oweeee!!!

yesterday Lisa sent me a mail letting me know i had won a prize in her wonderful OWOH giveaway, honsetly i had never heard of it and commented on her blog not even thinking of winning anything, i just simply love her stuff! but see, as it happens i am the lucky winner of some of her beautiful doll parts! i am totally over the moon with this and can't wait for them to cross the big pond all the way from New Jersey!!

and... i just saw i have 50 followers!!! how lovely it is that so many of you think my random art and chit chat are worthy of following! thank you all so much, so sweet!

as said in prev post, i am having an easy week, no cooking has been done so far! pizza, Mc Donalds,... hihi! so proud of myself!!!! :))

i actually should finish the two little paintings i promised certain winners lol! i will i will!

and now a bit of advertising!!!!

Saturday 27 February Hobbyfarm will be hosting a super cool Ranger

educator :) with a steaming hot workshop

"Grungepaper-Patch-Art-Work"

literally a patchwork 2OX2Ocm of all kinds of techniques on Grungepaper finished off with selfmade UTEE embellishments, some metal embossed pieces and last but not least some of Tim's metal embellishments, all this framed in a 30X30cm frame. a workshop you don't want to miss if you are on our side of the world! see you there!

contact Hobbyfarm for all details

talking in pictures

blinged my laptop! silver Paintdabber, uhu Ranger of course! used the hammered metal effect which is so easy, you just take the dabber and gently "hammer" it onto the surface, you get this really neat pattern that resembles hammered metal, once dry i rubbed platinum Stickles over it using my trusty finger! i think it is really neat! some think i am a little crazy! ahhhh who cares!

this heart-shaped bread bun kind of reminded me love can be found in places least expected

made a canvas as a birth gift for my son's boss at work

i love making these Wendy Vecci type grungepaper flowers, i make my own version of them but the idea is Wendy's, they are so cool!

Emiel welcome to this crazy wonderful world

been beeswaxing, i love it! very relaxing... i need relaxing

Barcelona! i am soooooooo impressed by Gaudi! it will be noticable in my art soon i'm sure

LOVE, made as a birthday pressie for my wonderful friend J!

passed all his pilot exams! now looking for a job... anyone got a plane to be flown??

i love these letters, about 5 inch big if my eyeballing is correct, these i gessoed, painted with Claudine's paints, added Grungeboard and Tim's embellishments.

this pic was taken on my bookshelf, not the best shot...

they looked really good in there new home! xxx

Bart and me in Spain, he has just turned 20 my son! he's a stunner i think, but of course i am his mum... but he is, isn't he? :)

Lisa Mitchell and me and a really great but scarey street artist on the Rambla in barcelona!

there were a lot more wonderful street artists! really cool to see.

it was a good day!

Sue and me in one of our more normal pics...haha

we had such a good week!!

Sue is coming to Belgium in Februari! bring a good coat sue, the temps are nowhere near as good as in your part of the world!!!

thanks again for having us!xxx

oh and this!!

sneak peek for you Evelien!

and OLIVIA! Evelien's newborn little girl!

Welcome to this beautiful crazy world too!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

not in the mood for many words, the painmeds are giving me loads of side effects but the painrelief seems to have worn off! so i'm kind of pretty much back to being always in pain!

to give you an idea of the pain: i burned my inner fore arm with my hot glue gun! it's hot! , skin went straight off, third degree burn! no pain, none what so ever, the morfine is good! yet my foot i still feel like hell. imagine? trying not to whine on though.

i have come to the conclusion once again that i am not superwoman and even if it means dissapointing people, i have decided to take more time off for myself.

hope to blog soon but i'm not promising to :)

have a good weekend xxx

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

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!!!!

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....

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, ...

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!!!

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!!!!