Laura Vegas

this layout just sort of happened. i love this kind of layout … the one that wasn't planned in any way and just comes together like it has a mind of it's own. it started with the title diecut … just one i had laying on my desk. hmmmm … what was i "passionate" about?

i pulled out the lined pattern paper that went with the die cut title. and then i was looking for some photos. came across an envelope with some pics of my studio and creative process. and found this photo … one that i used for my project 365 photo one day at the start of the year. it was a photo of me blogging that day … and all the stuff i require in my blogging process. i like the photo … and decided i could be "passionate" about blogging. why not?

pulled out a few other pattern papers that were from the same collection as the die cut. coordinating lines of product make for less guesswork, right? had these red paper flowers sitting on my desk from a recent goodie box … and figured i'd use those. added some fun buttons. wanted a little something above the photo … and found half of a rubon flourish that i was able to use. and then the silver accent things? well, i stuck a few down … and then a few more. you know how that happens, right? then i wasn't sure when to stop .. hope i didn't go too overboard with those.

i AM passionate about blogging though. for a few reasons. using it as a journal of sorts … to get down all those thoughts and things that are going on in our lives. things i might not get around to scrapping … but want to remember. stories, photos, funny things the kids say … just whatever comes to mind. but i'm also passionate about sharing my scrapbooking … and maybe passing along some tips or ideas to others that they might find useful. i have learned SO much from other scrapbookers and photographers. maybe just from reading their blog … or maybe from personally asking them for help or advice. and i have always appreciated others sharing with me. so i really think it's important to do what i can in return … and share any knowledge or ideas that i can too.

 

i do think that once i started journaling … it threw off the layout a bit. the paper has this great texture to it. but not great for writing on … or maybe i was using the wrong kind of pen. plus, i felt like my handwriting should be cursive on this … but i really don't write in cursive very well. and then i got long-winded and wrote too much. i wanted to leave some blank space at the bottom to balance out the design. guess it doesn't really matter when you get right down to it. it's a layout about something important to me … and another addition to my "all about me" album.

and since i'm talking about sharing and passing along info when i can … this is your chance to ask me any questions you might have. i actually respond to anyone that asks a question it their comments … but i'm not organized enough to actually post those answers to the most commonly asked questions here on my blog. i'm sure more people might be wondering the same things .. and never see my answers. lol! so if you have a question … and think i might have some answers … feel free to leave me a comment. and i'll answer some of them later in the week. sound good?

supplies:
pattern paper – my minds eye
die cut title – my minds eye
die cut border – doodlebug
flowers – bazzill
buttons – autumn leaves
silver accents – michaels
rubon – basic grey

the past few weeks have been super busy here. everything seems to be happening at once … and ending at once. here is a very random, all-over-the-place post about some of what we're doing. first though … a layout. i started this over a month ago … and just havn't been able to finish it. if i was to start this over … i might make it a 9×9 layout instead, so there wasn't so much empty space. i finally just stuck a few paperclips on it and am calling it done. sometimes, you just have to do that and move on.

• the girls had a band/choir concert. sarah was in the elementary choir and they sang 2 songs. alyssa is in advanced band (clarinet) and they played 4 songs.
• the girls had the art faire at school. wasn't much to see for the girls. they seemed to make the areas for each class smaller this year. but sarah had a few projects up … including a self portrait that was really cute. and alyssa had her ZINE project on display … an entire magazine that she wrote and put together front to back.
• joe finished up the umpiring season for high school baseball. he was doing 4-5 games a week up to the end. now he's doing some babe ruth games. which is actually still keeping him busy … he has 4 games this week. a nice side job … and something that he's really good at.
• sarah has had 2 softball games a week, along with one practice. last week, they had their last game. but tonight they have a playoff game. and then depending how they do, we might have one more. then closing ceremonies and team pizza party … and we're done.
• the girls had their last night of awana's (a kids night at the church). alyssa spend the year being a LIT (leader-in-training) … and worked with the 3 and 4 year olds. she loved every minute of it. she also worked on her books at the same time. she earned a "insert award name when she gets home from school and tells me" award … which means she has finished 8 books thoughout her awana years. so proud of her. sarah got an "insert award name when she gets home from school and tells me too" award for finishing her 4th book. and she also was chosen as the "clubber of the year" for 4th grade girls! so proud of her … it's based on book accomplishments, attendance, and overall character and attitude. and i can't leave out amanda. she was chosen as the "clubber of the year" for 3rd grade girls. it was so cool to see them both up there … huge smiles on their faces!
• also was the end of choir for sarah and amanda. alyssa is too old to participate anymore … so she enjoyed watching it this year. they have choir rehearsal once a week (before awana) … and then have had some 3 hour rehearsals on saturdays. they put on an hour long musical … with lots of singing and dancing, and lots of drama parts. they performed 3 times on sunday … one right after the other. and both sarah and amanda did a great job up there.
• alyssa is in the school play … it's one that the 7th and 8th graders put on. a musical type play. all i know is … they've been doing tons of work on it. during school, at lunch, after school. tonight they have a dress rehearsal … and then they perform it for the next 3 nights. she's got dancing parts, a few costume changes, and 5 speaking lines. should be fun to watch.
• and as if the girl didn't have enough going on … alyssa has a structure project for her country report due on wednesday. her and 2 classmates have been working on this country project all together. doing the writing and research, making the map poster board, and now they're building a castle out of styrofoam. actually, I'M the one that made the map poster board. and i'm not even sure what's going on with this styrofoam castle, in all honesty. was a little worried that she couldn't get a hold of either of the other girls all weekend to see what was going on. 2 nights to finish … and lots going on both of those nights. ugh.
• it's hot here. super hot. yesterday was 105 degrees, at least. my air conditioning has been running like crazy for 3 days straight. this isn't something that's actually keeping us busy. just something i wanted to toss out there. because i detest the heat … and figured some of you would feel sorry for me. lol!
• amanda is back around this joint. she sort of left our daycare a few months ago … since her grandparents were living down the street and watching her. but they moved. so she's back. not that she ever REALLY left … she's just part of our family and always around. but she's officially back around here, when her parents are working. also heard that miranda will be joining us a little bit during the summer … along with her baby brother! yay, a baby!
• getting ready for some birthdays. my dad just had a birthday this weekend. and then comes june. within just one week … we have my birthday, my mom's birthday, alyssa's grandma's birthday, sarah's birthday, and nikolas's birthday. in one week. and father's day too. sarah was actually born on father's day … random fact for you. she's thinking pool party this year. i think she already booked the date at grammie's house … without really consulting me first. lol!
• girls have 13 days of school left … finish up june 5th. which is strange for us. this is our first year on a modified traditional schedule. we've been year-round for 7 years. so usually, the girls finish school the end of june … and start their new school years the second week of july. so this will be quite a change for us … 2 entire months off. however will i keep them entertained that long?!?!

ok, that ended up longer than i planned on. i could go on and on. but you get the point … we're busy. i think everyone is busy this time of year. anyways … that's my little update on life in general. have a few layouts ready to share in the next couple of days too … so be sure to stop back by!

remember this layout i made a while back? which btw … if anyone knows where i might have put this layout, please let me know. i cannot find it … and i keep my layouts VERY organized! it's just gone.

  

i really like the idea of doing one of these every month for the daycare photos i have. even though i still do individual layouts of the kids from time to time … i am really trying to work on my own family layouts more than anything. for a while there … i was scrapping more layout of the daycare kids than my own family. lol! so i'm all about having a quick and easy way to scrap a variety of photos each month … so that these photos are still in the books in some way. this weekend i did february and march. and btw … i know these photos only show haley and nikolas. there are actually other kids around. trust me … one makes an appearance in the april photos i already have printed and on my desk.

 

these layouts are 9×9 in size. i was cropping and resizing these photos into a collage … and as usual, the collage ended up a bit larger than i wanted. these photos are all 2.25 inches square. so after it was printed … i didn't have much extra room to worry about on the page. which is ok … since i'm not worrying about journaling or anything. just photos … and the month. nice and simple.

supplies:
pattern paper – jillibean soup
chipboard letters – heidi swapp
brad – heidi swapp
calendar tag – the paper pixie

 

this photo collage took me FOREVER. mainly, because i didn't plan it out. i didn't sketch it out … or do the math to figure out how the photos would all fit together. just started cropping a few and placing them on the page. and then did some quesswork to piece it all together. a lot of un-doing and re-cropping was involved. note to self … plan it out next time. take the time to do the math and show your work. lol!

supplies:
pattern paper – chatterbox
chipboard letters – doodlebug
charm – doodlebug
sticker – creative cafe
scallop punch – stampin up

this layout was up on the jillibean soup blog yesterday.

i really love this layout. i find it interesting how i go and forth between simple and easy layouts … to ones that are more complex and complicated. this was simple … really simple. i found these old photos of the girls at the park … back in 2001. they're so tiny! and you can't see it very well … but sarah is wearing one pink sock and one purple sock. that cracks me up … so typical of her when she was little.

and check out those die cuts. those are so old … from back in the day. but i knew i wanted a sun … but didn't really feel like cutting one out on my own. then i remembered these die cuts that i've been holding onto for years. the sun was perfect … and i thought the ladybug was cute. i couldn't bring myself to use any of the little kids die cuts though … just not sure i can make those work anymore. lol!

supplies:
pattern paper – jillibean soup
journaling sprout – jillibean soup
letter stickers – jillibean soup
die cuts – pebbles in my pocket
silver accents – michaels
punch – stampin up

remember the layout i did a few weeks ago for little shop of sketches? well, the second part of my guest designer gig, was to come up with a sketch of my own. i actually do sketch layout ideas from time to time. usually when i have an idea … but can't get up to my studio to start on it. and it's usually on scraps of paper or trash … and after i start the layout, i toss my sketch. doesn't make much sense when i think about it now … i should be saving them to use again and again. lol! anyways. here is what i came up with … officially called "sketch #37".

 

make sure and check out the design teams take on my sketch HERE … so fun to see how they took the same basic sketch, and put their own spin on it. and here is my layout.

 

i actually designed this sketch around these photos of haley. i knew i had a lot of different horizontal shots that i could choose from … and thought it would be fun to print them in the 2×3 size. all these are 2×3, along with the yellow pattern paper. so one would think that once you lined them up along a 12×12 piece of cardstock … that they would all fit together nicely. not in my world … that never happens. those small gaps between the photos bug me to no end. but it is what it is, right?

 

supplies:
scalloped cardstock – bazzill
pattern paper – bo bunny
ribbon – ki memories (striped), american crafts (green)
rubon – hambly
chipboard letters – american crafts
buttons – autumn leaves, basic grey
flowers – making memories

so i mentioned last week that i was caught up on getting my project 365 photos in the album. but the journaling? that was a different story. i actually had 8 weeks to journal. no idea how i was that far behind. the journaling cards are all in the album for the entire year. but i go in and add the day stickers … backed with a punched circle of pattern paper … and a little doodled circle around the day. so that takes a little bit of time. i finally sat down today and journaled all 8 weeks … 56 journaling cards! actually, a few of them are blank … but that's only because i have more to say on those days and want to add the tri-fold cards. these pics aren't the best … but give you an idea of what my weeks have looked like. click on any to see them larger.

 

week #12 … march 15th thru march 21st. friday's photo is of alyssa's awards from the award ceremony that day. i have more to journal about that, since she got a special award … so a larger journaling card is needed.

 

week #13 … march 22nd thru march 28th.

 

week #14 … march 29th thru april 4th.

 

week #15 … april 5th thru april 11th.

 

week #16 … april 12th thru april 18th. tuesday's photos are of the girls playing ball in the house  … with sarah totally padded up in layers of clothes. want to journal more about this one … so larger journaling card to come.

 

week #17 … april 19th thru april 25th. wednesday's photo deserves a larger journaling card. since this is a photo of a cat … and we don't have a cat. but apparently, we had a cat long enough to deserve a photo of one. lol!

 

week #18 … april 26th thru may 2nd.

 

week #19 … may 3rd thru may 9th.

i'm sure you might notice TONS of spelling mistakes or mess ups with my writing. probably because i choose to do 56 journaling cards in one sitting. lol! i actually don't write much … so i get a little sloppy sometimes. it's all good though. and it feels really good to be caught up now with the entire project. 19 weeks … that's pretty impressive, if i do say so myself!

had a few minutes here to spare … and figured i'd stop by and wish everyone a happy mother's day! last night i decided to make a few gifts … for my mom and joe's mom. i had a few old oak frames in the garage that i've been saving to re-use for something cute. and i remembered THIS layout that the amazing maggie made a while back. when i saw her layout, i knew it'd be so cute as a framed project. so here is my take on it … completely and totally inspired by her!

 

this is an fairly good sized frame. the paper part is 8×13 … so i just covered the gap on the bottom (since paper is 12×12) with my paper "grass". i sketched out the tree by hand … and then just started filling it in with buttons. once i got the buttons on there … just glue dotted them down. i actually joked that i didn't want to give this away … i thought it was so cute. but sarah told me i had to give it away … that "it's for your mom, and you can make another one for yourself". which is true … and exactly what i plan to do 😉

 

my mother's day has been good. fairly quiet … just the way i like it. i got a few starbucks gift cards … and a new curling iron and cute brown polka-dot shirt. i took the girls to the movies this afternoon to see "17 again" … which was such a good movie. i love that kind of movie … and zac efron isn't bad either. lol! alyssa baked me cookies at her dad's … and sarah is baking me cupcakes right now. we're heading out the door in a few minutes to my brother and my sister-in-law's house for dinner. other than that … i did manage to sneak in a few loads of laundry and some grocery shopping. nice, right?

supplies –
pattern paper – jillibean soup (green grid), chatterbox (brown dot)
rubon – lil davis
buttons – buttons gallore

i'll start with the shares … since the photos are what grabs your attention, right? i had a few projects featured on the making memories blog this week, using the new great escape collection. there was a little mix up with these 2 projects during the shipping process. i actually noticed this when i saw pictures of them at CHA, but i never said anything. my fault. so you might have seen THIS layout and THIS memorabilia jar. 

  

here's the layout i had. the extra photo they showed on this layout, was actually for the memorabilia jar. the jar had shells and rocks in it … and the photo was of alyssa from her trip to hawaii. but when i went to ship the projects … i took the photo out so it wouldn't get messed up. and i stuck it along with my layouts (this is a 6×6 layout). i didn't really include any instructions for what to do with the photo … and i know how busy the MM girls are at tradeshow time to match up my actual project with what i had emailed them. i actually thought it was pretty funny when i saw it adhered to this layout.

 

and i'm showing you the photo they took of the jar. because honestly … i think i like it better without the photo inside. maybe they just knew better than me … and made a good decision to leave it out. lol!

 

i know i mentioned this a few days ago … the slice inspirations recipe box, coming out in june. but i had to share the photo … because i think it's so cool looking. and because i'm really excited to see how this came out. i havn't seen any of the other girls projects … and i'm so curious to see what they all did. i was honored to be included with the likes of maggie holmes, leah fung, jennifer pebbles, wendy bretz, jayme shepherd, stephanie ackerman, and more. keep your eyes out for this.

have you checked out crop chocolate yet? they have had some amazing deals. it's one deal, every day … until the next item goes up or until it sells out. and they started doing a dark chocolate … a special deal in the evenings. i've gotten quite a few albums so far … you can't beat the prices. and they're also doing free shipping until mother's day. even cooler!

my good friend and amazing scrapper, doris sander, has another online class coming up. product pizzazz 2 … which is a follow up to her first product pizzazz class, which i happen to have taken. she does amazing work and puts on a great class … so check her out. edited to add: just saw that another good friend, sasha, is doing a giveaway for a free spot in doris's class over on her blog … check it out HERE.

and i know for most of us, this isn't something that we could squeeze into our schedule … but megan is hosting the sketchbook retreat in november. and i was thrilled when she asked me to tutor for this event. it's in new zealand … so obviously, i can't go. but i'll be putting together a class kit … that everyone can work through with all the instructions and step-by-steps. if you happen to live in new zealand though … check it out!

need some mother's day card ideas? check out the jillibean soup blog today. lots of fun cards from the design team girls. you won't see any from me yet. i have skipped right over mother's day and any other holidays that fall in the next few months. i'm currently on halloween cards. the beauty of working 4-6 months in advance for magazine calls. and probably the reason i'm never ready for a holiday when it actually comes. ok, probably NOT the reason … but it sounds good. lol!

i'm sure i can find more things to link you too … but this should keep you busy for a while. and that took me FOREVER to type up. lol!

i don't consider myself a strict daycare mom. i'm pretty easy going and like to have fun and laugh a lot. i have rules … and expectations. but nothing rigid or anything. and sometimes … i think the kids can get away with more, if they know i'll get a few good photos out of whatever they're doing. they know me … they know i'm a picture taker. so here is how it went down one afternoon last week. and btw … these photos technically stink big-time. but they're funny!

 

it started innocently enough. the dudes came to mow the lawns (joe is highly allergic and just can't do it). and haley and nikolas wanted to watch them out the window. just like THESE pictures from last year. so here they are … watching the backyard this time.

 

i guess they decided they couldn't see enough … and they wanted to get a view from higher up. so why not just climb up on the back of the couch, right? because laura doesn't mind when we do that, right? wrong … i detest when they climb up there. because #1 … they don't belong up there. and #2 … it makes the back cushions all wonky. but i guess i was in the kitchen … doing whatever it was i was doing on a wednesday afternoon. btw … sarah is home because it was early release day, and she got out of school after lunch. alyssa was at a play rehersal.

 

next thing i know … kids are literally flying OFF the top of the couch. ok, haley? not so much. she was just sort of sliding down the cushions. but nikolas? that dude would stand up on the top of the back cushion. and jump with great gusto onto sarah … who was just laying there looking at a book order form.

 

i know these pictures are super blurry and bad. but i think they're hilarious. he must have flown off the couch about 20 times in a row. and i just stood there taking pictures of him. you'd think out of 20 … i would get a few better pics. sady, you'd think wrong. lol! after i finally decided to give up on getting an incredibly awesome shot … i totally switched gears on them. i go from encouraging this "wrong" behavior for the sake of a photo … to the "we do NOT jump on the furniture, so you had better get down from there NOW!". it's no wonder they get confused with my "rules". lol!

 

and a few more super blurry, terrible color shots. we have these 3 large baskets that slide in the table in the family room. that table is so beat up from 8 years of daycare kids … and i never have anything ON the table. i desperatly want to paint it black … but the kids would just ruin it again. i digress. so haley and nikolas are always pulling the baskets out. i like them nice and straight … it bugs me when one is sticking out one side more than the other. i just have blankets in 2 of them … and then diapers, wipes, and extra clothes in the other one. but on this day (after the jumping activity) … they pulled all 3 baskets out all the way and had them all over the family room. i must have been really busy with something … because i never even said anything to them. but they took it upon themselves to try and put them back. i kid you not … these 2 kiddos spent about 10 minutes trying to get the baskets back in the table. and i just watched.

 

they were so cute … both working together …. side by side. pushing and pulling. they just could NOT get them in there. they'd get one in … and they would push too far, and it would come out the other side. they'd go back and forth … working on both sides. finally, i had sarah help them out. i felt bad that they worked so hard … had to send someone in to help that had some common sense.

 

but one thing that helps me after crazy days like this? all that activity and gusto … it really does poop them out! naptime is much needed quiet time. lets me recharge a little … so that i can have the energy and patience for more craziness when they wake up. this photo isn't really from the same day … it's from back in february. but i thought it was cute … and it goes with my story.

just another layout i did over the weekend … totally for fun. i had some pictures of my studio that i had taken recently. a few of them stood out to me as favorites. i also happen to be printing a photo for the previous layout … and had extra room on the page. if i'm going to print photos … i'm going to use up every inch of that good paper. couldn't for the life of me decide on anything else to print. so i decided to print these photos and maybe use them at some point. just so happens "that point" came really late saturday night.

 

so super simple. i really gave no thought to this layout. just pulled out a random sheet of pattern paper. then some large glitter chipboard letters … hard to tell on here, but they're super glittery. a few loopy letter stickers to complete the title. some random ribbon. i had some ribbon buckle things out for another cute project i saw (and have every intention of making) … and decided to toss one on this layout. a few rhinestones … and a clear definition sticker. easy peasy. no great journaling or anything. just a fun page to show a few tidbits of my creative space.

 

supplies:
pattern paper – ki memories (love, elsie)
chipboard letters – making memories
letter stickers – doodlebug
ribbon buckle – lil davis
definition sticker – making memories
other – rhinestones

and don't know if you all saw THIS … but i'm so excited about it! nervous … but excited!