Basic Grey

You make my heart sing

March 17, 2013 By Janice Daquila-Pardo 2 Comments

Just chillin' with Daddy in front of the television, March 1967.

This is one of those photos that I can just sit and stare into. It’s quite imperfect, as far as photos go—with the bad lighting, crooked angles and muddy colors. But it’s a beautiful photo to me.

It allows me a glimpse into Mom and Dad’s apartment before they bought the house I grew up in. In fact, some of that decor (the round table, tan chair, lamp, pocket watch under a dome and afghan) stayed with us for a very long time.

In it I get to see my dad as a 33-year-old new father, obviously pretty comfortable with the whole new baby thing. “Ain’t no big deal.”

And I really love that Daddy is acting as a human recliner for me as we watch TV together. Just look how well I fit in the circle formed by his legs and how he has me tipped back at the perfect angle for maximum viewing enjoyment. Speaking of that, what could we be watching, I wonder? I mean, it looks equally riveting to both a four-month old and a grown man. It must be something on PBS!

Product/technique notes:
I created this page following the sketch below from Artful Delight and products from American Crafts, BasicGrey, K&Company, My Mind’s Eye and October Afternoon.

Official bday lunch

March 1, 2013 By Janice Daquila-Pardo 1 Comment

A simple birthday lunch is a bigger deal when family is in town.

Matt’s dad, Tom, and his girlfriend, Wanda, visited us from Arkansas in early December 2010. We had a few really fun days together, taking in the sights of Austin. Before they left town we celebrated Matt’s 44th birthday a day or two early by having lunch at the Olive Garden. Just a nice family visit.

Product/technique notes:
Just about everything I used on this page is from BasicGrey’s “Fact & Fiction” collection.

Gossip girls

February 21, 2013 By Janice Daquila-Pardo 1 Comment

Sometimes what you need is just a night out with the girls.

I’ve met a really fun group of women just by shopping at my local Archiver’s scrapbook store. Every person in this photo, except me, works or has worked at Archiver’s. We met because of a shared hobby, but when we get together, talking about scrapbooking is not on the agenda!

We all gathered on January 4th to celebrate the new year and to see our friend, Sri, who is pursuing her Master’s at the University of Pennsylvania and was home for the holidays. It was a happy few hours…lots of gabbing and laughing.

Front row: Jacquie, Sri, Jennifer, Deborah
Back row: Heather, Ashley, Virginia, me
Not pictured: Susan

Product/technique notes:
I created this layout to participate in the “Use your stash” challenge at Write. Click. Scrapbook. We have to use at least three older products on a project, and on this layout everything is older. Here’s my list: the background paper is from the English Moss collection by ColorBok; the rest of the patterned paper is from the BasicGrey Hello Luscious 6×6 pad; the paper crimper I used on the larger horizontal strip is ooooold; and the McGill mini file tab punch is also from way back in the day.

I also used this sketch from Creative Scrappers:
Creative Scrappers sketch 243 by Juliana Michaels

Mom’s favorite class ever

February 1, 2013 By Janice Daquila-Pardo Leave a Comment

Mrs. Daquila (Mom) poses with her kindergarten class of 1972-73 in our Willoughby basement.

I can’t decide who was more fortunate that year—the teacher or the students. In the fall of 1972 Mom’s friends, who had children the same age as Phil and me, devised a brilliant plan: Instead of sending their children to various kindergarten programs around town, they proposed sending them all to our house! Mom was a certified teacher, and her friends knew that she would be wonderful for their children. I don’t know how much cajoling it took to get Mom (and Dad’s) agreement to this plan, but convince them they did!

I have some pretty great memories of little moments from that year, like saying the Pledge of Allegiance and singing “Begin the day with happiness” together each morning. Or getting to sing a solo of “Away in a manger” for our Christmas program (yes, the parents came to our basement for the show). I also remember the day I spilled my drink during snack time and having to skip my snack the next day (I certainly give Mom a ribbing about that rule!).

But can you even imagine what a joy that year was for my mom? First, there’s the honor of being asked by your friends to teach their beloved children. And what mother who’s also a teacher wouldn’t want the chance to keep her own children home for one more school year, while at the same time providing them with a good curriculum surrounded by their friends? If we talked about teaching like the movies talk about gangsters, Mom would have pulled off the biggest heist in history!

Product/technique notes:
I am so happy to have had the chance to try the chalkboard look for the title treatment on this layout, and I’ll do a separate post to describe the technique I used. All the patterned papers came from BasicGrey’s Clippings collection. I used the sketch below from Creative Scrappers and am entering it in their challenge.

Homecoming 1984

November 7, 2012 By Janice Daquila-Pardo 1 Comment

I went to the dance with Mike Lisi, and my brother took Jill Berlin.

A lot of my Facebook friends have children in high school, so I’ve seen my fair share of homecoming photos being posted lately. You know, shots of their high schooler with his/her date and friends and parents in front of the family room fireplace.

Exactly like we did before our homecoming dance in the fall of 1984! Not a lot changes over the years, does it? OK, maybe the fashions have changed a lot. 😉

Our dates came to our house for a photo session before we headed to the school gym for the event. My boyfriend, Mike, came home from his freshman year at Miami University to take me to the dance. And Phil took our friend, Jill. The whole thing was very exciting.

My journaling reads: “Homecoming in our senior year was a big event for me. Because my friend, Tatjana, was both Student Council president and homecoming queen, last-minute dance preparations were left to me as VP. Then there was the fun of choosing my dress and having Mike return from college to take me to the dance. We had such a lovely evening!”

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