Janice Daquila-Pardo

Caught you cavorting

September 9, 2013 By Janice Daquila-Pardo Leave a Comment

Mom is having her own little beach dance party at Jordan Lake in NC.

In August I went home to North Carolina to visit my mom and bro for nine days. In looking for things to do to get out of the house a bit, we spent one afternoon at nearby Jordan Lake, where we had plans to walk one of the short trails that leads out to the water. Well, we didn’t plan all that well because not one of us thought to take insect repellent with us. What a disaster! I’m not exaggerating when I say that no more than 15 feet along the trail, all three of us shrieked and ran out of the woods, abandoning all hope of entering there.

At the park but banned from the woods by that angry gang of mosquitoes, we headed instead to the other side where the beach area is. We used the swingset for a while and then walked down to the water, where it seems Mom was possessed by the desire to twist and shout a bit! Fortunately, Phil had the camera at the ready, and he captured these shots. They are my new favorites.

Product/technique notes

Most of the products on this layout came from the My Mind’s Eye “Miss Caroline” collection. The arrows are from an ancient Daisy Dee’s sticker sheet. I designed and cut the title on my Silhouette Cameo. And I decided to stitch the circular elements. The whole page was inspired by this sketch by Simple Scrapper for Paper Issues.

Another turning point

September 8, 2013 By Janice Daquila-Pardo 2 Comments

My family kidnapped me on my 21st birthday and took me out for a wonderful celebration at the Firestone Inn.

The tenth sketch challenge, which I’m proud to have designed, has been posted at the SCRAP & MUSIC challenge blog! Head over to the site to grab the sketch and play along. This tenth sketch came with the song “Time of your life” by Green Day.

My layout

When considering this song as inspiration for a layout, I found my title in the very first line, “Another turning point.” To go along with the idea of turning points I pulled out a photo of my family helping me celebrate my 21st birthday on November 24, 1987.

That was a good day! Fortunately, although Phil and I were attending college at Ohio University four hours away, we were able to be home for my birthday because of the Thanksgiving holiday (I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: I love having a Thanksgiving birth date.). Knowing how much I love surprises, my parents had the evening all planned out and wouldn’t tell me a thing about it. Mom had even put together a special outfit for me to wear for our celebration—from the blouse, to the skirt that she had sewn without my knowing (and fit perfectly), to the shoes!

Everyone dressed up and got in the car, and Dad drove us to the neatest place for a special dinner. It was called the Firestone Inn. I don’t know whether it’s still in business because I haven’t found any mention of it online, but it was so lovely. We had a great dinner, and Dad allowed me to order wine with mine for the first time. 🙂

Product/technique notes

I had a great time combining a variety of new and old products from a number of manufacturers on this layout. The background paper is from the current BasicGrey “Carte Postale” collection, and it sets the color palette for the whole thing. The other patterns are from older American Crafts, Crate Paper, Fancy Pants, K&Company, My Mind’s Eye and Simple Stories collections. I designed and cut the title using the Silhouette Cameo.

The challenge

The challenges on this blog involve following the sketch and using a title on your layout with a line from the provided music. Below I’ve included the video as well as the lyrics for this song:

“Time of your life” by Green Day
Another turning point
a fork stuck in the road
Time grabs you by the wrist
directs you where to go
So make the best of this test
and don’t ask why
It’s not a question
but a lesson learned in time

It’s something unpredictable
but in the end it’s right
I hope you had the time of your life

So take the photographs
and still frames in your mind
Hang it on a shelf
of good health and good time
Tattoos of memories
and dead skin on trial
For what it’s worth
it was worth all the while

It’s something unpredictable
but in the end it’s right
I hope you had the time of your life [X3]

I believe in the kingdom come

August 25, 2013 By Janice Daquila-Pardo 1 Comment

These photos are from the Diocesan mass of ordination in June, when five men were ordained as Catholic priests. It was so moving.

The ninth sketch challenge has been posted at the SCRAP & MUSIC challenge blog! Head over to the site to grab the sketch and play along. This ninth sketch came with the song “I still haven’t found what I’m looking for” by U2.

My layout

I found this piece of music a challenge to create with at first. I mean, it feels when I listen to it like it’s about dissatisfaction, doubt and searching without yet finding. So I had a difficult time figuring out how to pull together the tone of the lyrics with any personal photos I have to form the basis of a scrapbook layout.

But with repeated reading of the lyrics, I was finally struck by the line, “I believe in the Kingdom Come.” Why yes, I do! And because I often take photos of events at my church in order to do their website and social media, I have photos from an ordination mass that took place there earlier this summer. It was difficult to choose just two photos once I started reviewing all the beautiful moments from that mass.

And so my layout came together rather easily after that. It was so moving to witness five men dedicate their lives to the service of God and human kind, so I am quite happy to have chronicled this event with a layout.

*Note: The priest in the left photo who is praying over one of the candidates for ordination is our pastor, Fr. Danny Garcia. The main celebrant of the ordination mass, who is incensing the altar in the right photo, is the Bishop of the Diocese of Austin, Joe S. Vásquez.

Product/technique notes

The patterned papers I used on this layout are all from My Mind’s Eye; the background is from the “Lost & Found collection,” and the other patterns are from the “Lost & Found 2: Sunshine” collection. I designed and cut my title using the Silhouette Cameo and spritzed it with Heidi Swapp Color Shine in the gold lame color so it would pop a bit as well as lead your eye back to the photos (the priests’ robes have gold accents).

The challenge

The challenges on this blog involve following the sketch and using a title on your layout with a line from the provided music. Below I’ve included the video as well as the lyrics for this song:

“I still haven’t found what I’m looking for” by U2
I’ve climbed the highest mountains
I’ve run through the fields
Only to be with you (2x)

I’ve run I have crawled
I’ve scaled
These city walls(2x)
Only to be with you

(2x)
But I still haven’t found
What I’m looking for

I’ve kissed honey lips
Felt the healing in her fingertips
It burned like fire
This burning desire

I’ve spoken with the tongue of angels
I’ve held the hand of the devil
It was warm in the night
I was cold as a stone
(2x)
But I still haven’t found
What I’m looking for

I believe in the Kingdom Come
Then all the colors will
Bleed into one
But yes I’m still running

You broke the bonds and you loosed the chains
You carried the cross
And my shame
You know I believe it
(4x)
But I still haven’t found
What I’m looking for

One step closer

August 11, 2013 By Janice Daquila-Pardo Leave a Comment

Matt is jumping over the fire obstacle as he gets one step closer to the finish line in his second Spartan Race.

The eighth sketch challenge has been posted at the SCRAP & MUSIC challenge blog! Head over to the site to grab the sketch and play along. This eighth sketch came with the song “A thousand years” by Christina Perri.

My layout

In May my husband, Matt, participated in his second Spartan race, a 5-mile run sprinkled heavily with obstacles. It was actually his idea to use this photo of him jumping over the fire obstacle to go with the words to this ultra-romantic song from the Twilight: Breaking Dawn movies. He’s a true romantic!

Product/technique notes

The patterned papers I used on this layout are from the Bo Bunny “Trail mix” collection. I designed and cut my title using the Silhouette Cameo and also cut the arrow and barbed wire borders on the Cameo. I added some hand stitching around the edge of the circles to make them stand out more.

The challenge

The challenges on this blog involve following the sketch and using a title on your layout with a line from the provided music. Below I’ve included the video as well as the lyrics for this song:

“A thousand years” by Christina Perri
Heart beats fast
Colors and promises
How to be brave
How can I love when I’m afraid to fall
But watching you stand alone
All of my doubt suddenly goes away somehow

One step closer

I have died everyday waiting for you
Darling don’t be afraid I have loved you
For a thousand years
I’ll love you for a thousand more

Time stands still
Beauty in all she is
I will be brave
I will not let anything take away
What’s standing in front of me
Every breath
Every hour has come to this

One step closer

I have died everyday waiting for you
Darling don’t be afraid I have loved you
For a thousand years
I’ll love you for a thousand more

And all along I believed I would find you
Time has brought your heart to me
I have loved you for a thousand years
I’ll love you for a thousand more

One step closer
One step closer

I have died everyday waiting for you
Darling don’t be afraid I have loved you
For a thousand years
I’ll love you for a thousand more

And all along I believed I would find you
Time has brought your heart to me
I have loved you for a thousand years
I’ll love you for a thousand more

Dear photograph

August 1, 2013 By Janice Daquila-Pardo 1 Comment

When setting up this photo, I took care to line up the counter tops in both shots.

Have you heard of or seen the website, Dear photograph? Their tagline is “Take a picture of a picture, from the past, in the present.” So, you take an older photo back to where it was first shot, hold it up in front of how the spot looks now and take another photo. Then you write a little message to go with it.

It’s a cool concept, and some of the photos that people submit are so great. Many times the person that’s in the older photo is no longer living, so the “dear photograph” message they write to go with it is about that. Sometimes the two photos just highlight how much or how little has changed in the intervening time.

Last Christmas my brother gave me the book version of “Dear photograph,” and ever since I’ve wanted to do a layout based on the same concept. On the last day of Phil’s Christmas visit to Austin this year, we stopped at a little coffee shop to kill time before going to the airport, and we took photos of ourselves there. I thought this shot of Phil in front of the coffee bar would make a great DP-style photo. So we recently went back to the same coffee shop and set up the shot. See how the lines of the counter line up in the two photos? Coolness, huh?

And the message I wrote to the photograph is: “That coffee shop was a lot more fun when Phil was there with us!”

Product/technique notes

I created this layout using all products from the Fancy Pants Designs’ “Memories Captured” collection, which suited my photo just perfectly both in theme and color scheme! I designed this page specifically to participate in the Fancy Pants Designs/Gossamer Blue guest designer contest. Wish me luck! Oh, and I designed the title and sunburst background cut files on the Silhouette Cameo. My hope is that the sunburst pattern subtly suggests the feel of a camera flash.

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