My scrapbook layouts

Came a cavalier: three-photo layout

January 24, 2011 By Janice Daquila-Pardo 1 Comment

I got some scrapbooking done this weekend, which makes it more likely that I’ll call it a good one. 🙂 I was inspired to use these photos from last April, when this cute little orange tabby started making regular visits to our backyard. He had obviously been owned before because he was fixed and comfortable with people. After spending time unsuccessfully looking for his family, we decided to adopt him. He’s a handsome boy. And he’s got tons of personality. He’s very affectionate and the funny kind of trouble maker, which is a great combo. He’s a keeper.

The journaling reads: Once it became clear that this darling boy didn’t have a home, we brought him inside to share ours. We named him Tristan, after the hero in a book I read years ago: “Came a Cavalier” by Frances Parkinson Keyes.

Came a cavalier: The story of naming Tristan

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.

Our calendar girl

January 4, 2011 By Janice Daquila-Pardo 1 Comment

It’s time to pull out our new calendar, and this time I’m more excited than usual about the task. The calendar we’re going to use this year is special to us.

Here’s the story:
A few years ago my brother, Phil, gave us a Cat Fancy calendar. Each day had a photo of cats and some random cat fact. Throughout the year I tore away each day and read the facts. Then near the end of the calendar was an invitation to send in up to three photos of your own cat(s) for consideration in their upcoming calendar. The payment if any of your photos were chosen would be two of that year’s calendars.

Because everyone believes their kids are the brightest and their pets are the cutest, I figured there would be a lot of people sending in photos for the chance to show off their cats. In spite of all the imagined competition, I decided to send in my three photos and see what happened. For a while I waited expectantly to hear that they’d received them. Nothing. After a while longer I thought they would just let me know which one they had chosen to use (because I really believed they couldn’t say no to all three of my entries; they were just too good!). But a long time passed and I never heard anything, so I just forgot about it and chalked it up to their bad taste. 😉

Fast forward a year and a half (a few months ago): A package arrived with two 2011 Cat Fancy calendars and a letter telling us on which date our cat was featured! What?! It’s a weird feeling to think something is all over and then have it show up again in your life. Well, we are very proud of our darling Lucy, so I’ve immortalized the chosen photo in a layout (of course).

Here’s the layout:

Cat Fancy fancies our calendar girl

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