A Different Look at History

In March 2019, Jim and I headed to Florida to take in some spring training baseball games. Since we were going to be in the area, I added a stop at De Soto National Memorial (very close to the Pirates home field in Bradenton). I didn't know what to expect--De Soto was not prominently featured in my elementary school days, so we took time to explore. It really is a sad story. Though he is credited with a great deal of exploration and discovery, he is among many Spanish "conquerors" who tried to eliminate the native cultures of the area. The park is fairly small. It is the trailhead of the De Soto Trail which covers the first year of his travels and ranges along the western coast of Florida. There is a place for living history events but we were a little early in the season to view those. In their place, they have life-sized poster cutouts of the inhabitants. You'll see more of that next week.

I based this layout on a sketch from Even More Scrapping. CM has a collection called Tropic Time that was a perfect match for this area. One of the coordinating colors is dark green, so I chose the background cardstock in that shade and then layered a touch of gold along the edges. The leaves are all die cuts in the collection. You can see that I split one of the sticker borders (sort of sunshine) to add a little more interest to the top. 

It's Element-ary

 One of our last stops in the park was this chemistry lab. Again, I never really considered that this would be needed but it was one of the largest, and for its time, state-of-the-art labs in the country. Everything has been left in its original state as it was when the system closed down and was handed over to the government. To me, that seems a bit short-sighted as not all of those chemicals will sit in jars peacefully. I really enjoyed looking around this space. Even the color coding of the pipes was interesting to me. I'm a nerd. 👩

I am trying to use the stash in my room (my New Year's Resolution is to buy FEWER scrapbook materials than last year--that's not an easy goal!) As I was going through some pre-made pages I came across these pages that I made at a Paper Loft class in Lancaster. The background is as simple as can be. There are 4x6 mats all the way across the middle (in 2 rows). If I didn't like the saying on the mat, I covered it with a photo. The "Beauty is in the eye" quote made me smile as chemistry can be beautiful to a nerd, so I added my photos. The journal box could be removed (it's in a pocket) but I didn't need very much room to write as this was the end of the trip. 

Office Envy

There are a LOT of areas in the lab complex to see. I have more photos but I culled these from his "office". I wish I had an office the size of a library! He had every resource you could imagine here. The displays contain quite a few examples of his work as well.

This is another layout from Club Scrap's Industrial Evolution kit (Layouts 1 and 2). I did have a few photos that fit on the pre-designed pages. I used a postcard in the upper right and I was reluctant to trim it to the size of the mat so I just offset it. I think it still works. On the bottom of the right page, I had trimmed a photo of his chair. By cutting it in half it looks like 2 photos but is really one shot. I like how that breaks up the highlights though. You really see both items that I was focusing on.

Wax in Your Ears

The reason I wanted to go to Edison that day was for the special event they announced. They recreated the recording and subsequent playing of live music just as Thomas Edison would have done. The ranger in the photos showed us how the recording side worked first, and yes, it was recorded on a wax cylinder! The banjo player played into the horn on the recording device. Once done, the ranger took the wax cylinder off, transferred it to the gramophone, and played it back. The quality was amazing! It didn't have static as you would expect!

This layout is based on a CM Virtual Crop sketch (scroll to sketch #4). Because the topic was music I chose the Showtime papers and embellishments. I've used this a bit so I'm running out of paper. I chose to use black cardstock as the background. Since the concept was historical it felt right to go back to the old-time look of black papers. It also makes the colors of the paper to shine and pop! 

Who Left the Light On?

My next trip was not until March 2019. Jim and I headed to Thomas Edison in New Jersey for a special event (you'll see that next week). We purchased our first NPS Parks Pass as we knew we would need it this summer for our convention trip, and there is a fee to enter Edison. While waiting for the event to begin we took a moment to go outside. I had not realized that Edison also started the motion picture industry. The large black building you see there is the Black Mariah film studio. Built on a track, it can rotate 360 degrees to capture the sun for natural lighting. He filmed acrobats, sneezes, and other day-to-day activities, but not much in the theatrical realm. I got my photo taken with the great man--or at least his statue.

This layout is part of a kit I got from Club Scrap. It's called Industrial Evolution (scroll to layout 3-4) and as soon as they released it I knew it would be perfect for many of my NPS trips. It has not only a historical feel but a touch of gears and industry. The left page was able to hold the brochure and a large postcard I bought which shows the many areas inside, as well as a pantograph of the exterior buildings. I then chose my outside photos and since there was a note about "turning on the light" I added the photo I took of an original Edison bulb--yes still burning all these years later. I normally would have waited and put that in the "room" where the photo was taken but I think it works even better here as an introduction to the space. The original journal box is under the postcard, but I was able to use the 2 small squares on the right for my journaling. You have to love how fast these pages come together!

The Not-So-Glamorous Life

To end my visit I took a walk down the path to the farm section of the plantation. Here the story is wildly different than the mansion. The larger dwelling below is the overseer's house (though it was the original family residence as they built the mansion). The "lower house" includes displays of how the farm was run and focuses on the lives of the enslaved people who worked there. Though they were enslaved at the mansion as well, the narrative is discussed in more detail through the dwellings and workspaces that remain. And many buildings remain even hundreds of years after they were built.

This page is a wallpaper page. I decided to pull my "Farm" materials to work on this part of the story and this is a page I picked up from a scrapbook yardsale. The picket fence at the bottom of the page reminded me so much of the fence around the overseer's house that it seemed the perfect fit. I matted the photos as the blue sky was blending into the background a little more than I wanted. The paper was so decorative that I didn't need to add embellishments. And I had enough negative space left to journal directly on the page.

The farmhouse kitchen had great displays of manikins wearing the outfits enslaved people would have worn. There were also some cut-outs spread around the areas to help visualize the use of spaces. The log huts were the enslaved people's quarters and predictably, had little to no furniture. The contrast of the 2 lifestyles is striking but few people take the time to see the lower farm on their visit.

This layout is based on one of the 101 Sketches (page 102). The background papers are still from the Winter Woods collection. They had a distressed look to them that matched the severe life of the enslaved people. The corners are from a mat that I had from a different collection. The stripes reminded me of the logs in the cabin. Unfortunately, I only had one mat so I had to alternate how the stripes ran in the corners. The journal box is from a very OLD CM collection and is supposed to be a Thanksgiving or Fall accent. But I think it works with the kitchen and hearth here. Across the middle of the page are 2 laser-cut borders. By cutting each in half and stretching them across the pages, I didn't have to worry about having 2 sets (which I don't). I sometimes buy 2 sets of laser-cut borders for matching pages. But if you didn't, here is a trick to stretch your stash!

Ice Ice Baby

Another interesting feature on the grounds is the ice house. This underground chamber was filled with blocks of ice in the winter and the structure held the coolness through much of the summer. I was able to walk to the bottom entrance and jump the puddle on the path to get my photos of the inside.

I based this layout on Sketch #9 from the CM Worldwide Virtual Crop in September 2023. Although the sketch called for a 4x4 photo in the upper left corner, I used a 4x6 but then layered the 4x4 on top using a peekaboo pocket. You can see the pocket flipped open below. I continued using the Winter Woods paper and stickers since the theme was "icy". I thought the title embellishment was perfect for the structure.

Using a peekaboo pocket kept this from being a 2-page spread.

A Winter Stroll

I headed outside to look at the grounds. On the left, I was able to get a view of the back of the house and the orangery (literally a place they grew oranges, sort of like a greenhouse). On the right are the formal gardens and a very old tree. I suppose the gardens are more impressive in the spring and summer

This layout is based on a sketch I saved on Pinterest. I thought about the cold weather so I hunted through my winter collections and found Winter Woods. I used white cardstock as the base and then added some hot fudge ( dark brown) cardstock as the large accent pieces. I was then able to use the leftover pattern papers to create the strips behind the photos. A few embellishments and stickers, and this page came together quickly.

All That Glitters--No Foolin'

Happy April Fool's Day! It's time for a bonus post in my tradition of "No Foolin--it's another scrapbook layout!".

Another parlor (really, how many does one family need?) is again lavishly decorated and then overlaid with the trappings of Christmas. I had not seen the painted window screens before. I wish I could have gotten a photo of the full screen but you can see how beautiful they look with the light coming through them. This is a new rug since the last time I visited. 

This layout is based on Meggan and Tessa's May 2021 Power Hour layouts. I chose to use white for the background (which is getting to be a rare event for me). I chose gold foiled paper (from the gold and silver collection) and accented it with a little red to match the furniture in the photos. The journal box is SUPER OLD, and I'm glad I finally found a place to use it. One of the problems with black-ruled paper is journaling so it can be seen. I used a white gel pen (not CM I'm afraid) and recently had to replace mine. They last for years, luckily.

Moving upstairs we see the bedrooms. A lady's bedroom was a place not only to sleep but to meet with friends so there were tables with tea laid out. In the children's bedroom, we see one of their stockings hanging on the mantle (truly one of their stockings!) On the chest at the foot of the bed, you can see what would have been inside the stocking.

This layout is based on one of the CM Virtual Crops (October 2023). I didn't complete it in October so I didn't have to post it to the CM Blog. That's a good thing as the papers here are all from Paper Loft. Given the photos of the children's room, I thought the stocking border maker cartridge was the perfect choice for the top row. Between the print at the bottom and the prints in the photos I didn't need much in the way of embellishment but there are a few cut-apart pieces spread across the layout.

From Dining Table to Kitchen

The formal dining room is one of the rooms off the main hall. It was set for a lavish Christmas feast. Not only are the dishes fancy, but the tableware and room ornamentation is rich and vibrant! I remember from a previous visit that the house has been examined by historical paint analysts (I'm sure they have a real title but that's as much as I remember). They take chips of paint and analyze the colors dating back to the original coat, so this is likely the original color of the room. It's rather bright for my tastes though.

I made this layout based on a sketch that was part of Tammy McEwen's 2023 end-of-year challenge. It was also a sketch from the September 2023 Worldwide Virtual Crop by CM (See sketch #5). You've seen it before in the Scrimshaw layout I made for the New Bedford Convention. To pick the colors of the papers I analyzed the photos. I chose the blue cardstock background to match the blue walls in the dining room, and the distressed red to match the wooden pieces of the room. The yellow is a natural match for red and blue (think of a brighter-hued red and how that would resemble a childhood-type layout). The borders are stickers I've had from a formal sticker pack (not CM).

From the dining room, I headed to the kitchen. As this is not seen by the company, it is much less decorative in appearance. However, you can see that all of those fancy dishes came from here! And what astounds me is that all of it was created on a fireplace or in boxes heated by coals. I wonder how long it would take me to figure out how to cook in those circumstances!

This layout is another double use--it was part of the CM virtual crop and also part of the 2023 Tammy McEwen challenge. In fact, you've seen this one before too! Remember the President's dinner from my New Bedford trip? Same layout but different papers. Because I was dealing with the kitchen I dug out my "Food" theme box of papers and embellishments. I thought I would use a wood texture paper to represent the table tops and cutting boards. I again matched the background cardstock to the walls of the room (sort of a muted yellow). As there was a bit of fruit on the table I decided to add some of the last pieces of "Locally Grown" papers with their citrus theme. The last sheet is a coral cardstock that helps tie in the citrus flesh. Instead of a photo in the circle, this time that became my title box. 

Christmas Spirit

I moved into a larger hall, which may have been the original entry hall. From here there were entrances to various rooms and access to the upstairs. The period-appropriate decorations were wonderful but I also enjoyed the standard adornments such as chandeliers, curtain tie-backs, and the paintings. I was interested to see that the park had provided a harpist for the event and she played almost directly under the portrait of one of the daughters with her harp. There were costumed docents in period costumes as well.

This layout is another double-use. I created this as part of Tammy McEwen's end-of-year challenge, but it was also part of the February 2023 Virtual Crop Challenges (scroll to challenge 4). It looks totally different than the layout I made for that event. If you don't recall it, check out this layout from my Dayton trip. This layout uses some very old CM materials. The tan border across the bottom is a decorative 12" paper strip that I cut in half (so that I had enough for both pages). the green papers use up more of the Reminisce papers. The remaining stickers are from a matching pack that coordinated with the 12" tan strip. I used cranberry cardstock for the base to pick up the red in the photos. I added a couple of pink mats for the larger photos to make them pop a bit as well.

An Old Fashioned Christmas

My next trip was in December 2018. I drove down to Hampton NHS for their annual holiday event. This house was a plantation in the early 1800s and they decorated the entire house in period style. I toured the house, grounds, and farm areas during this visit. I've been here before but never got a look at the outside pieces. I think you will find the next few weeks enlightening.

This layout uses up some very old CM Reminisce papers and stickers. Since there wasn't much, I chose just a decorative border, some mats, and a couple of rectangles to host a sticker cluster. The evergreen laser-cut border was from a different collection called Christmas Past. I cut it up to spread it around the page. The tag in the bottom right is one that I made YEARS ago so I was happy to get to use it. In fact, I think I rather based the rest of the layout on the need to use that particular embellishment. 😃

It took me a while to balance the photos from this particular part of the tour. I didn't want to make a second layout but didn't want to get rid of the photos either. So I chose a 6x12 peekaboo pocket. This is the front side with 2 vertical photos. I used paper from the same pack as the embellishments above to create thin borders.

This is the back of the pocket. With 3 horizontal photos, there is no need for paper or embellishments.

Wrapping it up

I did not get a chance to climb this lighthouse as it is not in good condition. The Osterhouts and I visited with several of the rangers. As NPTC members we can talk anyone's ear off regarding national parks and travel, and the 4 rangers here were wonderful to talk to and gave us some good ideas for future visits. The sun was setting and it was time to head home. This page completes the album

This page is based on a Virtual Crop layout. Scroll to Sketch #2 for the details. I used some more of the early NSD paper here, a border sticker, and a few other stickers from the kit. I originally saw the green paper as cloth, but after consideration, I decided that it could be similar to the texture of the bricks on the lighthouse. So I used it for the far right border and the mat under the photo of the lighthouse. I wanted a touch more detail on the edges so I used a fine-tip pen to draw some stitching around the cardstock. It's a good way to frame the page.

Seek and Ye Shall Find

Sandy Hook Lighthouse was the last stop on the challenge. As this is a common occurrence, the crew handling the challenge materials were prepared and I was celebrated on completing the journey with cheers, bells, and horns. AND I was given my final card that completes the deck (well, it was, now that card is part of the layout below!) It was here that I met up with a couple from the NPTC--Karen and Tom Osterhout. I was there to witness Karen's completion of the Junior Ranger program and we walked about the site together.

I made this layout as part of a Cricut class I took from one of my Facebook groups. I didn't follow instructions well so I didn't have the cuts done before the class started so I was behind the entire time. But they sent the directions with both cut files for the lighthouses AND print-then-cut files. I started with the print-then cut files and couldn't figure out why we were also assembling cut-out versions. Turns out it was to be my choice--I didn't need both. Ah well, that provided me with a supply of embellishments that I've been able to sprinkle throughout this album. When it came to assembling the page I had some difficulty trimming my photos to fit the small squares in the filmstrip so I left a few empty and used them for journaling and embellishments. This ensured that people would see the concept. The few stickers on the page are using up more of the old NSD kit. It's ALMOST done.

On the Hook

My last stop on the Lighthouse Challenge is at the Sandy Hook Lighthouse in a part of Gateway National Recreation Area. This park has additional sites in New York. This part of the unit includes the lighthouse, lots of beach areas, and the remains of a military installation. On this visit (and, like McArthur, I shall return) I only visited the lighthouse.

This layout is based on a sketch from the CM 101 sketches book (page 10). The essence of the sketch calls for a large die cut or cluster group in the upper right corner. What I really liked about the sketch is that the left side included a vertical photo and a square photo. I substituted the unigrid in that place. It does call for a border around the background paper, so I gutted the background cardstock and then layered a slightly trimmed wood texture paper on top. I struggled a little with embellishments as I was nearly out of lighthouse stickers. With the red strip of paper under the unigrid, I decided to add some blue embellishments. I now keep a "rainbow" binder which separates small embellishments without other themes by color. I turned to the blue page and found all the blue stars and the little laser-cut banner and that seemed a perfect fit. One of the few remaining lighthouse embellishments I DID have, was added to the side of the journal box to give it a little more interest. I suppose on my "to-do" list should be creating more of those embellishments on my Cricut.

The Last Stamp Standing

My next park visit happened in October 2018 when I decided to participate in the New Jersey Lighthouse Challenge. This event happens every year on the 2nd weekend in October. The challenge involves visiting 13 different lighthouses and life-saving stations in New Jersey over 2 days. Most of those buildings have nothing to do with the National Park Service (except the last one which I'll show you next week). The lighthouses start along the Delaware River (a fact I hadn't known before starting the challenge) and along the way, the route gets very close to Fort Mott which is a stamping point for the New Jersey Coastal Heritage Trail. However, as their website will tell you: "Since September 30, 2011, as a result of a sunset clause, the National Park Service is no longer the legislative authority to be involved in the management of the Trail. At this time there is no single authority responsible for the management of the trail, although there are legislative efforts to reinstate the NPS as the legislative authority."

While the rest of the sites have relinquished their Passport Stamp, the Fort has not (and as of 2023, still hasn't!) So I decided to make a little detour and visit the Fort, get my stamp, and then finish the lighthouses.

I worked on this album while at a crop. Planning to attend a crop means figuring out what papers to take without taking my entire crop room. I knew that this fort was on the tour so I took military pages. Yet when I got to this layout I didn't really feel the military essence (also it was a single right-hand page given the prior layout). I had also brought my "Fall" themed papers with me and this paper and embellishments are from that group, specifically from the Harvest Delight CM papers (circa 2019).  The layout is loosely based on a sketch or rather one of a series of sketches from Creative Memories. Noreen Smith developed a set of formulas. By cutting one pack of paper (generally 12 double-sided pages for CM) as the formula indicates, you can create an entire album by arranging the strips in various ways. I didn't need to do all of the cuts, I just figured out which strips were used and what the widths were.

The Fort hosts a small museum detailing life during its active years. The large gun below is the correct size but is actually painted on the wall. A few buildings are remaining and some batteries are falling down. As I wanted to keep moving to the lighthouses I didn't spend too much time on site here.

This was a fairly easy layout as it is technically the "Wallpaper" technique. I bought those 2 papers at the Lancaster Scrapbook Convention. The yellow house was blending a bit into the tan background so I matted them on black cardstock. I added a few stickers from the new CM sticker pack "Called to Serve" to add a little more eye movement around the page but this one came together quickly.

Gone Fishing

As I was walking along the water, I crossed the bridge and saw the egret on the rocks. I took a few more photos and turned around to see that it had jumped up to the top of the bridge! And then, as I watched, it dipped its head into the fisherman's bait bucket and helped himself to lunch! You just never know what you will see in the parks!

I made this layout for an end-of-year challenge group I joined from Tammy McEwen. She put together a series of sketches from the CM blog throughout the year that totaled 23 pages (plus a bonus). I made this during her challenge but you can see the original here (scroll to sketch #7). I had used this one previously but when you change the papers, and put it in a different album, it doesn't really matter. Don't believe me? Check out this post that I made a few months ago. It's the 2nd layout on the page and uses the exact same sketch but with an older NSD pack. This time I used Tropic Time papers. The fish borders come from the Serene Waters pack. My only wish is that they had reversed the coloring so that it would match in the middle instead of starting over on the right page. The title sticker is from the Scrapbook Customs sticker pack.

Landlubber

My next stop is to Biscayne National Park. I was a little later arriving than I had hoped so I missed all of the boat tours that show off the park. Biscayne is about 99% water with just a tiny bit of land for a visitor center. I did what I could to explore that land but I will definitely have to come back to see some more.

In my quest to use up the Cool Serenity papers, I chose to use 2 borders I had made a while ago. Each border consists of a punched wave border, a contrasting lime green strip, and a 4x6 homemade mat with decorations from the kit. They did a nice job framing my photos of the entrance and compass. I added 2 Biscayne-specific stickers. On the left mat, I added a small shield sticker for the park. On the right, I added the map of the park from the Scrapbook Customs sticker page. I had a bit of the lime green paper left so I added the strips to balance the pages (right side of the left page and a small piece under the top photo on the right page).

Taking the Chance

My last stop of the day was to try the auto loop suggested by the ranger. It is a great way to get into the middle of the park and see the trees and more wildlife. After a few miles though, the road changes to dirt, and then it started to rain. I was in a rental (not all that different from the die cut!) and a little nervous about getting mired in a place with poor cellular reception. So soon after I passed the "Last Chance" I decided it was prudent to turn around. I made it through less than 1/2 of the loop. I suppose I'll have to revisit and see the other half someday. I'll rent an SUV next time.

As I was contemplating what papers to use, I found the die cut of the car and I knew that between that and the last chance sign I needed some red in the papers. I chose an old "Thank You" kit from Creative Memories that had a red, tropical theme. You may remember this technique--I trimmed the papers to 6" x 6" squares and put 4 on a page. The paper was originally 7" x 7" so not a lot of waste here. If your cuts are a little uneven, feel free to hide the center with photos or embellishments. The stickers were part of the same kit. While I didn't really have enough left to make symmetrical placements, I was able to make some focal points to draw the eyes.

Pretty Big

I made it to the Oasis Visitor Center just as it was closing. Luckily the ranger there was happy to see me. Not only did I have time to get stamps, we had a chat about what I could see before dusk. I love rangers who are enthusiastic about their jobs and want to help visitors. Before I got on the auto loop she recommended, I drove to the other side of the park to see the Nathaniel P. Reed Visitor Center. The photos below are all taken there. I loved the statues of the animals (the lizard is real). A sobering information sign did indicate that we are in danger of losing these precious habitats due to climate change. The photo that says "lift" gives a close-up view of the signs showing how much water they got from a hurricane and how much further the waters will rise due to climate change unless we can reverse our track. 

The papers and embellishments are from the Vitamin Sea pack. The design may be one of my own. I thought it was a 1-2-3, except that the pink/coral papers are both 6" strips, so that takes the whole page. I turned the right side so that instead of having the pink facing each other in the middle, there was some contrast. That gave me a space to put 1/2 of the laser-cut border. Hindsight--I think the other half should be on the left page under the water. what do you think? 

Going Postal

Big Cypress National Preserve is located fairly close to the Shark Valley area of the Everglades National Park. I had heard about this post office, so I watched for it as I drove. It is the smallest post office in the United States. It was closed when I drove by but I did stop for a quick shot of the building and the sign. You can see that the mail cart is too big to store inside! It was an interesting diversion as I traveled and since it sits between the 2 national park units, I'm including it here. Let me know if you've been here in the comments!

This layout is based on a sketch. Interestingly, I found it in 2 places. Sketch N Scrap has a Facebook challenge group and posts "throwback" challenges monthly. This was posted as a throwback challenge in November 2023. However, I had pinned the sketch from its original offering in 2017. I used some paper from Creative Memories "Travel Log" pack (released in 2019). I wanted a tropical feel but in muted tones and this paper worked perfectly. There are lots of ways to do a fold-over technique. I like this one that uses just a hint of the other side with its brilliant floral pattern. I tried to turn the journal box into a postcard by applying the "first class" sticker in the stamp spot of the card. I also chose to add postal touches to the 2 tags tucked into the fold. After I took this photo I did find 2 stickers that were better than my hand-drawn attempt (which I admit is backward) so I like the page even more!

Bonus Post--Complementary Colors

Hello all! I'm presenting a new layout for you as part of the Lasting Memories Challenge #687--Complementary Colors. This layout is part of a trip to the DeSoto National Memorial in Florida. Part of their nature trail includes these 2 religious statues. DeSoto's expedition had 12 Catholic priests, and the local diocese provided these 2 statues in the park. 

Complementary colors are those directly across from each other on a color wheel. There's a copy of a color wheel in the link to the challenge above. I chose blue and orange for my colors. The background paper is baby blue and the 1" borders are an orange-toned designer paper. I also decided to make the clouds a dark blue as part of the contrast, though I was mighty tempted to use the white on the reverse side. The blue worked out well though. The layout is based on a CM Virtual Crop sketch that I saved. The papers are from the CM collection "Tropic Time".

Finally! Anhingas!

And finally, after talking about them for a few weeks, we can see the anhinga bird! I got some great views of them as the tram tour returned to the visitor center. Because they dive for their food, they need to dry their wings so you can often find them perched on a branch in the sun with wings extended. The birds below show different age ranges with the head and neck getting darker as they age. This is the final entry from the Everglades but there were 2 more parks that I visited and we'll start with them next week.

I based this layout on the March 2023 Power Hour layouts from Meggan and Tessa. I liked the diagonal overlaps at the bottom. It really highlights the vertical photos at the top. The background paper (leafy green) is from Totally Tonal Zoo papers. The orange diamond sticker borders are from that pack as well. If you check out the Power Hour,  you'll see how 2 borders can cover an excess of 24" of paper!  

This Post is Brought to you by the Number 5

The halfway point of the tram ride brings us to this viewing tower. It does provide a lovely view of the area and I was able to see my first Anhinga. He dived into the water and stayed down for at least 30 seconds, then rose up about 50 yards distant from where he entered. It was an amazing sight. And I think he did catch the fish! Also found was this unusual little snake (he's about the width of a pencil). Whatever he ate put a crook in him and gave him the image of the number 5!

For this layout, I wanted to return to the Scrapbook Customs paper. I used the opposite side this time which, similar to my previous CM paper, had the state shape in the corner. It was originally on the bottom so I trimmed it to 6" and moved it to the top. I used a coordinating piece of cardstock on the left bottom page. Both are mounted on dark brown cardstock which matches the photos well. I used a Monstera Leaf punch to get the brown and green leaves and then added some older flowers from my stash. The orange/coral tones popped. The Everglades Memories sticker and the selfie sticker are from the coordinating Scrapbook Customs Sticker pack. The other stickers and enamel dots are from CM packs.

Walk on the Wild Side

While on the tram tour, I saw a LOT of wildlife and even amazed myself that the zoom feature on the camera worked to get the close-ups. The middle 2 photos are not animals but do go well with the other bird photos. The top is an interesting flower I found and the bottom is a snail shell.

This layout is based on the CM Virtual Crop sketch from September 2023 (scroll to sketch #3 for the design). I used the CM What a Zoo Fast-to-Fabulous paper pack for the background. The zig-zag strips across the bottom are all stickers from the What a Zoo Tonal stickers. The title sticker is from the original What a Zoo sticker pack. Since it matched the other 3 it was the perfect choice of title! A few more bird stickers from that pack provide the interest to keep the eye moving across the page. 

Alligator Alley Part 3!!

Yes, even more alligators! This nest is near where the tram stopped (you'll see the viewing tower in a couple of weeks). The photo of the gator is actually from the return trip. We saw many different animals in trees and on logs as we returned. I just wanted to put all the alligator material on one page.

This layout is based on yet another sketch from the 101 Sketch Book CM produced (I'm trying to use every sketch in the book for one of their challenges). The sketch can be found on page 19. I used a border punch to create the decorative corners. I thought the wave would match the alligator/water elements well. Had I thought about it a bit more, I might have been able to get the corners punched without creating that break between the left and bottom pages (a similar problem on the top and right pages). The base is dark brown cardstock. To save weight, there are just pieces glued behind the cut corners. The middle square is from the Totally Tonal Zoo Textures pack. It looked a LOT like alligator skin to me!

Watch the Tram Car Please

My next stop was just down the road at the Shark Valley visitor center. I purchased a ticket to one of their Tram Tours (the alternative is to bike the 15 miles--not really my thing). This 2-hour tour took us deeper into the park where we could see tons of wildlife and really get a look at the terrain. I now understand hummocks a lot better! As you'll see in the next few posts, the experience is well worth the cost and time involved!

This is another of the 101 sketches from the CM book (page 11). The papers come from the Vitamin Sea pack but the title came from an older travel kit (I think Scenic Route). Because I ended the airboat tour on the left side, I only had the right-side page to kick off this part of the trip. That title (a laser-cut border) was the perfect way to transition to the tram tour. The Vitamin Sea border pack had the top border which matched well. The rest of the embellishments are from that pack as well. I punched a circle to offset the leaf on the top border.

Alligator Alley part 2

Our airboat tour included quite a few alligators as well as some really interesting landscape photo ops! I do have to wonder why the alligators (who should have been sleeping in the sun) came close to the boat. While they didn't feed the alligators during our trip, I do have to wonder if they do so later to encourage them to come closer. Still, the results could be negative if they decided to gnaw on someone's hand on the railing as in the bottom right photo!

If this layout looks familiar, it's because I featured it a few weeks ago as a bonus post. Refer to this page to get the details on the layout.

After returning to the dock I decided to indulge in a bit of fun photography. This was me posing in front of a green screen. I wasn't really sure what it would look like until it was done but I simply HAD to have it. 

This layout is based on a VERY OLD CM virtual crop challenge (2017!). You can see the original post here. I continued my use of the Cool Serenity papers. The large square is the light-colored paper. I did the math to figure out the best width for the contrasting dark stripes. I loved that one of the stickers was supposed to refer to a vacation as a getaway. However, the spacing turned it into the perfect caption for my faux photo. I mounted that sticker on darker paper so that it didn't blend into the background too much. The alligator sticker and plant leaves are puffy stickers from a newer CM pack Zoo Too. Although newer, the colors matched well. Don't be afraid to mix collections!

Air Powered

 It was time to get our tour started. The fan is powerful but also very loud, so there isn't much narration of the area while we fly along the water. Periodically though, our captain would stop the boat and talk a bit about what we were seeing.

This layout is based on a Sketch and Scrap posting. I liked that they had more than 2 photos included, though you see that i added a 4th (it's really their business card). I used a rather old CM kit called Cool Serenity. There was little left when I began these pages and you'll see it on a few more layouts in this trip. It's not quite time to recycle the remnants but it's getting close! The title and the 3 items clustered at the top are all die-cut embellishments from the kit. The grassy-looking sticker under the title is from a different pack but I thought it worked well with the photo of the boat's wake. 

Snakes, why does it always have to be snakes?

Wow! This is Post #400 for my blog! Thanks to those who've stayed with me all these years. I hope you enjoyed my pages.

The next morning I headed back to the Everglades. I wanted to take an Airboat Tour. The NPS had its own tour but stopped offering tours after damage from a hurricane. Three concessionaires still offer them and they are all authorized by the NPS so to me, it is a valid option for touring. All three are along the same road heading toward the park and I chose this one because it was the first in line! 😁 I purchased my ticket but still had some time to kill before loading and they suggested the pre-cruise entertainment of a wildlife demonstration. The pseudo-ranger was handling a variety of snakes and other nasty things. There is an alligator locked up as well. It was a bit sad knowing that these animals were being handled as toys rather than the beautiful lifeforms they are. 

I based this layout on another of the 101 Sketches book (page 51). I used an older pack of CM papers called Vitamin Sea. I looked through all of my tropical and beach packs and liked how the background paper reflected the thatched hut look of the performance area.  The top border is a laser cut from the theme pack. The bottom border is a set of punched circles that I cut in half. The full circle title sticker works perfectly with those and pops given that it's a full circle. The snakes are from a pack I bought years ago. If you remember my odd wanderings in Greeley Colorado where I found a rattlesnake dress, this uses up the snakes I bought for that page. 

Anhinga Trail with no Anhingas

 My next stop was the Royal Palm Visitor Center. I wanted to walk the Anhinga Trail here as it is well known for viewing wildlife. Strangely I didn't see any of the birds for which the trail is named! I did have to stop and think about parking there after seeing the vulture warning sign (no damage to the car this time luckily). The trail is lovely, fully paved, and not terribly long (a little less than a mile). I do recommend it. Even though one of my first sights was a gator in the pond area at the head of the trail! (That's a zoomed-in image--I did NOT get close to any).

I returned to the 101 Sketches book for this layout (page 105). I chose the paper collection called Serene Waters. This not only has regular paper and stickers but some vellum paper as well. I chose 2 printed pages for the background and then layered the striped vellum on top for the left and right edges. I wanted to mimic the water flowing across the grasses. The top borders are laser-cut borders. I bought 2 packs so that I could mirror them across double-page layouts. Something to consider when you add them to your shopping cart!

Alligator Alley

I left the Corrigan beach party as I needed to head to Florida for a conference with the Health Professions Network. I had a couple of extra days, so I flew down early and visited some national parks. My first stop was The Everglades. I learned that this park is NOT a swamp as many would have you believe. The water source is continually moving and is in fact one of the slowest-moving and widest rivers anywhere. I learned a lot about the park at the Ernest Coe visitor center. There was a movie as well as a set of displays in the visitor center. I also joined a ranger as he walked around the porch with us pointing out some of the flora and fauna of the area. And that's where I saw my first alligator! (He's by the tree on the left page photo).

For these 2 pages, I returned to wallpaper as a technique. As I sometimes do, I started with the right-hand page. That is one of the Scrapbook Customs papers that I bought (I think I have at least 30 parks represented in my stash). I like that one of my photos from the porch was similar to the background of the paper so that went in the "sky" section of the paper. Because I wanted to keep the Everglades sign I only had enough room for a journal box. For the left page, I needed a place to display the unigrid. CM had recently released some travel pages and Florida was among them. This page with the outline of the state in the corner matched well with the Scrapbook Customs page and I was able to add a few more photos. The alligator embellishment was from the CM pack but the title, camera, and wildlife stickers were from the coordinating Scrapbook Customs sticker pack.

Following Their Footsteps

Jim and I reached the beach! It's not a popular spot for sunbathing so there were many pristine areas. I found a few different sets of animal tracks in the sand. We had the option to do a "loop" for the return trip and we did. Along the way, we saw some interesting trees or perhaps it's early driftwood?

This layout uses paper from Sweet Summer and a sketch from the CM 101 Sketches book (a promo from earlier this year). I can't show you the sketch, but if you have the book it is on page 45. You can see from the photo below that there is an 8 1/2 x 11 pocket page between the 2 pages of the layout. While I used the same background pages, the topics were slightly different, so I didn't mind separating them. The wavy borders are one laser-cut piece that I snipped to the length of the column. The seashells are a border punch from CM. I punched them on ivory-toned paper and then inked them with a bit of brown ink on a dauber to give them some texture. The stickers on the pocket page are from the Eastern National scrapbook kit

While there I took time to complete the Junior Ranger book. Below is a photo of me being sworn in by the rangers.

Because the background paper was so scenic, I chose only to add a couple of stickers from the Junior Ranger sticker book (available at most national park gift stores). The reason I needed the pocket page was the size of the junior ranger book and certificate. 

The Road Least Traveled

While in Rehoboth, Jim and I took a day to drive down to Assateague Island National Seashore. I thought I had been to this park before, and likely I had visited the visitor center, but apparently, most of my time had been spent at Chincoteague. I don't ever recall seeing so many of the native horses, nor of them being so close to the car!

We hiked to one of the beaches along a trail. At one point, they were trying to build a resort in the area and there was residual macadam from the roadway that was to be used to enter the site. The idea was abandoned but the road, or bits of it, remain. You can walk on some parts of it--indeed it is the bulk of the trail we chose. 

This layout is based on a sketch from the CM 101 sketches book (page 104). The sketch calls for a series of diamonds on the left side and when I saw the print on this paper, I knew it was the perfect fit. I believe the background pages are old CM. I didn't purchase them though--my sister and I had taken all of our unused scrapbook supplies to sell at a specialty yard sale earlier this year. This paper didn't sell so I took it for my own stash (I think it was my sister's though it could have been my mother's). I liked the way the blue pulled out the sky and our clothing in the photos. A touch of green matched the grasses as well. There is a 2nd paper that forms the mats for the right side of each page. It keeps a bold pattern from becoming overwhelming. The "Road Trip" die cut and horse sticker are from the Eastern National scrapbook kit.

It Was Once

My next National Park Trip was part of a long vacation in September 2018. Jim's family had planned to go to Atlantic Beach as usual, but a hurricane had ripped through the town just the week before and they were still in cleanup mode. So we hastily researched alternatives and decided to head to Rehoboth. In that area, I chose to refresh my First State stamps from the Ryves Holt House in Lewes, DE. Jim and I took a tour of the building which had served as an inn. Some of the original supports and doors were still in place-something I didn't discover on my first visit 2 years prior. 

But between this trip and today, the house is no longer part of the First State National Historical Park! In March of 2021, this site was removed due to a legal problem. As part of the NPS rules, buildings must be on land owned by the same entity as the structure. Unfortunately, the building is on land owned by the church next door. So until that changes, this is no longer an NPS site! I'm glad I visited it while I could.

This layout is from a kit I purchased from the Paper Loft. I love that their papers have a muted tone to them. It works so well with a variety of historic visits. I thought the tones of this matched the house's red and the wood pieces' browns. It's a simple enough layout to recreate. Just cut 12" strips of paper or cardstock at 7" and 5". Do the same for a piece of patterned paper and mix them so that there are 12" of each per page. I've done something similar on other layouts, sometimes with 2 sheets of decorative paper.

Even Smaller than the Dinkie

Happy New Year to everyone and thanks for joining me for another year of National Park Scrapbook page posts! 

The last layout in the series highlights the smaller trains on display this weekend. In one building the local model railroad groups created a large display. Outside, someone brought their personal-sized yard train and in another building, there were Lego train sets. These were of particular importance to my dad and nephews.

This layout is based on one of Noreen Smith's 1-2-3 layouts (July 2017). You can still see the video here. I used a pack of CM paper called "Essentials" which had a foiled dot pattern and some bright colors. They don't say Lego on the pack but you can tell that's what they were thinking when they made the papers. I used 2 different shades of cardstock. I liked the blue but since one set of triangles was the exact same shade, I chose to move those to the right side of the layout and use a green cardstock base. Normally you would flip over and use the back side to decrease the "matchy" problem. But the back was large strips of white and yellow and wouldn't mix too well. I think this turned out fine in the end though.