Laura Vegas

pumpkin patch – a digital layout

November 12, 2010

it's been a long few days here. the girls were off school for the holiday, soccer practices, a fussy 10 month old that decided he didn't want to nap for an entire day, trying to convince a 2 year old that she needs to eat at some point in the day, and all sorts of other random things have been keeping us busy. i wanted to chill out and do something creative tonight. but was too tired to dig out papers and photos. so i decided on a digital layout.

joey manwarren is one of the new additions to the 2011 CK dream team, and i've enjoyed getting to know her and her designs better. she's been doing "template tuesday" on her blog for a while now, where she offers up a free download of a new digital template that she's designed. she also gives some great basic design advice, about why she designed the template the way she did, and why it works. good tips, even if you're scrapping with paper and glue. i saw this week's template tuesday, and really loved the design. so i thought i'd do a quick layout tonight.

i used the thankful digital papers, by robyn meierotto, that i picked up from design house digital this morning. i LOVE fall colors and products, even though i never really have any fall photos to scrapbook. i had to go back to 2006, to find this photo of me and the girls at the pumpkin patch. the title is from this kit, and the buttons and stitches are from random kits in my collection. all in all, this layout took me about 30 minutes to create. joey's template is so easy to work with. i added all the pattern papers to the template first. found some buttons. added some stitches. and the title. the part that actually took me the longest was finding the photo. just a simple and quick layout, just for fun. just what i needed tonight 🙂
bella blvd guest artista: designer challenge

November 11, 2010

i got lucky, and have back to back days on the bella blvd blog, as one of their november guest artistas. today, they are sharing our designer challenge layouts. here's a peek, but make sure and go check their blog HERE, to see more details and the other two designer's layouts.

my challenge was to scrap a layout, using black and white photos. i actually LOVE to scrap with black and white photos. but i know i have gotten away from that a little bit this past year. partly, because the magazine loves color photos more than black and whites. so i guess i've just been in my color photo zone. one thing that i love about using black and white photos, is that they will go with any pattern paper and any colors you want to use. i used the lovey dovey collection for my layout. these softer colors were just made for black and white photos.
bella blvd guest artista: designer spotlight

November 10, 2010

a few months ago, i was lucky enough to be chosen as a guest artista for the bella blvd blog. well, my month to finally share is here. they will be featuring quite a few projects and posts from me throughout the month, along with two other talented guest artistas. today, our designer spotlight's are up, and you can check them out HERE. we each have a fun little fill-in-the-blanks that we answered, and a layout of our choice.

here's a quick peek. but you have to go to the bella blvd blog to see the full layout. i absolutely love their paper designs. they recently released six new collections. they are all pretty different from each other. there's a fall collection, a school collection, a new years/party type collection, a love collection, and 2 collections that are really springy and colorful. the thing i love the most about their papers, is that they have tons of designs that are can really be used for anything. and they mix together so easily. to show that, i couldn't resist using a little bit of each collection, on this one layout. yep, i used pattern papers and stickers from each of the six collections. and i think it turned out quite nicely, if i do say so myself 😉
what’s going on here

November 8, 2010

we spent our entire weekend on the soccer field, for the end-of-season tournament. more on that later. but it's the reason that i'm getting a slow start this week. and that means on the blog too. i'm sure i have things to share, but i'm not organized enough right now to know what those things are. in the meantime, here's a few things that are going on right now around this place.

i moved my desk, in my scraproom. it was previously in the center of the room, directly in front of the window. i've been debating moving it for quite a while now. i even discussed my options with the girls. when i debating the pros and cons of each possible desk location with alyssa, she said to me "can you talk about this with your OTHER daughter?". lol!

i liked facing the door, which is why i had it in the middle of the room. but the room is so small, that it was a tight fit, and i was constantly catching the corners of the desk. i thought about putting it directly under the window. but i didn't want my back to the door. and while that would free up some space in the room, that space would be in the middle of the room and virtually useless. then i came up with this idea. i turned it 90 degrees to the side, and butted it right up against the wall, under the window. and oddly enough, it opened up the entire room. i LOVE it. this photo is mid-cleaning, so ignore the odds and ends that won't be there when i'm done.

by moving the desk just a tad, i was able to free up a small wall area that i could use for extra storage. my scraproom is tiny, and the wall space is so limited. so to free up a small 30 inch wide section, was huge in my book. at first, i was thinking of getting a little bookshelf, since this is right under the window and i didn't want anything too tall. but then i remembered these storage cubes from michaels, and knew they'd be perfect. i don't have any drawers in my scraproom (except some old ones in the closet), and i LOVE these! i'll share more about these later, and what i'm storing in them. it's a ton of techniquey stuff 😉

this is a new addition to my desk. yep, i got a silhouette SD, and i am super excited to start using it on my projects. i've been watching some of my favorite designers, do amazing things with the designs, for ages. and now i get to try out some of those ideas. once i figure out how to use it 😉

and i can't believe i'm showing you this. but it shows i'm not always the neat freak that i pretend to be. i have messy areas in my life too. lol! this is my "shipping center" in the garage. we jokingly call it that, since i always have a stash of boxes and packing materials. since i do ship off layouts and projects, and sometimes goodies, i like to have an assortment of boxes to choose from at any given moment. but obviously, my "shipping center" has gotten a little out of control. our garage is detached from our house. so i usually just run out there, toss the box in the pile, and run back to the house. next weekend is recycling week for the garbage trucks, so we will be cutting up a lot of these boxes to get collected.

and then i have something that makes me smile. krista lund is an amazing photographer, that is pretty local to me. we're from the same hometown, and i met her a few years ago. she also is a scrapper, but has really gotten into digital scrapping lately, to get more layouts done quicker. she emailed me yesterday, to share a digital lift of one of my layouts. you can check out her take on my layout HERE, and even download the digital template that she designed for it. i thought it was really cool of her to do, and i might even love her layout more than my own 🙂
pebbles cats & dogs

November 5, 2010

it's all about cats & dogs over on the pebbles blog this week. the new cats & dogs collection is out now, and it's super cute.

we don't actually have any pets here in our house. sadly, alyssa is highly allergic to dogs. otherwise, i could picture one running around the house. and i'll be honest, i'm just not a cat person. lol! but you know what? you don't even need a cat or a dog, to use this cute collection. there are lots of great patterns, that aren't screaming "pet". i can picture these on everyday layouts or cards. which is what i was going to do. but those little doggie embellishments were just calling out to be used. so i listened.

i think i meant this one to say "congrats on your new best friend". i forgot the "new". the chipboard accents are self-adhesive. but i wanted to give them a little more dimension. so i added a piece of cardstock to the backing, and then adhered them to the card with pop dots.

how cute is that little felt dog! and i just love the ransom alphabet stickers. and the orange ribbon. i'm really into the color orange right now.

pebbles is doing a great giveaway on their blog today. just check out TODAY'S POST, and leave a comment telling them what YOU would do with this collection. use it for pets, for everyday layouts, or do you have another fun idea for it. you have until sunday night to enter, and they will draw a winner on monday morning. good luck 🙂
I Can Finally Share

November 4, 2010

I remember about a year ago, when I got to share some exciting news. And I am so, so, so lucky, to be sharing another round of exciting news today! The 2011 Creating Keepsakes Magazine Dream Team has been announced! I have had such an awesome time this past year, working with all the fabulous editors at CK, and alongside a talented group of ladies. And I was so honored and thrilled to be invited back again, for the upcoming year. There are some familiar faces on the team, and some new faces that I have been getting to know better over the last few months. It's going to be a fabulous year!

Check out the 2011 Creating Keepsakes Dream Team:

Joey Manwarren
Kim Watson
Laura Vegas
Linda Barber
Maggie Holmes
Nichol Harper
Piradee Talvanna
Stacy Cohen
Susan Weinroth
Suzy Plantamura

And the 2011 Creating Keepsakes Contributing Editors:

Cindy Tobey
Deena Wuest
Mandy Douglass
Mou Saha

Thank you Creating Keepsakes for allowing me to continue this amazing experience!
cal high school band day 2010

November 3, 2010

a little over a week ago, alyssa went on a band field trip with her high school. it was high school band day, at UC berkeley, and 34 high school bands from all over northern california participated in this event. during half time at the football game, they got to play with the UC berkeley marching band. we found this video on youtube, and i wanted to stick it up here on my blog for future reference. it's a longer one, so i don't expect you all to listen to the whole thing. lol! but it IS really good 🙂

what's that? you want to know exactly where alyssa is in this video? i'll do my best to explain. the cal band comes out to play first. at the end of their song, they all march towards the front center of the field. when they stop playing, is when all the high schools run out onto the field. if you look directly to the left of the cal band, at the bottom of the screen, you'll see a group of kids, wearing black tshirts. this is alyssa's school. keep your eye on that group. she's in the front right corner. so if you look at the back left corner person in the cal band, she's directly to the left of that person.

and just a little tidbit. that first song they do, is one of my favorites that the high school band plays at the varsity football games. except that they play it a lot faster at the games. "heeeeyyyyy! heeeyyy, baby! i wanna know-oooow. if you'll be my girl!" that tune gets it your head, and will stay there for days. lol!

it was an all day field trip. they met at the school at 5:00am, and boarded the bus for the trip. and they got home at 7:00pm. it rained that day. so they were all soaked, cold, and tired. but alyssa said they had a great time, and it was quite an experience.
nice job – a creating keepsakes accent

November 2, 2010

i have a project to share with you today, from the 101+ creative ways to use your scrapbook supplies idea book.

as seen in the 101+ Creative Ways to Use Your Scrapbook Supplies special issue of Creating Keepsakes magazine. copyright creative crafts group. posted with prior permission from the publisher.

i created this accent piece to demonstrate the use of debossing on our projects. debossing is the opposite of embossing, which is raising up an image or element. so when you deboss, you're actually pressing the image or element down. i used the chip art tool by melody ross, for GCD studios, for my debossing.

i started by painting my 4 inch chipboard coaster with turquoise paint, giving it a good two coats and then letting it dry. then i choose a orange and white dot pattern paper, and tore off teeny tiny pieces. I lightly spritzed the painted chipboard piece with water, to soften up the chipboard some. then i placed a torn piece of pattern paper down, put the die over it, and hammered it down about 4-5 each. this embedded the paper into the chipboard.

the water helped to hold the paper in place, and then i just gently tore off the excess paper that wasn't embedded down. it was really simple to do, and the paper tore off so easily, leaving behind the parts inside the chipboard. to make sure the paper didn't go anywhere, once it was dry, i brushed a layer of mod podge over the entire chipboard piece. it also gave the accent a finished and glossy look.

then i just added a few embellishments to finish off the accent. the "nice job" accent was feature in the special issue, along with step-by-step instructions. the "best friends" accent was my original design for the assignment. but they had too many flower accents already lined up, so i created another version with the stars.

supplies: chipboard coasters by bazzill basics, pattern paper by making memories, chipboard stars by american crafts, felt flowers by american crafts, ribbon by lil davis and making memories, brads by making memories, tags by making memories, scalloped punch by stampin up, chip art tool by GCD studios, paint by making memories
making memories slice fabrique (part 3)

November 1, 2010

how about i share the last of my slice fabrique projects with you today? i think this next one was my favorite out of all my projects.

it's an art box, and i think it's just adorable! when i saw the little monster girl on one of the four new slice fabrique design cards, i just knew i had to use it on something.

i kept telling wendy that i was so jealous that she was working with baby clothes for the majority of her projects. they could all be sewn onto. meanwhile, i had frames, wooden boxes, and hair accesories to make. most of which could not be sewn directly onto, so i had to do some creative thinking too. i was also painting, decopauging, and using papers and ribbons. so it was sort of a mix of fabric and scrapbooking.

but this art box was fun to make. how could this adorable monster girl NOT be fun to work with 😉 she was created with seven different cuts on the slice, and then all pieced together.

i also sliced the letters for "ART", and hand stitched them all before adhering them down.

and last, but not least, another favorite. a vase of flowers. i choose one of the flower designs, and cut that design from about 12 different fabrics. numerous times. i believe i ended up using 24 flowers total, for these 3 flowers.

each of the flowers had 8 seperate fabric flowers, all put together. each flower was machine stitched, thanks to my mom. i fused two flowers back to back for the center part of the flower. then i bunched up 3 flowers and stitched them together, adding a button to the centers. to put them together, i hot glued the center, and 2 bunches of flowers all together. the stems were made by twisting a pipe cleaner around a small wooden stick.

and with that, i was done. 4 days later, and hours and hours of crafting. when i got that email with final approval of all my projects, and those magic words "love them. send them in", i just about screamed with excitement. lol! everything got boxed up, and sent off to the making memories office to be photographed. and then they traveled to the international quilt market, in texas, where they have spent the weekend in the making memories booth. i can't wait until they get back from the show, so we can see some photos of the booth and how all these rooms looked put together. don't forget to check out wendy's blog today, to see a few more of her projects 🙂
making memories slice fabrique (part 2)

October 31, 2010

i have some more projects to share that i created with the new slice fabrique, by making memories. if you're wondering what i'm talking about, check out yesterday's post. here are some more additions to the "little girl's room" section of the booth.

a fun headband. i've admired so many of the cute headbands, with fabric flowers on them. so here's my take on the style, complete with layered sliced flowers.

i covered the headband with pink ribbon, and added the flowers off to the side. i handstitched all nine flowers, and then layered them in groups of three with buttons stitched in the centers.

a little bumble bee hairclip. i think this bee is the cutest little thing.

i made him puffy too. i cut the four parts of the butterfly with my slice fabrique, and then fused them onto a piece of white fabric. then i trimmed it down, and cut another piece of white fabric to the same shape. i handstitched the two pieces together, adding a little stuffing inside each section as i went along.

it might be hard to tell what this one is. lol! i really wish one of the girls had been home when i made this, so that they could have modeled it for me. it's a ponytail holder. i was thinking about the ribbon ponytail holders that you see on the soccer field all the time, and thought it would be fun with the fabric.

i tore TONS of strips of the fabric, and tied each one onto a regular black ponytail holder. then i cut some butterflies with the slice fabrique, and hand stitched around each one. i added a button to the center of each little butterfly, and stitched them randomly onto the ends of some of the fabric strips.

and this one is pretty simple. just a quick and easy bracelet. i used this same green and pink ribbon throughout all my projects.

be sure to check out wendy's blog, for her second round of projects. and keep your eye out on the making memories site for more information on the slice fabrique. more projects to come tomorrow 🙂

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