Let me continue by saying that I love tumblr. You can find gems: images created by other people on tumblr, with quotes or beautiful photoshopped images from their favourite band, movie, TV show, you name it. I sometimes pin those images to one of my pinboards, with a link back to the particular tumblr account.
Many tumblr accounts (dare I say: the majority..?) take images from the www without a link back and this is driving me crazy. Pictures of nature, scenery, ballet, fashion, etc., downloaded from the original site, uploaded to tumblr (or iheartit or any other ‘collection’ site) without giving credit.
I’ve also noticed that people on Pinterest download an image and upload it to their pinboards. Nothing more frustrating than seeing an image of – for instance – a chocolate cake, without a link to the original recipe. I hate sitting there drooling over a cake I want badly and not being able to make it!!

Not too long ago I found a tip on The Graphics Fairy about dragging and dropping an image to google and do a search, but the ‘dragging and dropping’ didn’t work for me. Glad to say I found another way to do a search. It still takes a bit of work, but it’s possible to find the original source of an image.

* Go to Google

* Click ‘images’

You’ll see a little camera icon in the Google searchbar

* Click the camera icon
It will ask you for a url (or you can upload an image you found somewhere)

* Open a new window and go to the image you want to investigate
* Right click and pick ‘copy image url’ (or something similar. My Google is in Dutch, so I’m not exactly sure what the English translation is)
To make things visible, I used an image of mine I pinned to my Digital Scrapbooking board.

* Go to the other window and paste the url in the Google searchbar

* Click ‘Search’
You will now see the image and a list of links which use the image.
Sometimes it’s clear where the image is from, usually one of the first sites on the list. Not always though. In that case:
* click ‘all sizes’ and you’ll see all the sizes of the image used on the www

You can bet that the original source has the largest image – as it’s the original – et voila, you have the source, and you can pin THAT image, which will link back to the original owner.

Unfortunately it’s not always that easy, and I stumbled upon images which I couldn’t trace back to the original source. In that case – as much as it hurts, as the images sometimes are so beautiful – I don’t pin the image. I’d rather not use it than to pin it and not link back, or – even worse – link back to tumblr or a blog which obviously didn’t create the image but found it somewhere on line.

Call me picky, call me strict, call me whatever, I just feel better when I know I’m linking back to the original.

And that’s my lecture for today

If you’re curious about which things I’ve pinned: FOLLOW ME

And if you want to add this post to one of your pinboards, just click the ‘pin it’ button below!

Happy Pinning!

Every year I post a link to a page on my website, dedicated to my late Grandfather.

Please read… think about it… and remember!

Clicking this link will take you to The story of my grandfather

“Where there’s hope, there’s life. It fills us with fresh courage and makes us strong again.”

~Anne Frank

Download: Deco Art Kit 9.12 MB

Created with images/patterns from: prostainedglass.com, spectrumglass.com, vectorforall.com

Good to see there’s another Queen’s Day Google Doodle

“Are you still watching me?? Go away!”

Each layout is unique, she obviously uses the artistic part of her brain differently than I do, as she comes up with angles and placement of pictures and embellishments, I would never have thought of. Yet, when I see them, they all make sense.

I know I have many scrapping friends, but if you’re not a scrapper and you’d love to capture the memories you have on pictures and save them in an album, then I have news for you: Mary has started her ‘Scrapper 4 Hire’ business. You send her your – digital – pictures, tell her your wishes (colours, preferred graphics, wording, etc.) and she’ll put it all together for you.

You don’t have to believe me, go visit her Facebook page and check out her gallery of layouts. Or better still, stop by her Blog Sweet Maple Scraps and browse through her portfolio. I’m sure you’ll be amazed!

LISSE – Exactly 20 years after the opening of Disneyland Paris, 12th April 2012, the French theme park received a very special Dutch Birthday present: a tulip! Mickey Mouse came to Keukenhof in Holland today, especially for the official christening ceremony of the ‘Disneyland Paris Tulip’.

The tulip, a Double Orange Emperor, was cultured by Vervor Export from Ursem and is now officially called ‘Disneyland Paris’.

Twenty years ago, one double Orange Emperor tulip was discovered by accident, in a field with several copies. The tulip was dug out and cultured on a separate field, which resulted – 20 years later – in enough copies to give the species its official name.

The tulip remained double all those years, which means that it has twice as many petals as a regular tulip, and it kept its intense orange colour. Thanks to this magical history there’s no other tulip better named ‘Disneyland Paris’!

The Disneyland Paris tulip is on display in Keukenhof as of today, but no less than 8,000 copies are planted in Disneyland. On a particular Dutch spot as well: the orange tulips can be seen round the Old Mill in Fantasyland!

The Disneyland Paris tulip is in good company: annually hundreds of thousands of Dutch bulbs are planted in Disneyland Paris, as part of the theming and decoration of the Resort.

Hoppy Easter Kit – all graphics are 300 dpi
- 5 Background Papers, 3600×3600
- 2 Mats, 1500×1500, 1 pink and 1 with Easter Eggs
- 1 Element with 2 Mats, 2466×2147
- 1 Journaling Paper
- 1 Ribbon
- 3 WordArt: Hoppy Easter, Easter Bunny, Easter
- 1 Line with Easter Eggs
- 2 Easter Egg Stickers
- 1 Easter Egg Swirl Element
- 1 Decorated Easter Frame

Price: $1

As soon as I receive payment, I will send you the kit by email. Considering the possible time difference, please allow 24 hours until delivery.

Seen: March 25, 2012
Circustheater, Scheveningen

When I joined the ‘Willemijn Verkaik‘ Page at Facebook, I got in touch with several other fans, many of them from Germany, where Willemijn played Elphaba for 3 years. One of them – Lola – announced that she had tickets for March and it seemed the right opportunity to meet her, so I said I would be there too.

It was fun meeting her and her friends and I was glad to hear that they enjoyed Saturday’s performance AND that Willemijn would be there for the Sunday matinee (sigh of relief!)

Photo ©Lola

Jim Bakkum  was scheduled to play Fiyero and as Chantal Janzen had the day off Céline Purcell would be Glinda. I saw some videos of Chantal as Glinda and wasn’t too happy with her high notes, so I welcomed Céline. But after hearing Lola’s comments about how awesome Chantal as Glinda was, I now really hope to see her before she steps down from te show (that hasn’t been announced yet, so I think there’s still time).

I don’t want to be nitpicking – as the show on the whole was awesome – but some of the Dutch lyrics just don’t sound right. I know how difficult it is to translate into Dutch, but some things are simply better in the original language (in this case English). To make the translation sound like ‘normal’ spoken language instead of words that have been put in a strange order to make things rhyme is an art by itself and I sure wouldn’t want to try. Overall it wasn’t bad, but here and there the lyrics lost their power because of the translation.

Having said that, there was nothing else that disappointed. The gorgeous costumes, the lighting, the set, it was close to perfection.
I couldn’t wait to see Willemijn on stage. The minute I had been waiting for, for years, ever since I saw the announcement that she would be the original German Elphaba. And there she was… I felt my heart leap She was everything I expected her to be… and so much more.

Regular visitors will know that I often shed a tear at musicals – lol. If it’s good, I cry. Well… I cried A LOT!  Willemijn’s first solo is ‘The Wizard and I’ and although that is a great song, it never moved me to tears. This time I was completely blown away by Willemijn’s talent. Her voice is phenomenal and it seems like she doesn’t act the part, but IS the character. You can’t do anything but follow her on her journey through life, her emotions, her disappointments, her hope and her victory. No resistance, you get sucked in. And because of that you (well.. I) feel her emotions far more than I did with any other Elphaba (and I thought Kerry Ellis was hard to beat!).

As I’d only seen the show from up-close, it was refreshing to see it from a distance. I didn’t want to sit in row 28 (a seat that was one of the options when I booked) but opted for the ring and it was a pleasant surprise. Good overall view and I saw things, especially in the lighting and the scenes with the complete cast on stage, that I missed when I was sitting closer to the stage. Another confirmation that it’s good to see a show more than once and from different angles.

Can’t wait to see it again!

As I’m totally addicted to theater, I opted for 10 musicals. Didn’t have much time as we’re celebrating DD’s Birthday this weekend and thought this subject would be quite easy.. wrong! There are so many great musicals, how can I possibly pick 10? So, here’s a first list of 10.. there will be more another time

10. Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat

Music: Andrew Lloyd Webber, lyrics: Tim Rice

Saw this many, many times and have good memories of the production with Jason Donovan (1991) in the London Palladium. Spent two hours in a cue at the theater box office, managed to get tickets at row 1 and had a perfect view of Jason in his loincloth Also, seeing Lee Mead as Joseph in the London Adelphi (twice) made my day.. maybe year (Reviews 2007 and 2008)

9. Lion King

Music: Elton John, lyrics: Tim Rice

Only musical where I started crying at the opening song. I’m known for sobbing at musicals, but never THIS soon – lol. Animals performed by human beings, stunning costumes, so inventive. Great score (but you can’t go wrong with Elton John as far as I’m concerned).  Saw this several times – only in Holland, so I can’t compare – but it was a great production!

8. Singin’ in the Rain

Music: Nacio Herb Brown, lyrics: Arthur Freed

Love the movie and love the stage musical even more. The actual ‘Singin’ in the Rain’ song, with pouring rain on stage never ceases to amaze me. Saw several different versions but the best for me was the Original London Production with Tommy Steele which ran from 1983-1985 in the London Palladium. The story never grows old, if a production comes your way: book tickets!

7. Mary Poppins

The musical was written by Julian Fellowes and features the film’s music and lyrics by the Sherman Brothers, along with additional music and lyrics by George Stiles and Anthony Drewe.

Saw this twice in Holland and my all time favourite Mary is: Noortje Herlaar! Great family outing for all ages! You can read my review here

6. Shrek, the Musical

Music: Jeanine Tesori, book and lyrics: David Lindsay-Abaire.

The minute I saw the videos of some of the songs on youtube I was hooked, I-had-to-see it, even if that meant going to NY. Fortunately for me (and my wallet) a revamped version of Shrek, the Musical opened on West End in June 2011. Immediately booked tickets and saw the show on August 12, 2011. Review and Stage door pictures here. Again, wonderful family night out, for all ages!

5. Soldaat van Oranje / Soldier of Orange

Original Dutch musical, script by Edwin de Vries, lyrics by American duo Tom Harriman and Pamela Philips Oland, translated into Dutch by Frans van Deursen.

This is a very special show. For its contents – true life story of Erik Hazelhoff Roelfzema, who worked for the resistance in WWII – the music, which touches the heart, and definitely for the stage and setting as well. The audience sits on a revolving platform, which turns around then ‘walls’ open for the next scene. It’s hard to explain. Review here. Saw it once so far, but will definitely go see it again soon.

4. Miss Saigon

Musical by Claude-Michel Schönberg and Alain Boublil, lyrics by Boublil and Richard Maltby, Jr.

Was very fortunate to see the original London Production in 1989 starring Lea Salonga as Kim and Jonathan Price as the engineer. Saw it four more times after that, including the Dutch production. I cherish the Souvenir Brochure signed by the majority of the original cast which we met at the Stage door. Heartbreaking story, powerful music, and yes, I was sobbing :p

3. Chess

Music: Benny Andersson and Björn Ulvaeus, formerly of ABBA, lyrics: Tim Rice

April 1989. On one of my London trips we booked tickets to see musicals on every night of our stay, but had room for a matinee. As Chess was in its last week of performances before the show would close down, we picked that one. Didn’t regret it one bit. It was awesome! My favourite song is “Someone else’s story”, which – to my knowledge – wasn’t in the original London production but added later for the US production. Isn’t it about time for a London Revival?? Definitely!

2. Les Misérables

Music: Claude-Michel Schönberg, lyrics: Alain Boublil and Jean-Marc Natel, with an English-language libretto by Herbert Kretzmer. Based on the novel by Victor Hugo.

Saw the show about 45 times, in London, Amsterdam and Scheveningen (The Hague). Don’t have a favourite performance as they all were awesome, but my favourite cast (apart from the London original one, which I never saw live) is the one from the original 1991 Dutch production. Had tickets for the opening night, including after party, which was special. I was apprehensive at first, as I prefer the musicals in their original language, but the Dutch translation made sense and didn’t feel ‘forced’, which often is the case as Dutch uses more words to say a line than English. So it’s hard to make things rhyme ánd make it sound effortless ánd as a spoken language rather than written (which are two totally different things).

1. Wicked

Music and lyrics: Stephen Schwartz, book by Winnie Holzman. Based on Gregory Maguire’s novel.

*sigh* What can I say? When I listened to the CD for the first time, it was another case of I-have-to-see-this! Saw one of my favourite UK singers/actresses Kerry Ellis as Elphaba with Dianne Pilkington as Glinda (review: 2007 ) and last year I saw Rachel Tucker and the lovely Louise Dearman (review: 2011).

But the best Elphaba ever is the Dutch Willemijn Verkaik, who was the original German ánd Dutch Elphaba, which makes her the first actress worldwide who played the part in two different languages.