Laura Vegas

i've been in a scrapping rut this past week. i just couldn't get anything started. so yesterday, i decided to lift this layout by jennifer to get myself going. i loved the basic design … and thought it would be perfect for our easter egg hunt photos.

loved how jennifer used all the small photos all lined up. so i printed out a bunch of photos in the 2×3 size … and then used a couple of larger ones. i used all making memories product on here … lots of garden party stuff. i was going to add some journaling … but figured it was pretty self explanitory. lol! i should at least add the date though … will do that later.

and see that little 2×3 block of white cardstock with the cute tag and flowers? yes, i used the cuttlebug on that. i finally got some embossing folders (after a 3 week wait on my order … don't ask) … and i love the texture and look they add! i havn't done anything too crazy with them yet … but i'm loving them so far!

 

and of course … a coordinating card from my scraps! i've always been pretty good about using my scraps … but i've been even better at it lately. make a layout … make a card. they just go together now.

so thank you jennifer … for giving me some inspiration! and it was just what i needed … because after that my creative juices started flowing. i have another layout and 2 more cards that i'll share tomorrow!

yes, for 2 hours today … these 4 girlies were together again.

it wasn’t planned … just kind of happened. it was nice to see them together again … after all this time. we miss ashlen more than anything … and i know she misses us. the girls do get to see each other at school … and a few times a week, i can usually talk to her for a few minutes after school. but it’s nice that they could play … and just hang out. and i can’t even tell you how noisy they were … just shows how much fun they have together. i’m glad i snapped this photo of them super quick … i think the last photo i have of them all was last june on the last day of school. can’t believe that was almost a year ago.

but as much as i loved having her come visit … it breaks my heart at the same time. i know a few months back i said i was letting this all go … and believe me, i did. i don’t worry about it, stress over it, or try and figure it out anymore … it’s done and decided … even if i had no say in it. but having the chance to spend a little time with her here … reminds me of how things have changed. so it does bring back the memories and the hurt a little. i miss her sister like crazy … we all do. while i get the chance to see ashlen every now and then … her sister is a different story. i havn’t seen her in almost 7 months … since the last time she was here … only i didn’t know it was the last time. it’s hard … i won’t lie.

but … it is what it is. and i’ve accepted that. but just for tonight … i’m a little sad about it all.

hope my mom doesn’t mind … but i’m sharing her card with you!

this was basically scraps from the last layout i did. and i got 3 mother’s day cards out of it. the other cards had a rubon sentiment … but i liked the look of these tiny letter stickers better. i’m a big fan of using the metal rims on their own … but for some reason i found this scrap piece of hambly screenprint and thought it would be cool. not so cool to punch the circle out … but i figured it out. lol! and the thread … i’m in love with the thread lately. i have this huge jar full of it … and i might as well start leaving it out on my island because i’m always digging in it!

supplies:
pattern paper – scenic route
transparency – hambly
scalloped cardstock – bazzill
metal rim, felt flower, rhinestone brads, letter stickers – making memories
thread – dmc floss

as for my day. i’m not feeling good. which stinks. as soon as i posted late last night … i started feeling sick. as in tummy-sick. which didn’t surprise me … because i had a daycare kid get sick her last week. i love that they share so nicely with me! was up for a few hours … and finally managed to get some sleep. i was semi-ok this morning … but by lunchtime wasn’t feeling good again. i took a good nap … while the girls watched tv and wondered when i would get up to make them lunch. lol! i could hear them the entire time … you’d think they can’t fend for themselves. lol! i did get out to finish up some yardwork … and have some laundry going. fun stuff, right? joe’s awake now though … so he’s taking care of dinner … not that i’m really that hungry. and got some yummy chocolates and some starbucks giftcards … and some fun new scrapbook stuff that i can’t wait to play with. so i’m just going to take it easy the rest of the night … and hopefully, i’ll be feeling back to normal by the morning.

hope you all had a nice mother’s day!

i havn’t had my camera out in about 2 weeks. kind of sad. but i took it back out tonight … and i made friends with it once again. that’s usually all it takes … and then i’ll want to have it out all the time!

this afternoon sarah went over to amanda’s house to play … and i went to pick up alyssa from her dad’s. when we got back, alyssa just wanted to hang out at the house … she didn’t feel like going to play with the girls. she wanted to do her "training" for soccer. she has decided that since soccer starts back up in august … that she better start practicing. lol! so we went in the backyard … and i started doing some yardwork. in the middle of this … for whatever reason … i decided that we had to take some photos. didn’t even make her change outfits … although purple is not my favorite color. lol! and we were just in time too … this was about 7:30, right before the sun set … my most favorite time of day to take pics! have i mentioned how much i love my 85mm lens?!?!

this next one is her "oh-no-you-did-not-just-say-that" look.

and the "omg-do-you-seriously-need-more-photos-can’t-we-just-be-done" look. i get this one ALOT!

and then … 10 minutes and 42 photos later … she decided we were done. and within about 3 seconds … she was back to her "training". notice the kids play stuff … the stuff that the girls hate because it’s "for babies" … and yet the stuff we need around for the daycare kids. and notice the green tote bin … i did manage to fill that sucker up just in time for it to go out tomorrow night for garbage day (we only get the yard bin picked up every other week). 

my girl loves soccer! always seems to have a ball around lately! going on their 6th year … love that. and notice the blue recyling bin in the background … the one that desperately needs to be picked up … but has to last us another week (gets picked up every other week too … opposite the yard bin).

and it is now 12:05 am on sunday as i post this … so i can officially wish everyone a happy mother’s day! i have a card to share tomorrow … or should i say later today? anyhoo … i’ll being sharing it soon! 

i have a layout to share. but first you have to go check out this layout … by the amazingly talented sarah klemish. i wanted to scrap today … but didn’t know what i wanted to do. so i went through sarah’s garden gallery … and picked out this layout of hers to lift … to be inspired by. and here’s what i came up with:

i had this photo of nikolas’s sister, vanessa, printed out for something else i was going to do. but i thought i’d toss it on a layout instead. and i thought it fit perfect with sarah’s design. and by lifting her design … all the hard work was done for me. so this took me all of a half hour to make. love that!

another reason i wanted to lift one of her layouts? i totally forgot to share this … but she used one of my layouts for the user inspiration section at 2peas in april. i was so flattered when she asked to use one of my layouts … i’m a big fan of her work. she choose to lift this layout of mine (which conveniently has the same title as my layout above!), and you can see her layout HERE. loved her take on my design … so fun to see! so thank sarah!

supplies:
scalloped cardstock, brads – bazzill
pattern paper – scenic route
sticker – creative cafe
clip – making memories
rubon stitches – DCVW
title word – heidi swapp

last week i put together a quick layout for the MM blog. the challenge was to do a layout with 8 photos … using the new noteworthy collection. here's a little peek at it:

i guess that's just a peek at my title. lol! you'll have to go check out the MM blog to see "all my girls"! i had visions of putting 8 photos into a nice photo collage. but in the end … i just dug around in the pictures i had here and found ones that would work … and then just cropped them down to fit. nice to use some of the more random photos laying around … and put them all together for a cute layout.

a few weeks ago making memories asked me if i wanted to participate in a photo swap challenge. to switch photos with another designer … and we would then create a layout using their photos. when i found out the other designer was wendy, i was even more excited!

we each sent each other a few of our favorite photos. and we both used the new noteworthy collection for our layouts. it's the most gorgeous collection! here's a peek at what i did with wendy's photos of her beautiful daughter, meagan:

and here's a peek at what wendy did with the photos of alyssa (i'm in love with the stitching!):

 

you have to go check out the making memories blog to see the entire layouts … and get more info about them! so get your kiester over there and check it out (i think wendy may have actually dared me to say "kiester" last night when we were emailing. lol!).

and a big "thanks" to wendy and meagan … for allowing me to have fun with their photos! and a big "thanks" to wendy from me and alyssa … for the amazing layout she did with our photos! we loved it!

i had to dig around on my blog to find it … but over 1 whole year ago, i posted this gripe about melrose place. it was april 13th, 2007 to be exact … you can read the post HERE if you really have nothing better to do. lol! so here is the basic idea of that post:

i did some searching online and found some episode guides so i could figure out where i was. there were a total of 7 seasons for "melrose place" … a total of 227 episodes. quess what episode i was on as of last friday? 202!!! that means i only had 25 episodes left! that means i had watched 202 episodes … basically i’ve been watching it for about 40 weeks (5 a week). and i only had 5 weeks left to go. i’ve been on the edge of my seat the last week or so every time i watched a show … because i could just tell that it was getting to the end.  and now they just stopped showing it?!?!

but guess what i found last week on the quide … melrose place is back on! and guess what … it was on episode 199. just about where i had left off. it was pure luck that i even found it … i must have just been surfing around on the quide because it’s not a channel i normally watch. it airs 2 times a day, 5 days a week. so within about 3 weeks, i’ll have seen it all. beause i really only had 25 episodes left to go.

only problem is … i don’t have time to watch these! i already have 6 of them piled up on my DVR. with 10 more scheduled for just this week. lol! and i  havn’t even watched the "greys anatomy" from the past 2 weeks … the new ones that we’ve been waiting all this time for. lol! guess that the nice thing about having the DVR … they can all just hang out there until i DO have time!

i feel like that was kind of a let-down post. yesterday was "national scrapbooking day" … you’d think i would have some fun, scrapping related post to share with you. but i don’t. sorry! i am busy scrapping though … i can’t even tell you how much i’m scrapping right now. as in i-can’t-even-keep-track-of-what-i’m-doing scrapping … stuff everywhere i turn. but it’ll all good!

do any of you remember this post from last august about our daytrip to marine world? i finally got around to making a layout about it. i knew i wanted to include journaling straight from the blog … and i think i did pretty good.

i took the main part of my blog post about our daytrip for my journaling. the breakdown of what it cost us to go … and the breakdown of what we got in return. i did edit it a little bit … but just to make it fit on the pages. i hadn’t gotten too many great photos that day … but i pulled up a few and made the two photo collages to print out. the photo of them coming down the river raft ride is hilarious if you zoom in super close (zoom in on my actual photo, not on this layout!). they were in the back row … and i caught them about half-way down the big drop. they’re holding on for dear life … the looks on their faces crack me up! but i couldn’t print it that way because it was super blurry from all the zooming in.

i wish i could tell you there was something fun in that envelope … but there isn’t. lol! i thought i had a map of the park saved and the show schedule … but for now, i can’t find them. i do have the photo of the park that i took from the parking lot (the first one on that blog post) that i had printed for something else and never used … so i stuck it in there. i’m sure i’ll find the map one of these days!

supplies:
pattern paper – scenic route
envelope – ck KOTM april
chipoard – heidi swapp (letters and tags)
jumbo dot brads – heidi swapp
mini brads – making memories

and i was worried that no one was going to ask me anything. lol! i love that you all came up with such good questions … so diverse. i have been copying and pasteing these in since yesterday … and i keep going back and answering them in total random order. so if i missed something … forgive me … or yell at me … either work. lol! and be fore-warned … this is long!

laura asked … do you think you’ll ever make it out to the east coast?

• to be honest … i’m not much of a traveler. lol! in fact, my dad has been bugging me for months … he has some free airlines tickets that he wants to give joe and i to go somewhere for a vacation. but i still havn’t really thought about it. i could totally see going out that way for a tradeshow or something … if the opportunity ever came my way. which my dad would then tell me that "this is an opportunity for you to go somewhere". lol!

kaye asked … love the way you use metal rims, just wondering how you attatch them since they are free floating?

• i love those MM metal rims … i think i buy a new pack of them every time i go to the store. and using them in the tag maker is cool. but i just love using them alone … just the rims. i flatten them in the tag maker. and then i just use about 4 mini glue dots to adhere them … kind of folding the glue dot a little if it hangs over the edge. glue dots can be smushed to whatever size you need. sometimes they pop up a little … but i just press them back down. i’ve thought about using some ki gloo or something … but i’m not patient enough to sit there and hold it while it dries.

wendy asked … what’s your biggest dream? how about your most embarassing moment? favorite indulgence? happiest memory? favorite song? wow, slow down girl! lol! btw … love wendy … i don’t think i could go through a day without chatting with her!

• biggest dream … i’d have to say that honestly, my biggest dream was to design in some way for MM. really, i remember talking to friends about this years and years ago. seriously, a dream come true!
• most embarrasing moment? i don’t think is my most embarrasing moment … but it was a pretty good one at the time. back when i had lost a ton of hair last year … i was wearing hats all the time. i remember one day at one of the girls softball games … it was crazy windy out. we were walking across to the field we were playing on … carrying chairs and stuff. and i was willing that darn hat to stay on … like scrunching up my forehead to make the hat tighter on my head. and it flew off … and i had to chase it for a minute. so my terrible lack of hair that the hat was supposed to be hiding was all out there for everyone around too see. although to be honest … i don’t think anyone even noticed. lol!
• favorite indulgence? i think that would be my starbucks. i know a couple bucks a day adds up after a while … and yet, a couple bucks a day just makes my day THAT much better. it’s a total bright spot in my day that keeps me happy for a few hours. lol!
• happiest moment?
• favorite song? i can’t really think of an all-time favorite song. i tend to latch onto songs … and listen to them over and over for days at a time. right now, as i type this … i’ve got billy ray cyrus and miley cyrus playing … "ready, set, don’t go". it’s been playing for the entire day. lol! "i’m at the starting line of the rest of my life, as ready as i’ve ever been. got the hunger and the stars in my eyes, the prize is mine to win". i don’t know … just like that part of the song.

cathy asked … i need a new printer…any suggestions? do you print out your own photos or do you have them developed?

• well, i for one have a hp photosmart d7360 which i’ve been using for about a year and a half. i only use it for photos … i use my regular dell printer for regular papers. i don’t really know much about printers. but that is a great printer … and a decent price. love that it has the 6 different color ink cartridges … that way you only replace the color that is running low. i take my empty ink cartridge to staples … and they give me $3 back … so the refills are only $7 a piece. i really can’t vouch for any others … but i know you can really get a good photo printer for a decent price nowdays.
• as for actual printing of photos? i do half and half. i do upload and order most of my photos from an online site (recently switched back to shutterfly … wasn’t happy with the changes my other site had made). i order copies for my girls and for all the daycare parents. and then limited copies for me. i do like to have some prints on hand for those times i don’t want to think too much … and just want to grab a photo or two and scrap them. but in all honestly … i love to print what i need for scrapping myself. then i can print whatever size i want, add my borders, make my collages. i like having that control when i have the time. 

carla asked … will you please share your secret for putting lines around your photos?

• i am so sorry to tell you … but it really IS a secret. lol! would love to share with you all if i could. and i’m sure the info on it is out there somewhere … and there are probably many ways to do it. but it was taught to me by someone i truely admire and respect … so i really don’t share it in all honesty.

since i couldn’t answer this one .. i told carla to ask me another question. lol!

so then carla asked … tell us more about you and your personality: goofy, serious, etc? and if you could sing one song to belt out on american idol, what would it be. can you sing?

• my personality? seriously goofy to be honest. i am a gemini … so i think there can definately be two sides to me. i have my moments where i’m super quiet and moody. but most of the time … i’m really funny and sarcastic. sometimes in a dorky way … i admit that i can be very dorky. but i can honestly say that these kids here get quite a show from me on a daily basis … i do not let them down when it comes to entertainment. and when they’re old enough to talk … i hope they tell their mommies and daddies that. lol! like when i saw one of my previous daycare girls last week at softball and she said that she had seen my driving the night before … and i said "what was i doing … picking my nose or something?". and her laugh said it all … they know how funny i am! and i am very sarcastic … sometimes i have to tell people that i’m just kidding around … because they might take what i’m saying too seriously. and really … i take nothing too seriously … very easy going.
• one song on american idol … i think before he cheats by carrie underwood would be so much fun to perform. one of those songs you could just totally belt out with attitude. that being said … i CANNOT sing. lol! actually, i take that back. i CAN sing any kids song. any disney channel or nickolodeon channel theme song … and any song from "high school musical" … and they sound really good. but normal, grown up songs … yeah, not so good. lol!

heather asked … if you could live in any other state where would it be?

• i’m a born and raised california girl. but i’ve always loved the idea of living on a farm somewhere … with spread out property and land … with horses and maybe a pond. and yet … i think that would drive me crazy at the same time. lol! not being able to drive 5 minutes and find target, starbucks, and any other place imaginable … that would be hard for me. as for a state … no idea why, but colorado has always sounded good. although honestly … i know nothing about the state. lol! is that a place you would find a farm? but it has snow, right … i’d never survive in the snow. lol!

leslie asked … whats the very first song on your ipod? how do you know when to call your scrap space a studio? is it when you’ve become published? when it’s custom done? whenever you feel like it fits? what famous/known scrapper would you like to meet?

• first song on my ipod … right now, it’s aly and aj … specifically "rush", "on the ride", and "speak for myself". i can just play those over and over. i’m actually a country music fan at heart … but i do love those girls music!
• and when can you all your scrap space a "studio"? good question. i had a great space when i was downstairs in the bedroom … an entirely different look than i have now. the room was a light, bright green color (did that even make sense?) … and the furniture was all white … and all my storage was clear and plastic. nothing wrong with that … it was really nice. but i love my space now … and it just feels like a "studio" to me. the darker colors … the baskets and jars and metal bins. just feels artsy to me. i think it’s really about having your space. and having it be a space that you want to go hang out in … and that inspires you to create and play and have fun. whether it’s an entire room, a loft (where i’m at), a closet, or the dining room table … any of those places has the potential to be your "studio" if it makes you want to create!
• as for who i would love to meet … i’m going with cathy zielske. i think she comes off like such a fun person. love her sense of humor. have you seen her blog videos this week … always funny … you have to watch them. in fact, i love the idea of making a video … and i’d like to think i’d be as funny as her. plus, i love her style. totally not my style … but i still love it.

lisa asked … when you’re at starbucks do you get venti, grande or tall? 😉 seriously, when was the first time you were published? where? what was the layout?

• always a venti java chip frappacino. i figure if you’re spending that much for the drink, what’s 50 more cents to get the huge one. lol! plus, when you get the grande … there’s just something different with the ratio of drink to whip … just isn’t the same. lol!
• the first time i was published? actually, i got my first 2 right at the same time. i had "tick, tock" published in the april 2004 issue of ivy cottage magazine (which eventually became scrapbook trends). and i had "live, laugh" published in the june 2004 issue of paperkuts magazine. which they were actually 2 months apart issue-wise … but it happened at the same time. and i’ll even show them to you. because honestly, by now i think you deserve a break from reading and need something to look at. lol!

sara asked … how many design teams are you on? which magazines do you submit your work to? do you ever go to crops or have a friend to scrap with? how often do you purge your stash? how many times a week do you cook? what’s your favorite adhesive? give the girl some time to think and she comes up with a slew of questions. lol! just kidding sara!

• i’m on making memories design team right now … which is definatley enough to keep me busy. lol! and i’ve actually only been on 2 other teams … one of which was just a tiny online site … and the other was a manufacturer (lil davis).
• i mostly submit to scrapbook trends and scrapbooks etc. i do send some stuff over to creating keepsakes every now and then … i’ve just never had any luck there. and for every one that i do get published … there are about 20 that didn’t get picked. lol!
• i never go to crops. well, i did go to a little crop night at my friend deneen’s house once … but i ran out of things to do in about two hours. i just have never been able to pack everything up and go. i think it’s because i DO have my own space … so it’s all out there and organized. i wouldn’t even know how to pack up. i think it would be fun for the social aspect … because i really am a talker. lol! but i’m also the kind of person that would feel like i was wasting time if i wasn’t getting stuff done while i’m there!
• i am big on purging my stash. i would say on average i do it every 2-3 months. usually just a quick go-through … grabbing things that i’m still not using after holding onto it for so long. and on occasion … i really get in there and go through stuff … like going through all my pattern paper, etc.
• as for cooking … i’ve slacked off some lately. softball season has taken it’s toll on the cooking … with 3-4 weekday evenings a week, i’m just too tired to come home at 7:30 and cook. but we’re done with softball next week … whoohoo! then i’ll get back to normal … cooking about 4-5 nights a week. the other nights are fend-for-yourself nights. lol!
• for my favorite adhesives? i use herma tabs for most things. not always as strong as i’d like … but they work. i love my duck adhesive for journaling strips … just the right width … and i find it at wal-mart in the 4 packs which are a great deal. and my glue dots … i have them in all sizes. mini glue dots, regular glue dots, glue lines, 3-d glue dots … love those things!

sierra asked … how do you make the photo collages?

• i kid you not … took me forever to learn. but once someone explained it too me … super easy. i do these in photoshop … i use both elements 4 and cs2 … both seem to work fine for the collages. i just select a "new canvas" sized to what i want (8×8, etc). then i open up each photo and resize each one to the size i want it within the canvas (2×3, 4×6, etc). then you copy and paste each photo into the canvas … and you can move them around to get them positioned right.
• hard to sum it up here. but if anyone does want the basics for making a photo collage … i do have the info typed up and saved. so i can very easily pass it along. just be warned … i have this way of explaing things that makes it seem harder than it really is. lol! but feel free to email me if you want them!

nikki asked … who inspires you in the scrapbooking buisness and why? who inspires you in the photography business and why? how many times a week do you get to scrapbook? are you a morning, mid day , evening or late night early morning (you know the 10pm-2am scrapper lol, this is me sometimes)scrapper? what was the last movie you watched?

• a few of my absolute favorite scrappers that have always inspired me? erin clarkson (aka erin terrell) is my number one favorite … have loved her work since the very beginning. also love robyn werlich, maggie holmes, keisha campbell, jennifer mcquire … they’ve all been long time favorites of mine.
• favorite photography? maggie holmes, leslie lightfoot, karen russell, audrey woulard, tara whitney … just to name a few that come to mind right away.
• for how often i scrapbook … i would say i do something just about every day. not serious, "get-in-there-and-create-a-ton" type scrapbooking … but something. i try and do little bits throughout the day when i get a moment here and there … i even bring stuff down and spread it out on the kitchen island. but i never accomplish much. too many kids needing too many things … tugging on my legs and demanding i hold them and entertain them. i guess that’s ok … it IS my job after all. lol!
• the early evenings … that’s when i tend to scrap the most. after the daycare kids are gone … and while i’m hanging out upstairs with the girls. i do not scrap after they go to bed … used too … but not anymore. i’m a total nightowl … but not for scrappin. always too tired to think too much. and the weekends are big for me … i get into my groove since there aren’t so many "little" interruptions (translated to "little daycare kids") to distract me. 
• last movie i watched? "juno" … watched it last week i think. good movie. i have "27 dresses" downstairs … probably watch it tomorrow night.

cathy asked … how long did it take you to get published from the first time you submitted something?

• i think back when i had my first layouts picked up … that was before i used to email them over. i think … although i can’t be totally sure … that i had taken pictures and actually mailed them in. yeah, in an envelope … with a stamp. i would venture to say i’d been submitting for about a year before i had anything picked up. then i went almost an entire year before getting any more. lol!

deneen asked … if you could have three wishes granted what would they be and why?

• i wish i was rich. isn’t that what everyone wishes for? lol! actually, i wish that because i would love to not have to worry about working. hard to fit everything in sometimes … in addition to working and toting kids around town.
• i would totally wish for no more pain. i keep seeing that commercial for lyrica. "are you in constant pain every day?". and i’m like "yes, i am". "do simple, everyday tasks become hard for you to do?". and i’m like "yes, they do". so maybe not in those exact words. lol! but after almost 2 years … to go a few days without constant pain would be nice. dreamy, in fact!
• and my third wish? i wish that you would all stop asking me so many snoopy questions!!!

totally kidding of course! i just couldn’t resist that one! lol! and if you could only hear the way i said that in my mind … you’d see my humor! thanks to all of you for asking all the great questions. loved thinking up answers for these … and a great way to randomly blog about all sorts of things. lol! i do have a new layout to share tomorrow … from our marine world trip last summer … with all the fun journaling straight off my blog. signing off now … that was a TON of typing … which i’m actually not so great at! lol!