Forget Me Nots

2010-05-02T07:55:00.000-07:00

2010-05-02T07:53:00.000-07:00

2010-05-02T07:36:00.000-07:00

2010-05-02T07:28:00.000-07:00

mondays child....

2010-03-03T20:24:00.000-08:00

going big with the saints

2010-03-03T20:17:00.000-08:00

welcome to the world little miss avery

2010-03-03T20:09:00.000-08:00

scrapfest projects...

2010-03-02T21:32:00.000-08:00

wow.....scrapfest was sooooo much fun..... got the chance to catch up on some scrapping that i had needed to be done....and see old friends...learn new things....and simply enjoy the stress free atmosphere.... i ompleted and competed int eh layout contest, and i ended up placing, therby winning a free ticket back in sept. i also entered a pic i had taken it the photo contest and ended up winning a prize too....sooooo much fun!!!

so stay tuned...i havent had the time to get all caught up on my blog postings..... ill be sharing with you these things and more....

sports shadowbox

2010-03-02T21:25:00.000-08:00

wedding day

2010-03-02T21:04:00.000-08:00

March's inspiration for the ARTastic Challenge blog comes from a painted postcard......

Reverie by Alphonso Muscha

Mucha was the creator/originator of ART Nouveau (French for new art style)
Mucha's works frequently featured beautiful healthy young women in flowing vaguely Neoclassical looking robes, often surrounded by lush flowers which sometimes formed haloes behind the women's heads. In contrast with contemporary poster makers he used paler pastel colors.

Up for a challenge???? try your hand at this one.....and , for upto 6 bonus points,have your layout include any/all of the following ARTastic Diva Demands... for an extra 6 bonus points

1. Use a cut out figurine from a photo = 1 pt
2. Make a halo using flowers around the figurines head = 2pts
3. Use Art Nouveau style/designs on your layout = 3 pts

its a beautiful work of art, and very much my style....i decided to use a picture of myself in my wedding gown. I love the new graphic 45 paper, and i thought that it was perfect for this layout. I used old lace remanents and buttons i gathered during one of my thrift store outtings....i added handmade flowers from old sewing patterns and accented them with a pearl bead. i love the vintage-ness!!!!

shabby chic boutique

2010-03-01T22:26:00.000-08:00

Hi ya’ll!!!!

Its my turn……

1. tell us all about you.

My name is tanya delaine joseph. i live in the lovely city of Abbeville,LA. my husband, john, and I have two beautiful children, abigail, age 10 and felix emile, age 8... they tend to keep us very busy…….very, very, very busy indeed……when im not doing things with my family, i love to unwind and relax by scrapbooking….if that’s what you call what do….ha ha ha… i tend to be very dramatic in my layouts, most of which I convert to shadowboxes…. i love crating new techniques, and discovering old ones….

2. when and why did you start scrapbooking?

Hmmmmmmm…..gosh!!!! i don’t know really…. i started somewhat scrapbooking many years ago when all you had was a pictures,a glue stick and a pair of fancy scissors…..back then i preserved the memories of that passing school year - winning ribbons, certificates of achievenment, and the like….. Now I make lasting memories of those closest too me…. I can say that I have definetly evolved as a scrapper….

3. Do you think you have a scrapbooking style? What best describes your scrapbooking style?

Shabby chic - lots of heritage and intage feel to my layouts…I love old pictures…..and tend to shy away from bold,bright colors….. The best description of my style would be gawwwwwwwwdy to the max…ha ha ha…..never too little….over dramatic with senimental touches….. I love making something out of nothing….. I can say that I have an eye for odds and ends the I transform into beautiful embellishments….scrapbooking has defintely opened my eyes to seeing everyday, ordinary things differently…..

4. Besides your cutter and scissors, what are 3 scrapbooking products you couldn't live without?

What would scrapbooking be without Pop dots, Glue guns and Thrift shop finds….???

5. What paper line best descibes you?

its impossible to chose just one.... i would have to say webster's pages, graphic 45, sassafrass lass, october afternoon, and jenni bowlin

6. What embellishment line best describes you?
Quite frankly……I tend to make lots of my own embellishments….mostly from thriftstore finds……soooooo I really don’t have an embellishment line…

7. What designer inspires you ……

hmmmmmmmmmm……….. none other than fabulous designer, connie girard……beautiful work…she and I have similar taste and style…..very vintageeeee… she is fabulous…..and I fortunately had the chance to spend the whole weekend with her next to me….at scrapfest……soaking in all of her creativity…..her work is amazing….and she is simply a true inspiration……

8. What was your favorite innovative product of 2009 and why?

The double stick tape…… cheap….strong bond……no scissors needed……AWESOME, AWESOME, AWESOME product !!!!!!!!!!!

9. What are your feelings about journalling?

i (hate) to journal - its my weakest point.....BUT - i am working on it.....
i always looking back and reading what i have journalled and am very gateful for jotting down those memories.....

10. What do you hope to get out of being on the Treasured Memories Design Team this year?

Well….I am sooo happy and fortunate to be choosen again to be on the TM design team….im soooooooo excited…..we have a great group of ladies and I hope to learn and share and continue to grow as a scrapper.

..... and now, on to the very first TM Design Team 2010 challenge….

The challenges for this layout were to include the following elements….

1. The layout must be about yourself.
2. The layout must contain an 8x10 or larger photo of yourself.
3. The layout must include a creative title that describes yourself.
4. The layout must be a two-page layout.

here is my layout - I titled it “Shabby Chic Boutique” …..

Anyone who knows me, knows that I am a thrifty girl down to the core….. I am known to carry scissors with me wherever I go, and I am soooooo NOT afraid to use them…..ha ha ha….I love thrift stores…I love looking for all sorts of treasures…. And using things on my layouts that are a little over the top……my signature style includes odds and ends that I have converted into elaborate embellishments, some with a sentimental meaning…. I do not live by the motto, ”less is more”…. “more is more” in my book….. I think that my biggest challenge would be to do a layout with all things practical and to use white space….ha ha ha….. I literally have tons of trinkets :from earrings, bracelets, and buttons, to doorbell covers, buckles to old shoes and belts, coins, caps, and just about any kind of material I can get my hands on…I think that my title of my layout pretty much describes me….. Im like a shabby chic boutique….my style is shabby chic, vintage… and all the treasures I have collected and organized in the 165 card catalog drawers in my scrapbooking nook are more than perfect for a little boutique of goodness….
In this layout I deceided to use the graphic 45 , jenni bowlin, and 7 gypsies lines of paper . I handmade some flowers form old sewing patterns and inked the petals with tim holtz distressing ink…..and coke - yes COKE , and water….ha ha ha…I love trying new things…..and so I was sitting there trying to make thema bit brown in color…and I happen to be drinking a coke…so I said to myslef…what the heck - lets see what this will look like…..and voila! Ha ha ha….. I included a cream ribbon from a remnant of a hair bow that abby wore when she was barley 2 , in the abbeville cattle festival pagent……the red hat that I am wearing is actually a vintage find that my wonderful mom-in-law picked up for me 10+ years ago….I had seen the hat in the window of a little boutique in metairie on one of our weekend trips to visit john’s family. I remember telling john about it, and he in turn told his mom, who picked it and surprised me with it …im such a lucky girl!!!! I also added vintage buttons and a few habdmade roses that my mom happen to be making and I HAD to have…so she gave them to me to add the perfect touches…..abby also contributed to the project, by making me the little lapel vase that I added flowers to from a piece of an index card…that little girl is something else…she has an eye for things just like me…..I thought it would be fun showing off a fun side of me with the different pics . I completed the assignment with bling, lace, ribbon , a flowers and greenery… and of course the gorgeous handmade hat pins that janet and her team creative.....absolutely the perfect embellishment to bring the layout together.....

two little piggies

2010-02-01T17:17:00.000-08:00

february's inspiration for the ARTastic challenge blog comes from the painting....

'The Bath' by Mary Cassatt

here is my interpretation of this beautiful painting....
lots of inspiration can be drawn from it....

way 2 geaux felix

2010-01-24T21:30:00.000-08:00

geaux saints!!!

2010-01-24T21:25:00.000-08:00

2010-01-03T07:17:00.000-08:00

wow...i have really lost track here lately.....soooooo much going on...no time to get everything done.....days flying by...and NOW - its already 2010???? i cant believe.....sooooo i have been super duper busy with family things, but now im gonna get back on schedule.....i have made a few projects over the last month, but just didnt have the time to post them.....so ill just start from my most recent project and go from there.....

this month at the ARTastic Challenge blog, the inspiration for January comes from the Australian painter PRO HART with his art piece Floral.

this piece of art work is an easy one to use for inspiration. you could use the colors, shapes or even the overlapping technique and you could even add lots and lots of flowers. the colors are amazing -so many possibilities.......why not start the year off with a lovely inspired layout.....and as a bonus,for an extra two bonus points ....... add a cluster of flowers or a bouquet of flowers or a vase of flowers ( This is optional, you dont have to do this but it does give you the extra bonus points!)....so head over to the ARTastic Challenge blog and let your creativity run wild.....

here is my take on it.....

girl with a pearl earring

2009-11-30T18:19:00.000-08:00

well i Have finally gotten a minute of "me" time to get away from the hustle and bustle to sit down and pop out a layout.
well this months challenge over at Artastic Challenge blog,is an inspiration drawn from Vermeer's painting - 'The Girl with the Pearl Earring'. Please note that Vermeer's painting was actually titled "The Head Of A Girl" (1666) but is
otherwise known from the movie with Colin Firth as "The Girl With The Pearl Earring".
Added criteria:
1. Single portrait style photo
2. An earring somewhere on the page

i used webster pages and incorporated silk flowers and antique flower buttons. i added a couple of peacock feathers that i Have been holding on to and i finally had the perfect chance to use it. i used ribbon and lots of pop dots and hot glue to secure everything in place.the earring is mixed in with the cluster of flowers on the top of the layout. the picture i used was another fav of mine from abby's first communion.

I hope you all enjoy this months painting and I look forward to seeing some really gorgeous entries.

ma ma's yucky tummy :(

2009-11-29T17:41:00.000-08:00

what a week this has been...... oh my...where do i start????
my mom had not been feeling all that great last sundy/monday....she was up all night with abdominal pain........so much that my dad ended up taking her to see her doctor.
well long story, short form - he ended up admitting her into the hospital to do some testing and treat her via iv therapy......sooooooooo she was quite miserable.....
well...after doing xrays and a ct scan -her doctor said that the testing showed a tear in her colon - narrowing it down to either diverticulitis or colon cancer.....the tear caused waste to enter her body and blood....thereby "poisoning" her......this had been going on for some time - years!!!!!well....needless to stay her temporary hospital stay has now turned into an indefiniate stay - by that i mean, just when she started back on solid food, she had complcations so she wasnt able to go home today like planned.....sooooo she will be in the hospital a bit longer...she is in good spirits now, and its a day by day thing til she gets back to health enough to do a colonoscopy to determine the cause of the tear.....
from there we will just keep moving along in the right direction to recovery....

soooooo, being that she was in the hospital for thanksgiving - i had my family members each write a little note to her, and i in turn made the notes into a "thankful hearts" book......here is a glimpse of it......

jolly old st. fe :)

2009-11-18T05:45:00.000-08:00

wow!!! i cant believe that tonight is the last night for our Design Team to meet :(
i cant believe a whole year has gone by!!! man, time has flown by. it seems like we were just meeting for the first time yesterday...... im kinda blah - cause i dont want to see it end....we all had soooo much fun - especially working on the group challenges!!!! i am so lucky to have worked with such a talented group of ladies....
and great coordinator - thank you melissa!!!!!you totally ROCK :)thanks for everything you did to keep our creativity flowing and keep us thinking outside our box!!!!! its sad to see it end.....and last, but not least, i want to say a BIG thank you to JANET!!!! and her fabulous staff!!!! i am very thankful for the opportunity i have had in being part of such a wonderful Design Team at Treasured Memories!!!!!

well here it is....my final layout ...so i thought that i would go with the theme of christmas , since we are literally days away - can you believe it????
soooo, i am totally hooked on the webster pages line of (christmas) paper...its sooooooooo beautiful!!!!it l;iterally took me nearly 3hrs in cutting time alone to prepare this layout! - YES, 3 hours..... but the whole while , i was thinking of just how i would be creating my design....so i used:
....i also accented the piece with webster pages embellishments - , ribbon, buttons,trinkets.....
i chose this picture of felix from my christmas 2005 collection...he was not so happy to take this picture......he was going through a stage in which he ALWAYS wanted to wear a bow tie---ha ha ha...and a red one at that!!! so we were getting ready to take the picture and he wanted his bow tie-of course it couldnt be found... so i had to make one using abby's hair ribbons....the picture turned out priceless though.....i added my little touches therefor concluding this project.

webster pages christmas card and holder

2009-11-15T21:05:00.000-08:00

christmas shadow box

2009-11-15T01:18:00.000-08:00

using webster pages......

fav trip - georgia girls

2009-11-13T23:31:00.001-08:00

happiness

2009-11-10T23:04:00.000-08:00

i recently attended a faith crop and was introduced to a fabulous line by desinger nikki sivils....omg!!!! awesome paper products!!!! i was lucky enough to take home a prize package of her paper line.....here is my end result.....i absolutely think the sofas and lamps are adorable....cant wake to sink my creativity into my next nikki silvis project.... :)

live slow

2009-11-09T18:46:00.001-08:00

i checked out the blog, 52 sketches, 52 weeks.....and i thought id try my luck at starting a layout by the guidance of a sketch...this was fun...and it made it easy to lay out the pieces too.

abby and lilly bean

2009-11-09T18:36:00.000-08:00

i love this picture of abby and our precious little dog - lilly bean...she is just the sweetest most lovable little dog !!!!she is spoiled rotten, just like the kids.....she has her own bed, couch and wardrobe....ha ha ha....i chose to use the Imaginense paper line ooh la la....i thought it to be fitting for this pic. i added ribbon and paper roses,heart stick pins, and a zipper.

friends

2009-11-08T22:14:00.000-08:00

here is my entry for this month's challenge , From Screen to Scrap....
the criteria was:

1. negative space (which i have NEVER done...ha ha ha...i usually fill up my pages ...every inch of the paper)

2. must have a cutout from a photo/photos

3. must use blue, pink and yellow somewhere on your layout

4. painted title

this was a bit different from what i usually do....i started off with a piece of watercolor canvas.....i experimented with food coloring and rubbing alcohol....mixed together making my own alcohol ink....i think it came out fairly well....i also used a tim holtz mask and a mixed a little bleach in the alcohol ink solution.you can see the effect....pretty cool....i also stamped print scripted words and even doodled around the edges....i painted n the title...added a piece of ribbon...and handmade paper roses....the picture i chose is of abigail and ny niece, jenna....who are inseparable....ha ha ha..they were holding hands walking towards the beach, at dauphin island...this was a pretty easy assignment and it took me little time to complete....

first communion

2009-11-04T16:27:00.000-08:00

hiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii :) well i have finally completed my ARTastic Design Team challenge based upon my interpretation of Lawrence Alma-Tadema 'A Greek Woman' painting. i chose to use a picture that i took a few years back for abigail's first communion. you can tell be the picture that felix was anything but happy about being photographed....he was all pouty and sad cause the focus was on abby....i remember taking the picture and thinking, i am gonna LOVE scrapbooking this one.....for my layout i chose to use flower petals from the bouquet that i wore in my hair on my wedding day....i used ribbons and rhinestones.....and i even made some ribbon roses...i topped off the layout with some greenery and beading. i love the way the colors blended so well.... the influenital painting made it easy to transform my page into a work of art.
sooooo...head over to the ARTastic Challenge blog and get your entries in!!!!!

2009-11-04T16:23:00.000-08:00

congrats to me!!!! i made the ARTastic design team :)

2009-11-01T18:56:00.001-08:00

yay!!!! im so excited to announce that i have been asked to join the ARTastic Design team!!!!
it is an awesome challenge blog.....with monthly challenges on different works of art....

check it out...try it out...and you will be hooked - just like me!!!! just click on the link below:

http://artasticchallengeblog.blogspot.com/

this months challenge is a piece done by Lawrence Alma-Tadema called : 'A Greek Woman'

get your entries in today!!!!!

==============================================

here is the warm welcome that i received from the talented ladies at ARTastic:
Come meet our new DT member :)

Tanya Delaine Joseph

here is my bio......hiiiiiiiii yall! My name is Tanya Delaine Joseph. I am a 34 year old proud mommy of 2 beautiful children - Abigail Delaine, 10 and Felix Emile, 7. I am married to the most wonderful hubby a girl could have. (I heart you johnny;) ... I grew up and live in Abbeville , Louisiana. I do work full time :( , so if I could have one wish , it would be to have more time to scrapbook.... I wish I had more time to put my creativity to use.....but I do make the best of the free time that I do have..... I have been a crafty girl all of my life..... I can remember as a little girl loving to draw and make things.....there was nothing I thought I couldnt do....my mom would always say..."look at that tanya..and remember it.....we can make it..." and boy was she right! my creativity comes from my mom-she is a fantastic crafter and scrapper too ...and it appears the abigail will be following in the family tradition. Most of the projects I make are 3-dimensional. I love making shadowboxes and until recently, everything I have made has been to be given away as gifts. when people see my work, they always say, where do you put all of your layouts?????ha ha ha....(quite honestly, I have only a few that I have saved in plastic paper storage boxes, everything else has been given away...and eventually, I will give away the layouts I have made as they relate to the subject matter.....BELIEVE it or NOT - I do NOT own a scrapbook.... I mean, I make mini themed books, but I do not have a scrapbook for myself. As a matter of fact - the very first 12 x 12 layout that I had ever done was to try out for the current design team I am on at Treasured Memories. I am totally thrilled to be asked to be a part of an awesome blog challenge design team!!!!I look forward to sharing my take on all the different works of art.... fav artist????? hmmmmm...tough one.... I would have to say BOSCH - mainly for the intricate detail and often bizarre landscape and subject .....the vivid colors and the underlying theme of human nature and the choices of good and evil and the little details that give a lesson in morality....one can get lost in just the smallest piece of the larger masterpiece....

"A big welcome to you Tanya from all of us here at 'ARTastic' we look forward to getting to know you, and hope you enjoy your time on the Design Team."

thanks for making me feel welcome ladies!!!!

sweet bella

2009-10-29T22:44:00.000-07:00

sweet bella

2009-10-29T22:28:00.001-07:00

a christmas story

2009-10-29T22:23:00.000-07:00

carnival - egyptian style

2009-10-29T22:16:00.000-07:00

carnival - egyptian style

2009-10-29T22:11:00.000-07:00

summer 09

2009-10-29T21:58:00.000-07:00

pumpkinheads

2009-10-27T20:20:00.000-07:00

well its that time again...time for yet another Treasured Memories Design Team reveal-

so i decided since we are in the month of october, what better way to pay tribute to the month that has brought us pumpkins, witches and gobblins - than by creating a halloween layout.....

YES~i love halloween... soooooo much!!!! i decided to go with the basic grey - eerie - halloween collection. one of the challenges was to use the iron on's from prima - so ....i decided to use the underside of the iron on flowers and distress them with ink. i added green beading (...... a very teensy piece of the million dollar "mrs charolette" stash of goodies i just inherited....!!!!! omg !!!! i was recently at a crop hosted by faith 365. mrs charolette was there too. she told me that she had a bag of things for me that she thought i could use.....boy, was i shocked when i has handed this HUGE bag of treaures - an endless supply of beautiful lace, ribbon, cording, beading.....all sorts of odds and ends that had my name all over it...when i started looking through all of the goodies --it almost brought me to tears - it was such a thoughtful gift....i absolutely and whole heartedly thank you soooooooooooooooo much mrs .charlotte!!! you are such a sweet person (who also makes awesome cookies,too;)..... i cant say thanks enough....

sooooo....i added a little bit of lace and ribbon. i also used tim holtz distress stickles on the candy wrapper pumpkin i designed topped with the inside wrappings of reeses peanut butter cups in the shape of a stem....

and what is trick or treat without a doorbell - ding dong!!! "trick or treat".....

the doorbell shell was actually the original one on the front door of our home....i added this special touch to go with the idea of candies and yummies to fill little tummies on halloween night....i also distressed the new 7 gypsies cardstock bookcover to read the definition of the word witch. i love detail, so i hand cut out trees from the basic grey paper line...and of course there were buttons!!!ha ha ha....i also used a few items from jenni bowlin's line that i was given from amy - thanks amy!!!! this layout was sooooooooooo much fun!!!!! i have been wanting to scrap this picture of abby and felix - and i think i waited til i got it laid out just right...

2009-10-27T20:15:00.000-07:00

starry sea

2009-10-21T21:07:00.000-07:00

so what do you get when you cross van gogh's starry night with my take on the work of art - you get the following.....starry sea....

2009-10-21T20:58:00.000-07:00

hiiiiii..its been forever it seems since i have blogged...gosh , i have been too busy!!!

so i need to get caught....so ill start with my submittal to the ARTastic Challenge blog....

this months featured artist was van gogh....and "starry night"...i transformed the night into the sea......i added all my typical pazzzaaaaazzzzzaa...and volia!!!there you have it....

my fav room

2009-09-29T20:03:00.000-07:00

my fav room......i love the challenge blog at "these are a few of my favorite things"

this layout shows bits and pieces of the things i love about my "scrap nook"

cant wait for the next challenge

2009-09-29T20:00:00.000-07:00

the joseph family tree

2009-09-27T19:55:00.000-07:00

well ... i started this project in may ... it was suppose to be a mothers day gift for my mother-in law ... i did complete the base - the tree itself, which i made out of 3 different patterned swirl paper... forming forming the trunk and its branches.....BUT, may came and went ...

and then i thought ... well , surely ill have it completed by august....(her birthday month) ... but with no success, august came and went as well ...

so there the bare tree sat ... waiting to be clothed with flowers, buttons, lace, ribbon - you know...all those gawdy goodies :) ... so i set back to work on it....and i was determined to be successful in completing it ...

so here it is....the joseph family tree....

soooo here it is , only

2009-09-27T19:50:00.000-07:00

little curly hair in a high chair

2009-09-22T19:24:00.000-07:00

...its that time again - the great reveal of the next design team challenge....

believe it or not, i had a hard time getting this one done.....not so much hard time, i suppose, it was just that the challenges, for whatever reason were harder for me than usual.... we had to se (2) assigned supplies - Core colored cardstock ( mine being black, with a light gray/whitish core) and a silvery smooth accent ink...

we had to choose 4 of the 10 challenges for the design, of which i chose: use of circles in your layout, making a design from threaded buttons,make a box by peeling back differnt layers of paper,exposing an inner paper, and the use of a picture as the background for the layout....

everyone that knows me, knows that i LOVEEEEE thrift stores and bargains...im like the queen of thrift...so it comes as no surprise that most of my designs include a relic from these fabulous places....in this particular layout, i used an old "my fair lady" album cover i picked up for 25 cents :) and another album cover was used on the right side...that had a song called "little curly hair in a high chair " which was just perfect for the picture i was using....

when abby was little, she had ringlets just like shirley temple....we nicknamed her that....so the title went well with the picture...

the picture is of abby and her cousin, ava. it was taken kinda spur of the moment at a local walmart....i LOVE this picture - you can see so much innocence and life in their adorable little faces.....

i backed the picture with a piece of canvas that i painted to match. i chose paper from the glitz girls line, and prima collection. i used threaded buttons that were great thrift store finds, some of which i cut from shirts on the 10 cent rack - (and the best thing about cutting buttons off of clothing, is that the butons are already threaded....so no need to take out the needle and thread.... :) to create the a heart. i added a few rhinestones and to insure the stability of the design, i chose to use a polyurethane coating to seal it. the black roses where made by riping cirlces in a swirl pattern from the core colored cardstock. i added flowers and greenery and butterflies that i cut out of patterened paper. the last little detail , was the largest of the butterflies. i had picked up an old t-shirt with lots of butterflies on, and using tacky glue, i placed it on a piece of white cardstock , and i painted it to match.

it proved to be another successful design challenge:)

2009-09-22T19:18:00.000-07:00

alice in wonderland ARTastic challenge

2009-09-20T22:27:00.000-07:00

i found this really cool challenge blog , ARTastic Challenge Blog, that posts an inspirational piece of art that you translate according to your take on it.....this month's inspiration cme from a piece by w.w. kandinsky, a Russian painter and art theorist, credited with painting the first modern abstract works.

as soon as i saw the piece, at the very first glance- i knew exactly what i was going to do......

here is my take on it....................

2009-09-20T22:22:00.000-07:00

2009-09-20T22:15:00.000-07:00

true love - brothers and sisters

2009-09-15T21:33:00.000-07:00

well i decided to do a layout a little different than what i am use to do.....by saying that, i cant believe that i didnt back/matte the photo and i didnt use ANY buttons ...ha ha ha....i still used my pop dots and ribbons.....i like the look of this layout....very clean....i took this pic about 5 1/2 yrs ago right before valentines day....and as a valentines day gift - my husband hand drew the picture for me.....so i guess talent kind runs in our family....ha ha ha.....i love the core color papers...i chose to make the flowers from the paper by simply tearing it in the shape of a circle....easy as pie.....and i backed the hearts with heavy duty card stock and pop dotted some of them.....good old pop dots to the rescue!!!

2009-09-12T22:05:00.000-07:00

the giving tree

2009-09-12T21:55:00.000-07:00

the giving tree is a favorite book of mine....when i fwas pregnant for abby, john had gotten me a gift card to borders bookstore...... this was the very first book that i bought for abby......so i thought , how more perfect could this be......abby drew the tree in the layout and i painted it...she is one talented little girl.....i had stitched the words "the giving tree" and i cut out each letter for an old childrens storybook in the journalling around the edges..... i added flowers and buttons...and all the little extras too....it was fun making this with abby.....she inspired me to do the book....and her giving tree is awesome!!!

i love carrot cake

2009-09-09T20:30:00.000-07:00

i loveeeeeee carrot cake...but not just any carrot cake - my aunt sue's carrot cake.....yum yum yum!!!!! she is a great baker....you should try her homemade biscuits - omg to die for!!!!

this layout was rather simple in nature for me.....not over done...just right.... i actually took the picture a couple of years back for a recipe swap at a scrapbook convention.... and YES, i actually baked it..... :)

one little girl :)

2009-09-09T15:17:00.000-07:00

one little girl

2009-09-07T19:34:00.000-07:00

well im finally settling back at home after being away for 3 days.......there's no place like home when you have been away from it a few days.........soooo i stared working on this blog entry when my mom called...so she and i got to talking.....and talking...and talking......she is an AWESOME MOM....

well last week or so, when i told her that i had won a 3 day pass to scrapfest....who did i call - my mom!!!!! i was sooo excited...and she was excited for me..... so naturally and without saying.....i asked her to come along with me...and even though she had a ton of things to do, she said that she would.....so i started looking online at the scrapfest goodness...and i noticed that the event was open to anyone 10 years of age and up....so i was like - WOW!!!! - abby can come too!!!!

abby is sooooooo far more creative than i am....and for 10 y.o., she is a true scrapbooker...... she always wants to tag along with my mom and i when we go to different crops and such.....sooooo i thought this would be great to get her to go with us...... so i texted my mom and i told her the news.... she gives me a call and says...how about i buy abby's ticket, and the 2 of you go together..... i didnt know what to say......i was sooooooo thankful for the offer....but i was gonna miss her not being there...cause she and i have a blast togehter when we go....she is the reason i am the scrapbook addict i am......she had joined a stampin up group...and after being in it a year or so, she invited me to a workshop....ive been hooked ever since...and oh, the amazing people i have met too.....which led to me to where i am now....... loving life and scrapbooking the memories that bring so much joy to it......

anyways......were was i......oh, my mom and i talking.....so i was telling her that i made a beautiful layout using the picture of her at the age of 10 for one page and for the other page, i chose the picture of her and her siblings...... even before hitting the highway to mandeville to scrapfest, i knew that these pictures were a definite.....with out a doubt....

anyways....... so i was saying that i was happy and sad at the same time cause i really wanted her to go too..... but abby and i made out just fine....its funny, cause my mom is just 3 doors down from me...and when i go away a distance , just me alone, or me and one or both kids, i feel like im a kid again...acting as a grow up...an i want the guidance of my mom with me.....so when abby and i traveled this weekend...i was thinking the whole time like a teen who just got her drivers license...and it was the first time driving alone on the open road....that nervous, scared feeling you get.......ha ha ha.....

and so i was putting this blog entry together when my mom and i got to talking.....she was telling me that today marked the anniversary of her oldest sisters passing, some years back (she is the one in the picture holding the little boy)..... it made my heart sink..... i hadnt even connected the two...i mean , i was sooooo moved to make this layout...using this particular picture!!!!....

and i had to have it exactly perfect..and it took me nearly all my time there at the event to do it to my liking..... and in a way it was like we were both thinking of the memories she had as a child, those she shared with her brothers and sisters....... it all happened by chance.... isnt that irony at its best???

... this is my favorite layout ever....it has a very special place in my heart.....

......both pictures ahve always been favorites of mine..... my mom said that the one of all the kids was the first and only photo that they ever had with all the kids...and the 5th grade picture of my mom made me think of abby - being in 5th grade this year......wow!!!! how time (and style) has changed...has changed :)...

i had my mom copy the picture onto a piece of canvas paper.....it added the perfect texture.....i also used canvas as a backing to my picture and added a touch of hand stitching..... i love love love buttons, so that was a given, as was the ribbon, pins, tulle, flowers, and hundreds of pop dots :).....i added a few feathers and other accent pieces and it all blended so nicely with the colors too.....

i couldnt come up with a journalling entry right away....so when i was at the event i snapped a pic and emailed it to my mom and was like....mom tell me what to write...what comes to mind when you look at this picture???? ha ha ha..... she she and i tossed around a few ideas....and after getting ready for bed that night...i was lying there and it came to mind.....1,2,3,4,5....i could list 5 things.....and it all fell into place....

i must say that i was very happy with the way it came out...and the whole time that abby and i were cropping at scrapfest...i was telling her..."well ab, its kinda like ma ma is here with us ... and she doent even know it...." ha ha ha...

well, thanks to my mom for giving me copies of these pics and lucky for me....( and paula too) , our layouts both won , and we will be heading back to scrapfest in february......... yay!!!! but guess who will be tagging along????? good old mom :)

scrapfest 2009

2009-09-07T19:17:00.001-07:00

hiiiiiii....we just got back from a fun filled scrapbook madness weekend.....

we had soooooo much fun!!!! abby and i went to the 3 day event..... 9am - midnight....

i have to give abby credit....she hung with me the whole time....and we enjoyed the mom and me moments:).....she is amazing...and gives me inspiration too......i told her that i would have to post her layout entry on my blog...but then i thought a little more...and john and i decided that we would set up a blog for her to display all of her works of art....she is one talented little girl :)so got lots of compliments at the event...im sooooo proud of her.....

forever young at heart

2009-08-31T19:55:00.000-07:00

omg!!!! i have found my new love - CANVAS :)....
wow...where have you been all my life....ha ha ha....
i took a class with connie at TM on saturday - creating a 2 page layout on canvas.
this has to be my most favorite class!!!! connie is an EXCELLENT teacher!!!! if you havent taken class with her before, you are totally missing out!!!! in addition to being a great teacher, she is a great designer with phenomenal photographer!!!! i love her pics!!!! THANKS AGAIN CONNIE FOR AN AWESOME CLASS AND LAYOUT IDEA!!!!

when i signed up for the class, i new that i was going to do a layout with old photos - but i was having trouble choosing which ones to use......i went with some pics of my dad in his younger days, who just celebrated his 59th birthday yesterday....

to make the layout "your own", connie laid out several embellishments to choose from to match each participants pics.....i love the jenni bowlin buttons and the webster pages.....i used the left over scraps of book print to cover the bird and the heart....and i even used a discarded ribbon of canvas on the heart as well....i added all my style touches...and i absolutely love the way it came out...this is probably my fav layout....

2009-08-31T19:28:00.000-07:00

me and my bff

2009-08-24T20:39:00.000-07:00

hello again.....well i finally did a layout that is totally out of my style..in my opinion....but i love the way it came out..... i guess that since i am so use to always "over doing it" - this layout was very fun...and it didnt take me a thousand hours to complete.....i love the colors...very bright.....i used some paper from sassafrass lass , basic grey, and dotted swiss ....i also used crepe paper ribbon for the embellishment flower i made....i added flower stick pins, did some hand stitching....and lots of pop dots....i think i need to invest in pop dots!!!! ha ha ha....

dirty dancing:)

2009-08-20T21:30:00.000-07:00

my fav movie????? what a tough choice......there are SOOOOOOOO many good movies out there....and to narrow it down to 1 - hmmmmm....has to be...dirty dancing.....

i love watching dirty dancing.....it think i know all the words by heart.....i had a dirty dancing canvas bag that i had picked up on clearance at target a couple years back......soooo i got alot of use out of it....and i decided to display the bag - scrap book style...while it was still in good condition.....so that was my inspiration......i did some beading on the clothing and i made some hearts too out of wired beads,hand strung.....i added cardboard pieces in a few places.......in addition to tan colored cardboard, i also used a hot pink cardboard from inside of a perfume box to make the 2 flowers.....i pleated some paper to make ruffles....and added tulle and pins and gawd...ha ha ha....i decided to write out a verse to the song in words that are made up of individually cut letters from an old storybook......ribbon,buttons,and lots of hot glue later...and my fav movie layout was complete....

2009-08-20T21:24:00.000-07:00

2009-08-15T05:30:00.000-07:00

childhood memories

2009-08-15T05:08:00.000-07:00

finally.......i have finally finished the shawdow box i have been working on for like 4 months.....ha ha ha....4 MONTHS!!!!! to finally get it perfect - the way i want it.......now , keep in mind....i didnt work on it everyday for hours for the last 4 months.......but it felt pretty dang close to that....ha ha ha.....nah....actually......when i was pregnant for abigail, my mom gave me the most perfect gift......at my surprise baby shower, my mom handed me this beautiful package..... i still have the wrappings......ha ha ha....my mom made this big bow from paper that looked like real ribbon.....a remember openning it up to find my very own baby clothes, socks and shoes, and my dolly.....

she told me that when i was born, my dad was soooooooooo excited, that he went down to the hospital gift shop and bought me this dress (and shoes and socks to match - that will be featured in an upcoming shadow box :) ......i was sooooooooooooooo overcome with emotion......i realized right then and there that i was gonna become a mom soon.......WOW!!!!.... i did make a very (amatuer ) shadowbox....but here it is, 10 years later...and i have decided to re-vamp it....and voilia....there you have it.....soooooo thats the story behind some of the items in the layout.......

it took me FOREVER to get it the way i wanted it.....i had been anticipating working on the project more than any other...i purchased the shadow box frame in april...and i started to work on it immediately......and then i came to a road block.....i couldnt get the items positioned and i would step away from it and come back to it....and finally....just when i thought that i had lost my creativity......it happened.....almost like magic...ha ha ha....it had been about a month since stepping away from it...that i came back to it this past week....and the pieces all fell into place.....i was so into finishing it that i lost a lot of sleep this week...ha ha ha....but it was well worth it....

so here, 4 months later......i can breathe easy....and get ready for round 2......then 3...then 4......

i love hydrangeas part I

2009-08-11T19:44:00.000-07:00

i love hydrangeas - part II

2009-08-11T19:29:00.000-07:00

so the next challenge that i undertook was to choose your fav flower......

i love hydrangeas......i think they are beautiful...plus they remind me of when i was a little girl and we would make trips to visit my grandparents and family living in alabama......in the house in which we use to live, we had lots of hydrangea plants....i can remember picking them and bringing little bouquets of them to my mom and both of my grandmothers.....such a great memory..... so when i heard about this challange...... i knew instantly what i wanted to do.....

so ....i had this picture i had recently taken of my niece....and she was actually smelling some wildflowers in the picture...but i covered them up with hydrangea petals....that i got from some flowering bushes when i worked at old american like a gazillion years ago as a floral designer.....

sooooo i hd been saving them all these years and so i finally put them to good use.....and i think that i proudly displayed them in this layout......i wanted to make the flower petals show a transformation from petals, or blossoms...to butterflies......

i add a piece of cardboard as mat.....and finished it off with buttons, tulle, and a few other touches...now it is ready for submittal ......

mexican fiesta

2009-08-11T19:14:00.000-07:00

i have been super busy lately......working on so many fun projects...and not slowing down anytime soon..... so i decided to make a birthday shadow box for a friend of mine......

every year she celebrates her birthday at her fav mexican restuarant - which just so happens to be my fav too - Tampicos!!! yum yum.... so in the spirit and tradition of her birthday- i used my creativity and turned an ordinary take out menu into a spicy background.....i added flowers made also from remnants of the menu, as well as napkin rings bearing the resturants name for the flower petals.....to put my special touch, i added a fleur de lis drink stir that she actually gave me to use to scrapbook-since she knows i love using extraordinary pieces in my layouts...and i found it most suiting to use it in the gift i was preparing for her....i added a few (yes just a few) gawdy touches....and voilia!!!! there you have it....i had fun creating this shadow box......check please????? :) ha ha ha

PiNk Is My FaVoRiTe CoLoR

2009-08-04T20:09:00.000-07:00

okay........so i was browsing different blogs...and i came across the blog "these are a few of my favorite things"..... what a great idea....doing different layouts based upon your favorite things....

sooooooo i decided to play along and submit my layout.....

so here it is..my favorite color - PINK :)

i love pink.....and when i started to work on this project i was finding a hard time narrowing down all the pink things that i wanted to include.....lucky i have gawdy taste,right...cause i jammed as much as i could possible on this one...ha ha ha!!!

i had gathered all the things and i was ready to go.......but time not being a good friend of mine...i had to put off my project til the very last minute.....and i do mean last minute..... at 11:59pm on the deadline date - i made my submittal.........what a rush!!!! BUT- i was NOT completely satisfied with it - so after having a little more time...i jazzed it up to my taste....

i have already started to work in my next fav thing project.......hmmmmmm... :)

10 things 2 know about abigail

2009-07-13T20:38:00.000-07:00

wow...i have been keeping sooo sooo sooo busy here lately.....i have been working on soooooooo many projects and still havent completed them all....but here is one finished one......its all about abigail....

she has got to be the most sweetest little girl in the whole wide world...such a very caring and thoughtful child...i always say that she is like a little mommy :) she has such wonderful and innocent honesty......

i choose to use a few of my signature gawdy techinques......hand made flowers and tulle...and ribbons...... and buttons (of course).....stick pins....and vintage touches too....a used belt with a fancy buckle that i picked up at a thrift store for 25 cents...yes-what a steal......and layer layer layer .....thank you amy for the making memories vintage collection thingies...they are sooooooooo my style.... and the great extra embellishments.....

i had a blast making this shadowbox to hang in her room....

she is a special little girl....and i think this adds the special touch to her room....

sports fan fe

2009-06-23T20:53:00.000-07:00

well....i have alot of blog catching up to do......omg!!!!

the last few weeks have been so busy thats it is all a blurrrrr....

from setting up and organizing my moms's scrapbook studio.....to my 1o year old daughter's scrapbook slumber party.....to an awesome weekend getaway with my mom at amy's 365 faith crop......wow!!!!!! amazing !!!! and to redecorating my 7 year old son's bedroom into a new orleans saints paradise........i managed to have the time get in a little bit of scrapping here and there....

here is a layout that i did to place in a shadow box in my son's room....

he LOVES the saints!!!!! loves, loves, loves......the saints....so he wanted to transform his room into that of a n.o. saints theme!!!! and i have had such a blast decorating it.....BUT there is lots more to go.....so stay tuned for that......

back to my layout.....its centered around his love for football.....i absolutley LOVE this picture of him taken this past football season.....his first season playing....i used some of the invisible heidi swapp sheets and lots of old buttons (thank you amy;), tulle, milk caps (a new fav of mine:), pins, ribbons, and other odds and ends.....to add a special touch...the rusty looking button on the star is a button that he found for me one day when we were stopping my a shopping center.....and the little saints football came from a price tagged saints flag that is hanging in his room.....i had sooo much fun making this layout......(and i won first place at the faith crop event) :)

so enjoy ..... there are lots more goodies to come....

The Wizard of Oz

2009-05-26T21:12:00.000-07:00

" .... we're off to see the wizard, the wonderful wizard of oz....." another passing month,another design team layout.

this was a fun layout to do!!!! i love using the heidi swapp invisibles!!!! i was skeptical at first - but i was quickly convinced otherwise.....what an awesome product!!!!!its like magic how the colors appear and blend well together when adding a heap of different shades to make it the perfect medium........well, i chose a variety of different paper lines including one of my favorite lines out there right now - websters' pages. they are vey me!!!!! I used this line to make the house and some of the flowers....i also used the lime rickey to compliment "the emerald city". the doodlebug line was used to made the bricks of the yellow brick road. and i wrapped it all together with the crate paper and fancy pants collection summer soiree...for additonal touches, i used the prima fleurs and embroidered tabs.i used a rub on from glitz design for the tree branch,and crepe paper ribbon by jenni bowlin. tim holtz hardware help bring the tin man's heart to life. and paper house provided the die cuts and stickers...i distressed the pages with the versamagic inks and added sparkling red stickles coloring to dorothy's ruby slippers. one of the challenges was to curl, fold ,ink and distress paper - which i did....and made them into roses, like the one next to the tin man.

the photos of dorothy are from halloween 2000 when abby was 1 1/2 years old....i LOVE the wizard of oz and i could hardly wait to dress her up like dorothy.... to add my special sentimental touch, i chose the "oz" button flowers taken from a dress abby wore when she was little, as well as the patchwork slippers.

.....i cant wait to start the next assignment!!!!

2009-05-26T21:06:00.000-07:00

i heart my card catalogs :)

2009-05-17T16:18:00.000-07:00

well......i already knew that i had a wonderful husband...but just when i thought he couldnt be any more wonderful than he already is....he goes and surprises me again........

well........where some women want big diamonds and pearls.....i wanted a library card catalog for as long as i can remember. i love organization - and i love small drawers.....so when my husband happened upon a steal of a deal- he decided he couldnt pass it up!!!! and you know how they say - ask and you shall receive - well i asked-and received i did indeed! ! ! having only hoped for 1 unit of the catalog drawers, was i surprised when he came home with - not 1....not 2....but 8 card catalogs !!!! 465 tiny drawers!!!!! ha ha ha!!!! i was soooooooooooooooooo happy!!!!! it brought tears to my eyes!!!! not to mention that he (and his good friend) had to travel 10 hours each way- to and from- tennessee to pick them up!!! they were being auctioned from middle tennessee university ...... he is sooooooooooo AWESOME!!!!!! i love you johnny!!!!! :)

well i knew that i didnt have the space for all of them, but i was a bit greedy and decided to keep 3 of the 8. i also gave one to my mom because she deserves it for being such a wonderful mom!!!! so that leaves me with 4.......that need a good home!!!! any interested buyers? ? ? ?ha ha ha.....they are designed for organization!!!! i have stuffed them full-----with the exception of a few empty drawers... :) but dont worry.....i ll have them ALL filled up soon....i have all my ribbons in my small 45 drawer unit....and the other 2 identical 60 drawer units (just like the remaining 4 cabinets), house everything from scissors, ink pads, stamps and flowers to some of the original library cards. i have even seen the drawers creatively used to hold bottles of wine.

i cant THANK my husband enough!!!!!!

i think i have finally completed my scrapbook studio :) ... i dont want anything else...until of course i come across the next best thing that i HAVE to HAVE...ha ha ha!!!!

soooooo......i present to you - the best and most cherished gift i have ever received!!!.....my diamond surprise ;)

more of my card catalogs :) thank you johnny!!!!

2009-05-17T16:13:00.000-07:00

May Crowning Memories

2009-05-17T15:37:00.000-07:00

wow.....it has been a crazy few months...i have hardly had any time at all to post anything on here.....BUT i have made myself a promise that i will try to make at least one post a week.....we will see how this goes...ha ha ha!

anyways, speaking of how quickly time does fly by - in the month of may 2004 , abigail 's pre-k class participated in the may pole ceremony and the crowning of mary. this picture captures her crowning mary. she was 4 years old at the time,and my mother in law had asked for copies pictures taken.......here it is 5 years later, and i have finally gotten around to scrapbooking it in the form of a collage for her for mother's day! better late than never,right? oh my......well hopefully i get more free time soon to scrap more memories.....

Three Little Girls

2009-04-21T20:25:00.000-07:00

Wow...another month has flown by and its time again for the return of the next Design Team assignment...... i was selected to create my project by using the Sassafras Lass line. i combined lots of the "Life is Beautiful" collection, using the Anthem, Vintage Yummy, and Woodland Whimsy. i tried to make it look a bit like a page right out of a children's story book. The collection set the perfect tone for the layout. i selected an old photo of myself pictured with 2 of my cousins. i can remember all the good times we shared together growing up....lots of great memories brought back to life....i am hooked on buttons and stick pins.....maybe just a phase i am going through.....ha ha ha......i love clutter, so that was an easy task to accomplish - lots of cluster embellishments. i also used the scalloped edge paper and even added my very own "reverse" scallop using half of a circle punch (on the left side of the photograph)...i went out on a limb and even attempted to make a journalling entry....ha ha ha.....i chose to transform the "tickets" into the hair roller pin girls dresses complete with a beaded tu-tu....i added lots and lots of gawdiness in the flower designs and the use of the prima flowers and the buzz and bloom crackle painted cardstock.... i LOVE bees and i was happy to get to include them on this layout,amongst all the other frillies.......adding the finishing touch of the bird's beaded flying path.......my design was accented by the distress technique using the versamagic chalk ink in the colors of jumbo java and wheat....all thrown together on the bazzil dotted swiss cardstock...... this was my favorite project thus far.....i love the look of old childhood memories brought to life through storybook paper....

40th Wedding Anniversary - March 8,2009

2009-03-24T19:46:00.000-07:00

my parents celebrated their 40 wedding anniversary recently.as a gift to my mom, i made her this layout to be placed in a shadow box.

i love the antique look. i chose colors complimentary to the picture.i had such a great time making this.

Lucky :)

2009-03-17T19:16:00.000-07:00

Well its time once again for yet another Design Team reveal :) this month's challenge featured one of my very favorite designer's line - none other than Jenni Bowlin ! ! ! i had the priviledge of meeting her and taking a class that was phenomenal ! ! ! ! Geaux jenni ! ! ! so this month's challenge proved to be a great success (i think so anyway :)....... we had to use only that designer's line of products. i used distress techniques and lots of ribbons and buttons to embellish the pages...i also accented some of the paper with an embossing gloss. i hand stitched a few loops and finished the layout off with crepe paper ribbon flowers...with a button on top:) i hope i made jenni proud.

Design Team Bio Q & A

2009-03-01T05:06:00.000-08:00

okay :) here is a question and answer section....to get to know me and where my creativity comes from.....

1. Tell us about yourself. What would you like everyone to know about you?

all the questions that follow were much easier to answer than this one.... so even though it is the very first question...i saved it for last to answer....ha ha ha.... about me? hmmm.....well, im 33 years old, married to my lovely husband of 9 years. i am the mother to 2 special little ones- abigail delaine, 9 going on 25 and felix emile, 7 going on 45 :)... i am a daughter to the most awesome parents a girl could have, and the middle child - having an older brother and younger sister.... i live in abbeville, louisiana, where i spent my childhood and most of my adulthood.i am very very spoiled....i blame it partly on my dad....cause he still spoils me to this day :) and as they say, a girl tries to find a mate that mimmicks her father- so my lucky husband got me and has continued to spoil me very much - probably too much...ha ha ha !!!! im a bit of a perfectionist when i t comes to some things.....i CAN NOT cook whatsoever -and have given up on learning (...i think its safer that way :)....i am addicted to this hobby called scrapbooking ! ! ! - but im not complaining... i love spending time with my family. im very much a home body....really shy and quiet,until you get to know me:) and enjoy making memories come to life through my creativity....

2. What is your scrapbook style?

my scrapbook style is "Shabby Chic" - or in my own words - GAWDY...ha ha ha..... i love ribbons, embellishments, trinkets, tags and distressing.....lots of vintage nostalgia. im a perfectionist, so everything has to be fit exact...i pay alot of attention to detail.... and gawdy it up.....the more the better :) im a newbie to 12 x 12 layouts.....im a little book girl....i love making books.....from start to finish...top to bottom......

3. How long have you been scrapbooking?

i guess a couple of years now....that i really have gotten into it...and actually started making my little books......ive collected scrapbook items for many years...and have recently re-organized my scrapbook area - so lots of more projects are to come :)

4. Who do you scrapbook?

mainly my children, family, extended family and friends

5. Name your top 3 tools.

wow.....tough one.....
1) stampin up distressing tool
2) tim holtz scissors
3) ink pads?...do they count as a tool

6. How are you inspired to get started on a layout?

hmmm.....it depends.....i either start with pictures....and go from there....selecting papers to match. then i fill in the details and make it my own, always adding that special sentimental touch to every page... OR i find papers and embellishments that i love and put together a book...then add pictures later...... i usually have 2-3 projects going on at the same time.....i go from one to the next so that i can let the work i have done sink in or when i get stuck on ideas.....it gives me a break and allows me to switch gears and keep my creativity flowing....

7. Do you have any great tips to share?

Tips? make it your own....there are NO mistakes when it comes to scrapbooking..... you can never have too many embellishments. i find most of my treasures at thrift stores....i always look for unique buttons, lace, ribbons, material, belts, earrings - really all sorts of odds and ends ......you can find a lot of great finds......i gather these trinkets and pull them out to use in my designs where they most fit......i have some that i have held on to for years.....waiting for the right project to come along - then i am like- "YES" thats it! i always say to myself.... "i can use this for something...i dont know what right now....but i will find a special place for it" - i can thank my mother for that...she and i are alot alike in that regard.....

8. What are your favorite 3 embellishments?

oh my!!!! there are way too many to narrow down to three.... but if i must , they would be :

1) ribbons
2) tags
3) trinkets

9. What is your favorite paper line?

again....how can you have just one favorite paper line!!! thats impossible.... i mix so many lines together in my designs......at the moment - little yellow bicycle (....and sassafrass, jenni bowlin, cosmo cricket, rusty pickle, wild asparagus , and k & co. ) sorry - i dont have just one :)

10. What is your favorite way to journal?

i am NOT much of a journalist.....if im even a journalist at all...in fact journalling is my LEAST favorite thing to do.....putting down words on a layout (including coming up with a title) takes me forever.....ha ha ha!!!! to me, pictures say a thousands words......but any journal entries that i do make......add that special detail that recreates the moment....so if journalling is noted on any of my layouts - its usually on a tag...tucked away....i dont like my handwriting....ha ha !

I love me

2009-02-16T20:48:00.000-08:00

.....so its FINALLY here - time for the great reveal !!!! the very first design team challenge ! the assigment was so much fun ! ! ! i had a great time with this project. i have never done a layout "all about me".....so it was a time of self discovery....

i started by picking out paper and embellishments that mimick my style.

little did i know that this was the easiest part of the assignment. the hard part was narrowing down all the things i wanted to put on the layout.......i choose to go with the theme of "i love me - self discovery ."

if you look closely at the tags on the right side of the layout, all the letters in brown, if read from top to bottom , spell out the words "self discovery". i listed things about me that make me, me..... :) i cut out large blossoms and used pop dots to make them stand out. i also used some of my favorite ribbons and flower embellishments along with the added touch of the key, crown and fleur de lis locket, being my signature mark. the finishing touch was the ivory tulle that accented the pages. the tulle, having a special meaning behind its usage, was the same tulle that i used on my wedding day.....

and there you have it.......

so to be a little more specific, the following items were used:

* paper *: Fancy Pants - Blossom; Crate Paper - Mia Collection; Bazzill Cardstock; Iron Orid Designs - Journal notebook; Making Memories - Passport Die-cut Stamp * inks *: Dew Drop - Brilliance Pearlescent Chocolate; Tim Holtz - Distress Ink - Peeled Paint * stamps *: Background stamp by Anna Griffin; Stampin Up - "Be Happy" Collection * rub ons *: Making Memories; Sonnets; K & Company; Kaiser * tools *: Paige -lower case - Quickutz; Basic Grey - Precision File set * supplies * : Tacky tape; Zots; Inkssentials "Pop it" shapes * embellishments * : Maya Road - Velvet Pleated blossoms (pink and mauve); Spare Parts - Antique Flower Brads; Paperbilities - Tags; Assorted Ribbon

2009-02-02T19:18:00.001-08:00

hello...this blog thing is pretty easy.....ha ha ha!!!

i cant believe how much fun it is :)

well....ive been working on my "All About Me" project...and im learning alot already about myself....and what a fun challenge is is proving to be.....

first off....i had NEVER done a 12 x 12 layout until i tried out for the design team---NEVER.....i know that that is hard to believe....what's even harder, has been trying to adjust to doing larger layouts...i am a smaller,detailed scrapbooker....i usually do albums...

starting from scratch...i enjoy making them out of odds and ends....and adding my own special touches.....i love mini books too.....and anything with tags are my fav....

my style is reflected in this book from my little man's pirate bithday party...

the book was an old ledger that i had picked up from a thrift store.... (i love thrift stores)the original ledger pages are what i used to bind the book together....

2009-01-29T20:21:00.000-08:00

soooo...im finally getting this blog thing :)

yay me!!!! well i thought i would share whereall of my creations begin.....where i host my therapy

sessions...where i escape to relax.....the foundation for my scrapbook addiction.....my scrap area :)

2009-01-28T19:32:00.001-08:00

oh.....and i can not forget my sassy little sissy :)

abigail delaine....she is the sweetest and most creative little girl.....she makes me laugh and keeps me entertained......in this layout...she had lost her 2 front teeth....

i think its quite classic......

in all my layouts, i always add a personal touch.....for instance, the pink and white striped ribbon used on the tags came from the curtains that once accented her picket fence bedroom....she loves to scrapbook too.....she made the little paper doll cut out that i placed just beneath her photo.....she is going to be a scrapbooking addict too...when she grows up.....

2009-01-28T19:18:00.000-08:00

hi again.... well i hope i get the hang of this soon.....

ill start with the very first layout i ever did....

it was of my little man, felix emile, when he was 4 years old....he is his poppy's shadow....his pride and joy.....and he wishes so much to grow up to be just like him....all the way down to the worn out straw hat that he wears......

i love these photos of him....

2009-01-26T18:25:00.000-08:00

hmmmm...... let's see.... how do i start this.... :)
well, this is my very first blog post ever !!!!
where have i been? ha ha ha..... it has taken me 2
days to just come up with a title that i could find
suiting for this blog and im still not sure if i like it.
and now i have to come up with
something to say about it? ahhhhhhhh!!!!

when i think of all the things that bring light to my life,
i think of the ones that i cherish most. whether it
was walking to school on the first day of kindergarten
or walking down the aisle on my wedding day....
i have those "Forget Me Not" moments to keep forever.

well i was more than excited when i found out that
i had been given the privilege to join the Treasured
Memories Design team....WOW!!! i just cant wait to get
my hands in all the creativity that comes with it...
i am looking forward to learning and growing with
this opportunity. its a chance of a lifetime to be able
to share my talent with those who enjoy this addiction
to the scrapbook world as much as i do :)

my story begins here....
today starts the sharing of my
life moments though scrapbooking.
when i think of all the memories that i made
throughout my life, my fondest ones are those
involving my family. i have been very fortunate to
have such wonderful childhood memories.
i want to share those same memories with
my children. my mom inspired me when i was a
young girl. she always told me that i could do
whatever i wanted if i put my mind to it. she
always believed in me....
it's that belief, support and encouragement
that has helped to mold me into who i am today.....