Laura Vegas

Scrapbooking And A Little Bit Of Everyday Life

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miss you, dear blog

May 3, 2010

this card went up on the jillibean soup blog today. seemed fitting for a blog post.

i miss you, dear blog. i have things to say. i have some projects to share. but sadly, i have no time for you right now. i'm actually surprised that i managed to get a few posts typed up last week. in between working 10-11 hours a day. having a new baby in the house. taking the girls to 4 soccer practices and 3 soccer games. 1 dance rehearsal for sarah. 4 play rehearsals for alyssa. 1 night of awana's for the girls. 1 birthday party for sarah. joe working his night job. joe umpiring 9 baseball games in 8 days. me doing 5 scrapbook assignments and assorted paperwork. 4 loads of laundry and 3 bathrooms to clean, along with other housework. 1 trip to target, 2 trips to the post office, and 2 to the grocery store. i'm sure there's more. but you get the point. life is crazy busy right now.

there's just as much on my schedule this week. but i'll do my best to come back and take a few minutes to share some things. promise 🙂
some fun stuff for your friday

April 30, 2010

have you been checking out the fun at the "countdown to national scrapbook day", over on the club CK blog? lots of great stuff going on. and today, you might find a little something about this:

the dream team members were all asked to choose one of our favorite layouts, and to make a video about why we love it. it was hard to pick just one. but i went with my "marine world" layout, that i created about 2 years ago. you can check out my video, and hear my thoughts on why this is one of my favorite layouts. and also check out the video's from the other dream team girls that have been going up all week. it's been really fun to watch and hear everyone.

the moxie fab world blog, from papercrafts, is featuring a "five (x2) for fridays" post, hi-lighting the work of the CK dream team. all of us worked with papercrafts recently, on a fun little project that is coming out soon. i know that there are many of you out there that are strickly scrapbookers. and those that are strickly cardmakers. but i love that so many of us are a little of both. and it's always fun to see how the two combine to nicely together. they have a great discussion going on this post, about scrapbooking and cardmaking. so be sure to check it out.

jillibean soup is releasing a new colletion, called summer squash soup. lots of fun colors and patterns. just perfect for summer layouts and projects! make sure and leave a comment on the jillibean soup blog, for your chance at winning this collection.

i'll be back later tonight, with a new vintage groove necklaces to share. still have to get some photos of it.
happy – a layout

April 29, 2010

had a new layout go up over on the jillibean soup blog today.

this is a 9×9 layout. this photo of alyssa makes me happy. bright and cheerful. the yellow shirt she's wearing, that actually says "LOL" on it (i wish they had my size). a fun lollipop, and her earbuds going with her favorite music. this layout makes me happy. bright, fun colors, and polka dots. you can't get happier than red, yellow, and turquoise. well, maybe you can. but these are happy colors. so it was only natural that my title was "happy". i wonder how many times i have used that title 😉

some layout facts, for those that are curious. started with some core'dinations embossed cardstock. i love that they took some of the best jillibean designs, and turned them into jillibean embossed cardstock. then added a little bit of soup staples pattern paper. there's a reason they're called "staples". because you can use them on everything. and some polka dot ribbon. which should really be called a staple too, since i use these on TONS of my projects. need a ribbon? reach for my 5 rolls of jillibean polka dot ribbons. just second nature. i used some corrugated alphas for my title. then i layered a kraft baggage claim tag, along with a yellow journaling sprout and a date sticker, and handwrote some simple journaling. and i also pop-dotted the photo and the journaling sprout, just to add some extra dimension.
CK’s countdown to national scrapbook day

April 26, 2010

i know i mentioned this last week, but i wanted to give you some more details info now that the event is here. we're talking about the weeklong celebration: celebrating scrapbooking: CK’s countdown to national scrapbooking day, being hosted by Creating Keepsakes magazine. it’s taking place at Club CK, april 26-may 1. every day this week, new content will be uploaded to Club CK. here’s a look at what’s going on this week.

Monday: it’s time to get organized with top tips for organizing stickers, organizing a crop, and more!

Tuesday: learn to take the perfect portrait with photography tips. plus, see how easy it is to get your layout on the cover of a creating keepsakes magazine!

Wednesday: enjoy journaling again with free journaling-spot downloads, a product review of fantastic journaling spots, and tips that make journaling fun!

Thursday: learn top design tricks to make your layouts extraordinary.

Friday: view video clips from your favorite scrapbooking manufacturers to learn how to take their products to the next level with fabulous techniques!

Saturday: enjoy a layout sketch every hour from 9:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. MST. download page titles and free fonts. participate in a photo contest and page-layout contests with randomly selected winners for fabulous prizes, including over $150 of Stampin’ Up! product or gift certificates to shop online at two peas in a bucket!

there's a lot of other fun things mixed in. and every day, they are also putting up some video's from the contributing writers and the dream team. we're all sharing our favorite layouts with you. got to see cindy tobey and susan weinroth on monday. we'll see who goes up tomorrow.

another fun thing, is that you can download a blinkie for this event. and they also have two great deals going on during the week. people can enjoy a special discount of 20% off all orders in the scrap and paper corner store, by just entering promo code NSBD. and last, but not least, you can get a two-year subscription to Creating Keepsakes magazine for the price of a one-year subscription (HERE).
sarah’s take on my girls

April 22, 2010

sometime last year, sarah klemish and i traded some photos with each other. she mainly scraps her boys, and i mainly scrap my girls. so we thought it would be fun to switch photos and scrap a few layouts for each other. i had made a few layouts for her last year, and she made a few for me. but since then, she's made a few more for me. which is really fun. since every so often, she just randomly pulls out a new layout with my girl's on it. i'm not expecting them, so they're always a fun surprise. i wanted to share her fun layouts with you today.

can be seen HERE. this layout just makes me happy, and makes me smile! i think that bird paper is so stinkin cute, love the bright colors, and the little chipboard bird is adorable.

can be seen HERE. banners are a huge trend these days, and one that i havn't actually tried yet. and i think sarah's banner is adorable! love the green buttons to add a pop of color. and i love the music paper.

can be seen HERE. this layout is so feminine and pretty. i would never think to use grey on my scrapbook pages. but i love it paired with the soft pink, and the little touch of yellow in the butterflies. i also love the subtle touch of the flower. and i have always loved sarah's use of the text papers. she inspired me to buy a bunch of it a while back 😉

can be seen HERE. this is another layout that makes me happy. and not just because the title is "happy". lol! i think those title letters are so fun and fresh. love the cloud paper, and the woodgrain paper. and the clear buttons are perfect. i'm a big fan of clear buttons as a subtle embellishment.

i just love sarah's style and designs. i have lifted so many of her layouts over the last 2 years or so. she has a lot of great talent in her gallery, so check it out for some ideas. although, now i think she made me more layouts than i made her. lol! i might have to owe her a few more ;)
thursday shares

April 22, 2010

i only have a minute today, so thought i'd share a few things with you. some FYI's.

saturday, may 1st is national scrapbook day. and the creating keepsakes team is hosting a weeklong event, from april 26th – may 1st, to lead up to the big day's events. it's called "celebrating scrapbooking: CK's countdown to national scrapbooking day". check out all the fun stuff that will be going on. and make special note of the "videos from CK contributing writers and dream team members sharing their all-time favorite layouts". hint, hint 😉

need a weekly warm-up to get yourself scrapping? there's a 15-minute layout challenge up on the CK blog. i was lucky enough to have a layout chosen for the "15 minute layout" column, in the may/june 2010 issue of the magazine. and you can check it out on the challenge link. would love to see, if you play along :)

just a quick photo of me wearing the necklace that i shared yesterday. didn't quite match the green sweater i was wearing, but i really love it and wore it all day. i know that not all of you have stores by you that are selling the new making memories vintage groove jewelry. but i noticed that a few online stores are now carrying it. check it out HERE, and HERE (they're having 15% off right now).
vintage groove – part 3

April 21, 2010

i have another vintage groove necklace to share with you today. this one is pretty simple. i liked the yellow pendant, and wanted to keep the silver chain very clean and simple.

have you tried it yet? would you like to? the super generous folks from Making Memories are doing a random act of kindness for their facebook fans. They will be choosing one winner every day! all you have to do is become a fan, visit their FB page daily and post a comment to be entered in. go HERE to get started. good luck!
camera frustrations

April 20, 2010

my camera and i are at odds with each other. it's been going on for a few months now. and it might explain the serious lack of photos this year. it's frustrating to me. i take out the camera with good intentions. but when i don't get the shot i want, i get frustrated and confused, and i give up.

i'm honestly not sure who is to blame. it might be the camera's fault. lots of focusing issues, and some color issues. could be the camera, could be the lens, could just be an off setting that i'm not seeing. or it could be my fault. user error. highly likely. i tend to have these brain fart moments. where i just forget the stuff that i DO know, and can't even take a basic photo.

i'm finally ready to figure it out. the first thing i thought i would do, is test out my camera and my lenses. luckily, alyssa's dad has the same exact camera i have, and some of the same lenses. and yes, we have the same camera bags too. i borrowed his for a few days, and am going to swap camera bodies and lenses and check them all against each other. then i'll go from there.

another thing that i'm feeling ready for, is to take this binder out. karen russell is my favorite photographer of them all. and i was lucky enough to get into her second session of the photographer's workshop, an online 9 week photography class that she teaches. this was almost 2 years ago, that i took this class. but sadly, i have just never taken the time to focus in and take the time to learn this. this huge amount of awesome information is just waiting for me to absorb and learn it. and i'm finally ready. i'm determined. i pulled out the binder and put it out on the island. that's a start for me. once things are on the island, they're a lot more likely to get paid attention too 🙂
hawaii 2007 – a harmonie layout

April 19, 2010

when i was at CHA a few months ago, i checked out the harmonie booth and got a look at all their products. it wasn't a manufacturer that i knew a lot about, to be honest. so i'm glad that we made the stop. they have some of the most beautiful products. pattern papers, stamps, and these chipboard pieces that are so much fun. so when they contacted me a few weeks ago, i was more than happy to play with a sampling of their products.

the package they sent me was definately travel themed. right away, i knew that i could use it for a few of alyssa's photos from a hawaii trip she took with her dad and his family a few years ago. i have only scrapped one or two of those photos. i actually havn't even gone through them all yet, because there were just SO many of them that i get overwhelmed picking any out. lol!

their wood pieces are so intricate and detailed. they're made from recycled chipboard. and i have to say, they smell really good. is it weird that i kept stopping to sniff this palm tree piece? lol! i couldn't put my finger on what it reminded me of. i mentioned the smell to them, when i emailed this layout over. and she said that it was sort of a burnt wood smell (from the cutting process), kind of like a campfire. she's definately right.

these foil stickers are really fun too. i always get nervous with stickers like this, because i'm worried they're going to ball up and stick together once i peel them off. but they were really easy to use and kept their shape, without sticking together at all. i added some of their fun buttons to the flower centers.

i did add some american crafts foam numbers and foil chipboard letters for my title. but everything else is from harmonie. the pattern papers, ribbon, foil stickers, buttons, and the chipboard palmtree shape.
vintage groove part 2

April 16, 2010

wanted to share my latest creation with the new vintage groove jewelry collection from making memories.

i'm finding it really hard to photograph these. the main pieces all hang towards the center on the chain on the bottom. and then the gingham flower and the key are up towards the shoulder. i tried to venture out a little more time time, and get creative 🙂

check out the gorgeous creations that these other designers created, for more inspiration:
wendy sue anderson
wilna furstenberg
suzonne sterling

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