The Great Western Journey Part 10--North by Northeast actually

When I think about Mount Rushmore, I always think about the Hitchcock film "North by Northwest". Since we came from Custer State Park (pages not in this blog, but do stop by to see them sometime!) we actually traveled North by Northeast. 😁 Having seen the incomplete structure at Crazy Horse the day before, it is impressive how much of the mountain had been carved in less time. The site includes not only patios with views of the structure but a lot of detail on the designer and the process of sculpting the rocks.

I bought the layered die-cut from Paper Wizard. It was a little tricky to put together (I wish they had the option to buy these already completed) but it does look amazing (even if it takes up half of the page). I chose a straightforward layout for the base pages (You have to look at the left page here and the right page below--there's an 8 1/2x11 pocket page between). I liked the look of the watercolor paper from the Emerald Gemstones kit so that became the base for both pages. I used a smaller strip of a neutral color along the bottom to offset the photos and sealed the "seam" with a border sticker. 

We had quite a bit of time at the site, but most of it was getting into photos with our friends and the presidents.

Because I needed a place for the brochure and was running out of "real estate" in the album (these would be the last 2 pages in the album). I added the pocket page for the brochure, one additional photo of the site and as you can see on the back, a lot of journaling (there is an interesting story about how to annoy club members by removing stamps from the stamping table while we wait to use them). The strip across the top is a bookmark someone gave me with a bunch of scrapping supplies several years ago. With a little trimming, it became the top border. The wavy borders are stickers that match the tone of the paper (and the bookmark). I wrote the story in a similar color marker and it's a bit light but I think it works.

We left Mount Rushmore to go to dinner and then returned afterward for the lighting ceremony they perform each evening. We did not get seats in the amphitheater so I don't know all that was said, but there is a dramatic presentation and then all of a sudden the mountain is illuminated. It's rather pretty at night but difficult to capture with a point-and-shoot camera. The dinner portion of this trip begins album 2 which we'll see next week!

I made this layout at the CM conference in June 2022. The expo center included a multitude of make-and-takes, and this layout was a way for us to see how to make a quick layout with just 4 mats. Because the mats are double-sided, you can choose whether the photos are vertical or horizontal. Luckily my horizontal option worked well for my photo and the postcard. While there are no fireflies in the photos, the concept was "Nighttime Wonders" and I think the illumination of the mountain was a perfect fit!

The Great Western Journey part 9--Deep Thoughts

 Friday was an ALL-DAY bus trip. And I do mean all day. We left around 8:00 in the morning and got back to the hotel after 10:00 PM. Our club loves these types of trips though as we are able to see many more parks during our visit. Our first stop of the morning was Wind Cave. We had a group tour but first had time to go through the visitor center. Many of our club members complete the Junior Ranger activities. The tour started outside the cave at a small opening that I would never have thought to enter. But this is the original natural entrance. Luckily we have a less strenuous entry through the elevator shaft.

Although this looks like a 2-page layout it is two separate single pages using 2 different sketches. the left page was made for one of my scrapbook classes. I used paper from the CM Leave No Trace pack. the large square makes for a nice frame for the photos and journaling box and the smaller piece on the left can easily be accented as a border. The right page is from this sketch I saved on Pinterest. I used similar papers from my stash of camping and nature-themed materials. 

I enjoyed our time inside. I think there are more crystalline formations here than at Jewel Cave. Our group is pretty chatty so I do feel bad for the ranger that leads us through. Our tours take a little longer until our curiosities are satisfied.

This layout was based on one of the CM Virtual Crop sketches for November 2022. I used more paper from the Leave No Trace collection. I thought the stone paper was appropriate and similar to the Jewel Cave pages, I used the icicle border maker cartridge to create stalactites for the border elements. These are in black to contrast the lightness of the paper tones.

We like to take group photos on all of our tours and when I print them I think 8x10 is the best size so I can see all of the faces. It's so nice to do these group tours. It's like being in a big family.

For this page I used a very simple technique. The background is a black refill page (I've been trying to use them up) and I put a laser-cut page on top. There's no particular reason to use this one other than I liked the way it looked with the designs going in alternate directions. The title sticker and the small note about the formation of the cave as a national monument were mounted on similar colored cardstock so they would be visible against the black background. The other sticker is from Old CM and I think it's the perfect way to end this part of the trip.

The Great Western Journey part 8--A Star is Born

Friday morning I was up EARLY. Like O-Dark-Thirty early. But for a good cause. Our press release about the convention had been picked up by the local TV station and they asked for us to be interviewed on the local morning show. So as incoming president (I ran unopposed so I knew the outcome before the meeting) I joined the outgoing president, Roland, and a few of our Platinum Members on a street corner downtown. Periodically they would cut to us and their reporter for a few minutes of talk. We had a great time.

This layout is based on one of my monthly classes. I chose the Showtime collection. The sketch was supposed to have 2 4x6 vertical photos and a 4x4 which would stretch across the page. I used a 5x7 photo and a 4x4 journaling box. That left an inch along the side so I added one of the flocked embellishments. I used a paper  scrap to create the larger tag above the journaling box and then several embellishments clustered around the page to accent the layout. 

The Great Western Journey part 7--Dinner with Teddy Roosevelt

 We arrived at our host hotel on Thursday afternoon and picked up our registration bags for the conference. Our first event was that evening. A gentleman who doubles as Teddy Roosevelt came to a special dinner. After eating he gave an overview of Teddy's life in great detail. Below you can see that he took time to pose with the guests (including a Teddy Bear).

This layout uses papers in one of the Prismatic packs. It was free when you ordered the Tonal Collections in early 2022. The paper has a design on one side and the other has lines with suggested cuts. By making the cuts and reassembling the papers you can create designs as seen in this CM blog post. While I did not follow any specific layout, I did use the cuts to create some layered shapes and develop this layout. The borders at the top and bottom are stickers from the coordinating pack. The primary motivational color was brown (walls and Teddy's outfit), and the green contrasted that. You'll notice several patterns. So long as you keep the patterns to 1 small, 1 medium, and 1 large, you can mix and match on the page without overwhelming the viewer.

I took a lot more photos of the various tables of diners. I've met and become friends with a lot of people over the years so it seemed I knew someone just about at every table. To incorporate all of them I used some extra pockets. You can see in the 2nd photo the "inside" with more diners.

The layout for this came from a class I took so I cannot show the sketch. I liked the repeating border across the middle of the paper. I chose papers from a Paper Loft kit called Euphoria (I think). They have paper that is heavier--almost cardstock weight--and is printed in 2 designs. I gutted the blue gingham paper and flipped over the middle to the cream side. I used a variety of papers in the collection to punch borders and then layered them across the pages. They supply some cardstock sheets with words for decoration and I used those at the top of the page (and one on the inside pocket at the bottom right). Since the borders were so bold I didn't need much else.