The Constant Scrapper

If I'm not scrapbooking I'm thinking about scrapbooking!

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Blogtoberfest sketch contest

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I’m quite excited to announce my first sketch contest! I hope you’ll join me in some scrapping fun and that this sketch will inspire you to create a layout then come back to share it with me for the opportunity to win the prize shown below.

The sketch

This sketch is simple and celebratory, with room for one 4×6 photo (or two 4x3s) and a banner running down the side. If you make a layout based on this sketch, please link it up at the end of this post by October 31st and you’ll be entered for a chance to win a great prize that’s perfect for the upcoming holiday season.
TheConstantScrapper_Sketch04

My sample

My sample page is all about celebrating this fabulous photo of my dad as a boy. He’s showing off his muscles with his dad by his side. What a gem! I used papers from Echo Park and a banner from BasicGrey.

DadWithDad1940s_Daquila-Pardo

I followed this Constant Scrapper sketch to create a layout celebrating a wonderful black-and-white photo of my dad as a boy with his father.

The prize

Are you thinking about documenting your holiday fun this December? Well this prize package includes holiday-themed items to get your project going! Or you could use this kit to create your Christmas cards. Either way, it’s a fun, color-coordinated collection of yummy supplies.

TheConstantScrapperDocumentingDecemberGiveaway

This sketch contest prize package includes: 6x6 Hot Cocoa paper pad, glittered dimensional stars, rub-ons, page pockets, fabric labels, ribbon, Christmas phrases stamp, washi tape and a clear stamp set!

Enter the contest

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I welcome all to participate, no matter from where you hail. However, with international shipping rates what they are, an international winner will receive a gift card instead of the pictured prize package.

Using stitching on a layout as more than just decoration

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BonVoyage_Daquila-Pardo

Say bon voyage to boring layouts with hand stitching!

Stitching on scrapbook pages is used all the time—I use it all the time—to accent and decorate. It’s a beautiful way to highlight a portion of your design and makes a page more special. But it needn’t always be relegated to the embellishment category on our layouts. In the case of today’s page, you can see that it provides much of the meaning, too.

I wanted to leave as much of my background map paper on show as possible, but I didn’t want my page to be too simple, lest it turn out boring. As I thought about all the trips my mom has taken over the years during her summer breaks from teaching, it hit me that the design needed a fanciful flight pattern to complete the look and the message. And stitching was the perfect way to do that! I doodled a quick curlicue path with pencil, pierced holes along the route and stitched it with hot pink embroidery floss to match my mom’s shirt.

Celebrate Blogtoberfest with me all month!

This October I celebrate four years of scrapbook blogging! And that makes me feel like having a little party, so I’m hosting Blogtoberfest. Sorry, you’ll have to supply your own beer and brats, but I’ll bring the paper-crafting inspiration:

  • sketches
  • tutorials
  • product reviews
  • free cut files
  • a giveaway: I’ll reveal the details a little later

“Roll out the paper.
We’ll have a barrel of fun!”

I do hope you’ll join me often this month and help me celebrate the good things that scrapbooking brings to our lives.

Product/technique notes

The travel-themed patterned papers I used are from Jillibean Soup’s “Sightseeing Stew” collection, and the others are older scraps from my stash. The airplane is a foam Thickers sticker.

10 things I love about you

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10ThingsILove_Daquila-Pardov2

We lost my mother-in-law on this date in 2007 and miss her every day.

On September 11, 2007, my mother-in-law lost her fight with ALS. As a tribute to her I’ve created this page that features a photo of her in July of that year and a list of 10 things I loved about her:

  1. Her fierce dedication to those she loved
  2. Her love of animals
  3. Her easy-going nature
  4. Her love of laughter
  5. Her joy in being a teacher
  6. Her strength
  7. Her pride in her children and grandchildren
  8. Her talkativeness
  9. Her persistence
  10. How readily she accepted me into her family

We miss and love you, Sandra.

Product/technique notes

I created this layout using the Stuck?! Sketches anniversary celebration sketch and products from Little Yellow Bicycle’s “Just Because” collection.
September 1st sketch at Stuck Sketches

You lift me up

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YouLiftMeUp_Daquila-Pardo

My mother-in-law took this adorable photo of her daughter, Thyia, long before I knew either of them. But it reminds me how fun they could be.

What a cute picture of a moment that all girls have been through—celebrating our first bra. This is my sister-in-law, Thyia, being silly for the camera some time in the mid- to late-80s.

Product/technique notes

I used bright patterned papers from an older My Mind’s Eye collection and embellishments from BasicGrey.

Dapper dad

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DapperDad_Daquila-Pardo

This photo reminds me just how much my husband takes after his father!

I have this cool studio portrait from the early 1980s of my husband’s dad. It’s hard to get past that super cheesy background and the overly staged leg-up pose, but once I do here’s what I notice: Matt takes after his father so much more than I realized. He has his twinkling brown eyes, those deep lines around his mouth when he smiles and his high hairline. But the most pronounced resemblance, to me, is in the arms and hands. They are exactly the same. I have always loved Matt’s strong arms and hands, and now I know where they came from.

Just another one of the gifts that comes from handing down family photos.

Product/technique notes

I followed this sketch from Scrapbook Generation and replaced the two small photos with Polaroid images that I fussy cut from some WRMK paper. The main pattern I used for the background’s bottom half is an ancient piece of paper from Chatter Box. Remember them? Yeah, I’m not surprised. It’s been a long time. All the rest are bits and pieces from my scrap box.
Scrapbook Generation sketch