Laura Vegas

just finished up a fun new challenge … with my good friend doris! we met when we were on the lil davis design team back in the day … and i've been a fan of her work ever since. i just love her style … she has such a way with embellishments and color. and, she's just a cool person! we thought up this challenge about 2 weeks ago … and yet we both waited until the last day or two to actually create anything. and i love that we both work so well at the last minute. lol! we challenged ourselves to use the following items on a layout:

1. fall colors … your typical greens, oranges, and browns .. but with a fun, unexpected color mixed in.
2. corrugated cardboard … how fun is that
3. ribbons … we both love ribbon … but have admittedly gotten away from them lately
4. buttons … we both LOVE buttons

here is doris's layout … which you can read more about HERE.

 

first off … how cute is her little dude? love the missing tooth … and he just lost another one … making his smile just that much cuter. i love how she matted the photo on the corrugated cardboard … and tied the chunky ribbon around it. and her bow … how i wish i could tie good bows! love the colors … the kraft paper makes all the other fun colors really stand out. the orange, the green, the purple, the magenta, the yellow … and they all go together so nicely. doris has such a way with color! and i love the title letters … those chipboard letters are some of my favorites … but i have a hard time working them onto my layouts sometimes. and look .. we both dotted our "i" with a flower. great minds think alike!

and here is my layout:

 

i actually had an easy time with this layout. obviously, i love having a starting point … and the 4 product guidelines give me direction. but while i was in my big cleaning mode this weekend … i ended up finding most of these products on total whims. starting with the photo. totally fit the fall colors. i found this on a layout that i had started ages ago. i had no problem tearing it off the other layout (and tossing that one in the garbage) … and using it for this challenge. it's one of my favorite photos of me and the girls … taken at the pumpkin patch 2 years ago. edited to add a little fyi (since shaunte asked!) … trust me, it was just the cami tanktop i had on under the sweater. certain "things" appear larger than they really are. had i known … i would have adjusted! trust me! lol!

 

and the corrugated cardboard. i knew i had some … because i had used it on a project a few months back. but then i found this strip of it … and it was all tore up to perfection and the perfect size. and i was moving some things around and stumbled across these ribbons and trims from rusty pickle. i seriously love how cute and rustic these are … and yet i have never used any of them. they begged me to be used .. and the colors were perfect. and that pink gingham fabric strip … that is my fun color i added in.

 

i love buttons. and when i think of buttons … i usually think of flowers. they just seem to go together. i mixed up some felt flowers and paper flowers … and threaded buttons to the centers. also added a piece of metal mesh along the row of buttons … found a bunch of that while cleaning too!

 

been using lots of these american crafts "thickers" letter stickers lately … love the foam ones. and want to know how crazy i can be about having everything perfectly straight and even? you see that "s" … it is totally bugging me that it's slightly hanging off the white grid paper. lol! you have no idea how this is bugging me! lol! i also lost the dot to the "i" … so i just grabbed a flower brad to add in it's place.

supplies:
pattern paper – WRMK (green), scenic route (grid)
ribbon and trim – rusty pickle
letter stickers, felt flowers - american crafts
paper flowers, tag, buttons, metal mesh - making memories
other – corrugated cardboard, string, staples

i want to thank doris for the challenge … i know we both had a lot of fun doing this. and if anyone wants to join in and play along … we'd love to see what you come up with!

since i used the girl felt embellishments … i decided i had to use the boy ones too! although just this very minute … it dawned on me that i didn't even think to use the cute pattern papers that go with these! that's what i get for putting things away … i forget to use them! oh well, fun to pull out random things and make them work.

 

how cute is this dinosaur? haley saw this today and is convinced it's a turtle. lol! i came across this "birthday" chipboard word and figured i'd use it. the one kind of card i always need is birthday cards … and yet i never seem to make them. so now i have at least one!

 

i'm still a little torn on how to adhere felt to projects. i'm a big glue-dot person … but even those aren't the most secure things with the felt. i just added a brown mini brad right over one of the brown dots already on the embellishment. i also added some glue-dots … but the brad will make sure it stays.

  

this one looks better in person. the clouds look better. i handcut the clouds from some vellum .. and then ran them through the cuttlebug to emboss them and adhered them with some pop-dots to make them sort of look like they were floating off the card. thought they went with the cute airplane. and can you tell how much i love those tiny alpha stickers lately?!?!

supplies:
pattern paper – making memories (blue)
tag – lil davis (red), creative cafe (green)
journaling tag – dude designs
chipboard word – lil davis
felt embellishments – autumn leaves
tiny alpha stickers – making memories
brads – making memories (blue), junkitz (brown)
other – string

i'm procrastinating tonight. i'm avoiding the one project that i HAVE to get done … by making some cards. although this could really just be considered a "warm-up" for my creative brain … getting the juices going for what i need to get done later.

 

 

i have had these little felt bugs out for weeks now … sitting propped up against my lamp by the computer. they need to be used … because they are THAT cute. on a total whim last night … well after midnight … i pulled out some papers and set these up. i didn't do too bad … considering i only had a very dim light on. and this afternoon … after all our running around … i put these together.

    

supplies:
pattern paper – WRMK (turgouise), bo bunny (green), scenic route (graph)
tag – lil davis
journaling block – maya road
felt embellishments – autumn leaves
foam letter stickers – american crafts
chipboard letter stickers, tiny letter stickers, rubon - making memories
scalloped punch – stampin up
other – string, staples

i can't believe it took me this long to take some pictures of alyssa's room. we re-did her room for her birthday … which was almost a month ago. before this, she had a sports room … sad that i don't even think i have a picture of it. it was darker colors though … blues, greens, and touches of red. so she was ready for a change.

 

this is the bedding she picked out … found it HERE. she loves all things polka-dot … so thought this would be a good pick. we picked out some paint to match the lighter aqua dots … and grammy came and painted the entire room as her gift to alyssa. i can paint … and have painted this entire house numerous times. but my mom can crank it out so quick … she primed and painted the room in under 6 hours.

 

i wanted to get her some super big bulletin boards to hang up. she likes to put posters up on the walls. but before … she had tons of them all over … just randomly pinned up. it just looked cluttered. this way, having the boards to put them on … just sort of contains them. she only has a few up so far … she has lots of photos and things she wants to add.

 

we decided to flop the bed and the large dresser to opposite walls. i actually like it so much better. just looks better when you walk into the room … the bed always looked lonely in the large corner of the room. her dad got her a desk and chair as part of his gift. she has wanted a desk for a while now. she gets very distracted by the kids when she does her homework downstairs … and i have been telling her she needs to find somewhere more quiet to do it. now she has a spot. still need to find some large baskets or something to put on the shelves on the desk. i was eyeing a nice one that had some large drawers … but she wanted this desk instead.

 

 

i think she liked this desk … because it came with this small bookshelf! i'm still convinced the desk should be in the corner by the closet … but she's not buying my design ideas. lol! she also used some of her gift card money to get a large white board to hang above the desk … and another bulletin board to put by the closet to hang up awards and ribbons. i asked her why all the ribbons were hanging at the bottom … and she said it was to make room for the new ones she'll be getting. lol! she knows she's a winner!

 

this was what she was most excited about … the window coverings!!! her room gets the brightest sun super early in the morning … along with our bedroom, which is right next to hers. and she hated it. as much as she's a morning person … that amount of sun so early in the morning just isn't fun. so she wanted something to cover the windows. she has these side curtains pulled shut ALL the time … which sort of bugs me … because they look better like this. lol! funny thing is … now that the sunrise and sunset times are changing … she doesn't get the sun anymore. lol! this morning she tells me that "just when i get the curtains, my room is always gloomy now".

 

and i get so overwhelmed just looking at this board when i go in her room. lol! guess she's a busy girl … with all that stuff to keep track of. i'm not sure she needs all that written down .. and so big and crazy. but she keeps this up to date … and is always changing things as they come up. gotta love a girl with a schedule!

for the past few weeks on the making memories blog, they've been showing lots of great ideas to use in planning a halloween party. so far, there has been invitations, decorations, treat baskets, and more. today's my turn … and i came up with some cute place cards. check it out HERE to see more about it.

 

and while we're talking halloween … here's a few more projects. i know i've shown a few of them before. but that was during the summer, when you might not have been thinking about halloween. lol!

 

 

i know i said i'd have family photos and stuff to share today … and i'll do later. but only have a few minutes right now … so thought i'd share some links for you to check out.

• check THIS out … my last layout made the "featured layout" of the day over at 2peas. edited to add: if you're clicking on this now … then i'm NOT the featured layout of the day … since it's a different day now. but i WAS on wednesday!
• and THIS … i was so excited to see this layout come out last week in the new scrapbooks etc. and i'm so happy that sayler is just as excited and proud of it! and love that megan took some great photos so that i could see!
• make sure and read THIS post … more about danelle's photo books that i linked you to a couple of weeks ago. so much good information
• THIS is out and in stores … have had lots of fun with this over the last few months. will share some more projects i've done with it tomorrow.
• i found THIS the other day … and realized these are the actions that i have been telling people weren't for sale anymore. i must have gotten something mixed up. lol! her black and white actions are my favorite … any black and white photo you see from me has been done with her actions!

that should tide you over for a bit. plus, those 5 things just took me forever to link up. lol! and here i thought i was going to blog super, duper quick!

since i was blogging about them yesterday … might as well finish today. then i'll move on to some family stuff tomorrow. made this layout last night.

 

this wasn't planned at all … but i love how it turned out. i had these photos sitting in a pile … and then got the bright idea to scrap them together. then i found these papers and stickers that i have been wanting to use … they're from the "cute world" collection by autumn leaves. i never would have thought to use the boy collection and the girl collection together … on the same page. but these 2 papers had the same pattern … just different colors … and i thought maybe i could make it work. i liked the idea of splitting the page in half … and doing boy on one side … and girl on the other.

 

and how clever is my title? "the boy, the girl". i'm always trying to think of short titles … because i never seem to have enough room for too many letters. and i like how this just seemed so straight foreward. the boy. the girl. i do in fact call nikolas "boy" all the time … and i call haley "girlie". then i dug out a few tags and ribbon that matched. and these circle stickers fit perfectly in my large rims for the tag maker … and then they were added with big pop-dots. and string tied down the middle for a finishing touch. this seems so go on all my layouts now. are you tired of it yet … can one use too much string? lol!

 

 

supplies:
pattern paper , stickers – autumn leaves
tags – creative cafe
ribbon – lil davis
metal rims – making memories
letter stickers – ki memories
embossing – cuttlebug (swiss dot)
other – string, staples

and might as well show a few more pics of them while i'm here. these are all from last week and yesterday.

 

he always has the cutest shirts!

 

she has always been obsessed with my lens cap. i have pics of her when she was about 6 mths old … clutching my lens cap. it was the only way i could take any photos of her.

 

curling iron in one hand … grabbing nikolas's shirt with the other hand. nikolas giving that look, like "what the heck?". you see where this is going?

 

this is haley … very determined to use that curling iron on nikolas. can you picture what she's thinking here? "i am GOING to curl your hair whether you want it or not"! yes, she will literally drag him by his shirt and grab him around the neck to get him to hold still. i shouldn't laugh and take pics … but i did.

 

the dude doesn't even have long hair. but she will sit and pull on his hairs … trying to get the curling iron on them. she means well.

 

 

and girlie is spending lots of time hanging out by the front door … calling for mommy. i know it's just a stage … she worries some. but i can prove that she really does love it here … and does have fun.

 

 

love to see smiles that big!

 

also love to see fishie faces! lol! and with that … i'm totally caught up in sharing pics of them. next up will be my girls! stay tuned!

i have a ton of photos to share … some pictures of alyssa's re-decorated room … and a few layouts too. decisions, decisions … what to post first?!?! had to go with these photos of haley and nikolas … taken this morning. this is my view from the bathroom.

 

 

i'm not sure who feels more like a caged animal … them or me. lol! i have a gate up here … because there are 3 doors right on the other side. bathroom, bedroom, and closet. and honestly … it's just easier to put up the gate than to keep them from opening all 3 doors all day. and every time i have to go tinkle (which is lots, since i drink so much water) … i climb over the gate. and they just stand at the gate like this and watch me until i'm done. i know, nice to have an audience. lol!

 

i was asking haley what she was doing with her mouth on the gate. and she told me "licking it". enough said. i don't question these things anymore. and if haley is doing it … nikolas might as well do it too.

 

 

and what is this? well, first off … haley is busy saying "careful niko" over and over. and nikolas? yes, he's climbing up the gate. in all my 7 years, i've never had a kid try and climb over the gate. lol! and i have had a LOT of boys here! and i feel the need to add: he actually climbs much higher. he will get up on that center bar, up on his tip-toes … and then lean over the gate. i'm actually surprised he hasn't fallen right over yet!

 

i realized that i have some good light over in the bathroom area. lol! see the playroom behind them? that's the dungeon … with no good lighting. seriously, that room has 3 big windows … but no good light at all. wrong side of the house for good sun. and i don't want you thinking i was over in the bathroom for THAT long. i wasn't even over there to use the bathroom. lol! i went in there just to take some photos of them. i climbed over and then made them perform for me on the other side of the gate. like i was at the zoo or something. lol! hey … you do what you gotta do … to get the pictures you want!

remember this post about alyssa's tooth … the one she had pulled out? was going through some photos last night … and decided to scrap the story.

 

i'm sure this layout would have been better if i had a photo of her after getting the tooth pulled out. but i didn't take any photos of that. i think these pics go so well though … even if they were taken a few months before the actual tooth-pulling. lol!

 

the photo of the journaling didn't turn out that great. i printed it on a transparency … since i wanted the dotted notebook paper to still show. and i didn't dare hand journal it … because i knew i couldn't write that small to fit the whole story. lol! for the title … i used a journaling block by maya road and added my puffy letter stickers to it … and some doodlebug rub-ons as well.

 

and the lace number cardstock? sarah saw this layout earlier and asked why i had the numbers on there … and what they meant. no meaning really … just love that paper and have wanted to use it. lol! sometimes i use stuff just to use it … because it's fun. can't believe she is questioning my design decisions!

supplies:
lace cardstock, pattern paper – ki memories
paper frills, rubons - doodlebug
puffy letter stickers – making memories
buttons – autumn leaves
journaling block – maya road
notebook paper – creative cafe
other – string, staples, transparency

i'm always up for a fun challenge. just having some direction … somewhere to start … it helps me narrow down my choices. and this time i'm playing with my good friend, mary macaskill. i actually came across mary's blog earlier this year … and right away i recognized her work. she is the sweetest person … love her designs … her daughter is the cutest little thing ever … and she has this wonderfully amazing way with journaling. for our little challenge … we decided on the following things:

1. the color orange (which i really don't use all that much)
2. paint (which i do use often, and love … but have gotten away from a little lately)
3. chipboard (what layout is complete without a little chipboard)
4. lots of photos (love using lots of photos to get more done)

you can read all her details on her layout HERE!

and here is my layout:

 

this layout was in no way planned. we had chosen the color orange … and i had this sheet of orange pattern paper that i had just bought and was still sitting on my desk. it was as easy as that … just decided to make it work and never considered any other papers. i went to find some photos that would match … and came across the pics of the girls with their webkinz from monhts ago. they matched pretty well … so i went with it. lol! i decided to do the photo collage … using a template that i downloaded from the scrapbooks etc site. just used some photos i've taken of the webkinz in different set-ups i've found them in. the large photo of them all set up on the stairs … that was a photo that sarah took on her camera that i dug up.

 

when it came time to add some paint … the first thing i thought of was my foam stamps. i seem to use paint either with chipboard … or foam stamps. i used to use these things ALL the time … but have to admit that they've been tucked away for a while now. this font called "jersey" from making memories has always been my favorite. i love to stamp with paint onto white cardstock … and then cut out the letters leaving a little white border. i ran those black chipboard strips through my cuttlebug embossing folder (the swiss dot one of course!) … and then sanded them down a little with sanding paper.

 

a piece of lined paper for my journaling … and a few more chipboard pieces to finish it off. pretty simple. i seem to be doing a little more hand-journaling lately … mainly because sometimes it's easier than doing it on the computer. but that also means i end up with more mistakes. lol! i just start writing .. and a lot of times i run out of room when i get to the end. and i write too fast and mess up. or i don't like my handwriting that day. but it's all good … i know it's important to get your own hand writing in the albums for your kids to look back on some day.

supplies:
pattern paper – WeRMemoryKeepers (orange), scenic route (ruled)
chipboard, photo corner, brads – heidi swapp
foam stamps, paint – making memories
embossing – cuttlebug

i had so much fun with this challenge. when i did the last challenge with nichol … it was fun to see how alike our layouts were. and i think this is just as cool … to see how different our layouts ended up. using the same basic quidelines … and yet we came up with two completely different looks. thanks for playing along mary!!!