Bonus post--Fort Washington

I am playing along with Lasting Memories today so here's a bonus post as I join their "WINTER" games. 

In October 2019 I participated in the Maryland Lighthouse Challenge. One of those is not only a lighthouse but a National Park Unit! This light was placed near the fort in the 1800s and while nominally under the jurisdiction of the US Coast Guard, the keepers were required to abide by the direction of the Fort's military commanders. There never were any battles so other than ensuring competence and compliance I think they had little to worry about. The lighthouse is still working but instead of the large Fresnel lens, it now boasts a small but powerful LED light (very common today). Because the structure is less important, it has been neglected and is in very poor condition sadly. The most interesting part of the lighthouse is the large triangle with the number 80 inside. This was the identification marker so ship captains could locate their position by the color and markers along the Potomac River.

To meet the challenge, I needed to use items beginning with the letters in Winter on my layout. I used:

Woodgrain paper (one of the background sheets)

Inked edges (around the triangle I made on the vellum)

Navy (the other background sheet)

Tag and triangle (tag on the upper right page and triangle on the lower right page)

Enamel embellishments (there are stars and a fish on the tag)

Ripped paper (I ripped the small scrap under the triangle I made)

I typically am daunted by the word challenges but it is a fun way to ensure you have a variety of elements on the paper. If you participate, let me know what you used for your letters! Need some help? I did and I used this handy guide that you'll see as a link in the challenge page. I based the layout on this sketch I saved. The background is papers from Creative Memories as well as Club Scrap. By welding the 2 halves on each side I only needed one sheet of each. I had made the tag at the Creative Memories convention when Serene Waters was launched. The border across the middle (mirrored triangles) is punched on a coordinating collection called Summer Nights. That was a secret box collection and it's great that it works so well as it expands my ability to use the collection components like mats and stickers.