The Constant Scrapper

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

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How can you resist?

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Twisted Sketches launches its 98th sketch today, and the twist this time is “paint.” The sketch and the design team’s interpretations are awaiting you at Twisted Sketches’ site…and here is my design team contribution using the new sketch:

We'llDoLunch_Daquila-Pardo

That's me, wearing Daddy's clip-on sunglasses and enjoying the Ohio sunshine.

This is the sketch:

6a00d83451d2c069e20147e3cc26c9970b-800wi

Twisted Sketch #98 calls for 2 photos

For the “paint” twist I was inspired to try a resist technique on the talk bubble using white shimmer paint. I have done resist techniques with ink and embossing powder before but had not yet tried paint resist, so I thought I would show a quick step-by-step just in case it might inspire you to try it on a future layout.

  1. Gather your supplies: Acrylic paint, rubber stamp, Distress Inks and foam applicators.

    PaintResistSupplies

    This technique doesn't take much in the way of supplies.

  2. Apply paint (shimmer paint in my example) to the stamp image and stamp it carefully (don’t smear it) on a spare bit of cardstock.
  3. Immediately take your rubber stamp to a sink and clean it well with soap and water. It’s best not to let the acrylic paint dry on the stamp as it may be harder to remove.
  4. If you’re patient wait until the paint thoroughly dries. If not, hit it with your heat tool for a minute or two.
  5. Start applying the Distress Inks with a circular motion and blend your colors a little where they meet. I used the three colors shown in the photo, but of course there are no rules about how many you use.
  6. Slightly mist a paper towel with water and gently buff off the extra ink from the painted areas to reveal the true color!

Here is a close-up of the final effect. I think I like it!

CloseUp

This close-up photo shows how the shimmer paint resisted the inks.

If you decide to try this quick technique after reading my post, have your people call my people please leave a comment and a link so I can see what you’ve done!

The significance of stories in our lives

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Twisted Sketches launches its 96th sketch today, and the twist this time is “card.” The sketch and the design team’s interpretations are awaiting you at Twisted Sketches’ site…and here is my design team contribution using the new sketch:

SenseSensibility_JDaquila-Pardo

When we found this 1886 copy of "Sense and Sensibility" at a used book store we had to buy it!

I started with the “twist” when deciding what to scrap for this one. “Card” gave me a little trouble, I don’t mind telling you. Then it hit me—library card! So I took photos of the front pages of this wonderful old book Matt and I recently purchased at a used book store and told its story on my layout. (Notice the patterned paper with the bonnets and top hats on my layout. I couldn’t wait to pull that out and use it for this theme.)

The story

Matt and I met in Chapel Hill, NC, in February 1996. Our first date included a lovely dinner at Aurora (a restaurant that sadly is no more) and then a movie at the old Carolina Theater (also sadly gone and converted into a Gap store—surely the world needed another of those rather than a 63-year-old treasure of a theater!).

We had such an evening. Sigh.

The movie we saw that night was “Sense and Sensibility.” It was very romantic. I was already a Jane Austen fan at that point in my life, but Matt was unsurprisingly unaware of her gifts. In my experience men tend to need an introduction to Miss Austen by a female who either already matters to them or to whom they want to matter. 😉 Let me just say that if you have a romantic bone in your body and you haven’t yet see this one, please do yourself the favor.

Fast forward 15 years, and Matt and I were recently perusing the rare book room at one of the Half Price Books locations in Austin when I spied an old copy of “Sense and Sensibility” on the shelf! It’s an 1886 copy—125 years old—and in rather good shape. Of course we bought it. I think we can be said to have just enough sense and sensibility to know when to grab up something with that kind of significance!

My Fortress of Scraptitude

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I was scrapping this weekend and decided to take a photo of the project/mess on my craft table and turn it into a layout. I’ll admit that I was nudged into doing this because of Kristina Werner’s cute post a while back, 90% of real crafters make real messes, where she challenged crafters to “own” the messes we make. (My layout is based on one of Shimelle’s recent sketches.)

FortressOfScraptitude_JDaquila-Pardo

Welcome to my Fortress of Scraptitude. 🙂

I make a pretty big mess when I scrap, as do most of us I think. But I’ve realized that I don’t have much of a pattern about clean-up. When I read others’ blogs about this subject they seem to fall into one or the other category:

  1. The crafter who makes a mess and then cleans everything up before starting on the next project OR
  2. The crafter who makes a mess and keeps on working until there are so many scraps and tossed aside tools in the way that she can’t see her layout or card any more

I’m a little different (big news, I know). I certainly don’t clean after each project. Sounds nice but takes too much time away from my creative flow. I also never let things get so bad (on my desk) that I clean only because I can’t work any more. No, I spread out…a lot. Matt calls me a “stacker.” I have little stacks everywhere. My craft desk came with a chair, but I hardly ever use it; it’s too convenient a place to stash the things I want out of the way but within reach. My craft room doubles as our guest bedroom, which is awesome because the bed is just to the right of my desk and a perfect place to stack more crap. It’s the perfect setup…for a while.

I eventually get overwhelmed by this stack-heavy environment and realize that it’s affecting my creative mojo. That’s the perfect time to clean! It means I’m motivated, which is the best we can ever ask for when it comes to cleaning, right?

Here are a few more photos of my creative space, in the interest of full disclosure. 😉 Why don’t you tell me a little about how/when you clean your scrap dominion?

CraftRoom1

Here is a shot of command central in my Fortress of Scraptitude.

CraftRoom2

Stacks surround me, along with a glass of red wine for inspiration.

CraftRoom3

My craft closet is sort of organized. Aren't you proud of me?

This is the only photo I have of my paternal grandfather

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PaterFamilias_JDaquila-Pardo

"Pater familias" is Latin for "father of the family"

Today the Twisted Sketches site launches its 94th sketch, and it’s a good one! The sketch as well as the design team’s interpretations are all waiting to inspire you.

This is my rendition of the sketch. It highlights the only photo I have of my father’s childhood that also includes his father. I never met my grandfather, as he passed away in my dad’s teenage years, so I adore this photo. This portrait was taken in 1944, making my dad 11 years old.

I chose the Latin “pater familias” as my title because it means “father of the family.” In fact, the term pater familias had specific legal meaning in Roman times, when the head of the family was expected to be a good citizen to his own familia as well as to the broader community. In theory at least, he held powers of life and death over every member of his extended familia through ancient right.

It’s quite interesting to read about, but honestly the first time I ever heard the term was in the 2000 film, O Brother, Where Art Thou? Such a good movie. Here’s the clip:

I don’t know about you, but I really love creating a layout where just about every product used is from a different company. It feels like a little more of an accomplishment to me than creating a page using all products from the same line. In this design the patterned papers are from Crate Paper, Webster’s Pages, My Mind’s Eye and Making Memories. The trims are from Making Memories and Hobby Lobby, and the rub on is from K&Company. Now that’s just good, clean scrapping fun!

May the road rise up to meet you…

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Sketch #92 on the Twisted Sketches site is available today! The sketch is for one vertical photo, and the twist this time is “brads.” Following is my contribution to the design team layouts that go up for inspiration:

MayTheRoadRise_JDaquila-Pardo

May God hold you in the hollow of His hand.

The sketch included a place for a long-ish title, and because this week we celebrate St. Patrick’s Day I thought of using part of an Irish blessing for mine. This is a photo of my baby bro in Central Park when he took a Christmas trip to NYC this past December. I liked the effect of combining this Irish blessing for him with the idea of the road and travel.

To create the patterned paper highlight area behind the photo I cut small strips of travel-themed paper (Wander by BasicGrey) and punched some of them with a postage stamp border punch (Fiskars) and then layered them randomly. The last line of the Irish blessing is written on the ticket to the left of the picture.

I hope the design team’s interpretations of sketch #92 inspire you to use it for one of your photos.