Janice Daquila-Pardo

Proud to be a Twisted Sister!

January 21, 2011 By Janice Daquila-Pardo 4 Comments

Over at the Twisted Sketches blog Anam has just announced their new design team members. I am very excited to share that my name is on that list! I am really looking forward to February, when I start participating with that talented group of designers. Thanks for the opportunity, Anam.

Their site is set up so that the design team is broken into two groups. The teams are on a biweekly rotation. Team one shares their layouts from the week’s sketch, and team two posts layouts for the next week’s sketch. So we do one week on and one week off. My plan is to play along with all the sketches by posting my layouts here during the alternating weeks (when my team is on break). I want to do this as a way of pushing myself as well as providing as much support to the Twisted Sketches site as I can.

Won’t you play along with me?

Scraplifting is the highest form of flattery

January 21, 2011 By Janice Daquila-Pardo Leave a Comment

I took school and my school work very seriously (probably a little too seriously!), even at the start. Because of this I believed that copying off another student’s paper was cheating, no matter what. So when in first grade a little girl copied off my artwork, I went home upset and fussed about it to my mother. I didn’t think it was right for her to take my idea, and I wanted my mom to help me figure out how to make her stop. It’s funny how clear this memory is for me—both my feelings about the girl’s behavior and my mother’s response. She said, “Honey, she’s not really cheating off you because it wasn’t a test. She liked your drawing and wanted to make hers like it. Imitation is the highest form of flattery, you know.”

I’ve thought about those words many times over the years. Fast forward a few decades and I realize how much my mother’s lesson sank in. Now I would say my philosophy is that we should all do our own work, but when it comes to creativity I think we should take inspiration wherever we find it.

I was actually quite surprised when I found out that not everyone thinks scraplifting is kosher. I can remember reading a magazine article a few years ago that discussed scraplifting like it was a practice that we no longer need to be embarrassed about. We should even consider doing it occasionally. “Occasionally?” I thought. Don’t most scrappers do this? Don’t art students copy the masters so they can learn the craft?

I hereby officially and proudly proclaim that I am a scraplifter. There are so many wonderful designers sharing their layouts with us in magazines, books and online. Why wouldn’t I copy a layout I really love when I create my own? I can’t think of a good reason. I mean, I don’t go out and buy the exact supplies the other designer used so I can replicate her design to the last detail. I use my own supplies and photos, so it’s naturally going to be different when it’s completed. And I really do believe that imitation is the highest form of flattery, so if I copy your design you know that I am applauding your design skills! 🙂

The layout below is a lift of this Keisha Campell design I saw back in September. I loved every detail of Keisha’s page, so I did everything I could to copy it. I love her original, and now I love my own version as well!

A layout about my husband's maternal grandmother

Happy birthday, Phil!

January 18, 2011 By Janice Daquila-Pardo 1 Comment

This weekend my darling brother celebrated a birthday. Because I couldn’t be there to party with him I thought I would do a layout in honor of last year’s birthday, which we did spend together.

I wanted this layout to be simple and masculine, yet celebratory. I think I achieved all three, don’t you? 🙂

Here’s to you, Birthday Boy!

A celebration of my baby bro's January 2010 birthday

Wanderlust

January 16, 2011 By Janice Daquila-Pardo 1 Comment

The other day I found out that Twisted Sketches was hosting a design team call, and because I really like their sketches and their twist challenges I got very excited and submitted a layout for consideration. Here is my layout and the sketch:

Wanderlust, a layout based on a sketch at www.twistedsketches.com

This is the www.twistedsketches.com sketch on which my layout was based.

Designing 12×12 pages with 6×6 paper

January 5, 2011 By Janice Daquila-Pardo Leave a Comment

When new collections come out by my favorite scrap companies I am always tempted to buy. But I rarely get the whole collection because no matter how much I like (even love) it, I just can’t imagine wanting to create that many layouts out of the same look. Add to that the fact that collections have become so expensive. So I have been for some time buying the 6×6 paper pads that many companies are issuing. They have long been favored by card makers because of their smaller-sized patterns, and I quite like the lower price tag as well.

So I am always on the hunt for ways to use pieces of patterned paper that are 6×6 or smaller on my 12×12 layouts. When I find good ways to do this I will share them here in case you, like me, have several 6×6 paper pads waiting to make it into your designs.

Below is my first sketch with this in mind. I based it on the design I shared yesterday, which was called “Calendar girl.” If you use this sketch in a design please link to it in the comments. I would love to see what you create with it!

Sketch #1 uses 1 photo and 4 patterned papers

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