Janice Daquila-Pardo

I’m on a new design team!

September 12, 2011 By Janice Daquila-Pardo 4 Comments

What fantastic news I have to share! I recently submitted my application for a design team position to a great scrapbook site called Sketchabilities. Yesterday I received the news from Karan Gerber, the site owner, that I was selected to be on the team! I really am so excited. Karan’s sketches are such a fun style, and I can’t wait to get started working with them.

Our term starts in October. If you’re interested in seeing the whole team, here is the list of new Sketchabilities Design Team members. Yay!

Soo cute! Using bright patterns with a black-and-white photo

September 8, 2011 By Janice Daquila-Pardo Leave a Comment

How cute is this photo of me and my little brother from 1969? I know: we were cute, our outfits were cute, the expressions on our faces were cute, the way the photographer had us positioned was cute. Cute, cute, cute! Now I will attempt to write the rest of my post without using that word even one more time (for your sake as well as mine).

So how could I fail to use sweet, colorful patterned papers to highlight all this adorableness? I wanted this layout to feel bright and colorful and young and fresh, so I turned to some of the older lines (Family Dynamix, Tail Waggers & Cat Naps) as well as one new line (Making the Team) from Bella Blvd.

And I think this got the job done, don’t you? The bright colors show off the black-and-white photo rather than competing with it. Also, portraits can sometimes feel a little stale, so by surrounding this one with fun banners, butterflies and buttons I kept the eye hopping and happy. At least I think so! What do you think?

I couldn't help myself from using lots of colorful patterns with this black-and-white photo.

The good kind of pride

September 2, 2011 By Janice Daquila-Pardo 2 Comments

I’ve been thinking lately about scrapbooking things that make me proud. Things I’ve done that I’m proud of, things family and friends have done that make me proud and things about the world that fill me with pride. I think focusing on this emotion in my pages will be uplifting, so I’m going to start a pride list and make an effort to scrap that list over time.

In fact, I just finished a page yesterday that fits this bill. Jim is my first and best friend from college. We were “thick as thieves” for four years at Ohio University, getting into and out of all kinds of adventures (in addition to studying) together. Twenty-six years after meeting (gulp) we remain great friends, although Jim still lives in Ohio and I am in Texas, so we spend hours on the phone instead of skulking about campus. Jim is fun, kind and generous, and on a normal day I’m proud of him because of who he is.

However, recent events spurred me to scrapbook my pride in Jim for a special reason. Sadly, Jim lost his father to cancer last year. I know from personal experience how that can leave you feeling. But among the other emotions Jim felt motivated to help in his way to find a cure. So this August he rode 102 miles from Columbus to Athens, Ohio, to raise money for cancer research (Ride Pelotonia)! What a great way to honor his father and help the cause at the same time. To show my pride in Jim’s achievement I created this layout:

So proud of my friend Jim, who made the 102-mile ride from Columbus to Athens, Ohio, to raise money for cancer research.

Movie quotes make great page titles

August 31, 2011 By Janice Daquila-Pardo 1 Comment

Twisted Sketches has revealed its latest sketch, #117, and the twist is “long.” 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 quote I used in my title comes from my husband’s favorite movie, Joe Versus the Volcano (1990). Tom Hanks’ character says to Meg Ryan’s, “Been a long time coming to meet you. A long time on a crooked road.”

The title on my layout is a quote from my husband's favorite movie, Joe Versus the Volcano

Where the wild things are

August 30, 2011 By Janice Daquila-Pardo 5 Comments

I have a number of photos from my grandparents’ visit in the summer of 1969, and these are from a day we spent together at the Cleveland Zoo. I was less than three years old, so I don’t really remember this day. However, I love these photos because being all together like this was rare.

My grandparents were visiting us in Ohio in the summer of 1969, and we all went to the Cleveland Zoo together.

I based my layout on this sketch at Sketchy Thursdays:

The August 25, 2011 sketch at Sketchy Thursdays

« Previous Page