Laura Vegas

a little bit of nothing

October 13, 2010

i'm in a funk. a rut. whatever you want to call it, i'm in it.

and this isn't good. because it has put a halt on my creative juices. not great timing, since i have a ton of projects that i should be working on right now.

it's also kept me from blogging. as in, i've had no desire to blog and nothing to blog about. i even spent half an hour tonight, trying to find even just a single photo to share. i came up empty handed.

so i'm going with something totally unrelated to anything. just a song that has been stuck in my head for the last week. heard this on last week's episode of hellcats, and i now play it on my ipod all the time.
my wish for you – a jillibean soup card

October 11, 2010

monday's are card sharing day on the jillibean soup blog. and yesterday, i had this fun twist on a card go up.

the new sugar picks and corrugated shapes come in the cutest packaging. it's the large, thick chipboard flower shape. it's brown speckled, and the inside of the flower is a brown/white grid pattern. if you tear off the clamshell packaging from the front, very carefully, you can still use this great flower for a fun project. i decided to use it as the base of my "card".

this shows the backside of the card. this is where i would write something to whoever i was sending this card too. i traced the flower shape onto some jillibean soup pattern paper, and then cut that out and adhered it to the back of the chipboard flower. then i sanded down the edges, on both sides.

i started out by adding the striped paper to the bottom part of the flower. one of my circle cutters made the perfect sized circle, so that made it super easy. then i trimmed off the top part of the circle. i tied some of the bakers twine around where the top of the striped paper was, and added a cardstock sticker right below it. then i just started layering in fun embellishments. started with the shipping tag, which i trimmed to make it look like it was tucked under the pattern paper. then a journaling sprout, a canvas flower, a corrugated flower, a button, and some cute sugar pick pins.

supplies: pasta fagioli romano cheese pattern paper by jillibean soup, pasta fagioli journaling sprouts by jillibean soup, pasta fagioli cardstock stickers by jillibean soup, repair tag kraft tag by jillibean soup, brown text canvas flowers by jillibean soup, green cool bean buttons by jillibean soup, buttons corrugated shapes by jillibean soup, green/quartz sugar picks by jillibean soup, orange/turquoise sugar picks by jillibean soup, blue/green bakers twine by jillibean soup, 5 color polka ribbon by jillibean soup
you just know – a pebbles card

October 11, 2010

today is mix and match monday on the pebbles blog, and i had this card go up, along with some projects from a few of the other design team girls.

i created this card for "mix & match monday". it's always nice to use an individual collection when designing a layout or card. it all coordinates and goes together, so there's no questioning how pieces match. but it's also fun to mix collections together. at first glace, they may be so different from each other. but you just might find that the pieces can inter-mix together better than you think. i mixed and matched the twitterpated collection with the treehouse collection.

i love the brighter, more olive-y green in the twitterpated collection. but i thought using the deep teal from the treehouse collection would give the yellows and pinks a whole new look. i took a little pattern paper from both collections, flowers from both collections, brads and a sticker from the twitterpated collection, and the cute chipboard bird from the treehouse collection.
some making memories halloween shares + a winner

October 8, 2010

i just now remembered that i had said i would share my top product picks, when i announced the winner of 101+ creative ways to use your scrapbook supplies. but it's almost 1:00am, and i'm too tired to make my picks and write about them. lol! so i will have to get that over the weekend, or next week. i'm thinking my 10 favorite tools will be a good thing to cover too. so, on to the winner. the random number generator (who thinks it's 8:00am, but it's 1:00am here) has choosen:

Do I really have to choose?? What a hard decision…..I guess I have to go with patterned paper…..But that can always change! 😉 Can't wait to get my hands on this magazine! Love your LO & Jennifer's ideas are always awesome!! Posted by: Sara Rossi | October 04, 2010 at 03:49 PM

congrats sara! email me your mailing address, and we will get that mailed out to you 🙂

i was really excited to see these lanterns up on the making memories site, and on the blog. i had such fun making these last month. i never tried putting lights inside of them. i just held them up to the window as i was creating them. so i loved seeing that they worked so well, and am thinking i might need to make another set to display in my own house. lol! you can watch THE VIDEO on the making memories blog, to learn how one of these was created.

i had shared a few 6×6 halloween layouts around CHA time. but in case you don't remember them, you can check them out HERE.

and here's another VIDEO, on how to create this fun halloween card. i thought the little paper doll pattern paper was so cute. takes me back to the days of punching out the dolls, and all the clothes, dressing them, and then pushing the little tabs down on the back to hold them in place. so cute.
wait for it – a layout

October 6, 2010

i feel like i've been super sporatic with what i'm sharing lately. i've lost track of what i have, where i have it, what i've shared, and what i need to share. i finally took out a good old-fashioned, regular piece of paper. and i made lists of everything i've been creating. and columns to keep track of whether i've blogged it, added it to this gallery or that gallery, etc. and i make check marks. with a pen. love it. we'll see if that helps. anyways. today, i have another layout from the scrapbooking tips & tricks: tools & techniques issue, by creating keepsakes magazine.

as seen in the Tools & Techniques issue of Scrapbooking Tips & Tricks magazine. copyright creative crafts group. posted with prior permission from the publisher.

i knew i wanted to create a summer layout, when i got my assignment, and these photos of alyssa have always been favorites of mine. in fact, that third photo (the largest on the page) actually won a photo contest ages ago. these photos were taken about 8 years ago. i can't remember what random magazine it was in, but i got a prize and everything. i should dig out the magazine, since i know i have it somewhere.

i also knew that i wanted to use the all inclusive collection, from bella blvd. the collection was new at the time i created this, and i just loved it. the colors, the patterns, everything. i went with the glitter chipboard alphas by doodlebug, because i wanted to pull in more of the darker blue to match that strip of polka dot pattern paper. and because i love those chipboard letters. and i even got crazy on this layout, and i did NOT start it with a sheet of white cardstock. lol! about 94% of my layouts start with me pulling out the white cardstock. i like that i went with colors.

my assignment was to use a template to make my own journaling spots. i used two acrylic maya road journaling spots as my template. i used to have a lot of templates, back in the day, but had gotten rid of most of them over the years. but anything that you can trace onto a piece of paper, can be considered a template. in my opinion, at least :)

for the sun, i traced around the template, onto white cardstock and cut it out. then i adhered that to orange pattern paper, and freehand cut around it, leaving a thin border of the orange paper showing. for the little points of the sun, i drew one freehand onto the turquoise pattern paper, and then cut it out. i then used that to cut out a bunch more of them. just paper pieced it all together. i actually did journal right in the middle of the sun, but i messed up. i simply cut a circle of white cardstock, and adhered it over my mistake. looks like it was meant to be that way.

for the second journaling spot, i traced around my other template, onto white cardstock and cut it out. adhered that onto black cardstock, and cut around, leaving a thin border of the black showing. i drew lines with a pen onto both of the journaling spots, to mimic the look of the journaling spots i was using as my templates. and because they helped me write in straight lines 😉

supplies: all inclusive skipping stones pattern paper by bella blvd, all inclusive ocean view pattern paper by bella blvd, all inclusive bits of bella pattern paper by bella blvd, all inclusive bookin beach pattern paper by bella blvd, all inclusive alpha & stickers bits by bella blvd, new england clam chowder stickers by jillibean soup, acrylic journaling spots by maya road, glitter chipboard letters by doodlebug designs, brads by making memories
all smiles – three takes on one layout

October 5, 2010

i wanted to share one of my recent assignments with you. the following three layouts were featured in the october issue of creating keepsakes magazine. the challenge issued to me, was to create a 10 minute layout. and then to step it up, to a 15 minute layout. and then again, to a 20 minute layout.

as seen in the October 2010 issue of Creating Keepsakes magazine. copyright creative crafts group. posted with prior permission from the publisher.

you might think a 10 minute layout is impossible. but it's not. granted, i may have put more than 10 minutes into creating this layout, given that i was creating it for publication and wanted it to be just right. the truth is, my layouts and my process DO take me more time to come up with and put together. but at the same time, i think my layouts come off very do-able. i've been told that by numerous people, and i know exactly what they're saying. i'm not an overly complicated scrapper. sure, i have my moments where i like to do some techniques or use a bunch of goodies on one page. but i think my layouts are easy enough to duplicate, with your own photos and supplies that you have on hand.

you can totally create this layout in 10 minutes. don't believe me? try it and see. take out 2 4×6 photos, a piece of cardstock, 2 strips of pattern paper or die cut paper, a journaling page, a piece of ribbon, 2 stickers, and a pen. what's that? you want instructions? no problem, they're right HERE. throw it all down, and it just might end up looking like my layout above. and then high-tail it back here, and show it to me 😉

as seen in the October 2010 issue of Creating Keepsakes magazine. copyright creative crafts group. posted with prior permission from the publisher.

maybe you have more than 10 minutes. if you do, i'm extremely jealous. lol! maybe you have 15 minutes, and want to step up the layout a little bit. in addition to what i listed above, you also need one more sheet of cardstock, a few jewels, another sticker, and a stapler. instructions? sure, they're right HERE.

as seen in the October 2010 issue of Creating Keepsakes magazine. copyright creative crafts group. posted with prior permission from the publisher.

say you're just all full of time, and have 20 whole minutes, and want to step it up even more than the last version. then simply add a full strand of jewels, an epoxy sticker, and some letter stickers. instructions are HERE.

if you do try out this little challenge, and find that it takes you a bit longer than 10, 15, or 20 minutes, then please don't hold it against me. lol! i really do believe that layouts can be quick and simple. and still look really cute. and i honestly believe these can be done in that amount of time. and if designers can do a little bit of the thinking part for you, use it to your advantage. take a layout, or an idea, or an element. and use it to create your own layout, with whatever you have on hand, and personalize it however you want 🙂

supplies: free spirit sunshine/purple peace dots pattern paper by little yellow bicycle, free spirit lace cut cardstock by little yellow bicycle ,free spirit journal tablet by little yellow bicycle, free spirit fabric favorite embellishments by little yellow bicycle, free spirit alpha & numbers cardstock stickers, free spirit fresh verse cardstock stickers, free spirit epoxy stickers by little yellow bicycle, 5 color polka ribbon by jillibean soup, pink crystals by zva creative
101+ creative ways to use your scrapbook supplies + giveaway

October 4, 2010

creating keepsakes has a new special issue out. have you seen it? 101+ creative ways to use your scrapbook supplies.

101 creative ways to use your scrapbook supplies, by jennifer mcquire, is an all time favorite idea book of mine. it's actually one that still sits in my pile of magazines, on the end table in the family room. even though it came out years ago. so i was very excited to hear that there was another take on this coming out. and that book is 101+ creative ways to use your scrapbook supplies, featuring the amazingly talented jennifer, along with a team of contributing designers.

this book is full of ideas for all those supplies you already have on hand. fun techniques for using our products in new ways. ideas for using our scraps and leftovers. creative ways to give products a whole new look. tons of ideas to make the most of the products we have and love.

here's a peek at one of my projects i created for this book 😉

http://static.issuu.com/webembed/viewers/style1/v1/IssuuViewer.swf?mode=embed&layout=http%3A%2F%2Fskin.issuu.com%2Fv%2Flight%2Flayout.xml&showFlipBtn=true&documentId=100921194952-cd15a26ffe2d4c65baca39a106fb8a6d&docName=101creativewaystouseyoursupplies&username=CKEditorial&loadingInfoText=101%2B%20Creative%20Ways%20to%20Use%20Your%20Scrapbook%20Supplies&et=1285968903315&er=27

check out this fun preview of the inside of the book. you can purchase 101+ creative ways to use your scrapbook supplies in the scrap & paper shop. use code FS101B, to get free shipping on orders of $25 or more, through december 31, 2010. you can also find this issue on newstands now.

creating keepsakes has generously passed along an extra copy to me, to share with one of my lucky blog readers. just leave me a comment and let me know your favorite type of product. is it ribbon? chipboard? pattern paper? buttons? stickers? i will randomly draw a winner on friday morning, to receive a free copy of this amazing book 🙂

eta: i just read through all your comments so far, and pattern paper definately has the highest vote so far. interesting. in a good way. lol! love hearing what everyone loves. i think when i announce the winner, i'll also talk about my favorite supplies. except, i reserve the right to pick 5-10 things. because, you know. it's MY blog 😉

eta again: comments closed for this drawing. busy day tomorrow, and wanted to get the winner posted. thanks for playing along 🙂
a few quick shares

October 2, 2010

wanted to share a few things today, while i'm thinking about them 🙂

do you remember when i mentioned that creating keepsakes magazine was holding a teen talent search contest? well, they have chosen the top 10 entries. and now these very talented teens need your vote. voting goes until october 8th, and you can vote as many times as you would like. take a few minutes to check them out HERE.

a fellow scrapbooking friend of mine, vera yates, is putting together a "caring hearts card drive". her goal is to send holiday cards to the elderly who live in nursing homes. "just a simple way to brighten their day, and acknowledge that they still exist and that people do care about them", vera says. she's collecting cards that are geared towards thanksgiving and christmas. and to show her appreciation for all that participate, she's got some prizes lined up too. you can find all the information HERE.
amanda – a pebbles layout

October 1, 2010

this week really got away from me. and my blog paid the price for it, unfortunately. but i'm getting back on track, and have things scheduled and planned out. plenty to share, just a matter of making time to share it. for today, i have a layout up on the pebbles blog.

i used the pebbles twitterpated collection for my layout about amanda. i've been missing having amanda around the house lately. she was one of my very first daycare kids, nine years ago. she's one of the girls best friend's. they call her their "sister", and i call her my "third daughter". she's a part of this family, and is welcome here anytime. but as the girls get older, they tend to get busier with different activities. and the last few months, they havn't gotten together as much as they used to. luckily, amanda has made a few stops by this way in the last week or two. been nice to see her again :)

i've been getting a bit back into distressing my papers. i remember years ago, i was addicted to inking the edges of every single piece of paper on a layout. and then i got away from doing it. no idea why. however, i have reaching for my edge scraper more and more these days. you simply run it over the edges of your papers, whether it's cardstock or pattern paper. sometimes, i'll ink the edges as well. or sometimes, i just leave them as is. but i love the extra texture it adds to my layouts.

i'm hoping to get another post on here this weekend. tonight we're headed to the high school football game. it's homecoming, and the band will be in full uniform for the game. i LOVE hearing them play throughout the game. just love it! then saturday, we have three soccer games. starting bright and early at 7:30, and going straight through for about five hours. hopefully, it's not too hot out.
my tuesday night

September 29, 2010

my tuesday night was amazing and fabulous. it involved a little bit of this group.

and a lot more of this guy.

and a huge amount of this girl.

haley's mom and dad had gotten joe and i tickets to this concert, as a "thank you" gift for my years of watching haley. we went to dinner first, and then over to the concert. and it was sooooo good! i knew from the first time i saw her on american idol, that she was going to be big. and she's bigger than big. she's crazy talented, with an amazing voice. and she put on a fabulous show. we got home late, and i have to be up early in the morning for the little ones coming. will get back to regular blogging on thursday 🙂

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