Laura Vegas

I have a new layout up over at Kerri Bradford Studio today. I can count the number of 8.5×11 layouts I've created in my 20+ years of scrapbooking on one hand. Ok, maybe on two hands. But I'm pretty sure I have not created more than 10 of them over the years. When I saw the "this is going to be fantastic" cut file in Kerri's About Town kit, it inspired me to switch things up from my normal 12×12 layouts and create an 8.5×11 spread. 

I'm not going to lie. I struggled with this layout for days. Add in the handful of days that my Cameo wasn't cutting right, and it was almost two weeks before I actually got this done. At one point, I almost turned all of this into a one page 12×12 layout. But I pushed thru my creative block and got it done.

I was very random when it came to picking out patterned papers for this layout. I knew I wanted some green, since there's green in the photos, so I found an older green paper from Basic Grey. I then came across a navy blue star patterned paper (different from the one I actually used), and for some reason, just had to use it. I did end up switching to a star paper from Bella Blvd, since the other one didn't show as well once cut down (knowing I was going to cut my title from it). And the aqua paper from Studio Calico just sort of happened too, after browsing thru some 6×6" paper pads.

I die cut a whole bunch of flowers, using Kerri's This Everything kit, from white cardstock. I adhered them around the edge of a sheet of white cardstock and trimmed off any excess that hung off the edges. I then spritzed the entire page with green and aqua misting spray and machine stitched around the edges.

Turns out, a 6×6" piece of patterned paper was just the perfect size to back this cut out phrase with. I adhered the aqua patterned paper behind my large die cut piece, and then matted the entire thing onto a piece of navy blue star patterned paper.

I took these photos of Alyssa while she was home on winter break after her first semester of college. I love hearing her talk about college life and how much she loves it there. This was the page that I struggled with for days. It turned out nothing like I had imagined it when I started. I had an entirely different idea going, and it was leaving me no room for journaling. I'm glad I ended up changing everything about this page, since it left me a ton of room for my journaling.

"Happy" is the word I would use to describe her feelings about college, so I die cut the word "happy" from Kerri's Just Because kit, from both white cardstock and the same blue star patterned paper I used on the second page. I used some tiny aqua alpha stickers at the last minute to add the "content and" to complete my title.

I wrote my journaling based off a lot of what Alyssa has told me about her college experience so far (one semester in) and the transition from living at home to living in the dorms. I think the "this is going to be fantastic" sums up her feelings for the rest of her college days.