The Constant Scrapper

If I'm not scrapbooking I'm thinking about scrapbooking!

Layouts based on sketches

Swing your partner round and round

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Swing your partner round and round is a scrapbook page with one photo from 1973 and products from Chickaniddy Crafts.

During the early 1970s my parents took square dancing lessons with their friends, Bob and Peg Young. Mom tells me that they had taken 18 of the weekly 26-lesson course when my father had his heart attack (yes, he was quite young), which meant that they had to miss the rest of the lessons. However, they both loved square dancing, so whenever the church held a dance they would go promenade, allemande and do-si-do with the best of them.

In this February 1973 photo, taken by one of us kids, Mom and Dad are gussied up and ready to head to a dance at our church. Mom made that dress specifically to wear to square dances.

Product/technique notes

All the patterns on this page are from the Chickaniddy Crafts “Date Night” collection. I was inspired by this sketch from Let’s Capture our Memories. Because of the “round and round” title that I wanted to use, I added a circle of patterned paper so I could shape the title around it.
Let's Capture Our Memories sketch #122

Niagara Falls 1982

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This is a one-page, two-photo scrapbook layout entitled Niagara Falls.

In mid-August 1982 our family took a short vacation to see the Niagara Falls from the Canadian side. It was our last fun little jaunt of the summer before the new school year was to begin.

Did you know?
According to the Wikipedia article on the falls, the three waterfalls known collectively as the Niagara Falls are the Horseshoe Falls, the American Falls and the Bridal Veil Falls. The combined falls form the highest flow rate of any waterfall in the world, with a vertical drop of more than 165 feet. Horseshoe Falls is the most powerful waterfall in North America, as measured by vertical height and also by flow rate.

They are glorious, aren’t they?

Product/technique notes

I followed My Scraps and More sketch #104 and used supplies from the Fancy Pants “What a Wonderful Day” collection. Where there are stitching lines in the sketch I used various colors of twine to match the papers.
My Scraps and More sketch #104

I was thrilled to have my page chosen by My Scraps & More as a top 3!
My Scraps & More top 3

Golden hour

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This is a scrapbook layout with two photos, entitled Golden hour

The hour or so before the sun goes down, known as “golden hour,” is renowned among photographers for the qualities of its light and creative possibilities. It is a wonderful time to shoot photographs because the light is redder and softer compared to when the sun is higher in the sky.

It is also our preferred time to go out for our walk/run. For me it’s both soothing and invigorating: it helps me to unwind, to think, to feel grateful and then to gather energy for the rest of my day.

Product/technique notes

All the Doodlebug and BasicGrey products I used to create this layout came from the Back Porch Memories March kit, and I followed this PageMaps sketch. I created the title on my Silhouette Cameo.
PageMaps sketch I used

Sweet treats

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Sweet treats is a scrapbook layout with three 1970s photos of my brother and me on Easter morning.

The Easter Bunny sure is clever. In 1970, when we were 2 and 3 years old, he found us at Nana and Papa’s house and left us baskets full of chocolate and little presents. Sweet!

On the back of the left photo of Phil holding up an Easter egg, Mom had written what he was saying when they snapped the picture: “A lello one!” So cute. 🙂

Product/technique notes

I followed this Becky Fleck sketch from A Cherry On Top and used products from We R Memory Keepers’ “Farmer’s Market” collection.
The Becky Fleck sketch I followed for this layout

Piano recital

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Piano recital scrapbook page by Janice Daquila-Pardo

I was fortunate as a girl to be given piano lessons. Our church’s organist, Ms. Shimmels, would come to our house weekly and patiently work with me on theory and technique. I’ll admit that I loved it and hated it. I really wanted to be better at playing, but daily practice sessions were so hard to get excited about. It’s the age-old conundrum of the wannabe.

I loved to perform, though, so I did get excited about recitals. I practiced the heck out of my recital music, learning it so well that I would get to the end of the piece and not remember the details of having played it (like when you drive a familiar route on auto pilot).

Each year Ms. Shimmels’ students came together to perform for their families at the Fine Arts Association in Willoughby, and these photos are from our recital in the summer of 1978.

It was a really big deal to me, and my family treated it that way, too. My mom made this sweet yellow dress for the occasion (as she often did for my recitals over the years). And two of my aunts (Mary Lou and Rose) drove from Pennsylvania to be there for it.

I remember quite a lot about this special day, considering it was almost 37 years ago, and I’m grateful for everyone who worked together to make it happen.

Product/technique notes

I followed this Let’s Get Sketchy January sketch quite closely:
The Let's Get Sketchy January sketch I followed for this layout
Most of the patterns I used are from Jillibean Soup’s “Chilled Cucumber Soup” collection. I designed the title and cut it on my Silhouette.