Carta Bella

Celebrating life

June 2, 2018 By Janice Daquila-Pardo Leave a Comment

The story

This photo marked the end of a long, difficult day.

That morning (Thursday, November 18, 2004) we laid my father to rest after he lost a short, intense battle with cancer. We followed the beautiful funeral Mass with friends, family, and food back at Mom and Dad’s house. It was sad and surreal and comforting and all the feelings that kind of day usually holds.

These are the family members who stayed to the very end of the day with us. Matt took a group photo to mark the occasion of our being together to celebrate Daddy’s life. I am particularly grateful to have this considering that we have since lost four more in this party (Mary Lou first, then Bubbles, Duffy, and recently Earl).

Product/technique notes

I created this page with products from the Carta Bella Moments & Memories collection and designed/cut the title with my Silhouette.

We belong together forever & always: DT layout for Stuck?! Sketches

February 15, 2018 By Janice Daquila-Pardo 1 Comment

Today Stuck?! Sketches launches our second challenge of February. Grab the sketch and play along for prizes from Cuts2Luv and Lawn Fawn.

The story

Matt and I married on October 4th, and in 2014 our friends Mary and Chuck married on that same date. So we celebrated our 17th anniversary at a wedding! Matt doesn’t dress up often, so I love this photo of him next to me in his dressy duds.

Product/technique notes

I used products from Carta Bella’s Flora No. 1 collection, My Mind’s Eye, and Pink Paislee. I also turned the sketch on its side to accommodate my vertical photo.

It’s your special day: Phil’s 7th birthday

January 17, 2016 By Janice Daquila-Pardo 10 Comments

In honor of my baby brother’s 48th birthday, which he celebrated on Friday, I give you a page about his 1975 birthday celebration. When I asked him what he remembered from this photo he said:

Sweet, like Boston cream pie! That is Paul Lazorchak and he gave me that Snoopy hockey game, which I adored. Of course that is my cherished Franco Harris jersey. Lastly, too bad we did not have anti-glare coating at the time . Oh and what luck to capture you on a troop meeting night!

Happy birthday, Phillip Daniel! I wish I could have been there to celebrate with you, my dear.

Product/technique notes

I was inspired to follow the Let’s Get Sketchy week 1 January sketch for this page, and I used all products from the Carta Bella It’s a Celebration collection. It has just the perfect vintage birthday color scheme and feeling. And what kind of crazy luck did I have when I noticed that the birthday cake sticker had seven candles?

Snow fun

March 12, 2015 By Janice Daquila-Pardo 6 Comments

I came across another photo of my brother and me playing in the snow—this one is from January 1971. It appears I was Phil’s sled dog.

Product/technique notes

I really liked the new Let’s Get Sketchy sketch below and enjoyed using it with this photo. The papers came from Carta Bella’s “Winter Fun” collection. I created the title and cut it and all the vellum snowflakes with my Silhouette Cameo, then topped them with sequins. I hand sewed the blanket stitch along the edges of the two corners.

With a cloud at your feet

December 1, 2013 By Janice Daquila-Pardo 5 Comments

Phil is holding Pierre on the left and his brother, Enzo, on the right.

The 16th sketch challenge has been posted at the SCRAP & MUSIC challenge blog! Head over to the site to grab the sketch, which I’m proud to have designed, and play along. This 16th sketch came with the song “That’s amore” by Dean Martin.

My layout

In October my brother lost his sweet cat, Willie, to cancer. The whole time during Willie’s diagnosis and decline were so difficult for Phil, and he was a wonderful daddy/caregiver to him throughout. After Willie’s passing Phil told me that he was going to wait until the new year to start looking for a new companion to adopt; he felt he needed a little time to be ready for it. I encouraged him to try to find two boys—ideally brothers—to adopt. The companionship they provide to each other, and the entertainment Phil would get out of their antics, would be worth the extra work involved.

Then one day about a week after he had told me these plans I got a call from Phil. He was at a pet supply store (remember that he didn’t need any pet supplies at this point) looking at kittens that a rescue organization had placed there. And he had found two brothers! I could hear the barking in the background and the excitement in Phil’s voice.

That night Phil completed the adoption application for the brothers, who were temporarily named Comet and Pluto. After another visit to the pet store to interact with them, a phone interview with the foster mother and then a home visit, Phil was granted the boys. It was a whirlwind process, but nothing compared to the whirlwind romance that happened among Phil and the brothers!

Now Phil has renamed Comet to Pierre (left photo) and Pluto to Enzo. He chose these names with a lot of thought based on his current study of and love for the French language. The brothers are beautiful and smart and growing fast under Phil’s care. He gushes about them on the phone to me and sends frequent photos and videos of their antics and sweet quiet moments. I love it all.

When I told Phil that I wanted to use this sketch and challenge song to do a page about his adoption of Pierre and Enzo, he asked me to use the line “with a cloud at your feet” for the title. That’s amore!

Product/technique notes

Most of the products on this page are from Authentique’s “Strong” collection, and the heart/people paper is from Carta Bella’s “Hello again” line (both from Artful Delight’s September scrapbook kit). I designed and cut the title using my Silhouette Cameo.

The challenge

The challenges on this blog involve following the sketch and using a title on your layout with a line from the provided music. Below I’ve included the video as well as the lyrics for this song:

“That’s amore” by Dean Martin

In Napoli where love is king
When boy meets girl here’s what they say

When the moon hits you eye like a big pizza pie
That’s amore
When the world seems to shine like you’ve had too much wine
That’s amore
Bells will ring ting-a-ling-a-ling, ting-a-ling-a-ling
And you’ll sing “Vita bella”
Hearts will play tippy-tippy-tay, tippy-tippy-tay
Like a gay tarantella

When the stars make you drool just like a pasta fazool
That’s amore
When you dance down the street with a cloud at your feet
You’re in love
When you walk down in a dream but you know you’re not
Dreaming signore
Scuzza me, but you see, back in old Napoli
That’s amore

(When the moon hits you eye like a big pizza pie
That’s amore
When the world seems to shine like you’ve had too much wine
That’s amore
Bells will ring ting-a-ling-a-ling, ting-a-ling-a-ling
And you’ll sing “Vita bella”
Hearts will play tippy-tippy-tay, tippy-tippy-tay
Like a gay tarantella

When the stars make you drool just like a pasta fazool)
That’s amore
(When you dance down the street with a cloud at your feet
You’re in love
When you walk down in a dream but you know you’re not
Dreaming signore
Scuzza me, but you see, back in old Napoli)
That’s amore
Lucky fella