Meeting George Washington

Now that I've moved to Bucks County I am taking advantage of some events that I never did before. On December 19th every year Valley Forge recreates the march in of the Continental Army in 1777. That was the year they used the "off-season" to learn to become an army. I arrived a little later than I had planned thanks to traffic and work but I was in time to hear Washington give a speech and then to get a selfie with him! I also met one of his aides--James Madison! A little surreal but nice!

I based this layout on Challenge 3 from the April 2023 CM Virtual Crop. I pulled papers from the Winds of Winter paper pack (CM 2017). I liked the starkness of the pages and the brown tones (unusual in a winter collection) matched the historic look of the photos. I traded the 2 vertical photos on the right page for the program/brochure from the evening. With a decorative cover, it works both as a photo and memorabilia. I mounted that with photo corners.

I spent some time in the visitor center (that's where the stamps are after all) and saw a few of the displays. Mostly I hurried out to see GW. I also hiked out to the Muhlenberg huts. They were all filled with reenactors and period displays. Some of it was geared toward children but I found quite a bit for myself as well, such as the camp physician.

For the left page, I used Challenge 2 in the same virtual crop as above. For this page, I used Winter Woods--still the winter theme but this pack has that nice cut-log paper that is perfect for these cabins. I was able to trim my photos to small squares--it actually improved them by giving the viewer a focus. I substituted a decorative card for one photo and turned another into a journal box. On the right page, I used a Power Hour layout from Meggan Jacks. Her technique of folding the paper so that you have a punch running through the middle of the page was unique. This page continues with the Winter Woods papers and embellishments again, trading one photo spot for a journaling box.

My last page focuses on the outdoor experience. I feel bad for the "soldiers" who had the job of guarding the fire and talking about setting up the camp. It was a very cold night and I believe they most resembled the soldiers from 1777. 

For this page I dug back to the Virtual Crop from November 2022. This is a very simple sketch. I used just one sheet of paper and cut the square from the middle. When you flip it over and replace it, you have a two-tone paper for your photos. I wish there was more contrast in the 2 sides but you can tell it is slightly different. I used some embellishments from "Frost" (another older CM line). The darker photos stand out nicely on the medium-tone paper though.