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.