Janice Daquila-Pardo

Twinkle toes

January 18, 2012 By Janice Daquila-Pardo 2 Comments

Twisted Sketches has revealed its latest sketch, #135, and the twist is “sparkle.” Be sure to head over to the site to grab the sketch and see all the other design team members’ beautiful examples, then create something of your own and link it up!

Here is what I created using this great new sketch:

Matt is trying a style of running called barefoot running, and these are his new barefoot shoes.

Matt started running last spring. He has always wanted to be a runner, and now he’s really enjoying it (most of the time). When Matt gets into something, he really gets into it. He reads everything he can and becomes a bit of a home-grown expert on the topic.

In his effort to know more about running and how to do it safely (fully 80% of runners get injured each year!), he read the book “Born to Run” by Christopher McDougall. In addition to going into the history of running, etc., McDougall explains the concept of barefoot running. The idea, simply put, is that wearing traditional running shoes sets up the body for injury because it forces you to run heel first. Slamming your foot into the ground like a club causes high-impact stress on the ankle, heel, knee and back. Barefoot running (wearing minimalist shoes that just provide protection from the ground) forces you to run and walk as your foot was built to be used. It allows you to use all the muscles and bones in your foot to carry you along, taking advantage of the natural shock absorbers of your feet, calves and legs.

Having read that you can’t just put on a pair of minimalist shoes and start running, Matt is wearing his new FiveFingers around the house to allow his feet to adjust. I’m more of the walking type, but I think I may get a pair of these shoes for myself if they make a real difference for Matt. The more natural the better!

Friendship needs no words

January 14, 2012 By Janice Daquila-Pardo 1 Comment

This is a photo that just makes my heart smile.

I had flown home to North Carolina to spend a week of summer 2004 with my family. On this day Daddy was out in the front yard building a little brick border around a flower bed, and Mom and I were hanging out with him while he worked. We had Spenser out with us, and he was flitting about sniffing this and inspecting that. I was so fortunate that I had my camera on me for this shot when Spenser made his way over to Daddy and gave him a good long sniff. Dad sniffed back, and I caught their “kiss” forever.

Their friendship was extraordinary.

Scrapatriskaidekaphobia

January 13, 2012 By Janice Daquila-Pardo 4 Comments

I have never bought into friggatriskaidekaphobia, the fear of Friday the 13th. But for about two months now I believe I’ve been suffering from scrapatriskaidekaphobia!

Back in October I was on fire with my crafting. I was inspired and driven to be creative and then to blog about it. I blogged every day during October. Then in November I decided to give myself a little well-earned break. I slowed down my output (both crafting and blogging) a little. And then the holidays hit, and I did even less. I was involved in all the lovely Christmas activities that fill our free time in December and didn’t make much time for scrapping.

The thing is that in December I missed scrapping, but I didn’t fret about not doing it because I love Christmas time and all the extra to-do items that take the place of regular life. I knew I could get right back to it after enjoying the holidays. But after celebrating Christmas and the new year, my desire to scrap didn’t return. I hadn’t been in a scrapbook store since before Thanksgiving, and I had no interest in going into one. I looked at the door of my craft room with dread. I was starting to fear that it wouldn’t come back!

My poor blog sat neglected, and I was crestfallen about losing my mojo. I couldn’t seem to do anything about it, either. I tried going to my usual sources of inspiration…but nothing.

But today, on a day that many believe is so unlucky, I had a breakthrough! It was my brother’s doing, actually. It’s his birthday on Sunday, and even though his card is going to arrive late, I couldn’t let Phil celebrate his birthday without a homemade card from me. I just couldn’t. So I forced myself to go into my craft room, and I made this card. I’ve gotta tell you, it felt good!

I have created this card for my brother's birthday and am entering it into the Young Crafters Unite clean & simple challenge.

And here’s a close-up shot to better show the holographic paper I put behind the star cut-out.

I used some holographic paper that I've had in my stash forever. I thought tucking it behind the star cut-out would really make it pop,

I’m back, baby! Happy Friday the 13th to me!

I’m also entering my card into the Young Crafters Unite challenge #5 (clean and simple cards).

Tangerine tango

December 31, 2011 By Janice Daquila-Pardo 5 Comments

The first-ever Sketches with a Twist sketch and design team sample layouts are now live on their site! This is a brand-new sketch blog that you must check out. It’s a sketch challenge site, where each sketch comes with a twist (for instance, the twist this month is to use at least two fonts in your title). A new sketch will be loaded on the first of each month, and entries will close on the last day. Then the winner will be announced on the 5th of the month.

I didn’t just design the sketch (which I hope you’ll go download and use), but I also made this layout:

My brother and I went on a scavenger hunt for orange items to photograph for this layout.

The story behind this layout began with a desire to celebrate the transition to a new calendar year, but without resorting to a resolutions page. I love color, as I imagine most scrappers do. And I know that The Pantone Instititute names a new color to watch each year. Their top color for 2012 is Tangerine Tango, an energetic reddish-orange. We should expect to see this color in everything from fashion to home decor to our beloved scrapbook products.

My baby brother, Phil, is in town celebrating the old and new years with us, and he and I are always looking for a good creative project. When I mentioned going out on a photo shoot specifically for a layout about color, Phil was already attaching his fish-eye lens to his camera! We spent a few hours out in the beautiful afternoon sun searching for the orange of the world, a hunt that sharpened our vision for the traffic cones, signs, clothing and flowers that surround us.

And so, my layout is an ode to all color, to optimism, to energy, to new beginnings and to 2012.

Joy to the world!

December 30, 2011 By Janice Daquila-Pardo 6 Comments

Sketchabilities has revealed its latest sketch, #62! Be sure to head over to the site to grab the sketch, then create something and link it up!

Here’s my Design Team layout inspired by the sketch.

The vintage feel of this Echo Park collection were just right for the colors in these photos from 1978.

These are photos from Christmas 1978. Our Aunt Mary Lou (yawning in the middle photo) came from Pennsylvania to spend the holiday with us; we always had a great time when she visited. Of course, I received awesome gifts, including a sled, a Neil Diamond album, figure skates and…wait for it…an AM-FM digital clock radio! Now that was a cool gift in 1978, and as you can see from the photo, I was pretty excited. In fact, there is a photo of me with my mouth wide open in surprise from just about every Christmas through the years! I love surprises, and I’m not afraid to show it. 😉

I used paper from the Echo Park Season’s Greetings line because their vintage color scheme went well with the gold and red tones in my photos. The plaid scalloped circle was cut using a Silhouette cutting file.

This is my final layout as a member of the Sketchabilities design team. I can’t believe how quickly the time went! I really enjoyed being on the team and feel fortunate to have had the opportunity to lend inspiration to those using Karan Gerber’s beautiful sketches. They were a delight to create with, and I will miss the group. Best of luck to you in the new year, Karan, and thank you again for selecting me to showcase your sketches!

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