mondays child....

going big with the saints

welcome to the world little miss avery

scrapfest projects...

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

wedding day

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

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

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

geaux saints!!!

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

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.