Big Guns

Our tour of the armory included watching the video. Inside the theater is a long row of large machine guns — another product of Springfield. I'm not a gun enthusiast, but I have to say the visitor center kept my attention.

This layout is based on Noreen Smith's April 2026 1-2-3-Plus sketch. I found a sheet of green stars-and-stripes paper in my military stash and realized that by just cutting it in half, I would get the same effect as her layout. I layered those on gray cardstock, then chose a sheet of camouflage paper for the mats. I looked through the CM collection called "Through the Years," which has sets of paper and stickers from all the decades of the 1900s. The title sticker and "Vintage" sticker came from the 1920s-30s kit. The gun stickers were from my military stash. 

The displays continued with an overview of the materials needed for the World Wars. I liked the statues of the soldiers, defining how the uniforms and weaponry changed in just 20 years. You might remember this from a few weeks ago, when I posted it as a bonus entry for the Lasting Memories This or That challenges.

You can click on this link to go back to the original post for a description of how I put this together.

Gearing Up

Welcome back to my Springfield Armory trip in December 2021. Our group met a ranger inside the museum, who provided a tour of some of the displays. This armory has existed since the late 1700s, so the machinery has undergone many upgrades over time. What we saw was close to the mid-1900s (WWII era). By walking around the gears, we could examine the various pieces of guns and other armaments that were built here. In the early years, guns were built one at a time, with a single craftsman creating all the components. As the industrial age progressed, guns were made to be interchangeable so that a broken part would not render an entire gun useless. 

This layout is based on one of Meggan and Tessa's Power Hours from January 2025. I thought the chevrons would provide some movement around the layout. I chose one of the last papers from this paper pack (and when I remember the name, I will tell you). The gray side with the lines was perfect. The reverse side had more of a floral look, but once it was cut, it was less noticeable. It sort of looks like coffee stains. I chose a gear-border maker cartridge for the edges and a few additional arrow stickers for embellishments. I thought the "All Together" title was appropriate, as you can see our group listening to the ranger in the first 2 photos. 

Is there a Field of Springs?

Hello and welcome to the kick-off of my December 2021 trip to Springfield, Massachusetts. Yes, December 2021 was a big travel month for me. One of the NPTC club members grew up near Boston and planned a trip home over the holidays. She decided to hold a club meetup at Springfield Armory. It was a site I hadn't been to previously, and I found that I could easily take the Amtrak Train to the city and walk to the park! That piqued my interest, so I planned a little getaway. The blog will feature a few layouts from the trip, but there was much more that I saw around town during my weekend visit. If you have a chance to go to Springfield, plan for at least a couple of days. 

This trip will, of course, get its own album. You might recognize this page from my bonus post on April 12th. Refresh your memory here.

On Saturday morning, I walked up the hill from my hotel to the Springfield Armory site. As you can see, the weather was nice for New England in December! The Armory was not quite open when I got to the bottom gate. As this was my first visit, I didn't know where the main entrance was, so I took photos here and kept walking up the hill. The land is now shared with a community college, so I knew that area would be open, and I was right. It added many steps to my journey, but it gave me a chance to see the quad as I approached the main building. 

I based this layout on Cheryl Even's Sketch #64. I liked the 6x4 photo stretched across the bottom, which I could replace with the park's unigrid. Since the gate pillars were brick, I chose a torn piece of brick paper for the bottom border element. The only other decoration is a border of rifles that I cut apart and tucked around the photos. The background paper is a sheet of gray tonal paper from my stash. I liked the texture of the brush strokes, which gave subtle highlights to the photos.

Good Night Lighthouse (and a LM Challenge)

We've come to the end of the 2021 Hudson River Valley tour. At Mount Gulian, we ascended to the first floor of the house. In the Georgian style, there is a pass-through entryway with 4 rooms branching off. This level is more reminiscent of life in the 1800s, including the lavish dinner setting and the scrapbook in the parlor. When you consider how long this house has survived and the myriad "periods" it has come through. It really is a testament to the volunteers' dedication to bringing the past to life.

I created this layout from a page of border ideas I pinned. I chose the top border and punched the poinsettia leaves in 2 different red papers to create the look on the page. They are layered against the holly border punch. I used a dark gray paper for the top edge, so the dark green is harder to see, but I think it works out pretty well. I layered that above the scraps of red and green papers from the Recollections paper pad. The journal box and Noel card are also from that kit. A few poinsettia flowers around the page finished off the layout quickly. This layout fits in with the Lasting Memories challenge for this week. They provided a tic-tac-toe board, and I'm using the bottom row. Stickers include the little flowers at the bottom of the photos on the green strip; 3 patterned papers (red, green, and the gray at the top); and 1 or more punches--the poinsettia across the top!

While the last page doesn't pertain to any particular parks, since you saw the bridge in the opening pages, I thought you would enjoy seeing the sunset photo I took before heading home Sunday evening. The bottom photo is the Tarrytown Lighthouse — or as close as we could get. With all that construction equipment, we couldn't find a path to get us directly to the lighthouse! But it's there in the middle, glowing brightly. Next time, we begin a look at the Springfield Armory, so come back soon!

This page was made using the sketch from the CM Virtual Crop for February 2026. Scroll to sketch #2. I thought that this layout was the right choice because of the lighthouse. I used the angled paper elements to mimic the lighthouse beacon. The layout is mostly cardstock — blue for the base and center layers, gray for the middle layer, and decorative paper from the Nautical pack. I had gutted the bottom cardstock, so I brought the remnant back and trimmed it for the middle. I used the remaining gold shimmer paper to mat the photos. A few lighthouse elements and enameled dots from my stash completed the layout.

Half a Page is Better than None

Welcome back to my 2021 Hudson River Valley tour. We finally move inside the Mount Gulian house. This is the downstairs area, the only remaining original part of the house. The walls have been whitewashed, and the area is set as if it were the mid-1700s, just around the time the house was founded. I loved the way they used greenery and fruit for the table spread. Lovely historic touches on the hearth and a spinning wheel, too.

This layout is based on Sketch 3 from the CM March 2026 virtual crop. Yes, sketch 3 is meant to be a double-page layout. No, this isn't a double-page layout 😁. I only had the 3 photos of downstairs, and this is the right side of the album (the left is the single-page barn you saw in the last post). But the sketch was the perfect fit for the arrangement of my photos, so I just cut it in half! The background paper is more of a white brick than whitewashed stone, but I thought it made a good base. I rummaged through the remaining Christmas papers on my worktable and chose the pop of red for the horizontal photos. The vertical photo is on a green mat, though with just 1/4" around the edge, it may be difficult to see. I had one sticker border left with the greenery and bows. By cutting it in half and repositioning the rounded edge so it faces left, I was able to create the symmetrical borders above and below the red mat.

Back to Back

Welcome back to the Hudson River Valley tour of December 2021. We've reached the last house, Mount Gulian. This is one of the first houses built in the area, and parts of it date to the late 1600s. The house has burned in the past, so much of the above-ground structure is reconstruction. In this post from September 2025, I talked about the creation of the layout and the intriguing question of which side of the house is the front or back. Take a peek there for more information.

For ease of writing, let's assume that this barn is behind the house--at least it is on the opposite side from where we parked and entered the house! I thought this barn was very charming. Though not originally part of this property, it is true to the time period. They chose to move it by taking it apart, numbering the items, and reassembling it on this property. This provides a better look at what a normal farm looked like as the area was settled. The metal hardware is original, and I loved the old hinges and the "twist" the blacksmith put in the hook latch.

I used Sketch #1 from the CM March 2026 Virtual Crop. You'll notice that I turned the sketch to the right to accommodate my horizontal photos. I thought about the colors I wanted to use on this page, and though I've been doing a lot of Christmas themes, this one said fall to me. The golden sunlight hitting the barn is my inspiration for the color choices. I chose the Burlap and Lace pack (an older secret box) and found a sheet of paper with a wood tone. I mounted that on a sheet of orange cardstock. Since I don't use much orange, I didn't bother gutting the paper in the middle, but it's certainly an option if you like. The center paper is light-toned as well. You don't see much of it. I was able to use the reverse side for the brown "rusty" barbed wire. No, it's not chronologically accurate, but sometimes that isn't really important. I wanted a touch of the western feel here. Using the decorative paper provided a bit of "depth" to the punched borders--more than I could have achieved with just cardstock. That, along with some burlap borders from the kit, made the "frame" for the photos.

Bonus post: THIS is a Star Layout (LM #795)

Popping in on a rainy Saturday to post this layout on weapons of the World Wars. You'll see more of the Springfield Armory National Historic Site in a few weeks. The armory has been in place since just after the Revolutionary War and was one of the largest suppliers of arms to the military between then and the late 1950s. 

I based this layout on a pin I had saved. While the original pin had a more definitive Stars and Stripes approach, my layout picks up on the colors and the diagonal paper cuts. I made those by folding a piece of 12" paper diagonally, then aligning the long fold against the top of my trimmer with the point on the cutting line. It creates a perfect 1/2 page triangle, though you will see the fold on the page. The latest Lasting Memories challenge was to use THIS (stars) or THAT (hearts) on a layout. With a military theme, is there any doubt I was going to THIS? That's 3 of "This" in a row, I wonder if I will pick THAT next week! The thin 1/2" strips of stars also helped me hide the seam of the 2 triangles meeting. A few other star stickers from some old CM military sheets finished off the layout.