Laura Vegas

now for my next layout in my little "inspired by photos" series. the amazingly talented photographer megan cristello photos in particular. next up is her youngest daughter, piper. adorable little thing. these photos here really caught my attention. first off, she's cute as can be. and those eyes … gorgeous, amazing catchlights. and the curls … love her curls.

 

"there was a little girl, who had a little curl. right in the middle of her forehead. and when she was good, she was very, very good. and when she was bad, she was horrid." you know that story, right? i've heard it many times … and it's so cute.

and here's what megan said about these photos. "we have a big mother goose book that we read all of the time, and this particular rhyme has become one of piper's favorites. when we pull the book out … she starts flipping through looking for the "curl one". we read it, and afterwards, she glances up at me, with this little grin … and says … "dat me. i got curl in my head … i good too … i not horrid". i always tell her … "yes, very, very good … most of the time" ;)   

once again, i went with basic grey pattern papers … and making memories embellishments. i wanted to pick up the pink and purple from the bead necklaces that piper had on … but still use the brown from her dress. to be honest … it took me forever to decide on these papers. lol! i knew i wanted to stick with just basic grey papers … but i also don't have a huge supply of their stuff. but when i finally did figure it all out … i was really happy with it. the purple strip on the bottom was adhered with pop dots. the hearts are glitter clears by making memories … which i love to use. i adhered them to white cardstock and then cut them out to make them stand out a bit more. adhered them with pop dots … and added some rhinestone brads for fun.

another envelope from the april KOTM … i started with a different style, but had an accident with it … so switched back to this one. the pink on the envelope was a little brighter than the pink on my papers … so that's why i added the brighter pink thread tied on a few places. and those letters … they're glitter diecut alphas from making memories. i've had these forever … and didn't realize just how cute they were until i was digging through them. the textured ones, the embossed ones, the glitter ones … so fun. and that "c" was really an "e" … and that "l" was really a "k" … had to alter those a little to get the colors i wanted. then i printed out the rest of my title … and inked the edges with some purple ink to help them stand out. i added some gems from hero arts along the envelope to pick up on the rhinestone brads … and also dotted the "i" in "precious" with a gem.

   

and inside the envelope is the "horrid" photo … which i personally think is too adorable! and the rest of the story is also tucked inside. i hope little piper likes it!

i've always said that one thing that can inspire me the most is amazing photos. when i'm lucky enough to capture what i feel is that "perfect shot" … i can't wait to print it out and scrap it. and honestly, sometimes i see other people's photos and think … "ahh, the things i could do with that photo".

i stumbled across megan cristello's blog well over a year ago … no idea how i got there … but i have checked in daily ever since. simply some of the most amazing photos i have ever seen. so when she commented on my blog one day and mentioned that she doesn't scrapbook … i told her i would totally scrap some of her photos for her … just for fun. i think she thought i was kidding at first … but i was so excited when she agreed to share some photos with me. these photos of her son adler were the first ones that i thought of. not only are they cute photos … but i loved the story behind them.

  

here is the story in megan's words … right off her blog. "about two weeks ago, adler came home with a dixie cup with a tiny sprout in it. he was SO excited about his plant and couldn't wait to show everyone who walked into the house. not only did they get to see the plant, but they also got a full blown lesson on how it is that plants grow. he explained that he put a lima bean in the soil, watered it, and gave it plenty of sunshine … and LOVE … you have to give it love he would say. well, we put it on the table. i thought we'd keep it a few days, he'd forget about it … and i'd pitch it. not the case. he watered it daily … and it grew … and grew … and grew. i'll admit, i was tired of looking at it … and wanted to trash it. but every time i asked if he was done with it … always the same reply … he wanted it. so there it sat … on the middle of the dinner table. it eventually grew so tall that it started to droop, and the roots were out growing the little cup … and i could see the end was near FINALLY! i had to leave town for a competition with the girls … and when i returned … i saw that little beanstalk standing tall. my mother-in-law repotted it for him and put a stake in it. SO … it still sits on our dinner table, we still water it daily and we still hear how it needs water, sunlight … and of course LOVE!".

and i mean … how cute is that?!?!?   

so the layout. i decided to go with basic grey pattern papers for these layouts … simple, subtle patterns. and i wanted to use some envelopes from the april KOTM … to hold the journaling. i wanted the photos to really be the focus on these. i thought the envelope would be a fun way to include the journaling … but also be a fun decorative element on the page. when it came time to add my embellishments … i knew i'd pretty much stick with making memories products … since they're my favorites. the chipboard letters and the felt stars and shapes are from the MM animal crackers collection … and then the mini brads from my vast brad collection. i did add on some magic mesh too … wanted to add some extra texture to the envelope.

i had so much fun with this … just love the colors. and if you go visit megan's blog and get lost in all her gorgeous photos … you will learn that she also has 3 adorable daughters. i couldn't stand to choose just one … or leave anyone out (you know how girls are!) … so i have a layout for each of them. which means 3 more layouts to share … in the next 3 days.

sorry. i gotta spread them out … since i have nothing else i can share right now. lol! plus, you have no idea how long that just took me to type up (seriously, an hour and a half people!). so to type up a few layouts at a time … i'd be here all night long. but hopefully, you noticed the links … and hopefully, they work. i have to thank stephanie for letting me in on the new way to link. i knew it had to be something simple that i wasn't seeing … and it was. still not loving the new typepad … but do love that i can link again!   

just wanted to pop in and share this super quick card. another preview of a layout to come.

this was super simple. the papers are basic grey … that pink and brown piece was cut right from a sheet with the scalloped borders and everything. the glitter chipboard flowers are making memories … as well as the sticker and the buttons. gems are my dollar spot find from michaels. i know … very simple. ohhh, and the white swiss dot embossed cardstock on there was actually from an envelope. i cut it trying to do something … which ended up NOT working out. so i managed to salvage it enough to make 2 of these cards. lol! hard to see the embossed texture on here … how's this one? not much better, is it?

i know i keep telling you that there are layouts to come. and there are! i have them finished … and will start sharing them tonight … promise! i had so much fun with them … and love how they turned out. i'll tell you a little secret … they're not using my photos. an extremely talented photographer let me "borrow" and play with some of her photos … and i can't wait for her to see how they turned out. i sent a few peeks of them to her yesterday … and i've been waiting every so patiently to hear back from her (ok, anyone that knows me knows that i am NOT a patient person! lol!). that's all i'm saying for now … you'll have to come back later tonight to get more out of me! lol!

my disclaimer … i still havn't figured out how to link with this new typepad setup … my photos still look wonky to me with this new typepad setup … and the typing is taking forever with this new typepad setup. can you tell i have issues with this new typepad setup?!?!? now on to the good stuff!

you remember miranda, don't you? how could you forget her cute face! and how lucky am i … i get to spend a couple of days a week with her for the summer. going to be so much fun! she came by yesterday and today for a little bit to hang out. haley's not too sure about her … but it takes her a while to warm up to new people. but i think they're going to have so much fun together … i catch them smiling at each oher when they think i'm not looking. and nikolas … he's cool with it. he's totally surrounded by girls … what more could he ask for than to have another cutie girlie to hang out with. and me … i love it. niko is 11mths, miranda is 14mths, and haley is 19mths … they are all at the funnest ages.

so these photos? her mom wanted to get some one year photos of her. we're a little late since her birthday passed … but it's all good. there was a gorgeous velvet chair in the plan (that her mom found for $6.00!) … with a fluffy purple tutu. but miranda apparently did NOT like the plan. maybe i can convince her to try it one of the days she's here. because the chair is still here … and it's screaming to be used. so we kept it simple tonight … just went in the corner of my backyard that i use all the time. 

 

and i love this next one … doesn't it look like she was closing her eyes to make an amazing wish while blowing a dandelion or something? i think in reality … she just closed her eyes while holding a stick … but i like the wish part. lol! it's all in the story-telling my friends!

she gets me … she thought i was hilarious! yes miranda … laugh at my jokes and we'll get along just fine!

then she turned on me. she suddenly because a lion … or a tiger … not sure. she had the "roarrrr" down and everything .. it was so cute. her mom said "can you tell she has brothers?!?!"!

such a cutie! and to her mom … thanks for sharing your little one with us for a while! trust me … she'll be loved on all day long!

these are some of my favorite colors. blue, green, and brown … love to use them together. and a little touch of orange … perfect. i did these cards with my scraps from a layout that is in the works. once again, the cards are coming before the layouts. i havn't had time this weekend to finish the layouts … but the cards were simple enough to finish off.

i can't wait to finish the layout that these scraps came from. it's so darn cute … with the cutest photos and most adorable story to go with them. hopefully, in the next day or two i'll get to that. as for these cards? blue pattern paper is basic grey, brown too i think, and the lined card is actually from the KOTM april kit. the chipboard star is from lil davis. the fun orange chenille trim, the chipboard letters, the fabric brad, the felt button and velvet brad (on next card) are all from the newest baby collection from making memories.

and as for our memorial day? we slept in. played the Wii a ton (borrowed from alyssa's dad again). i think i raced about 12 races on mariokart in the last day … and i came in 12th place all but once. lol! the girls went swimming for about 5 minutes … the water was way too cold from the crappy weather we had this weekend. i worked on projects all weekend … i think i got them all done in time. we had a BBQ … chicken, salmon, and potatoes. we cleaned house. and watched a bunch of episodes of "H2O" … which is about the only show that has new episodes right now. lol! too bad it's the girls show! that's about it.

you guys know i'm pretty good at making cards from my scraps, right? one would think that the card would come after the layout … but not lately. i think it's the neat freak in me. i just want to get the scraps out of my way and cleaned up … so i start the card super quick and then get rid of the remaining scraps. then i eventually get around to finishing up the layout! lol! so … just consider this a peek at a layout in the works.

 

what is this … a birthday card?!?! how crazy is that … because i never make birthday cards … even though they are the one type of card that i always need. lol! most of this is scraps from one layout i have going … except the blue pattern paper, which i pulled out for the card. so the blue pattern paper is ki memories … and the red and yellow pattern paper is basic grey. the black dot circle tag is a clear tag from making memories … along with the "happy birthday" tag and the brad.

a while back i saw nichol use this star stamp and star punch from stampin up. in a perfect world, i would have linked you up 4 times in just that last sentence (to nichol, the stamp, the punch, and stampin up) … but i'm in "typepad-whose-new-improved-compose-screen-won't-let-me-link-and-makes-my-photos-look-wonky" world. lol! anyways … i knew i had to have that star punch … i love stars. and the star stamp … had to have that since it fits perfectly in the punch … and it has dots, which i love even more. the red star was stamped on white cardstock with red ink and then punched out … the black star was punched out from some ki memories paper and then adhered with a pop dot. for the third star … i adhered some yellow magic mesh to white cardstock and then punched it out. the scrap of blue magic mesh was actually a tiny little piece that i had cut off from a different layout … but it kind of had the same curve as the circle, so i used it.

i keep going back and forth on just chatting about what supplies i used as i explain the projects. or adding the supply list at the end of my post. i like how a lot of designers are adding the supply lists … i just hate repeating myself if i've already mentioned it. plus, typepad is bugging me this past week … so it might take me longer to format it the way i'd like. i don't know … what do you guys like? i'll leave it up to you!

i have been a terrible blogger … i know, i know. the last few weeks i got out of my blogging groove … so i'm working on making up for it. i have lots of layouts and cards to share … so look for them this coming week. in the meantime … thought i'd do a little random updating.

• the girls are officially done with awana (the kids night at the church). they both did great at awana … finishing up their books and getting awards. this was alyssa's last year since she will be going into jr high (omg … how can that be?). but she has put in to be a leader-in-training … so we'll wait and see if she's selected.
• they are also done with choir. they did their big performance last sunday … a week ago. lots of practices leading up to it … even 3 hour saturday rehersals. on the big day … they had to be there at 7:30 in the morning. they performed their musical for all 3 services. alyssa had a drama part … and did great and remembered her lines and said them loud. and sarah had a solo … which she sang beautifully. i was actually surprised that she wanted to do it … she loves to sing in her room with the door shut … but tends to be very shy in front of people. and when she sang … it even caught me off guard a little. i know her voice … but it sounded just so sweet and little. so proud of both of them.
• sarah is also done with softball. had the last games … had the closing ceremonies … had the pizza party. it was a good season. her team didn't do great … but they had fun and showed definate improvement by the end of the season. sarah pitched a few games … she really loves to pitch even though she's still learning to get it all the way over the plate. she made some awesome plays in the outfield … and also at second base a few times. at the last game … she made an unassisted double-play. all on her own … no one helping … from the outfield and over to third base. it was awesome!
• joe is just about done umpiring. on average, he did about 3-4 games a week. fitting it in with working nights, sleeping some during the day, getting up early to go umpire, assisting with sarah's softball team, and then sleeping a little bit before going back to work. right now, he's doing 1-2 games a week for another leaque … so not quite so busy.
• the girls still have another month of school left … being year-round, they don't finish the school year until the very end of june. but there has still been lots of year-end stuff going on … probably because there is a track that just finished their year this past week. we had the "art faire" this past week … where all the classes display some of their art work and projects from throughout the year. sarah had some fun stuff displayed … loved seeing their paintings and drawings from when they had an artist come in their classroom and teach them. alyssa's class didn't have anything out … guess her teacher wasn't big on craft stuff. lol! but seeing all the jr high projects on display … geez, we are going to be super busy next year with the amount of projects they're required to do!

i'm still thinking these photos are looking overly-sharpened … not at all what they actually look like. i saw someone else mention this on her blog … so i know it's not just me. but you guys told me they look fine to you … so i hope they do. lol! and can i just say … with the changed that typepad made … it takes me longer than ever to post. the typing is super slow … is anyone else having this problem?!?!

and here's some totally useless, random stuff … just because.

• gas is $4.29 a gallon here … i cannot believe it. last weekend the van needed to be filled … but i told joe to only put a little bit in because the gas was almost $4 a gallon. i figured maybe if we just filled it a little to get by … that it might go down a little in cost within a few days. that ended up biting me in the tush. lol!
• and don't get me started on groceries. i'm a good shopper to begin with … i never buy anything unless it's on sale. but i was noticing last night just how much some of these prices have gone up. a regular sized bottle of vegetable oil was $8.00 … you have got to be kidding me?!?! it was on sale for $5.00 … but that is still absurd. luckily, i did not need any … lol! i'm thinking we are going to start living off of top ramen … i bet i can "rachael-ray" up some top ramen …  "20 ways to cook top ramen"!
• and speaking of the grocery store … the one i go to is being remodeled. in a big way. i hadn't been in there for over a week … and i couldn't believe what they have managed to get done. they also managed to move everything in the store around … everything. it really threw me off … took me longer to get through the aisles. but it's kind of exciting too … takes me back to my grocery days. remodeling was always a ton of work … but lots of fun too. but really … all i really want to know is … "where is the nut topping for my ice cream?". i can't find it … it's no where. i actually went and bought a jar of regular peanuts … and then chopped them up in my mini food processor … and then toasted them in a frying pan. probably a little drastic to do all that … but i can't have ice cream without my nuts!
• i need glasses! i have had this constant headache for about 3 weeks now … it lasts all day. just this extreme pressure … i feel it right behind my eyes. and i've been squinting a lot … my eyes just hurt. i have always had perfect eyes … but then again, i havn't had my eyes checked in about 15 years. i don't know why … just havn't. so i went in today … and i need some glasses. i do a ton of reading and working on the computer all the time … so that's when i've felt it the most. went in to pick out some frames … that was hard. i'm not even a big sunglasses person … i've been wearing the same dorky pair for years. the chick there was so helpful though. i was really leaning towards one pair … but she told me they made me look like a librarian. lol! i was totally going to link what mine are going to look like .. but i can't figure out how to link now on this new typepad stuff. crap! oh well … you'll have to wait to see. i'm hoping this will help solve my headache problem .. but i have to wait a week to get the glasses. lol! oh … and the best part … the glasses cost me all of $5.00! good insurance for once!
• remember how i was so excited to pick up where i had left off with "melrose place"? well, i did it. i had 27 episodes to go till the end of the series. i recorded them all .. and within a little over 2 weeks, i watched them all. yes, that would be almost 14 hours of tv! but i did it. on one of my vacation days … i watched 5 episodes while i scrapped. i feel so accomplished … i can now say that i have officially watched the entire 229 episodes of "melrose place" … for the second time in my life. i know, i know … i have such lofty goals for myself! lol!

guess that's it for now. enough random stuff to bore you with. lol! hope everyone it having a great holiday weekend. no plans here … we never do anything on memorial day weekend. joe's working all weekend (the joy of grocery). and i have some assignments to work on. and i also promise to get working on getting some stuff ready to share.

nikolas … sweet little dude. he is getting so incredibly big … he'll be 11 months tomorrow. the first thing everyone notices about him is his hair. he has tons of it. this was a photo of him from last week. ignore the food plastered all over his face … that's what i get for bothering him during his lunch.

when he showed up on monday morning … it was as if we had a whole new little boy here. he got a haircut … a big haircut. it makes him look so different and so much older i think. he doesn't seem as "babyish" to me anymore … he's like a big boy now! and as much as i loved his crazy head of hair and think it looked so cute on him … i love his new look too!

isn't he the most adorable thing? we just love having him here. he is still THIS close to walking. i've been saying that for a while now … but he really is. lol! he's taking 3-4 steps on his own. loves to be standing … spends most of his time walking around the tables and flying over to the couch and back to the table. he also loves emptying out the diaper basket. i keep all the kids diapers and wipes in the baskets under our table in the family room. and he loves taking them all out and carrying them around. only thing is … i don't know which ones are technically his diapers and which ones are haleys. they both wear the same kind in the same size. so i think he's really just trying to steal some from haley to add to his own supply … since he tends to use more. lol!

what else? i'm sure he has lots of words that i'm not noticing … but i do know that he usually says "dada" and "uh-oh" all day long. he'll throw things down on the floor … and then say "uh-oh" … over and over. and just yesterday … i swear he said "disneyland". really. it kind of came out a "is-ney-and" … but it totally sounded like "disneyland". and it wasn't just once … he did it about 10 times. guess we know where he wants to go. his mom said that she wouldn't be telling his brothers and sister about that … otherwise they would spend the next week asking him to say it. which is so true … the girls do it here. all day long … "nikolas, say dada" … "nikolas, say uh-oh"!

and just a few more that i took yesterday too. i took him out on the front porch to try and get some pics. we have pretty nice lighting out there in the early day. but the dude wouldn't sit still for me … he just kept crawling all over the place. which made a mess of him … because there is nothing but dirt and dust all over the porch. you could see his trail marks as he went along. lol!

i think he's getting to that age too … where he's not as quick to go to other people. even the girls … they really love holding him … but he just reaches back out to me the whole time. not that i mind … i love being the one that they want to come to all the time!

and i might as well throw ariana in this post too. she's normally not one for photos … but she kept jumping in front of me when i was trying to get some pics of nikolas.

she was so funny yesterday … she kept asking me "why am i all alone here today". i tried to tell her that she wasn't alone … that me and nikolas were there with her .. but that didn't make her feel any better. i think she was missing haley a little! we did get my neighbor ayana to come play for a while … which helped a bit!

 

and i'm not sure how these pictures are looking to you. they look super sharp on the blog post itself (as in way-too-sharp-that-they-look-a-little-funky) … but if you click on it to see it bigger, i think it looks a little blurry. i don't think either of them look like my original to be honest. lol! typepad made some changes apparently … so if things look wonky at all … blame them!

finally got this one finished. i used so many fun things on this layout … and love the way it turned out.

i had some things i wanted to play with … some products and some ideas. i had gotten a photo order the other day … so i ended up using this photo of alyssa that i had taken last week. i was going to print out a few smaller photos … but sometimes using just one photo works. gives you more room to play!

first thing i wanted to use was the slit punch tool from stampin up. i love the fun look … like torn out notebook paper. it punches 2 slits at a time … but it also has this little guide thing that you can totally line them up all evenly spaced. i used it down the side of my scenic route pattern paper. but i also used it on this title block. although my real reason for using it here … was that i cut my purple cardstock piece too small … and had a gap between the photo. so i just cut an extra piece of cardstock and folded it over … and then punched the slits down the side and tied some string around it. so it kind of looks like i meant to do it … right? and the "precious" is a heidi swapp stamp … i have a bunch of those, but have never really used them. the metal flowers are brads … not sure who made them (they’re really old). i was cleaning out some stuff last night and came across these … so i tossed them on there.

and then the cuttlebug … i used the bloom dots embossing folder on the white cardstock. i have seen how you can use it in a way … where you can emboss down a longer strip of cardstock. but i got really anal about where the bloom dots ended up … and wanting them to be perfectly in a row. so i just did it on 2 seperate pieces of cardstock … and then adhered them next to each other. kind of bugs me … but i’m sure no one else really notices. lol! i think next time i do that … i’ll just tie something around where the pieces meet … or add a little cardstock strip. 

i had already tried the buttons with the puffy paint on the scrap that i used on my card (see previous post). the green was way off. so i used some "stickles" glitter glue on here for the green. when you use the puffy paint … the buttons really do just stick right on. but i found with the stickles … they didn’t stay. so i just added some clear adhesive to them after the glitter glue had dried. and btw, for those of you that asked … puffy paint is like fabric paint and can be found in little bottles at any craft store. then i added some buttons from my MM blossoms and buttons box … and some mini brads. the ribbon is also MM.

back to work. i took 3 vacation days last week. haley is on vacation right now … and i had wanted to take a few days off just to catch up on stuff. so i took a few days … figured since she was already gone … i was leaving the least amount of parents hanging. lol! so this is my first day back … although it’s a quiet day with just nikolas. who got a big haircut … and he’s like a whole new kid now. so cute … looks so grown up! it’s going to be quiet here without haley all week … we all miss her already! 

i was just getting the pictures of these cards ready to go … and noticed that both cards said "miss you". lol! i don't normally do "miss you" cards … so i thought it was funny that i put that on both of these. didn't even think about it when i did it. lol!

 

this one gives you a good idea of what my next layout will look like. both of these cards were done with scraps from another layout i did yesterday. but this one is the most similar. ahhhhh, the cuttlebug emossing folder … love it! this was the "bloom dots" folder … and i simply did it on white cardstock. the pattern paper is scenic route … i love the dot patterns. and i adhered the pattern paper pieces with pop dots … just to give some extra dimension. and the purple scalloped cardstock is the bazzill … i got quite a bit of use out of one sheet of it and i still have scraps left.

and how fun are the buttons? i saw that idea from a layout that robyn did … i tore that page out of the magazine right away because i wanted to remember to try it. she used puffy paint … and then stuck the buttons right on top. i have gobs of puffy paint laying around … although that green was a little off in color.

 

this one was fun to make. i actually cut out the circles from the white cardstock first (gotta love the classic creative memories circle cutter from back in the day … love that thing) … and then i put them in the embossing folder and ran them through the cuttlebug. the yellow glittered flower border strip is new making memories… from the "summer fun" collection that you can find at michaels. i hadn't even heard about them … and i can't find a link or preview anywhere … but i found them last weekend. the 12 inch borders are the funnest … i love paper strips like that … so easy to use! and those rhinestones are from the dollar section at michaels … thought i didn't buy a ton of those?!?! lol! there were tons in the pack (just counted for you and they have 48 in a single pack) and they already have adhesive on them. of course … that was a few months ago. so don't get mad at me if you can't find them. lol!

and to define the edges of the circles a little … i just outlined it with some puffy paint. of course … i can't get a perfectly straight line of paint if my life depended on it. which is why i purposely made it a little messy. i felt like it needed an extra color too. so i pulled out some flowers. the turquoise flowers are the older MM jumbo blossoms… and the purple flowers and the yellow buttons are from the MM funky buttons and blossoms box.  rubon sentiment also from MM …  i love using those on my cards.

so there you have it … the cards that came from the scraps of the layout that i'll show you next. i was going to show the layout first … but it needs journaling still. plus, i have to find the layout. i'm not sure what happened … but my desk is suddenly covered in product. i don't even know where to start to get myself organized again. lol!