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Nothing beats a good book: DT layout for Stuck?! Sketches

July 15, 2015 By Janice Daquila-Pardo 1 Comment

Today Stuck?! Sketches is revealing its second sketch challenge of July, and you’re going to love the design team layouts for this one. Please join us over at the blog and allow the sketch and the design team inspire you to play along. We have great sponsor prizes up for grabs.

Reading has always made me happy. What’s not to love about getting lost in a story or an idea?

I take great pleasure in holding a book and turning its pages. I rejoice when I can see and feel that I have passed the halfway point in the story. I get a giddy feeling when I pick up the book and find the bookmark holding my place so I can immerse myself again. I keenly feel that satisfying yet mournful moment when I close the book with a thump for the last time after reading the final words. I am a booklover…a bookworm.

When Kindles and other readers first came out, I had conversations with people who vowed not to even try to read with a device because they were certain they wouldn’t like it. I wasn’t sure if I could enjoy reading without all the tactile joys of a book, but I sure am glad I tried it! There are many reasons I love reading on devices: I almost always have one within reach, so I can read during any spare moments (including all those times I find myself waiting in lines). They’re lighter weight, so reading is often more comfortable (picture lying in bed while trying to hold an 850-page hardbound book like Outlander!). I can search the online store and download a book within moments of deciding which one I want to read next. I can sign up for notices when my favorite authors have new releases. You get the idea: it’s convenient!

But if you ask me whether I prefer one over the other, my answer would be electronic or printed doesn’t matter. Because nothing beats a good book!

Product/technique notes

I used patterned papers and a sticker from the Simple Life collection by Echo Park. Then I designed and cut the title on my Silhouette. The cute eyeglasses embellishment is from The Paper Studio; the yellow file tab is from Fancy Pants; the Tell my story die cut is from Shimelle; and the text paper in the scalloped border is from an American Crafts 6×6 paper pad.

El Niño layout and card using leftover scraps

June 29, 2015 By Janice Daquila-Pardo 4 Comments

2015 is an El Niño year, and boy, have we felt its effects in Texas! We have seen far more rain than usual so far, but May and June have had epic rainfall numbers (and lots of flooding).

We took these post-thunderstorm photos down at Rattan Creek Park at the end of our street on June 14th. In other summers this creek has been just about nonexistent because we get so little rain here.

I’ve heard a lot of people grumbling about “too much rain,” but I really don’t understand that mentality. When you live through several years of extreme drought conditions, how can you “get sick” of rain? Believe me when I say that we are truly grateful for every raindrop.

I am participating in the Scrap Our Stash sketch challenge #27, which requires you to follow the sketch and then create a card out of the scraps from your layout project. Here is my card, which I will be sending to a college friend of mine:

Product/technique notes

LAYOUT: Following is the Scrap Our Stash sketch #27. I used patterns from the BasicGrey Kelly Purkey Mon Ami 6×6 paper pad, cut the clouds with my Silhouette and hand-stitched the circle.
CARD: The stamps are Hero Arts, and I hand-stitched the edges.

Life moves pretty fast: Celebrating Ferris Bueller’s day off

June 18, 2015 By Janice Daquila-Pardo 6 Comments

“Ferris Bueller’s Day Off” came out in June 1986. However, a die hard baseball fan/blogger has done research on the Cubs game Bueller and his pals attended in the movie and determined that it was played against the Braves on June 5, 1985. That means this June 5th was the 30th anniversary of Bueller’s fictional yet famous day off!

Alas, Matt and I couldn’t take off the whole work day. But we did knock off early on that Friday afternoon to go out for happy hour drinks and appetizers at a nearby hangout of ours. I mean, Ferris Bueller may have been spoiled and snarky, but he did have a point:

Life moves pretty fast.
If you don’t stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it.

Product/technique notes

I was inspired by both this sketch from Let’s Get Sketchy as well as many aspects of the Paper Issues Pinspire Me image below:

Most of the patterned papers and stickers are from Echo Park’s “Creative Agenda” collection, and I hand stitched the colors around the inverted triangle element.

The reception

May 25, 2015 By Janice Daquila-Pardo 4 Comments

My mom’s cousin, Tom, was married in September 1977, and these photos are from his wedding reception. I seem to remember that Phil and I were looking forward to being old enough to really participate in the celebratory atmosphere (because 9- and 10-year olds are such party animals). 😉

I love Phil’s 70s style and my long dress (which Mom sewed). And I particularly remember wanting to touch the ribbons on Aunt Mary Lou’s dress. It’s all quite groovy.

Product/technique notes

I followed this sketch from Stuck?! Sketches and used patterned papers from the Basic Grey “Curio” collection. I created the title on the Silhouette and hand stitched several times around the background circle.

Swing your partner round and round

May 22, 2015 By Janice Daquila-Pardo 1 Comment

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.

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