Prince Charming...

Prince Charming, as i see him... not that i am in any way waiting on a Prince Charming lol, i just thought it would be cool to give him a go since i am doing another Suzi class :)) and need to practice side view faces! so here is my first ever, i 'm not drawn to side views so much because i get less eye to play with and for me it's all about the eyes in my faces but having tried this i probably will do a few more and then practice some 3/4 views too, always something new to learn and that is what i love about drawing and painting!and then there i this painting 'Passion' commisioned by my friend Esther, a beautiful redhead herself so she loves my girls & angels

this one is no angel, seeing the text she wanted put on was a touch sassy lol i figured it was best to make her a goddess instead :))

ok, short post, the weather is way too nice to be sitting in and the sun too bright to take the laptop out lol

so have a brilliant day & whatever you are up too, i hope you are having fun!!

talk soon!

love & peace

tanya xx

Tag 5 and 6 and 7!!!

look who has been busy;;;

tag 5

i used a 7Gypsies metal border, really easy, it's adhesive and cutable with tim's scissors!

i didn't have the charm fragments so i used the normal oval ones, that proved a bit of a challenge, i had to make up some kind of charm like thing so i wrapped a bit of the wire around first and then covered with foil, not quite the same but it still looks cool.

the white rub-on was replaced by some white embossing and the distress embossing powder by verdigris from the antiquities range from Ranger it works well!

tag 6

again some improvisation going on! i had no black embossing powder at hand while i was working on this yesterday so i stamped with pitch black pigment and embossed with clear, well actually, a little story... during a workshop ome time ago, i had both clear and frosted crystal open and while explaining something i picked up the wrong jar, you guessed it! i poured frosted into clear!! and yes that is what i had in my hands yesterday so my embossing as a cool mixture! and i mean cool! it is pretty neat. the fluffy white stuff that tim used as snow looks so cool but again no where to be found here in belgium so i used Aleene's glitter snow and it is nice, i had never used this before but it does the trick. i love the idea of the tree on the car! so tim! don't you think??

tag 7

the mask sheets were not available to me for this one so i made my own but i do really love tim for making these sheets! i am getting a load once they are here!

i like this tag, the white paint coming through is so vintage, along with the distress stickles and the vintage Santa really gets me into a Christmas mood.

oh because of the colours i had chosen to ink my tag (fired brick, broken china) the Merry Christmas stamp didn't show up too well so i embossed it with clear and now it really pops, it's all about making quick decisions and trusting your crazy ideas as Tim once put on a stamp!

tag 8 tomorrow!

mine will be late in the day as i am away most of the day

so many people are enjoying the tags, it is a wonderful thing that we are all sharing, it is the spirit of Xmas really!

now i am off to draw angels, i can't wait to start painting on one, i bouht the most beautiful paints today at the art store, a small fortune, oh my god they are expensive but lush lush lush!

now let me go play! i'll be back tomorrow!

and am i a good blogger or what?? two post in one day i might add!!!

and winners!!! don't forget to send me your address via mail, onlt that way can i get your goodiebag out the door, this will be Wednesday if i have all the addresses!!!

love and peace! xxx t

the winners are...

so happy people, the winners of the five goodiebags are...

i put all 17 names in my trust hat

i had no other innocent hand around but my own,

but you all know i am honest and would not peek while grabbing!!

so here goes:

all in the hat

Shana and Brenda

yay for them! Shana came to see me yestersday even though she is in the middle of her exams so mum let her on to the computer for five minutes just so she could comment on my blog to have a chance at winning and she even phoned me cos she couldn't find how to do it lol! all that trouble has payed off!!! see i told you to take a chance!!!

the Kathrynwheel!

a northern lass like me!!! ohhh glad you won to cos you had just missed out on the 100th blog draw just because you thought shopping was more fun lol!

happy for you too!!

the Scrapbookdoll
way to go M.A. ( my nickname for Marie Ann)
happy you won!! you struggled so much with the Grungepaper flower and still had the spirit to fix it when you got home! your goodiebag is on it's way haha!

Hilda!!

Hilda is one of my trusty scrap class chicks!!! she had NOOOOOO idea how to comment on my blog, she complains to me about it every time she sees me lol! i told her to get help! and she did! and her very first comment... she wins a prize! gosh some people have all the luck!!!

happy for you Hildake!

and last but nott least!!

Jennie!!

i only got to know Jennie after starting up the Ranger U grad group on facebook, Jennie joined and we became FB friends and started reading eachothers blogs due to the tags i think lol!

so Jennie! from one Ranger Educator to an other: Happy you won too!

and oowwwww to the people who didn't win anything, better luck next time!

thank you for all the wonderful comments

i am so grateful for you all taking the time!

the &é tags are not finished, i am behind on the weekend ones because i was busy but today they will be posted along with today's tag

i got so much feedback on my version of the tags, it is amazing really! thank you!

i have promised some of my Belgians that is will make a translation of Tim's tags for them just so they can fully understand what the guy is saying lol! it is in nooooo way to be used other than personal use and never ever to be published or passed on, please please take this into account

now in flemish so they really do get it lol:

ik zal de tim's tags vertalen in het vlaams, nederlands voor wie ze wil maar aub!!! ik druk er heel sterk op dat het echt enkel voor persoonlijk gebruik is en nooit ergens gepubliceerd kan of mag worden en ook niet doorgegeven worden aan anderen, okido, mercikes!

wie ze wil moet me maar een mailtje sturen

I am actually going to ask Tim for permission

first just so I am sure it is okay for him.

okay, so now i have done this draw, i will make the goodiebags today, make some tiny artworks to go with them

you need to mail me your addresses privatly to

wattstanya@skynet.be

also SANDRA!!! i need your address because you won the 100th blog post prize!

i am now off o the art store to go but paint!! i need some more colours to paint my angels in suzi's class, ahhhhh relaxation for me!

then i need to order some Steward Gill's paints, all the way up in Scotland! brillll paint, can't wait to get them!

so my relaxing day will be a busy one i think!

hope you all have a wonderful happy day!

love!!

oh and one more thing!!!

it's my birthday soon... no i'm not saying that to get cards or pressies! duh!!!! lol

i am going send a pressie to one of my followers! i will choose a winner, randomly of course!)

on my birthday!!!

so if you are not yet a follower, well you might want to become one before the 21st

bye my shiny happy people. xx

2nd Tag of Christmas

Here i am again! my second tag is done! addict??? yeah yeah maybe! lol but i have a pretty long to-do-list for today so i wanted to do this first of all cause i knew i would not have time otherwise! priorities! lol

mine of course is different to Tim's, i changed the colours, i used vintage photo on the tag instead of the suggested pine needles, my ornate stamp was the mini version, i don't own the larger one so i addes on a ticket to fill up the space. the perfect pearl splats are everywhere! i did read Tim's advice on covering anything you don't want the splats on but ummmmm.... well haha

i was over the moooooon that i had enough of the metal flowers in my treasure box! this metal rose turned out to be a fiddly event but i am not one for giving up and i made my rose and i LOVE it! OMG!!! this is so cool! I think TIM is totally generous showing us this one! you have to agree!!!

for those who are seeing me tonight or the coming weekend, i will bring my tags with me!!

I love this tag, i think it turned out just as i wanted it to! this chick is totally recharged;

and! i enroled in another Suzi Blu's class! ANGELS! i can't wait for it to start! She is such a push in my back when it comes to me expanding my drawing and painting talents! yes! i do have talent! lol! i finally admit to that.

ok! off to do some more crafty, arty stuff! and don't forget to comment to get the chance to win a goodiebag! 13 entries so far! ( lol i am not tim holtz! he got 3000 comments yesterday!!!)

painting Goddesses

some pics of what i have been up to in Suzi's goddess & poet class

of course most of the products used are Ranger but i am loving the golden fluid Acrylics too!

see i can post twice in one week! lol

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

just checking in!


i have been a bit absent, for several reasons: i'm not really doing much art at the moment, too busy preparing for Paris and other things to be playing and creating for myself.

and... i lost a part of the charger for my camera!!! so the battery is obviously dead and i can't charge so i can't take pics... so i can't put any pics on my blog!!! i have nooooooooo idea what i have done with the part! i had it in my suitcase on my last trip, that i am certain of... i didn't even use it on that trip! but now it is nowhere to be seen! i have checked everywhere i can think of and more! i give up!!! well for today! i would love to load the battery before going to Paris!!! imagine not being able to take pics of Suze and me, Tim and me, Mario and me, okay you get the picture hihi!

what have i been up to? well i've been working on samples and make & takes for SMAC Paris, sunny bright little projects with lots of flower power and glitter! i am covered in glitter as we speak!! it is e-vvvvvvvvvvv-erywhere! i think i'm even breathing in glitter! *cough* yes! glitter!

i recieved this from Mariska it's a top 10 favourite blog award! thanks Mariska
the idea is that i pass it on to my own top Ten favourites!!!

i can't send it back to Mariska, though she is one of my favourites! Evelien already recieved this from Mariska si i won't send it to her though she too is one of my favourites!

you know what??? i suggest you give everyone on my blogroll a visit!!! they are after all my favourites!!!

i recieved this friends badge from my lovely Arizona art pal Sheri!!! we have never met in real life (yet!) but we got to know eachother through Micheal aka jack & cat, my favourite beeswax guy evver!! his wife is an artist too, they are so lucky to be able to work together! they make cool stuff ( check them out if you haven't already!) they are on my blogroll

anyway, here is the friends badge

These are the guidelines that came with the badge:
"These blogs are exceedingly charming. These kind bloggers aim to be friends. They are not interested in 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 kind writers."
When you pass the award along please include these guidelines. I am to choose eight friends to share this with. again a very difficult task!! who do i choose? i have lots of online art friends who blog! not all of them are on my blogroll because some of them are only in dutch and not understandable for the rest of the world! that is the only reason you are not on my roll my flemish and dutch pals!!! i can't put links up that my visitors won't be able te read.

having said this, i get complaints that my blog is only in English!!! and not in dutch too! pfff i know my friends but at the end of the day, i am english! it is easier for me to write english even though my dutch is just as good, and then the fact that it is all a bit time consuming for this single- self-supporting- working- sometimes tired mama- artist, you understand? don't you? hope you all do cos it is just not do-able for me to do two languages.

my 8 friends i want you to check out!

Sue, she is soooo my pal!!! my mate! my friend! i can't wait for my visit to her in Spain in April!!

Kate, northern lass like me! i love her ATC's, check her blog out!

Barb, she is going for her dream even though it is not always easy!

Michelle, my Jersey Shore girl! wish i was closer! i know a great place for cocktails in Long Branch!! :-)

Evelien, well, what can i say? she used to stalk me, you know? !she is okay now hihi

Suzi, a wonderful wacky artist with a heart and soul i love! she is moving to San diego as we speak! go girl!!!

Margie, i just met her a few weeks ago! but i love her vibe! doors will open!!!

and last but not least

Tim he shares and supports like no other! he deserves to be on my list! i know he hasn't got time to pass this one, he is on his way to Paris it this very moment!

did i mention that i am going too?! did i? haha

so that was it for now, back to my samples, packing my bags, getting the cupboards and fridge filled, ironing to be done, bills to be paid, dog to be washed! he smells!!!! i don't know what he has been up to! pffff

hope you are all having a wonderful sunshine-filled day, like i am!

xox tanya

i've been tagged

i few days ago my Arizona Sheri, http://littleblackscrapcat.blogspot.com/ tagged me, so here i am to share 5 of my addictions and tag 5 other lucky people hihi!

i had a think about my addictions! i have a few, nothing bad but addictions they are


here goes

# 1 i'm pretty addicted to Ranger! not suprised? ohhhh! can't imagine why not! Ranger just seems to do it for me, it's the whole deal ,the products, the range, the colours the packaging, the designers, the people there, it is just up my alley! i love their concept of colour ranges, i love that their products leave so much space for own inventions and purpose.
so i'm addicted to Ranger!


#2 i'm addicted to notebooks, blank notebooks with pretty or not so pretty covers, i don't care, i keep the pretty, i alter the not so pretty! but i need to have a stack of blank books so that i feel i can start a new story whenever a feel like it! i don't collect them , i actually use them, i love blank books. something about starting a fresh one, all possibilities lying open for me to choose.


#3 i'm addicted to CADBURY'S for you who do not know what i am on about, it is English chocolate, the most beautiful chocolate in the universe! i know many will totally disagree and that is okay ( i know better!) i live in Belgium, known for it's chocolate but no!!! i love my English Cadbury's, milk chocolate, fruit & nuts, crunchie, flakes! OMG... hang on! i'm off to get some from the cupboard




#4 Grey"'s anatomy! i'm addicted to that! i loooooooooooooove Grey's anatomy, it makes me cry more often than not but ohhhh i love it! totaaly addicted, i will never miss an episode and i watch again and again on dvd, oh and the music is simply brilliant!

# City of Angels! the film with Nicholase Cage , hummmmmmm........ Nicholase Cage, ..... ohhhhh dear! oh and Meg Ryan. i adore this film! really truly adore this film it makes me cry everytime, every 600 and something times :-) i love watching Nicholas Cage! i think he is wonderful and handsome and yet again, i know many will disagree and go fot Brad Pitt or Goerge Clooney! not me! it me and Nic, his voice! his moves ohhhhhh i'm melting.... sorry! and yet again! the soundtrack is brilliant! one of my fav cd's, even 11 years later!!



so there you have s few of my addictions, now i'm just wondering if my Nic should be at #1?????ohhhh i'll just leave it , you all get the message!


now for the second part, i'm going to tag 5 of my friends to have a think about their "addictions"

Suzi, Sue, Aimee, Michelle and Patty, have fun girls!!!!



oh and i am happy to say that when dear Tim, king of inks is coming to the netherlands, i'm so lucky to de doing a workshop with him the day after the event at Kars! am i lucky or what? anyone just a touch jealous? no? :-)


i'm off to have a quiet weekend, the little ones are at their dad's for the weekend so that means i get to sleep in! yeah sure! i'll be up at 8 anyway!


have a great weekend!

xox tanya

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!

jet lag

ohhhh dear, so this is what jet lag feels like! i felt okay up to now, i thought i would be back in my rythme in no time but ohh my! last night i just couldn't sleep! so today i've been stumbeling around like a zombie, still unable to take a good nap ( phone, shopping, ...) i think i'm going to install my self in the sofa, glass of wine, light the fire and relax and draw a little, i bought some wod to do my art on and am looking forward to getting back in to the swing of learning the petite dolls by suzi blu, they won't let me go.

i'm still full of Ranger U though, thinking of all kinds of ways to incorparate the new techniques and products in with my own "out of the box" style, i have a few workshops to figure out and of course they will all be Ranger U related, some of them are already sold out! good!!!

i will be designing some worklshops that can be done at my home, evening classes, if you want to be on the list to be notified just mail at wattstanya@skynet.be i will try(!!) to arrange dates and times to suit the people on my list, so sign up and i'll send details once i have things planned
the workshops will be limited to 4 attendees at a time so there will be lots of time for assistance

okay, off to have dinner and a relaxing evening

bih hug, tanya