the options he had in mind, still, knowing is way better than feeling like a complete whimp with unknown pains and aches and stuff, you know?

i'm taking meds for the osteoporosis part, i'm doing new painless exercices to strengthen my muscles, i get cool massages to drain fluid from my foot and leg, we are tackling this thing!!! lol

so anyway, one of my chicks from class came to play on Tuesday, she had a little book to finish, we had lots of laughs and a nice chat. i need to have chicks around more often!!!

here is her finished book, she loves it and so she should, she made a really beautiful trip down memory lane. totally handmade, bound with bind-it-all, her first little book! cool huh!

Yesterday i finally got to finish this little girl, i started her a while back, i can tell cos my mouths are changing now so i'm not totally happy with this one anymore but never the less, i finished her, and i like her! 12x24 inches, my favourite size to paint on.

i added a little metal embossed heart, ten second studios metal, i love it! getting myself really into this metal embossing and thought it would be cool to use in my mixed media paintings!

the cool thing about mixed media is that there are no rules or limitations! just fun and experimenting and mixing and letting things go wrong sometimes and still loving it! my kind of art!

my pretty girl is ready to take on the world and even though it hurts sometimes it still feels good!

bit of a message to myself in this one so i am keeping her close.

( the words are cut out of a pretty sassy mag that i 'borrowed' from my son's desk haha! shhhh don't tell him!)

at the moment i'm working on a little project with sticky back canvas, i'll show when finished, if i decide i like it haha!

it's just fun to be playing a bit more again, letting go, all part of the letting go.

so, off to my paints, coffee and ipod docked into the speaker system to let my favourite music fill the room, make me move a bit ( there are still parts of me that move smoothly lol)

a bit of Green Day, Foo Fighters and Red Hor Chili Peppers will do the trick!!!

love you all, thanks for the caring comments on my blog! xox

hope you will all have a day as wonderful as the one i'm having!

xox tanya

winner blog give away!

and the winner is.......... DOLLS123!!! i don't know her real name, i know she lives in California! i've already mailed her to find out more about her so my gift will suit her!



thanks everyone for commenting on the give away post, many of you are reading but not commenting



i like having a give away! i like making a present for someone once in a while so i'll be doing these give aways more often, and for no special reasons hihi! just when i feel like it! when i'm in a giving mood haha!



i'm thinking of starting a blog challenge too, just thinking! i have so much on my plate at the moment so... that is for an other day.



here is my journal page from yesterday... i'm still on my red, orange and yellow colours which a really good thing!

you can click on the pic to see the details if you like! ( i think?!)

we were talking about Paris Hilton yesterday! about her entering the Scap world! bling and all!

Good for her!

so i had to use some really blingy Glitz stickles from Ranger ! i had to!! hihi!

It's a kind statement!

Be yourself and let them be theirselves!

xox tanya

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!

another checking in before...

another checking in before the madness of a new week begins!

some time ago my little boy accidentally poured a cup of coffee over my precious laptop and those things do not take coffee you know! so bye bye laptop and bye bye over 500 pics of Ranger, New Jersey and New York, so sad!

i got sad news that 'llprobably never be able to get my pics off the laptop so for that i am still sad really but i kind of already had figured that and had nearly come to terms with it!

not that i am giving up,

i might still find some wizkid who knows how to reach them on my harddrive.

anyway! as a single mam with four to feed and crisis all over the world my common sense kind of wouldn't allow me buy a new laptop soooooo i decided to buy a mini version!

a cute little ACER ONE ASPIRE A150
it doesn't do everything my old laptop or my desktop does but it does let me go to internet, skype, facebook, msn, my blog, emails, it has Windows XP on it! yahoo for that! i can still upload pics onto it, so it does pretty much everything i want to do when on the road and away from home! so i'm realllllly happy with it! it weighs 800gr, really light! it fits into my handbag! it really does, so cute! and it is CORAL PINK!!!! so haha! i'm pleased with it!

and i got my hands on all the books following Twilight! i bought them all so i have some fun hours of reading ahead of me when i'm travelling and staying in hotels!

my ankle is less swollen, i fit into my hushpuppie boots once again! i am SOOOOO pleased with that!!! means i can wear a skirt! yes! my Timberlands do not rule my life any longer hihi! I will still wear them most of the time cos they do give more support to my ankle but hey! i can wear a skirt once in a while :-)

and i recieved this award from Nadia

and i recieved this Marie-Antoinette award twice! from Nadia and from Evelien

the idea is to pass them onto others of course!!

I'll have to come back on that when i have more time, at the moment 'm swamped with work!!

a page from my art journal

speak to you all soon!!!

see some of you very soon hihi!

creative journaling

just a quick pic of the page i did in my art journal today , letting off some steam...

my way of taking a deep breath of fresh air

click on the pic to get a closer look if you like

xox

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!!!!

i recieved a lovely award!

I recieved this award from Kenneth a young belgian scrapper who attends many of my workshops, no! i'm not saying he stalks me hihi! one might think so though :-), go check out his

blog.

What the award stands for:This blog invests and believes the PROXIMITY- nearness in space, time and relationships. These blogs are exceedingly charming. These kind bloggers aim to find and be friends. They are not interested in prizes or 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 writers. Deliver this award to 8 bloggers who may then pass it on.

i did some blog hopping and would like to invite you to go to these blogs, so i'm passing my award on to:

http://thekathrynwheel.blogspot.com/

http://auslorri.blogspot.com/

http://littleblackscrapcat.blogspot.com/

http://suziblu.typepad.com/a_lovely_dream/

http://michelleward.typepad.com/michelleward/

http://herminesplace.wordpress.com/

http://donnadowney.typepad.com/simply_me/

http://siansbitsandpieces.blogspot.com/

all talented people worth visiting!

i'm still feeling the effects of this flu! my body seems to be aching all over but never the less i'm not one to sit still for long so i've been busy, i painted a few more layers to my daughter's Gothic Petite Doll, it's not finished but this is what it looks like so far, pretty spooky don't you think?

what else? ahhh i made some Xmas stuff for Hobbyfarm

okay! it's Wednesday! that means half day school for the kids so i'm off to spend time with my kids and dress up the Xmas tree! i must must must admit that i realllllly prefer to dress the tree by myself, it has to be the way i want it ! i'm a terrible mama when it comes to letting them help me with the tree! i know i should be more relaxed about it but i want the tree to be perfectly neatly dressed...do you think the'd enjoy WATCHING me do the tree??? hihi! maybe if there are cartoons on tv....

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

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!

Strength

okay, i'm back again, wanted to share this with you: over on the Suzi Blu forum we were challenged to make are own Oracle card, now, i know nothing about Oracle cards really so i did a little research and through some link i found out that my personal card based on the answers i had to fill in, would be STRENGTH, now that got me thinking of course and i must agree, strength is something i have had to have the last years, well many years really, so i joined in the challenge and made my Oracle card STRENGTH, it was kind of good to sit and create and think about life, life as a mother to five( the birds represent my kids), life as an artist supporting her family, anyway, here is my card, 5x8 inch, nice big size, i like! just good to work on i think.

i'm not saying she is a work of art or she is a real beauty or anything but i like what i did and it was good doing it, so here you have it! STRENGTH, i wish you all strength in these uncertain days

my Ranger U collage!