Laura Vegas

first off … had to let you know that i actually did some more work on my school albums tonight. i had it all put away too … thinking i'd get to more of  it someday. but i was good and took it back out. i'll share more about my next step tomorrow … or saturday. have to wait until i can take decent photos. i will add (because i know some of you will ask!), that i'm using the school KOTM that was available in february 2008 … and sold out pretty fast. so unfortunately, it's not something you can get anymore … but the ideas can still be adapted. anyways … here's a peek of it in the works.

 

and yesterday i was emailing with my good friend, mary … about how productive we've been this year with our scrapping. we both actually counted how many projects we've done this year … which is really just a month and a half so far. i was suprised at my numbers. i know i've been doing a ton of projects … and yet sometimes, i feel like i get nothing done at all. so i have to admit it felt good to see these numbers.

12×12 layouts – 21 total
6×6 layouts – 14 total
cards – 19 total
projects – 12 total

not bad, right? not that i've shared that many with you … a lot of these were for assignments and stuff. and, i'm totally caught up with my project 365 … so that counts as extra. although at the same time … those numbers should scare me. i'm usually not quite that productive … so i may be coming to the end of my streak. lol! ok, that's it for tonight … will share more tomorrow on the school stuff.

not much in a chattin mood today … so i thought i'd just share a card i made last week. and this definately looks better in person. we've had gloomy, dark days here lately … hard to take decent photos of my projects.

 

i'm very grateful and appreciative for the hero arts stamps that show up on my doorstep from time to time. they're all gorgeous and i always look forward to playing with them. on this card, i used 3 new stamps. the scattered flowers design block, hello tree, and hello circles. i'm not one for the monocramatic look … so i'm actually surprised i went with all blue and white. i stamped the design block onto a piece of white cardstock … and then just cut it into 3 pieces. i stamped the woodgrain circle stamp with blue ink, onto blue pattern paper. kind of a subtle look. the tree was a last minute decision. the circle was already on there … so i just took a chance and stamped it right onto the card. amazingly, it turned out pretty straight. i know, it's a clear stamp and you can see where it's stamping. but you'd be amazed at how i can mess things like that up. lol!

and i noticed i had some increased blog traffic coming though here the last day or two. and yes, i can see where it comes from. lol! so i thought i would clear up any confusion right here. those that know me, know that this is all said in a very lighthearted way … totally not meant to be taken too serious.  btw … these following comments are in answer to some wondering/curious/questioning talks i found on one partictular site. so all of my regular lurkers … you're all good!

no, i'm not crazy … for scrapbooking or for any other reason. yes, i have a lot of product after doing this for 13 years … and i'm lucky enough that some of it just magically comes to me. i scrap standing up … which is why i have no cutouts in my workarea to put my feet. yes, this is a part time job in some ways (some weeks, it's more like full-time) … in addition to my full-time job running a daycare in my home. and yes, i use "lol" a lot … i think i use it to make sure that everyone knows i'm being slightly funny/sarcastic and not too serious about whatever i'm talking about. it's all good though. however you came to my blog … i'm glad you're here and hope you can find something entertaining or cute or inspiring to make you want to come back 😉

i know valentines was a few days ago … but wanted to share these before the holiday is too far past. these were just a few of the projects i put together for a small "class" here yesterday with some local friends. picked a few to share today.

 

these were all done using the love notes collection from making memories. lots of pink and red going on!

 

 

this circle accent was part of a layout. but this morning … for whatever reason … i tore the entire piece off the layout and added it to a card instead. kind of like it better now. lol!

project 365. man, i missed getting this posted before midnight on saturday. i was SO close … just a half hour late. but i have to add … that i even have this weeks photos in the album and journaled. so that's gotta count for something. i finished them this morning, ordered the pics, picked them up, and got them all done. anyways .. onto week 7's photos.

 

day 39 … february 8th. sarah was way overdue for a haircut. but she kept saying no … that she wanted to keep it long. but the other day, she found this old photo of her … with shorter hair. and she was all up for the idea then. usually, i cut her hair myself … it's super thick and very forgiving if you mess up. lol! but i figured i'd take her in this time to have it done. she brought the photo … and we asked for about 3 inches off. although when we walked out … she told me she really didn't want it THAT short. lol! but it looks so much better and healthier. and it has this cute little flip to it now.

 

day 40 … february 9th. we actually did this on sunday … but sarah had to turn it in on monday. this was her diorama on the cheetah. i will admit that i detest school projects like these … always have. i'm actually quite "project-challenged" … and i freeze up with stuff like this. we went to michael's to get some stuff … and they had some kits to use on dioramas. and we found the cheetah there. although my mom gave us a shoebox … and i decided it was to big … too much space to fill up. lol! so i ran to target and found lots of empty shoe boxes in little kid sizes … and they were nice enough to let me snag one. i think this actually turned out quite well. although notice the huge 3-d glue dots holding the cheetah down … i didn't notice until seeing this picture how goofy that looks. and sarah added the deer in at the last minute … found him in the dollhouse stuff.

 

day 41 … february 10th. just a shot of my ikea shelves in my studio. i love these shelves … they are everything i thought they would be. i could totally cram these full … but i don't. i like how it all looks sort of decorative and neat … but still holds a lot of stuff. i have 2 shelves side by side … so it's 50 cubes of goodness! and if you've ever seen pics of my studio (which are in an album on the sidebar), you might notice i did some re-arranging. or you might not notice. lol! i should share more about my organizing methods. but don't hold me to that … in case i forget to do it!

 

day 42 … february 11th. one of the girls favorite games on the Wii … disney's sing-it. and the big screen tv? that was given to us about a month ago, thanks to alyssa's dad. he got a new tv and was getting rid of this older one. it's a little bigger than what i'd like in this room. but i guess it does work better than the 13 inch thing we had in there. lol! this is in the downstairs bedroom … the girls hang-out room. we have the Wii all set up … and rockband. anyways … this was when sarah was singing along to "get your head in the game", from "high school musical". not a great picture … but it's troy bolton (aka: zac efron), and any photo of him is pretty cute! and even though i havn't actually tried this game … i can sing along just as well as the girls on these songs.

 

day 43 … february 12th. last year, alyssa's dad set up one of his older cell phones for her. she has since moved on to this phone … another one of his old ones. this is her texting … and completely ignoring me. she's actually really good with it though. doesn't really call anyone that often … and is responsible about texting. in fact, she tells her friends NOT to text her with goofy stuff. i have actually NEVER texted before … so i know nothing about it. lol!

 

day 44 … february 13th. this is billy … our goldfish of over 2 1/2 years. he lives in this fairly small vase … which is a makeshift bowl. i broke his other bowl about a year ago … and in doing so, ended up "assasinating" his brother, willy. that's what the girls will tell you. in truth … i was cleaning the bowl and willy fell down the garbage disposal. and i couldn't bring myself to put my hand in and fetch him out. guess you can figure out the rest. i hoped no one would notice … but they did. so now, billy lives alone .. on the kitchen counter. and this photo was taken right after cleaning his bowl. usually, he lives in total filth. seriously, we only clean it about once a week.

 

day 45 … february 14th. we don't do much to celebrate valentines day. joe says the guys at work hate him … because he doesn't even have to get me anything. lol! i'm not big on flowers … and i don't really eat chocolate anymore. i just have never really made a big deal out of the day. is that sad? lol! but i did have a few cute valentines projects out around the house … and have made some layouts. so there is some pink, red, and love around here!

 

 

and since i'm totally caught up on my album … here's the last 2 weeks in the actual album. cruddy pictures … i'll probably re-take them tomorrow. i was journaling as fast as i could this afternoon (which you can tell by all the mistakes i was making) … trying to get done before the good light was gone. then it got super ugly outside and i lost my light all together. but you get the point! and i was also excited to have my previous 5 weeks shared on the KOTM blog … you can see them HERE.  

time again for another fun challenge. mary and i are having lots of fun with these bi-weekly challenges … it's a great way to try things we may not have used otherwise and test our creative juices. and you know what's even more fun … both of our layouts from the last challenge will be featured in an upcoming issue of scrapbook trends (the same issue). i thought that was very cool! this time mary and i asked the ridiculously talented sasha farina to join us. what can i say about sasha's designs … they are seriously fabulous and just oooozzze of detail and texture. here's what we came up with for this challenge:

1. kraft paper + bright colors  (i'm a huge fan of bright colors, LOVE them!)
2. arrows (i'm not sure if i've ever used an arrow before)
3. stickers (ahh, the sticker … so easy and yet so forgotten sometimes)
4. corner rounder (love my corner rounder … in fact, i have 3 of them)

 

i decided to go with these photos of haley from a few weeks ago. she's wearing the cutest shirt, with fun and bright colors. for the kraft paper, i knew i wanted to use the dot paper from making memories … my favorite of their kraft paper (and sadly, my last sheet). and i've been wanting to use these pattern papers from american crafts "everyday" collection … they're such great colors.

 

for my title, i used some sticker letters. i started to pick out the letters, and before you know it … i had spelled out "she is a cutie" without even meaning too. which was not my plan at all. i can't tell you how many layouts that i have with "cute" in the title. lol! so i peeled the stickers back off and started again.

 

in a perfect scrapping world … i would have used the scenic route lined paper under this arrow instead of plain white cardstock. but i hadn't planned on the lined paper when i did the arrow … and it was already glue-dotted down in place, so there was no re-doing it. i traced this large arrow (from a KOTM) onto white cardstock and then cut it out. i swiss dotted the cardstock with my cuttlebug (of course!) … and then it dawned on me that i could swiss-dot the actual plastic arrow. so i lined it up carefully, and ran it through … so that the dots would match up. when i got to the end of the layout … i realized i really didn't have much room left for journaling (this happens a lot to me). i found this old tag … and fit what i could with my big handwriting. i had planned on journaling more … but this gets the point across, i guess.

 

and this upper corner needed something. i tried several things … even adhered and tore back up some things. finally just added a small piece of the lined paper and half a small tag.

supplies –
pattern paper – american crafts (pink and dotted), making memories (kraft dot), scenic route (lined)
stickers – ki memories
trim – american crafts
tags – lil davis (green), making memories (mini "fun" tag)
arrow – september "mix it up" KOTM
safety pin – making memories
scallop punch – stampin up
embossing – cuttlebug (swiss dot)
other – staples, string

make sure and check out mary's challenge layout HERE … and sasha's challenge layout HERE. and let us know if you decide to play along … we'd love to see your take on it!

wanted to share a few of the cards i had published in the february issue of cards magazine. usually, i'd wait on these … they like us to wait until the issue has been out for a while before posting them online. but if i wait … then valentines will be over and these will be of no use to you. lol!

 

this one was really simple. i took a sheet of word fetti stickers and cut an entire piece of it (leaving the backing on the stickers) to fit behind the metal frame. no peeling and sticking each individual sticker … just used it as one big sticker. the heart was cut with my slice, using the glitter papers by making memories. very simple. and can i tell you how badly i wish i had swiss-dotted that white cardstock?!?! lol!

 

another fairly simple card. the circles were cut right from a sheet of pattern paper … the dot paper from the animal crackers baby collection from making memories. then i just added a few mini heart brads to some of them … and adhered them all using pop-dots. the label and the heart where both cut using the slice.

supplies –
xoxo embossed paper – ki memories
pattern paper, glitter paper, tags, brads, metal frame, stickers, and slice diecut machine - making memories

i wanted to make some cute cards the other day … and to use some of my new hero arts stamps that lovingly found their way to me. i didn't plan on these all looking so similiar. but once i used the white, swiss-dotted cardstock as my card base on the first one … i loved it so much, i couldn't stop using it.

these are smaller cards than i usually do … and i loved the size. two of them are 4×4 … and the rest are all 3.75×3.75 (because i was using up some scraps of cardstock). i embossed the front of my cards with the cuttlebug … using the swiss dot folder of course. and yes, i'm aware they make other folders … i just can't stop using the swiss dot one. lol! 

 

i made all 8 of these cards … and another 6 cards that are all different. will share those another day.

supplies –
stamps – hero arts
ink – colorbox (colors), and random ink (brown)
ribbon – american crafts
embossing – cuttlebug (swiss dot)
other – string, staples

since valentines day is almost here … i thought i'd share a cute project i did for making memories a while back … using the slice and the love notes collection.

 

i filled up this pretty little vase … it has a chunk of styrofoam in the middle and then glass beads all around it. then i attached the hearts to lollipop sticks and stuck them in the styrofoam. a few glitter letter stickers on the vase and a little ribbon … and it was done. 

 

i cut out a bunch of hearts using the slice … from pattern paper and cardstock. ran the cardstock ones through the cuttlebug for a little embossing. and then layered them together with the lollipop sticks in the middle … used pop-dots on either sides of the stick. then i added lots of different embellishments to finish the hearts.

 

make sure and check out the making memories blog … they've been sharing cute little valentines projects every day leading up to valentines day.

running late on this post … but i think i'll make it before midnight. lol! this weekend has been crazy and hectic … i think we're all going to crash pretty hard come sunday night. and i will admit up front that i took 5 of these photos all in one day … on friday afternoon. but i'm totally fine with that. still tells the story of us. so here we go … week 6.

 

day 32 … february 1st. super bowl sunday. can you tell what team we're rooting for? lol! joe is a die-hard pittsburg steelers fan … has been forever. i could really care less … but i did actually sport a jersey for the game this year. and joe loves that my sister-in-law always gets just as into the game as he does … even if the rest of the family doesn't get that excited about it. my brother and my sister-in-law always host the super bowl parties. they have a huge theater room in their house … which is perfect for watching the game. and always lots of good food! luckily for us, the steelers won … otherwise, joe would have been really grumpy. and i will say that it was a really great game. photo provided by scott … the brother!

 

day 33 … february 2nd. i spend a lot of time on monday assembling my project 365 album … and filling out the journaling cards. i have already shown you the pages so far … but had to take a picture of the album. look at how fun all those pages look already … with just the journaling cards. it's going to be such a cool album at the end of the year!

 

day 34 … february 3rd. did you know i have a tiara? i do … and i got it for scrapbooking! i had one of my layouts chosen for the "our readers rock" section in the november/december issue of scrapbooks etc … and this was right after they changed the section a little to include more info from the designers. and one of the little "extras" we got … was this fun tiara. it's actually really nice too. i told the family that i was going to wear it whenever i scrapped … so that they could respect my creativeness and not interrupt. lol! but in all honesty … it's sort of tight on my head … and i think it may actually block my creativity a bit. and you'd never know it by this photo … but i was having a really crappy hair day when i took this. lol!

 

day 35 … february 4th. how cute is this little makeup bag? just a $5 bag from walmart … but i love the colors and love the polkadots. i'm not a morning person … so i'm never awake in time to fully get ready before the little ones arrive. so i do a little makeup when i wake up. then i'll finish sometime later in the day. so my makeup is always out downstairs (since joe sleeps during the day and i don't have access to our bedroom). and then every night i take it back upstairs. so i might as well have a cute bag to look at sitting out. lol!

 

day 36 … february 5th. alyssa achieved "legend" status in history this week. her teacher has different levels you can get to … including "hall of fame" and "legends" (he must be into sports). and these perfect scores on 2 recent tests moved her all the way to the "legend" status .. the highest you can get. and she's the only one in the 7th grade AND 8th grade to get it … and only the third person to get it in the 5 years that her teacher has done this. so proud of her!

 

day 37 … february 6th. another lost tooth for sarah. didn't i have a photo of that last week too?!?! lol! she had another loose one … and was driving me crazy showing it to me all week. totally grosses me out when she can bend it over and it's hanging out her gums. she's really been wanting to lose a tooth at school … because then they get this tooth necklace to keep it in until they get home. so i had to laugh when she came home holding this. i took this photo as soon as she walked in (i just happen to be taking pics around the house when she got home) … you can still see her backpack on. and the one that fell out? a molar, on her top right side.

 

day 38 … february 7th. how much do i love the desktop carousel from making memories? i love it a lot … and i have 2 of them. one holds all my most often used tools and supplies. this second one was originally for the girls to use … but they never really took advantage of it. so i re-claimed it for myself. lol! when i get some of my goodie boxes from the magazines … they'll have random things that i really don't have homes for. so i stick them all in here … in plain sight, where i can remember to use them. and i have to comment on how awesome i think this photo turned out. one would never know that it's like a dungeon up in the loft/studio area (seriously, no windows or light up there). lol!