Madness in the Desert Part 19--But First, Lunch

The first thing we did when we got to Wupatki was to hand out the box lunches. There were a few tables but mostly people found seats on ledges or even on our coolers. It would be nice if you could find a bit of shade as it was very hot that day. I love when we can use a local caterer as the sandwiches, even when simple, are outstanding! And there were some different sides like fruit salad or potato salad.

This layout was created for my February 2020 class with Noreen Smith. That means you can't see the original sketch. What I liked about this layout was that I got to use another big square embellishment in a photo area. The papers are from an old CM kit that was a Memory Keeper's Club. The lighter papers have a botanical theme and the darker brown is more geometric. I never knew what to do with plain square stickers, but I think cutting them and using them as ends of the border was a nice touch.

Madness in the Desert Part 18--the Doorway to Wupatki

 Our bus stopped at the entrance sign to Wupatki. Most people in the club like getting a photo of themselves with the park signs and this one is unique because they built the background to mimic the historic houses and with the door--well it was just too delicious to pass up the photo op! Here's a sampling of club members posing at the doorway. I am the second from the top.

I'm not completely sure if I followed a sketch for this layout. It's possible but I can't find anything that I used. It's fairly straightforward and is similar to a few other pages I've made. CM produced this border punch with a "knock-out" effect. That is, the image is hollow and reflects any paper put underneath. After punching you trim it to the appropriate size. This created a nice frame for the multiple horizontal photos. It looks like I had a few of the punched arrowhead designs from the Sunset Crater page. Those created bases for the 3 clusters. The decorative card on the bottom left is from a pack of "Project Life" cards I won in a raffle. The 3x4 cards were new to me but they are an essential part of scrapbooking now

Madness in the Desert part 17--The Great Outdoors

Our group climbed back onto the bus and headed toward our next park. Along the way, we stopped at an overlook so we could see the valley. It was a great view and as I was looking around I found a rock with multiple colors of algae growing on it. I grabbed a photo of that, of course.

Although this is a single stop and one double layout, it's really 2 separate pages. The left page came from a sketch from the 2020 monthly class with Noreen Smith. I can't show you the sketch, but I turned what was to have been 4x4 photos on the right into 2 decorative boxes. I used larger square stickers from my camping stash and then cut a title sticker so that the words were evenly divided between the 2. The little tree was a nice touch too!

The right page is based on this pin I saved. Sometimes it's nice to keep a page very simple. I traced around a template to get my puffy border. Instead of hexagons, I used a few scraps of paper as diamonds in the lower right corner. I used the pale Spargo CM pages as a base so the blue and brown popped easily. I inked the white edges of the square. As it was blending into the background, the brown along the edges helped to make it stand out. You can use your CM pens for this, or any archival ink.

Madness in the Desert part 16--Junior and Not so Junior

Back at the visitor center, we had time to explore the exhibits (one of the most interesting was creating your own earthquake by jumping on a floor plate and watching the waves on the monitor). There are a LOT of club members who like to complete the Junior Ranger booklets and earn their badge. To make it easier on the rangers, we held one giant swearing-in ceremony and then had them all take a group photo before getting back on the bus.

This layout is VERY loosely based on Noreen Smith's August 2019 1-2-3 layout. This paper came from the Adventure paper pack. When I have photos of large groups (like the junior rangers above) I like to print them as 8x10 so you can see all the people clearly. That sort of messes with the planned layout that Noreen provided, but if you think of it as a cluster of photos it works well! I moved the strips and mats around a bit so that you have the illusion of longer strips with the vertical photos "covering" the other side of the strip. A few stickers from the Junior Ranger tablet and this layout was done!

Breaking News! I made #2 for Lasting Memories July

 Woot Woot! I was so happy to log in today and see that my Fort Washington page was chosen as #2 from the monthly contest by Lasting Memories!

Looks like you'll see more posts from me if I can function as a guest designer again!

Madness In The Desert Part 15--Take a Hike!

After the Ranger Talk, we were invited to stroll along a nearby nature path. We could hug trees, see a dry creekbed, and look at the scant vegetation up close. Our group took advantage of this despite being hot and sunny. We are dedicated explorers!

This is another layout from Club Scrap. Scroll to layouts 5 and 6. You'll notice that my layout is not as "red" as the template. These kits often include ribbon and while I've put it on some of my layouts, it isn't a favorite of mine (especially if I have to tie a bow). I kept the brown photo mats on the bottom right but you'll notice that I made the layout work for me--I put a horizontal photo across the first 2 blocks. And if you look closely you'll see that I also added a peekaboo pocket for more photos.

Madness in the Desert Part 14--A Lot of Ash

 We were scheduled for a ranger talk so we all gathered at the Amphitheater. The ranger talked about how the volcano impacted life when it exploded over 1000 years ago. What most surprised me is how little vegetation has managed to find root in those years. When you think about how forests regrow after a fire, I had expected more trees and less ash. But the rocky terrain is the most prevalent feature here. 

I based this layout on an idea from Noreen Smith (Organized and Creative Mom). With her move to Creative Memories, her private website closed but you can still see the pin I saved here. The paper is from Creative Memories Adventure papers (2017). I had used a small bit on the right side of one of the mountain papers, but I really liked how that paper matched the park's setting, so I used it with a bit of "white space". The boot print border stickers were part of the pack, but the ranger, flat hat, and volcano came from a Junior Ranger sticker book I received as a gift. 

Madness in the Desert Part 13--Let the Stamping Begin!

Our first stop on the bus tour was Sunset Crater Volcano National Monument. They were quite prepared for us and had distributed the stamps across several tables. That was where all the club members started. Luckily the lines were manageable and everyone was well-mannered.

This layout is based on a pin I had saved. I used one of my wooden texture papers for the background and a small square of the Eastern National paper with the passport and stamps on it. I punched the arrowhead watermarks from a separate Eastern National paper to make the cross parts of the design. One of my stash pieces is a sheet with a multitude of National Park-looking sign backs (blank). I added some sticker letters to create the title Those came from an older CM pack that had a nature theme. If you look closely you'll see the faint botanical pattern on the letters. That was always one of my favorite sets. 

Madness in the Desert Part 12--Wish You Were Here

The day after the train trip I had signed up both Jim and myself for the bus tour of two of our host parks and other Flagstaff attractions. (The official convention park is actually a collection of 3 Flagstaff area parks). When we woke that morning though, Jim didn't feel well and ended up staying in bed rather than taking the bus trip. What we only realized with hindsight, was that Jim was having a mild attack of altitude sickness (Flagstaff is at 7,000 feet above sea level). That's probably why he was so tired on the train ride home from the Grand Canyon. 

I loosely based this layout on the pin I saved (just the left page). I wanted the focus of this page to be the stitched-together panorama of the bus crew. As I didn't have that particular set of die cuts, I Googled "free SVG bus" files to fill the gap at the bottom of the page. I liked this one and uploaded it to the Cricut. I used some Travel Log kit to add stickers and mat the photos.

Madness in the Desert Part 11--Bandits!

Too soon, it was time to return to the train and ride back to our hotel. Our club was perhaps a BIT more reserved on the ride back as we were a little tired from our excursions. We had more visitors--singers as well as the sheriff, but.....

This layout is based on a pin I saved. The paper I used is the Close To My Heart Dakota paper. I do like the pattern, but it was difficult to find. I think it was a specialty pack made for one of their conventions (just based on some of the layouts I've seen using it). I cut the title from the same paper using my Cricut. I outlined it in black a bit to give a little more contrast with the blue paper. There is an 8 1/2 x 11 pocket page slipped between the 2 pages of the layout (which didn't really matter as the right page isn't connected to the left significantly). Here is where I cut another piece from the park newsletter to augment the information about the bandits.

Our train was "attacked" by the bandits (who looked just like the characters from this morning's performance) who "demanded" that we fork over our valuables. Essentially this is the way they collect tips and it was sort of funny. I tried putting a dollar bill in my mouth for them to collect but they chose to just pluck it from my mouth (no stolen kisses--drat!) 

The back of the pocket stumped me for a bit but then I decided that it was a good place to store my Junior Ranger booklet (and you'll see more information on that as we get into the Covid years!) The right side page is simply wallpaper. When you use paper from one of the hobby stores, there is often a 1/2" strip that has the bar code printed so that the stores can scan the purchases. They have transitioned the opposite side of that to a decorative border. I placed that along the right edge to finish the page.