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

my followers

hi, i promised i would draw a name from my followers as thanks for following my blog.

i put the names in the hat even anonymous nr one and two and my little boy pulled out...

CHARLOT!!!

so Charlot when you read this please mail me your details so i can send you a litle something for you as thanks for following my blog!

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what am i up to? nothing much, lazy out in the garden enjoying the nice weather, resting my ankle cos it really is playing up again. so feet up, drawing pad and pencils at hand, ipod on...

playing with some new faces, just relaxing

hope you all have a wonderful day

xox t

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

light heart bright soul

Yesterday i had the most wonderful day outside with the kids, working in the garden, they helped a bit and they played lots. it was perfect weather, t-shirt and shorts weather! not that i wear shorts!!!

I planted my very first strawberries ever, giving it a go seeing i do live in Haspengouw which is the fruit region of Belgium! i planted lots and lots of pretty flowers, bulbs really, so i will be able to watch them grow into flowers! i cleaned the pond, swept the garden path, very symbolic for me, sweeping away the remains of a Winter filled with many changes, some troublesome, some for the best, some nice, some unexpected, some i saw coming, anyway, all swept away leaving a clean open path.

we had dinner outside, i just love eating outdoors, it gives such a sense of freedom and being part of nature, huge open sky, warmth on your skin, breeze through your hair, oh well, you can tell by now i am an outdoor's girl. I feel closer to the Universe when i'm outside.

i did some more drawing in my pencil art journal, i discovered that i cannot use my blending pencil on this paper! damn, it makes strange marks on my faces, too bad but they will now have to stay that way, they look weathered, maybe from the great outdoors? a lesson learned!

not the best pic here but non the less, here is my " no way back" girl, she has decided to open her heart to possibilities, as you can see on her face she is still getting used to her own idea but believes in it and will not hide from it. determinde as ever to make her life her own.this girl is rising above it all feeling free and light of heart, letting her Soul lead the way on her free and wonderful journey. she has a bright Soul and spreads love being free of burden.

(my flying doll is totally inspired by Suzi Blu! what a chick!)

more journaling will be added at the bottom but it was way past midnight when i put her down last night.

today the Sun is shining again, so i'm off to get these tv-watching kids dressed to go play outside and get some wonderful colour to their cheeks. i need to do some more weeding and cleaning up in the garden before i head off for my girly holiday in Spain with my friend Sue!!! only a few more sleeps!!!! the only thing i am dreading is the flight! i hate flying, honestly i am so scared of taking off and landing! i have never flown on my own before so it is an adventure and a huge challenge for me, one i am of course going to take because i have told myself that i can do it! i am invincible! :-) and i have a middle seat between two strangers! i can hardly cry and panic while sitting between strangers! and who knows, there might be a really cute single guy sitting next to me hihi. on the return flight i have a window seat! i am going to love that, once we have taken off that is!

anyway! i'm off to the garden!!!
you all have a wonderful day filled with pretty things and love!!!
xox tanya

ps if you were to leave a comment today i might just decide to pick a lucky person to recieve a little something....

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!

angel in disguise

remember this painting? yesterday they were ordinary sisters! at least in my fantasy that's what they were! then i realized that big sis is an angel in disguise, i wish i had a big sis to share my sorrows and my happiness with

you can see the sis just coming through, underneath her angelic appearance she is still just a normal girl being there for her little sis in times of need and times of joy.

I do like how my painting has changed, i love her angelic hair, the glitter (Ranger GLITZ Stickles rubbed out with my finger) i punched little metal foil flowers, i added Ranger Glitz stickles to the irises, very sparkly but i like it alot, it love shining in their eyes! how's that for an explanation hihi! i'm still looking for the right text to put on my painting but it hasn't come to me yet, yes it must come to my to be right.

what else do i want to tell... oh yes! i bought the latest CD of KEANE , Perfect Symmetry! it is brilliant let me tell you! i needed to get into it at first but after listening a few times, i'm in love with it! it is superb! really, trust me on this!

oh yes, KKD, i will be demoing Ranger for Kars at KKD, The Netherlands in February 2009

and i'll be demoing Peel-off at SMAC Paris in March as i did last year! so shop owners out this in your agenda and pay me a visit! and SUZE we are doing some beading for sure :-)

ohhhh and this!!!!! my dear dear friend and fellow Ranger Educator Sue Clifford sent me a parcel!!!! with goodies, presents and cards and a challenge! so today i liked the postman, usually he brings me bills and then i don't find him so nice, sorry, i can't help it hihi! but today he got a smile out of me (he does other days too, i'm just kidding!)

i will photograph everything tomorrow and post! the challenge! we send eachother strange or found objects and challenge the other to do something artsy with them! it's fun! it's connecting!

strange how some people are friends from the start! thanks SUE xxx

okay! past midnight here in little old Belgium, i must get some kind of beauty sleep, i'm starting to stay up way too late, i become active in the evening, artsy actieve, not witchy active, i do live in HEKS! that is the Dutch/Flemish word for WITCH! how's that for a name?

Sleep tight! listen to your angels as you sleep, i wish you all a beautiful Xmas or Happy whatever you are celebrating

i have so much to be thankful for! i will come back on that before the New Year! i think it is important to express gratitude, so i will....

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!!!!

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....

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

busy as a bee

i've been as busy as a bee these last few days, i painted another petite doll, just have to beeswax the piece and she's finished, i enjoy doing these dolls, they are my playtime and i get to experiment with colours and mixtures, i love it! i love Claudine Hellmuth 's new Studio paints from Ranger!!

i altered a brown embossed journal i bought in the US, i painted it with pebble and black Dabber, Ranger and rubbed on some kiwi Perfect Pearls, Ranger and then waxed the whole thing with natural beeswax, Ranger and buffed it for a shine

i also altered a very old shabby work agenda for a friend, i painted it with black dabber, stamped on some wild flowers, covered the stamped image with kiwi perfect pearls then beeswaxed the whole cover using red, copper, gold en natural beeswax and buffed for shine! it looks way nicer in reallife, i couldn't get this picture any better with the nice shine :-)

i altered a beermat, made a little collage, stamped, inked, rubbed Perfect Pearls, added some little objects and Grungboard! i love Grungeboard!!! then beeswaxed it! i'm so loving the whole beeswax adventure! seeing Micheal Putmans works of art has got me jumpstarted on my own beeswax fun!! ( see blog Jack & Cat!!! in my links)

i also made a little present, one of a few i'm sending to a special lady, this is a sneak peek for her :-)

i got these two little kids dressed for their Halloween party at school! a mummy and a corpse bride

and i've been the perfect mam! i've been preparing fresh veggies everyday! leeks, cauliflower, sprouts, my kids love brussel sprouts! i made pumpkinsoup, i started baking our daily bread!!!

and i even found time to do a little pumpkin arrangement on my front steps!!

so, there you have it! that's what i've been up to! and now i'm off to school in a rush! just got a phonecall! Robin got a frisbee thrown in the face and apparently his eye is looking ugly! so off i go! supermama!!!

talk to you all soon!

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