Layouts based on sketches

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

Dan & Leona, 50 years of marriage

August 22, 2011 By Janice Daquila-Pardo 4 Comments

My mother’s parents, Daniel and Leona, were married in 1939. This portrait was taken in 1989 to mark their 50th wedding anniversary. Isn’t it wonderful when we have special photos like this of the ones we love? I wish that my grandparents were around to ask them what 50 years of marriage is like, what it was like to be young newlyweds in 1939, and many more questions. Alas, I didn’t think about asking those types of questions when I was younger and they were alive.

My maternal grandparents had this portrait taken in 1989, the year of their golden anniversary.

This layout is based on a sketch I found at the Artful Delight blog. It’s their August layout challenge sketch.

Are you fortunate enough to have your grandparents around? If so, I would like to gently nudge you to ask questions about their lives now.

The eyes have it

August 20, 2011 By Janice Daquila-Pardo Leave a Comment

I just love when I can complete a layout about a subject that matters to me while simultaneously fulfilling the requirements for three online challenges! This is one hard-working layout!

Nature and books belong to the eyes that see them. ~ Ralph Waldo Emerson

First, I based my design on this great sketch from the Sketchy Thursdays site. The added requirement was that the topic cover reading or literature in some way in honor of the start of the school year. I just love this quote by Ralph Waldo Emerson, so I decided to use it as my title: “Nature and books belong to the eyes that see them.” Then I took a photo of some favorite books on our library shelf and pulled out a photo I took last spring of a beautiful budding tree in our neighborhood.

Second, I created this to enter into Shimelle’s Grid It Up challenge.

Third, this will also work for Shimelle’s Stickery challenge, where the mandate is to use stickers from more than one collection (I have used stickers on this layout from American Crafts, Basic Grey, My Mind’s Eye and October Afternoon, so I think I’ve over-delivered!).

Speaking of reading, do you love Jane Eyre? Well, Matt and I love the story, and we recently watched a TV miniseries version that we hadn’t seen before, starring Timothy Dalton as Mr. Rochester (from 1983). Enjoying it so much reminded me that I had a novel about the writing of Jane Eyre up on our bookshelf. I pulled that down and have have been caught up in it for the past few days. In Becoming Jane Eyre Sheila Kohle combines what is know of Bronte’s life with her imagination of how that life lead her to write the highly successful book Jane Eyre. If you’re a fan of Bronte’s masterpiece in particular or of historical fiction, I can recommend this novel.

It came upon a midnight clear

August 17, 2011 By Janice Daquila-Pardo 2 Comments

Twisted Sketches has revealed its latest sketch, #115, and the twist is “clear.” 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. I decided to use the word “clear” in my title.

Every year as Christmas was nearing we would choose a holiday book or story for Dad to read to us.

Every year as Christmas was nearing our family would choose a new holiday short story or book to enjoy together. Often it would take us a couple or several evening readings in a row to finish it. Mom, Phil and I would sit around the family room in our jammies while Daddy read to us. This is such a strong and happy memory.

It sure was fun to pull out some of my wintery/Christmasy products to play with while we’re having temperatures of 103 here in Austin! I do hope you’ll clear some time in your week to go participate in the sketch challenge.

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