Laura Vegas

started up a photography blog. i have people that ask about doing sessions … so figured it was time i got something up and running. i have the links on the side, or you can check it out here:

laura vegas photography

so i got some scrapping done this weekend. saturday started off really slow … got caught up in some movie and didn’t actually get up and going until almost 2:00pm. very unusual for me. after we ate an early dinner sarah and i headed upstairs to scrap. and scrap i did! btw … if you’re looking for layouts with my girls pictures on them … you won’t find them here. they won’t let me take any pics of them … so i got inspired by ady’s pics instead. all 3 of these layouts are 9×9.

these are some pics of ady i took in her super cute sweater … never mind that she wouldn’t look at me! lol! and this was the first photo collage that i had put together and printed out. used some fun my minds eye pattern papers … i’m addicted to dots lately! some making memories and bazzill brads. and lots of heidi swapp embellishments … the chipboard accents, plastic letters, and journaling spots. also dug out the scalloped edge scissors for this layout. love these colors together … the light blue, darker blue, pink, and red. love it!

these were some picture i took of ady the other day when she was playing by the safety gate by the stairs. i was really just playing around with my camera some … but got a few cute ones in the process. used some chatterbox pattern papers and stencil letters. and some making memories goodies … rubons, metal charms, and chipboard flower.

these are some pictures of ady with her favorite cell phone. she loves taking all the play phones out and making random phone calls … we must have about 12 phones … all of which make noise mind you. lol! used some more my minds eye pattern paper … more dots of course … along with one of their flourishy transparencies and some gems. the metal tag on top is making memories … with a little paint added on to make the word stand out more. the sticker on the side is heidi swapp and the letter stickers are sei. and what about that canvas tag that i used for my title? that is actually a tag that i took off of a pair of jeans that i bought a while back … it’s a big chunky tag. i always save my tags (not the price tags, just the decorative brand tags) from my jeans and occasionally some shirts … they always look so cool. the back of the tag was blank, so i just added my letter stickers on that side.

and i made a bunch of cards … mainly using scraps that i had laying around.

love taking all my scraps and putting together a few cards while the stuff is out. i usually just do the base of the card … and then save it to add the sentiment later for whatever i need it for. actually quiet a few of these were ones that i had started a while back … and then i just finished them off while i had some fun embellishments out. and i always make 2 of almost every card … have to cut the cardstock in half anyways, right? i think my favorite ones from this batch are the first 2 i showed … the ones with that fun blue, pink, and red. i just love those papers and colors.

now … i actually have one more lil davis layout to finish up before the end of the month. hope i have enough scrappin "mojo" left! lol! 

i keep reading about shooting pictures in the "raw" format on the camera. i heard there’s no reason to be afraid of doing it. i heard it’s great for being able to edit everything … fixing things like exposure and white balance if you happen to not get it right from the start. i heard it’s better to have those "raw" files (even though they are absolutely huge!) … because the jpegs loose information every time you open them or save them or whatever it is. and yet i was scared to try it. maybe because it sounded complicated. maybe because it involves converting them from "raw" to "tiffs" to "jpegs" … all sounds confusing and foreign to me.

but today i switched over the setting on my camera to shoot "raw + jpeg". now i figured from what little info was in my manual … that i would basically have 2 files for every picture that i took. the "raw image" and then also a "jpeg image". and i thought they would be exactly the same image … just different file sizes and that one of them would have more options when it came to editing, have to opened first in another program, etc.

but i didn’t realize that the same image would look so different straight out of the camera. the first picture is my "jpeg image" … notice how much darker it is. the second one is the "raw image" … so much closer to what i actually see on my screen on the back of my camera. i didn’t actually do anything to either one of these pictures. normally i would take that first picture and edit it until it looked slightly like the second one.  i guess i saved myself some time … although i can still do some editing on the second pic … not saying it’s technically perfect.

i’ve been doing some reading over on the photo boards about this whole "raw" thing, so i’m sure i’ll figure it out eventually. but if anyone else shoots in raw and has any tips, i’d totally appreciate it. do they normally look that much different than what a normal jpeg would like? just seems strange to me. could be my settings i had it on too. forgot i had played with my flash buttons yesterday and forgot to change them back … sounds like me, right?!?! lol!

i’ll keep playing with it. gotta give ady her props too … she’s my new favorite model! the big kids just run from me. but she can’t get away and isn’t old enough to figure it out i guess. hope jenn doesn’t mind getting tons of photos of her … because everything i’ve taken in january has been of ady! lol! and doesn’t she looks so snuggly in her sweater!   

yes, so far i’ve had a pretty good morning.

• got a phone call this morning at 8:30 from scrapbooks etc magazine, they want one of my layouts for the "made in minutes" column in the july issue! this is my second time in scrapbooks etc … my favorite magazine by far. and an actual phone call … that was fun! although i was barely awake so i hope i didn’t sound like some goof.
• was already going to the post office so i boxed my layout up and already got it shipped out. got to post office and noone in line. always good when that happens.
• went to the office supply store to get some better quality photo paper (since i’ve taken to printing my own photos now) … and the paper i wanted is now on sale. buy 1 50-pack of photo paper and get 1 50-pack free. and to think i was going to buy it at the regular price last week … sometimes my procrastination and indicisiveness pays off! lol!
• stopped to pick up a frappacino at starbucks … and they added more chocolate syrup on the top than they usually do. that just makes it even better! sure … more calories, but still better! lol!

so … the day has started off good … and it’s only 10:30! now of course this could be a fluke and the rest of my day could go down the drain … but let’s cross our fingers that it all stays good!

i’ve been tagged for the first time … thanks shaunte! usually i just read other peoples and then take it upon myself to tag myself. lol! so, here we go . . .

"according to the rules… each player of this game starts with the "6 weird things about me".(about yourself) … people who get tagged need to write a entry of their own 6 weird things on their own blog, as well as state this rule clearly. In the end, you need to choose 6 people to be tagged and list their names. don’t forget to leave a comment that says ‘you are tagged’ in their comments and tell them to read your blog!"

i feel like i just did this a few weeks ago when i posted all those strange things about me … but i guess i can up with a few more.

1. the first thing i drink in the morning is diet caffiene free pepsi … always need a big glass of it to get me going. when i worked in grocery i used to start work at 2:00 or 3:00 in the morning (don’t miss those days!), and the first thing i would do is go grab a big bottle of it.
2. i talk to myself all the time. i cannot stand being in total silence … and i do love to talk. but since i work at home i don’t have much adult interaction. and the kids can only hold a semi-decent conversation with me. so i talk to myself a lot!
3. i wrinkle my nose a lot. you know that picture of ady on that last layout … i think i may have taught her that whole "squished up nose" thing. i do it the most when i’m talking to kids. and i have the wrinkle lines to prove it.
4. i take my showers in the dark. i take most of my showers at night (since i’m not a morning person) so i turn on a small light in the bedroom … just enough to give me an ounce of light so that i don’t put the soap or conditioner on the wrong body part. i figure i really don’t need to see myself any more than i need to. lol!
5. i never watch tv during the day. you would think i would since i’m home all day … and have a kazillion shows to catch up on. i could in fact watch "melrose place" every day at 1:00 instead of recording it and watching it later. but i don’t. i did turn on some disney show today for a little bit for ady to watch … it was just too quiet in here.
6. i’m addicted to blog-hopping. lol! i have a handful of blogs that i read on a daily basis … and i’m constantly checking them for updates. and if they do update … i still go back … as if they were going to post twice in one day. lol!

that was harder than i thought! i guess i gave away all my quirks in that other post. lol! now for 6 people to tag … not sure if i know 6 people that blog. although if you read #6 you would know that i do know quite a few … just not well enough to tag! seriously, i can’t bring myself to tag anyone … so for now i’m tagging erika.

oh great … i didn’t tag 6 people. now something terrible will happen to me in the next 60 minutes … or to someone close to me … or to everyone that reads this. lol! good thing i don’t believe all those emails and chain letters!

wanted to share a fun layout that i’ve been working on … been going back and forth between it for over a week. not always sure what i was trying to do on it … but i think it turned out cute.

these are a few pictures of alison and michaela that i took back in december. i have tons of more posed shots that i just looove of them … but i wanted to use a few fun pictures on this. just now realized that i used the same polka-dot pattern paper from making memories that i used on ady’s layout … also have a few cards i made with it sitting on my desk. i’m addicted to polka-dots lately … on my last trip to the lss all i picked up as about 20 sheets of polka-dot paper. lol! the ledger paper is from one of my poppy ink kits … love how they always add in some old ledger paper, dictionary sheets, and pages torn from old books.

the tag is from lil davis … an older product that i’ve had laying around. i added a rhinestone brad in the middle of the flower and then a cute little clip on the side … both from making memories. and on the flower i also have a little bit of glittery stuff that i added since i also had it on this large flower accent:

this chipboard flower is just too fun. i had it from an old jenni bowlin kit. i took the inside and the outside and painted them both with my making memories paints to match my papers. the clay words are also from lil davis … and i just typed up my journaling to fit the words into what i was saying. i cut up the journaling and spaced it out over the flower. at the last minute i added the glittery stuff around the edge of the flower … not sure if i really like that part, but it’s cute.

thanks for looking!

what do you think of my new banner? actually i’m working on a new photography blog to go along with this blog. i figured i had to upgrade my account in order to make my own designs … and with that upgraded account i can have up to 3 blogs. so why not add one just for my photography!

i made this banner for that blog … but thought i’d add it on here for now since i had said that alyssa would get her turn to be up there too. lol! and i don’t know if anyone else sees this … but do you see that extra thin black line over on the right side? it’s buggin the heck out of my anal self!!! lol! 

just a note: i had to type up this whole thing 3 times to get it to post. arghhhhhh!

so i while back i mentioned i wanted to try out a new sized layout. i’m a 12×12 scrapbooker … but do lots of 6×6 and 8×8 for mini albums. but i figured i’d give the 9×9 size a try just for fun. here’s what i came up with:

here’s my first one … "endless possibilities". i used a 5×7 picture of alyssa and just added some fun embellishments. i realized that i have a huge stack of 5×7’s … winkflash always has them super cheap, so i like to order them to have handy. i thought it might be fun to make a bunch of these simple layouts to use up some of those 5×7’s … and some of my embellishments! lol! and not worry about journaling if i don’t feel like it. this layout has mymindseye pattern paper, lil davis chipboard flowers, tag, and rubons.

and i did this one yesterday … "sugar & spice". see my little photo collage down there on the bottom?!?! yep … i made that. and i printed it (i never print my own photos). my printer that came free with my laptop is apparently not the best for printing photos though. i used all making memories stuff on this layout … pattern paper, fabric tag, fabric frame, flowers. and aren’t those pictures of ady just the cutest thing!

i’m super excited that i figured out the collage thing. i owe a big thank you to my friend/mentor, erin … she was kind enough to take the time to teach me all about this and answer all my questions. i’ve looked up to her as a scrapbooker for years and years now … so i’m thrilled to be lucky enough to receive her help. thanks erin! i have a few more i’ve printed out, so i’ll see how those go once i scrap them. but i really love the look of the collage and being able to make my pictures smaller. i think one reason is that i tend to use my zoom on my camera all the time … so when i get my prints back i really have no need to crop anything out. which is nice that i get it right out of the camera … but then again that leaves me with all these 4×6’s that i can’t really make smaller. and you can really only fit so many 4×6’s on a page. so i like the option of making them smaller and fitting more on the page. love it!

and i think the 9×9 is actually a fun size. when i did the layout of ady i had the pictures sitting out with a few sheets of pattern paper (12×12 of coarse) … and i started pulling out embellishments and things that i thought i could use on the layout. then i remembered that i was going to trim the paper down to 9×9 … and had to put some of my embellishments back. lol! definately smaller … but still lots of fun. and i think a nice change … just what i needed to get re-inspired again!

really quick. i’m so tired of fighting with my paper trimmer. i’ve been using the fiskars one … lightweight purple thing. loved it for a long time … but i keep getting new ones and new blades. and it’s still just shredding my papers and photos.

so … help me out. what paper trimmer do you love … and convince me it’s the one i need. lol! seriously … i need a good trimmer.