Martha Stewart Crafts

November 24th

November 23, 2011 By Janice Daquila-Pardo 1 Comment

Twisted Sketches has revealed its latest sketch, #129, and the twist is “ribbon.” Be sure to head over to the site to grab the sketch and see all the other design team members’ beautiful examples, then create something of your own and link it up! 🙂

Here is what I created using this great new sketch:

Being born on Thanksgiving means my birthday falls on the holiday every so often!

The whole point of my layout is to express how much I have always loved that my birthday falls on or near Thanksgiving Day. I was born on Thanksgiving, which means that every several years it cycles back around and lands on the holiday again (like this year). But the wonderful thing is that because of its proximity to the holiday, even when it isn’t on the day there’s always a fun, relaxed, family, thankful feeling in the air. I just love it! And it’s one of the things I’m always thankful for on Thanksgiving. 🙂

These photos are from two different years in my little life, but they both show the relationship between my birthday and Thanksgiving. The first photo is my 2nd birthday cake, flanked by seasonal Pilgrim and turkey candles. The second shot is from 1969 and shows me, flanked by two of my cousins, Dick and Tom (both turkeys in their own right!). Their family has come from Pennsylvania to spend Thanksgiving with us, and we’re all having dinner in our basement. They seem to have been quite gracious about sharing the little kids’ table with me. 🙂

Because the twist on the sketch this week was “ribbon,” I decided to create a little turkey with ribbon tail feathers. He seems pretty happy with himself!

This year, as I celebrate Thanksgiving and my birthday, I will add my blog readers to my gratitude list. Happy Thanksgiving!

I really rocked this look

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

Yeah, I was a fashion plate back in the day. Don’t be jealous of my pin curls and Winnie-the-Pooh blouse. We’re just not all meant to look this good. 😉

My layout below is based on the sketch provided for blog challenge #29 over at My Mind’s Eye. All the products, except the cardstock, are by My Mind’s Eye.

That's me in 1976, styling in my Winnie-the-Pooh blouse. 🙂

Let me encourage you to break out those photos that show your early sense of fashion and give them some scrapbook love. It was really fun to work on this page!

This is the My Mind's Eye sketch for blog challenge #29.

All the way from California, August 1969

August 11, 2011 By Janice Daquila-Pardo Leave a Comment

I was surfing the scrappy blogosphere the other day, and I came upon a site that was new to me called Back Porch Memories. It’s a community built around a monthly kit club, and it looks like a nice group of scrapaholics. 🙂

They posted a sketch challenge, which I find hard to resist, so here is what I posted based on the sketch by Becky Fleck:

These photos from 1969 capture my mother's parents' visit to our home in 1969.

The photos are from August 1969, when my mom’s parents flew in from California to spend a month with us in Ohio. I remember being really excited about having them come “all the way from California,” hence the layout’s title. I was about 2.5 years old, and Phil was about 1.5.

10 Things on the 10th: August

August 10, 2011 By Janice Daquila-Pardo 9 Comments

Many of us who took the online class “Beyond Blogging for Scrapbookers” are participating in a special event on the 10th of each month. In 10 Things on the 10th each participant will share something totally of their own creation. Some will share 10 photos, 10 crafty ideas, 10 sources of inspiration, 10 recipes, 10 things in a collection…always 10 things and always on the 10th of the month.

In honor of the “dog days of summer” I rounded up 10 inspiring layouts from around the Web that feature DOGS:

Kerry Bea Mahan
Bea Mahan

The Constant Scrapper

Raleigh is such a dolly

August 9, 2011 By Janice Daquila-Pardo 1 Comment

In May my mom traveled back to our old hometown in Ohio for the wedding of two of her very good friends. Both of them had lost their spouses to cancer and then, in a development that truly surprised their group of friends, found love together. Both around 70 years old, they are starting a happy new phase of life together!

I think it’s a lovely story that illustrates why we should always be open to new chances at happiness.

* * * * * *
My parents didn’t believe it was fair to leave an animal home alone all day, so because they both worked our family didn’t have pets when we were kids. Then, when Phil and I went away to college and they were feeling the need and the free time to nurture another life, Mom and Dad adopted Spenser. I will tell the tale of Spenser another day, but let me leave you with the phrase “canine angel.” We were completely head over heels for Spenser.

So when after a long and wonderful life with us Spenser passed away a few years ago, we were all devastated. But it was Mom, his caretaker, who had to adjust to daily living without him. She insisted that she didn’t want another dog. “It’s impossible to replace Spenser, so what’s the point?” “It would be a lot of work to get used to a new dog.” “It’s expensive.” “I don’t want to be tied to a schedule of walks and feedings any more.”

But after more than a year of missing Spenser and the companionship of a little life, Mom mentioned to a friend that she thought she may be ready to look for a dog. She had done some research and really liked the idea of a Cairn Terrier. Well, it happened that this friend of Mom’s volunteered at a local animal shelter, so she promised to keep her eyes open for a Cairn (but warned that it was pretty unlikely).

Not long after that conversation Mom was readying herself to go to a friend’s birthday party when she got the call. The shelter had just received a Cairn Terrier that day! Could she come over right away and meet him? Well, it was Saturday evening and she didn’t want to be late to her friend’s celebration, but she decided to go to the shelter first. My, oh my, are we all happy that she did! She fell for the little orphan instantly and went back to take him home that next week.

Now Raleigh and Mom are constant companions, and I rarely have a conversation with her that doesn’t include comments about how amazing he is. “He’s so loving.” “He’s such an adorable little scamp.” “He’s a wonderful snuggler.” “Oh, how did I get so lucky twice?”

New chances for happiness come in so many forms!

This layout is a great way to use your border punches and scraps of paper.

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