Laura Vegas

i got an email a few weeks ago asking me to be one of the guest designers for sweet pea scraps monthly kit club for october. they actually have 2 guest designers this month … i'm sharing the spot with molly peckham, a super talented scrapper. julie and kristin put together a great kit this month … it's packed full of awesome products! you can read a little more about me HERE in the bio i wrote up. and my layouts are up in the gallery … you can see all of them HERE. and i know that the rest of the design team will have their layouts up in the next day or two, along with molly … can't wait to see what everyone else did with this kit.

this is actually an extra layout i did. i managed to get 7 pages done with this kit … and i have bunches of stuff left over. make sure and check it out … it's a good one! and i'll be sharing my layouts here on my blog in the next day or two … but definately check them out in their gallery until then!

i was looking through my past few weeks of blogging … and it didn't seem like i had shared that many layouts. I have been scrapping tons … but nothing that i can share just yet. in a few days i should be able to share a handful of layouts … so be on the lookout then. but in the meantime … i figured i would scrap a layout really quick today … just to have something to share.

this layout was inspired by one of my favorite scrappers right now, sarah klemish. it wasn't really a take on any one particular layout … just her style in general. love her layouts so much. love the clean, linear, simple look to them … with just the right touch of embellishments. i had this turqouise paper sitting on my desk … so that is how the entire layout started. and i literally just grabbed a few photos that were in the box upstairs. these were ones that i had actually torn off of older layouts … back when i was cleaning out albums. so the photos were from my film days … and were already cropped down a little … and they do show some signs of being torn off a page. lol!

and i finally used these cute, glitter chipboard letters. i love the look of glitter … but i'm not a fan of the mess it makes. so the fact that these come with the glitter on them … extra bonus! although i still made a mess with them. lol!

supplies:
pattern paper – WeRMemoryKeepers (turqouise grid), scenic route (yellow and lined)
paper frill – doodlebug designs
chipboard – doodlebug designs
stickers – creative cafe
tag, safety pin – making memories
other – thread, binder clip

and it totally made my day when the fedex dude stopped at my house today … with 2 boxes! inside i found the september scrapbook trends, october scrapbook trends, october cards, and celebrate the holidays book. i had held off on getting any of these for once … knowing that my copies would be coming with my goodie boxes. now i have plenty of reading material! and some fun goodies too. even haley was "ohhing" and "ahhing" as i pulled stuff from the boxes … i thought that was pretty funny!

so does anyone remember that RAK i did about 3 and a half months ago … guessing how many threads where in my jar? and then i announced the big winnner … brenda … and she was going to send me some photos to scrap a layout for her. i think she may have been ready to give up on me … but i also know that she was so patient and understanding when this seemed to take me forever to get around too!

so we actually went back and forth for a while. she was debating what pics to send me … and we were both busy at the time. then she sent me some adorable pics of her daughter … sitting in front of these flower beds and smelling the flowers. but after a few weeks of looking at them … i just didn't know what to do with them. a lot of colors going on … and i didn't know where to start. brenda was so sweet about it … and admited that she didn't know what to do with them either …. which is why she had sent them to me. lol! so we went back and forth some more … and settled on these photos of their camping trip that she had posted on her blog. i was in the mood for vacation pics …. and lots of them!

even these pics i debated about … i was going to make a collage with the photos. but finally decided to just have them all printed … and then i trimmed them up and matted them on white cardstock to make my own photo strips. both the photo strips are pop-dotted on the pages … such a simple way to add a ton of dimension. i also decided on an envelope from the april KOTM … so that brenda can add extra journaling or extra photos … easy to tuck them inside.

i also cut a strip off of a file folder in the KOTM kit … so that i could add the same colors on the envelope to the second page. i used papers and embellishments from the passport collection from making memories for the rest of the layout. and i wanted to add some journaling strips … so that she didn't have to do that herself when i send it to her. so i went back to her blog post about that weekend … and rewrote some of the highlights for the journaling. hope i got it all right!

hope you like it brenda! and my sincere appologies for taking almost 4 months to do this. lol! although it could be good for you … because i'm tossing some extra goodies in your box when i mail this off to you in the next few days! hope it makes up for it!

i love doing challenges. and i really love nichol magouirk's designs. so i thought it would be fun to do a challenge with nichol … and she was totally up for the idea. we decided on a few things that we would stick to for our layouts: 
1. the colors turguoise/green/red 
2. stampin up roller stamps
3. use buttons
4. include a photo strip

you can see nichol's layout and all her details here on her blog, along with a great video.

and here is my layout:

can i say how much i love nichol's layout! i love that we both used all cardstock … since we usually like to use pattern paper on most of our layouts. love that we both used the dotted line roller stamp … without planning it. love that we both used journaling strips … we like those! and we both added "just enough" embellishments … still keeping a nice amount of white space on our layouts. i think we both have such similiar styles in so many ways … one reason that i'm always drawn to her designs! although she has a ton more stamping on there than i do. i always love to see how she can incorporate so many stamps onto one layout! and have to add this. just got done watching nichol's video … and thought it was cool that she added her entire photo strip to her layout with pop dots. since that is exactly what i did too! i know we both love our pop dots!

i had these crackle paints in the turquoise, green, and the red … and knew that they would be perfect. plus, i wanted to use them since nichol was the one that actually got me to buy them! so the cardstock colors were based on those paints. the chipboard flowers are some really old ones that i had … and i just brushed on the crackle paint and let it dry and crackle up … and then added a simple threaded button to the centers.

and the roller stamp … that was something else that nichol enabled me to purchase a few months back. i had just never gotten around to trying them out. i had other plans for it … but to be honest i couldn't get it in a straight line. lol! i have the wheel guide too … but i think i have to practice more with it to get it straight on longer strips. then simple added the puffy letters … are they not the coolest things? i just love them!

supplies:
cardstock – bazzill
stamps – stampin up
chipboard – deluxe designs
puffy letters - making memories
crackle paint – ranger
other – buttons, string 

thanks nichol for the fun challenge and for playing along with me! love seeing how we took some of the same products … and used them in our own ways. will have to do this again soon! 

just wishing my girl a happy 12th birthday today!

i'll get all the birthday details later. right now i have 10, 12-year old girls downstairs … for a birthday slumber party! it's noisy and busy … but i think they're having fun!

yesterday i was out and about getting a few last minute birthday gifts for alyssa. i came across these "high school musical" pins. i stood there for a minute thinking they were cute … and then i had the bright idea that i would buy them and do a layout about my love for "high school musical". and guess what? that is exactly what i did at naptime today.

this was one of those "totally for fun" layouts. just something i thought would be fun to put on a layout. because i seriously love those movies … can't wait for the third one to come out in the theatre next month! i listen to the soundtracks on my ipod more than i should. i know the dance moves …. i know the lines. i just love musicals … and this was such a cute, fun one. and the "btw … i'm 38" part at the top? my mom gave me that idea. lol! she was here yesterday painting and saw them … and said something about "you're 38, you need to get over it". whatever … i know plenty of other moms here that love it too! lol!

and how cute are the pins on there? i found this printed transparency from autumn leaves … and cut out the large frame. then i handcut some cork paper to stick behind it. so it kind of reminds me a bulletin board … where you would stick these pins all over. and in some weird way … this reminds of a locker too. i don't know how … it just does!

supplies:
embossed cardstock, pattern paper: ki memories (love elsie)
transparency, buttons: autumn leaves
cork paper: karen foster
pins: walmart
other – thread, pen

i know i may not mention him much … or blog about what he does. and i know i have my gripes about him … sitting on the couch, watching sports all day, not putting clothes in the hamper, etc. but i also know that he does a lot around here. i know a lot of guys that don't do much to help out … and i can honestly say that joe does his share around here. and i just wanted to let him know that i appreciate all the little things.

• he helps take care of the daycare kids just like they were his own kids. this is what i found yesterday … both haley and nikolas all camped out on the couch with him. and he didn't mind at all. he doesn't tell me it's my job to take care of them … he just helps them when they need anything. they get excited when he walks in from work … and go running to him.
• when he gets home from work in the morning, he always empties the dishwasher if i'm not up yet. he knows it's the first thing i do when i get up. he'll get the girls breakfast and start them on making their lunches for school.
• he cleans the house every weekend. he does all the vacuuming and mopping, cleans the bathrooms, and any other major stuff. he knows that it's too hard on me (stupid chronic pain disease) … so he never lets me help with that stuff.
• he is always willing to take the girls to soccer practice and hang out and wait for them. alyssa doesn't like me to stay at practice with her … so sometimes i'll drop her off and go run errands … and he'll go back and pick her up so i can have an extra 10 minutes to myself.
• he knows that by the weekend … i need to get out of the house … by myself. so he'll tell me to just go and do what i need to do. he'll watch the girls … while he cleans the house.
• he brings me starbucks every morning on his way home from work. when he started car-pooling recently with a few people from work … he made sure to let them know that they would be stopping at starbucks every morning (even if the other person was driving).
• when he goes to get new movies at blockbuster each week … he keeps his eye out for the "chick flicks" for me. i never seem to make time to watch them … but he always gets them for me anyways. and he usually ends up watching them anyways! 
• he has really been trying to be better about doing the little things around here. like opening the windows at night and turning off the air … and closing eveything up in the morning before it gets too hot in here. of putting away the dishes in the sink that are drying before he leaves for work at night … because he knows i hate to wake up to a mess in the kitchen.

• when the last daycare kid leaves … he makes sure to help pick up whatever toys are still left out. it's not his job … it's mine. but he helps anyways.
• he always remembers to stick gatorades in the fridge for soccer practices and games … because i always forget. and then he'll stick them in the freezer to make them extra cold for the girls.
• he knows how cranky i am in the morning … so if i start getting pissy when he tries to talk to me … he just leaves me alone. and in the afternoon … when i get all chatty because i havn't talked to an adult all day … he listens to whatever i'm blabbering about, even if he doesn't care.
• he always takes an interest in my scrapping … and he tells people at work about my accomplishments. and when i have some crazy, busy assignments … he knows to help me out even more with the girls.
• he works all night … and then comes home to a house full of kids that aren't his. and then he tries to sleep all day when these same kids are making a ton of noise and crying from time to time. and he wakes up in the afternoon … and these kids are all still here along with his girls. and then he goes to work and does it all over again.

i'm sure there is more … but that gives you an idea of what he does. i really can't complain that much. i know he's a good guy … and i'm thankful for all he does. and i appreciate that he does it willingly. although he'll probably never see this …  because he never reads my blog and wouldn't even know how to find it. lol! oh yeah … add that to the list … "he never touches my computer" (i hate sharing my computer with anyone). even it it's because he doesn't know how to work it!

edited to add: just wanted to let you all know that i did show this to joe … actually, sarah read the entire thing out loud to him (even the part about me getting "pissy"!). and he did appreciate it … and all the super nice comments you all left. although he did find it ammusing that i said all these nice things … and then totally bashed his lack of computer skills at the end. lol! i'm not a very sentimental person … so i had to toss in some humor at the end!

i was super excited to do a layout for hero arts a while back. and it just went up on the site today … you can check out more about it here.

this photo has some crazy, bright colors … i just had a hard time photographing this layout. lol! if you check it out on the hero arts site … it's a little less bright! i love that butterfly stamp. i just stamped in on white cardstock with versamark ink … heat embossed it with black embossing powder … cut them out … colored in with colored pencils … and added little gems to them. so cute!

and thanks again to jennifer for the opportunity to do this. totally appreciate it!

i've been noticing this for a while now. our little nikolas … he's not a baby anymore. i know, i know … he had his first birthday in june. and once they turn one years old … they're really not considered babies anymore. but he's the littlest one here … so i still think of him as "the baby". but day by day … he's just looking so much more like a grown boy. and for the record (for anyone new here) … i cannot claim his cuteness. but i love that his mommy and daddy let me spend my days with him!

forgive these pics if they're a little "off". i know … they're still good … just not as technically good as i normally like. i wasn't actually trying to take photos of him. i was trying to shoot some new photos of the going-to-be-12-years-old-this-week-girl … but she wasn't too big on the idea. and nikolas was running around in the backyard all crazy … so i couldn't resist trying to snap a few of him. and he made me work for what few pics i got … that little bugger is always on the go.

the only way i was getting him to slow down for a few seconds and look at me … was to bark like a dog. seriously people … i WILL bark like a dog if it means getting a semi-decent photo! he is obsessed with doggies. that is the one thing that he will say over and over and over … all day long … "dogggggiiiiieee"! and he's even doing the "woof-woof" now … so cute! he digs out books that have doggies in them … and yells at the book "dogggggiiiiieee"! although to be totally honest … he think that any given animal is a doggie!

look at him … isn't he adorable! he's been walking for months now .. but he just has that "boy" walk now. or should i say "run" … always in a hurry to get places. and i love how he always has to look back at me … to make sure i'm watching him or getting ready to chase after him. although i can't tell you how many times he's run into the wall for this very reason!

should have some scrapping stuff to share in a few days. i have a layout ready and waiting … just something i did for total fun. and then some totally random things that i'm finishing up. and i got the most yummy package of goodies in the mail today … i cannot wait to start on them. i got a bunch of photos printed tonight so that i'm ready to play at naptime tomorrow … love when i have a plan!

last weekend i was working on a project … but i didn't have any photos to fit the theme. i was looking for photos of older girls. so i called my good friend deneen … seeing if she had any photos of her daughters that i could use (she has 4 girls). she didn't really have any that were what i was looking for. but the girls were willing to come over … and let me take some super quick photos that i could use. and without really planning it … they were wearing the perfect colors for what i was doing!

deneens younger girls … twins … heather and holly. they are the sweetest girls … alyssa and sarah just love them!

deneen's daughter kayley (on the right) … and her best friend ashley.

just wanted to tell you girls "thanks" again … for giving up 5 minutes of your time and letting me shove a camera in your face! i appreciate it! and i'm realizing that i really need to get away from my house for photos. lol! it's so easy to just go out in the yard … and i know where the decent lighting is at any given moment of the day. for all those totally spur-of-the-moment photos … since that's all we usually have time for around here. one of these days i really need to pack up the girls and go find some funky new places for photos though!