Laura Vegas

the other night, the 8th graders graduated … and alyssa was there to play in the band for the ceremony (she's 7th grade). she played last year too. i went along, and they let me in without a ticket … because i was "with the band". lol! this year, she told me i couldn't go. but she did ask me to curl her hair before she left. alyssa NEVER wants me to do her hair for anything. and it really doesn't hold a curl for more than 5 minutes anyways. but i was more than happy to do it for her … in exchange for some photos.

 

and the girl gave me all of about 3 minutes with the camera. seriously. she gave me the typical, posed smile … but i could still see the "really mom? more pictures" look in her eyes. she was in such a hurry to get out of there. luckily, i have my go-to spot in the backyard for photos. it's my comfort zone. i know the lighting, i know where to position them, i know what to set my camera too. and it always works. it's just easy and simple. and i can honestly tell the girls that if they cooperate with me … they'll be done in just a few minutes. which they like!

 

btw … actions curtiousy of maggie holmes. i used an urban cross action on these.

 

all the kids in the band were planning on wearing sunglasses for the ceremony. i'm sure they all looked very cool!

 

 

about 2 minutes into the photos … she got this look. she thought i was taking too long and worried she was going to be late. so she let me take just a few more … and then she left.

 

honestly … just told me she was done and went walking out the backyard. lol! i followed her … like the "paparazzi mom" that i am. and then she turned and gave me another famous look. the one that says "you are SO embarrasing". she does this to me when she goes to school in the morning. they walk out the side door and i stand there watching them leave. and she looks back, gives me the look, and then gives me this ever-so-discreet wave to get back in the house before anyone sees. it's kind of funny to be honest. 

 

but i still watch her go. to be sure she gets there safely. although, really … the school is a few houses down and across the street. lol! it's kitty corner from our house. but still. she's my girl and i keep my eye on her as long as i can. and i secretly loved that when she got to the crosswalk … she waited. and waited. and then waited some more. she waited for so many cars to stop and go on their way. she didn't assume they would let her cross or even slow down. cautious? yes. but that made me feel so much better. knowing she listens to me and slows down enough to remember what i've said.

today alyssa finished the 7th grade. she's now officially an 8th grader. came home with 6 more awards yesterday from the last trimester. kind of bummed that they changed the awards ceremony without letting the parents know about it … so i wasn't there to see them. she was one of only 4 kids in the 7th grade to get a perfect 4.0 all year. so proud of her. she also ran for student body president this week. i was surprised when she mentioned wanting to run. but knew it was something she'd be great at. her best friend was running for vice president. they made posters and flyers to hand out. campaigned at recess and lunch. wrote their speeches. and then filmed their speeches live … while they were shown in all the classrooms. and then the voting on wednesday. they found out the winners today .. and i was sad to hear that neither alyssa or her friend made it. turns out, the girls handing out lollipops and cookies in exchange for votes were the winners. coincidence? maybe, maybe not. i can say that my girl is honest … and wasn't about to promise anything that she knew she couldn't do. like when kids asked if she would make recess's longer … or make less homework. anyways, she is fine and said she had a feeling of who would win. but i am so proud of her for trying … and putting herself out there. she put in a great effort and i love her for it.

this landed on my doorstep tonight.

 

i can't even tell you how excited i was to see this. this is the slice inspirations box by making memories. something that i worked on over 10 months ago. so hard to keep all that to myself. this was first i've seen of this … of any of the projects for the other 7 designers that worked on this book team. i cannot wait to sit down later tonight and take it all in.

  

and i have an extra one to give away to one of my blog readers. just leave me a comment, and i'll draw a winner on sunday night. and as much as i don't want to exclude anyone … i have to limit this to US readers only (for shipping costs). make sure to keep your eye out for this in stores or online. it's a good one! 

going into blog journal mode for today's post. joe has been umpiring now for 3 years … or maybe it's 4 years. one or the other. and yet i've never taken a photo of him or seen him in action. it's a big part of who he is … and yet i've never really documented it.

 

he works the high school baseball games in the area for their season … usually about 3-4 games a week. and then he works some of the other babe ruth leaques after that. for the first few years, he did all JV games. which he loved. those are just one umpire … so he was all on his own. this year he started doing varisty games more. so he teams up with another umpire. he gets in touch with whoever else was assigned to the game … and they would coordinate who was going to cover the bases and who would do the plate. they also would coordinate what color shirt they were going to wear. which for some reason, i find ammusing. "what are YOU going to wear?". lol!

 

they also required very shiny shoes … or least, joe does. which is why these 2 pairs of shoes have been on the floor in the garage for the last few months. he shines them after every single game. guess it makes them look more professional. but then they go out on the field and they get dirty again. but for a few minutes before the game … they're as shiny as can be!

 

i kept telling him that i needed a picture of him in all his gear. he never puts it on at the house … he does it at the field when he gets to the games. most of the games are close by … so i'm not sure why we never have gone to watch him in action. last weekend, sarah and i were out running some errands and were in the area … so we stopped to find him. we were actually parked out on the street, trying to determine which of the two fields he was on. in all the gear, facemask, etc … it's sort of hard to tell. the game ended a few minutes after we got there … so we only got to see him for about an inning. i actually took this picture really quick when he walked out to the street … just took it out the car window. wish i had gotten one of him actually working homeplate.

i'm glad he has something like this that he loves to do … and is good at. and it's a nice side-job to make some extra cash, which is always nice. i have my scrapbooking side-job … and he has his umpiring. and just a totally random fact that i thought of. between the two of us, and all the extra cash we made on both our side-jobs last month … all the money ended up going towards our old car. it was in the shop twice. so we worked all month to pay for the car. hate that. anyways, i digress. i know keeping this schedule is tiring for him too. he works nights … and then comes home to sleep. gets up early and goes to umpire. and then comes home, eats, and takes a short nap. before doing it all again.

 

and during these few months … these golf clubs end up getting sadly neglected. lol! that's another thing he tells me i need to get photos of … him on the golf course. i really doubt you're going to find me walking 18 holes just to get a few pictures. lol! i'll leave that to him and my brother to take care of :) 

it's been one of those days today. not a bad day … just a "blah" day. this pretty much sums it up.

 

do i look bored? cuz that was kind of how i was feeling. and i mean no offense to the little ones that i spent the day with … they did entertain me quite a bit. but then they napped. which is good … it's actually great. naptime is essential to my sanity. but then i got bored. nothing exciting going on. no one to chat with. no adult conversation. no new and fun emails to return. i was so bored that i actually took to trying to take pics of myself in the bathroom mirror. and yes, it took me about 40 shots to get this one, semi-decent one. and it also reminded me that i have to take down those teddy bear prints that are hanging in my bathroom. one of the last signs on the "country" decor left in my house. they're cute … but they have to go.  

i hate sounding all "woe-is-me" on you. really, i do. but i'm also couped up at home all week. and some days it just gets to me a little. today was one of those days. i'm sure tomorrow will be better. and all will be right in laura's little world again 🙂

i found this "tween" rubon a few weeks ago, while digging around in my stash … and set it out so that i could remember to use it. since alyssa is a "tween" and all. had to hurry up and use it before that changes … she'll be 13 years old, and officially a "teenager" in just 3 months!

 

i'm a night owl, and i rarely go to bed before 1:00am. but on the weekends, i'm usually up even later. and i've been known to do a little scrapping super late on saturday nights … when i'm really tired. all of the sudden i get some creative mojo going and start randomly pulling things out. i've learned not to adhere things down … so that i can check it in the morning to see if it really looks as good as i think it did the night before. especially since i have such a dim light upstairs in my studio … it's terrible lighting to really see your colors and stuff. sometimes i wake up and find something horrid on my desk. trust me, it happens … i just never show it. but on occasion, i find something good. this was one of them. 

i had this collage of some of alyssa's photos all printed out and on my desk. and i must have grabbed the rubon and figured it would work with the photos. not even sure how i choose the pattern paper … since i thought i had that out for something else at the time. lol! i just noticed that in this photo of the journaling … it doesn't show the yellow ribbon i added. i had taken some photos of the layout and thought something was missing … and decided to add the ribbon. but when i re-took the photo of the journaling … it didn't look as good. so just imagine the yellow ribbon there!

i love these felt flowers from creative cafe … they're so fun. i added a yellow doodlebug flower and a badge brad from making memories. love the fun colors to it. the pink tag is from creative cafe too … and i had to emboss it with the swiss dots. i have to admit … i have ignored my cuttlebug for a while … i feel so bad about that. lol! anyways … just lots of fun and colorful product. love it!

supplies:
pattern paper – making memories
rubon – lil davis designs
tag – creative cafe
ticket – creative cafe
flowers – creative cafe (green felt), doodlebug (yellow
brads – making memories
ribbon – making memories (white/purple), american crafts (yellow)

i havn't felt very inspired by my own photos lately. might be that i havn't taken that many photos, now that i think about it. i'm usually inspired by one of two things when i scrap … great photos or fun product. that's where my layouts start 80% of the time. the timing on this is kind of funny. because exactly a year ago (give or take just one day) … i had made some layouts using photos by one of my favorite photographer friends, megan cristello. you can see adler's layout HERE,  piper's layout HERE, sayler's layout HERE, and raygan's layout HERE. recently i borrowed some photos from megan for different projects or assignments. and i wanted to do something extra to send her, as a "thank you" of sorts for sharing her photos with me. that's how these 3 layouts came to be.

as seen on the cover of Creating Keepsakes Magazine, october 2009

i had borrowed a few of megan's halloween photos … but i had to change them to black and white for the project. these photos are just gorgeous in color … so i was dying to do something with them. no reason a halloween layout has to be orange and black! how cute are her little ones … love the costumes! and my girls just pointed out to me that i switched their names in the journaling. i didn't even notice that. it should be "a hamburger named piper" and  "a side of fries called adler". i'll fix that later!

supplies:
pattern paper – ki memories
cork paper – karen foster
ribbon – making memories
plastic letters – heidi swapp
tag – making memories
brad – making memories
silver accents – michaels
other – staples, clip, tags

 

her older girls … so adorable. these costumes were so cool … i wish i would have had something that creative for my girls at halloween. i took the journaling straight from megan's blog  post from halloween night. she mentioned them being "two cool chicks" … and i thought it would make a fun title. and i have to add that this package of doodlebug glittered chipboard letters … they were extra glittery. i had dumped them all out to find the letters i wanted. and i could not believe how much extra glitter i had in the bottom of the bowl when i was done. about 2 tablespoons … no joking. and you all know how paranoid glitter makes me. lol!

 

 

supplies:
pattern paper – creative imaginations (scalloped ruled), shabby princess (green and blue dot)
chipboard – doodlebug
letter stickers – doodlebug
flower – doodlebug
puffy circle – heidi swapp
punch – stampin up

as seen in the november 2009 issue of Creating Keepsakes Magazine  

i had borrowed this photo a while back … and never ended up using it for what i had planned on using it for. it's such a cute photo of her little dude … his freckles are so darn cute. she didn't have specific journaling with this photo when she posted it on her blog. but i took the "three minute" idea from some other posts that she's made. it sounded like a theme of his.

supplies:
pattern paper - creative cafe (blue ruled), american crafts (number), WRMK (red grid)
foam letter stickers – american crafts
glitter letter stickers – making memories
star brads – making memories

it felt really good to be inspired again. and to create just for fun … no rules or expectations. these layouts all came together late last night. and yes, i'm totally bragging on that … because it doesn't always happen that way. lol! just grabbed whatever caught my eye … and went with it. love when that happens! so thanks megan … for giving me a photo-inspired creative boost!

i get asked a lot about how i make my photo collages. they're one of my favorite ways to scrap. i love the clean, linear look to them. i have a few ways of doing these. so i thought i would post about each and give some examples.

the first way is the easiest way i think. i just grab some 4×6 photos … and trim them until they make a collage. i start slow and trim small bits of the photo … usually in 1/4 or 1/2 inch increments. i keep trimming them one by one … until they all fit together nicely. a ruler is my friend … several rulers, in fact. i'm actually surprised sometimes how easy this is to do. they all just sort of fall into place and end up looking good. once i have them all trimmed to fit, i adhere the photos onto a sheet of white cardstock, usually leaving a small gap in between the photos. if i have any gaps that aren't working with the photos … i will add some pattern paper or something in that spot. here are a few samples. all the photos on these two layouts were 4×6 to start with.

 

 

or sometimes i will resize and crop my photos, arranging them randomly on a sheet of photo paper to print. then i just trim them all into individual photos … and arrange them into a collage myself. once again, i just adhere them to white cardstock. this is handy when i don't necessarily know what order i want my photos in or how they're going to be arranged on the layout. i just know that they will end up in a collage type look. these next 2 layouts are examples of that.

 

on "crazy", the photos were all 2×3 … and i just adhered them together on a white piece of cardstock. you'd never know, right? looks like i printed them in one long strip.

 

"january 2009" … all photos were printed here at home. then i trimmed them all apart and adhere them back together. still has the collage look … just pieced together to get that look.

sometimes, i make my collages in photoshop. it's actually pretty easy. i just pull up any photos i want to use, and decide how big i want my collage. then i figure out the size to make my photos, so that they'll fit within that collage. once i have them on there … i print the collages as one entire photo. here are a few samples.

 

"fabulous" is a 9×9 layout. and the actual photo collage is only about 4 inches by 6 inches. so this is a pretty small collage .. and yet, i don't think it looks that small on the actual layout.

 

"busy" is another 9×9 layout. the collage part of this is about 8×8 … although there is space on the left side and the top of the collage, where i added pattern paper and embellishments. so i'm guessing the actual photos are about 6×6 in size.

 

"softball" is a 12×12 layout. the top photo collage holds 5 photos … and is about 3 inches by 9 inches (i'm guessing, since i don't have it in front of me). then i just added the single photo on it's own on the bottom of the layout.

now, don't hold me to this being the "right" way or the "only" way … but here are the simple steps i use for my collages.

today, soup sketch #4 went up over on the jillibean soup blog. i jumped on playing along this week … since i had some photos in mind for this design. actually, this is a design i could use a lot … i'm big on lining up photos across a layout like this. make sure and check the blog, to see designs by a few of the other design team girls. here is the sketch.

 

and here is what i came up with.

 

i think i've scrapped a few of these photos before … but it was a layout with no journaling on it. and even though this is simple … at least it says a little bit about what we were doing. all the photos are 3×4 … along with the pattern paper pieces. so easy to lay this all out.

supplies:
pattern paper – jillibean soup
ribbon – jillibean soup
letter stickers – jillibean soup
flowers – making memories
brads – junkitz
other – circle punch, staples

i have no idea where i went the last 4 days. i had mentioned last week that we had a lot of stuff going on … and somehow, we had even more stuff added to that list. i feel like i havn't had a chance to breathe … and it's starting to wear on me a bit. but the end of that craziness is in sight. i can feel it. i have been scrapping this last week too. not much i can share just yet … but i can share this one. i think the main reason i've caught up on these monthly layouts of the daycare kids … is because they're simple and don't contain any thoughtful journaling or creative titles. lol!

  

another 9×9 layout. all these pics are 1.5 x 2 inches. they're tiny. i just stuck all these onto other sheets i was printing … to fill in the empty spaces that i didn't want to waste. then each one was cut out … and adhered to the cardstock background. super easy. supplies: pattern paper, die cuts, transparency (my mind's eye); sticker, felt letter stickers, glitter number stickers (making memories); brads (junkitz)

 and some Q&A's. you all didn't have that many for me … so this was fairly easy. lol! i do get a lot of questions about the photo collages and how i print. so i'm actually going to post on that in a seperate post … later this week if i keep on track. but here are some of the other questions.

"what kind of trimmer do you use? the reason i asked was because i also use a fiskars trimmer, but i've noticed lately that it's not cutting straight."
i use a fiskars trimmer … this one here. i've used this one forever … like about 5-6 years now. for the most part … i don't have any issues with it. it cuts straight for me. and i'm really anal about having everything perfect. so i would totally notice if it didn't cut straight. i have replaced my actual trimmer every year or so. i know you can replace the blades … i do that quite often. but i think our trimmers get SO much use … it doesn't hurt to get a fresh trimmer every now and then.

"is there a way to subscribe to your blog?"
i've been asked this every once in a while … and i never knew anything about it. so i did some searching around the other night … and finally figured out how to add it to my blog. i'm sure there are other ways of tracking blogs … maybe google reader or something. but this is a pretty cool option. i tried it out … and it will send you an email with my post, anytime i post something. so if you're interested … it's up there on the top of the right sidebar.

"will you ever twitter again?"
ok, i'll be honest … no one asks me this. lol! but every now and then i get an email that someone is "following me" on twitter. which i think is funny … because i literally haven't twittered in 6 months. but i follow people … and love the idea of short little random thoughts contained to 160 spaces or less. so i started up again … just last night. i added my twitter feeds on the blog here … not sure where they ended up, but they're there somewhere.

"do you ever do any digital scrapping?"
well, no one actually asked me this one either. see, if you don't ask me questions … i just start making up my own. lol! i've always said i would make a terrible digital scrapper … i don't have the patience for it. but i have always been intriqued by the idea. and i think there are a lot of things that could be worked into my paper scrapping. i have quite a few digital kits that i've downloaded over the past year or so. i put a few to use today … to make sarah's birthday party invitation. it wasn't easy for me … and i had no idea what i was doing. but i think it turned out cute. and now i'm thinking my next project is a new blog banner. i really need a fresh look up there.

have you ever visited the got sketch blog? tons of great sketches … and loads of gorgeous layouts for inspiration. i pretty much interpret sketches as they are … i follow everything pretty closely. but there is so much you can do with them. turn them on their side, flip them around, add or combine photos … it's all just a starting point for the creative mind. i was asked to contribute to this week's sketch … and i just loved the sketch when i got it in my inbox. here is sketch 84. make sure and go check it out … you can see the original sketch and the other designer's creations with it. 

while i LOVED the sketch … it took me forever to find photos for this. i was looking through my external hard drive … through the past 2 years of photos. looking for photos that would be good in squares … and 3 of them. nothing was grabbing my attention. then i came across these photos that i took of some friends about a year and a half ago … and knew they'd be perfect. this is jeromy, sam, and miranda … kiddos of my good friend, sierra. i knew sam first … he was in my daycare for over 2 years when he was little. then came miranda … she's been here off and on over the past year or so. and she's going to come see me this summer for a bit … and she's bringing her new baby brother!

after i printed the photos, i just randomly pulled some papers out. i did this super late the other night … around 1:00am. i have learned to NOT adhere anything until the morning … just in case it doesn't look as great as i thought come normal day hours. lol! but i was really happy with my choices in the morning, and just added a few embellishments to finish it off.

i found this chipboard title and really wanted to use it. it fit perfect there. but then i felt bad … since this isn't technically the whole family. a new baby brother arrived just a few months ago. i don't have any photos of him … yet 😉 i wanted to include him somehow … so i wrote the journaling to do just that. and i wrote it from mom's view. i want her to have this layout … because i know she will really treasure it for what it means. btw … just noticed my typo (amazingly). that's what happens when i spent forever typing and retyping my journaling. i must have been saying something else … and then changed half of the sentence. lol! will fix that one! 

wanted to thank valerie and lynn for inviting me to contribute this time around. it was just the creative challenge i needed last weekend! 

supplies:
pattern paper – ki memories (blue dot), making memories (orange star)
cork paper – karen foster designs
ribbon – american crafts
chipboard accent – heidi swapp
flowers – making memories
button – making memories
brads – making memories
embossing – cuttlebug (swiss dot)