Madness in the Desert Part 36--How to Visit a Park That Isn't There

This is our final entry in the Madness in the Desert album! You remember that last week we talked about Casa Grande Ruins National Monument. Near here is another National Park Unit called Hohokam Pima National Monument. Now that particular unit is not available to visit. The village had been excavated and explored, but the Native Tribe asked the area to be covered over. As the NPS says: "Though authorized to become a monument, it is not a designated site. There are no signs, facilities, roads, cancellation stamps, brochures, features, displays, or other markers in place. The grounds are on Native American land and not open for visits."

This is often a bone of contention for our NPTC club members. To provide a way to "count" this park, the club has 2 suggestions (technically a member can count a visit as they deem fit). The first suggestion is the Huhugam Heritage Center in Chandler, AZ. While Jim and I were nearby, it was, at that time, closed for renovations. The original, and still valid method we chose, was to visit Casa Grande. The museum here has a few displays about Pima life and culture, so we have both added Hohokam Pima to our list of completed units. Have you checked this park off on your list? Let me know in the comments below.

I scraplifted this idea from Scrapbook.com. I was getting close to the album's end so I had many scraps available. I layered several in orange and yellow tones on the page. The top border includes some fussy-cut items from a fairly old piece of CM paper. It's supposed to be a fall theme but I've always thought it worked well for Native American designs. I used some punches and other scraps to make the window and the sun designs.

Lasting Memories Post 4--Falling For You

Hello all! I'm serving as a Guest Designer for Lasting Memories all through October! I've been posting an extra layout each Sunday at noon for the past 4 weeks. Each follows the weekly challenge posted at Lasting Memories and I hope you join the challenge! Post your version through the link at the bottom of their post.

For the final installment, we hop into 2020 and my first visit to New River Gorge (which was a National River when we visited but is now a National Park!) Covid was still sweeping the nation but I badly needed a getaway from work. However, where do you go where you can stay away from people? How about a cabin in the middle of West Virginia? So, Jim, I, and his sister Kristen journeyed down for a few days of relaxation and "leaf peeping". On our first morning there we headed to the visitor center. Since no one could go inside, the ranger was under the porch area. We got a few ideas for hikes and then went to the overlook behind the center to see the famous bridge spanning the river.

This week's Challenge is LM #725 - Costumes - dress up your layout by adding something sparkly! I chose Sketch #4 from Creative Memories' Virtual Crop this month. The paper is from a 2019 pack called Harvest Delight. It was not the pack I thought I would use. With the challenge of using something sparkly (admittedly NOT something I use a lot), I thought about Hello Autumn from 2020. However, when I pulled that pack I realized I had already used the foiled elements! So I dug through the box of Fall items and found this one. The sketch calls for a 10" piece of paper in the center but I only had 1 full sheet left. I decided that I would use the 4-squares technique in a smaller way. I cut 10" white cardstock (actually the title pages for some other packs I had used) and layered the 5" squares to ensure there were no gaps. Then I used the foiled leaves wherever you see hexagons on the sketch. I was able to trim one photo to a 4x4" square and then trim a journal box to the same size. That fills in for the horizontal 6x4 photo on the right page. All that is left from the pack now is one long strip of white designer paper, stickers, and a few mat cards. I kept those together for now but may decide to donate them the next time I empty my "purge" box.

Madness in the Desert Part 35--The Big House

After watching the movie and exploring the exhibits in the visitor center, we ventured outside (into the heat again) to see the structure. Though it has stood for many years, the NPS is working on protecting it, hence the canopy over the top to protect it a bit from rain and to decrease erosion.

I had thought that I followed a border sketch to create the border across the top of the page. Perhaps I just followed my instincts! The base is plain yellow. The next layer is a strip of the same paper that is featured across the bottom. On top of that are 2 rectangles of blue/orange paper that you've seen on some other pages. The title letters are from a set of 2 punches my mother and I bought at a scrapbook yardsale. I have to say, it looked like a good idea at the time but they were actually rather difficult to use to create the few letters I needed. However, they WERE the right size!

This has been a tourist site much longer than it has been in the National Park Service, and consequently, there is some defacement. Though as that happened in the 1700s and 1800s even that, in some sense, is historic.

This is ALMOST wallpaper. It's 2 pieces of 6x12 paper. The burst at the top reminded me of sunrise/sunset. That set the mood for the sienna tone across the bottom. I wish I had let more of the landscape show. I used a few photo corner stickers on the upper right photo. They do NOT help adhere the photo to the page. They just give that old-fashioned look. Do you like putting stickers on your photos? CM materials are safe for photos so it won't do them any harm.

Madness in the Desert Part 34--In Ruins

On the morning after our Saguaro visit, I dropped Jim off at the Air Museum for a 2nd day of exploring (I was spared that, and had planned a trip to Coronado). However, I barely made it out of the parking lot when my phone rang. The thunderstorm of the night before knocked out power to the museum and closed it for the day. We had already checked out of the hotel, so it made sense that we meander our way to Phoenix where we would fly out the next morning. So we visited the Western National bookstore north of Tucson and then decided on Casa Grande so I would still get another new National Park unit. 

If you have even a smattering of Spanish (as I do, and to which my sister Lisa will attest), you know that this translates to Big House. The people lived in the area over 4000 years ago and the origins of this building remain a mystery. There are hints that it might have been a celestial observatory but it might have been a storehouse or religious site. Additional walls create a surrounding plaza where trade and crafts such as pottery making likely happened.

I had trouble fitting in all that I wanted to on this page, so I chose a 12x6 peekaboo pocket to add the brochure and (as you can see below) a couple of extra photos.

This layout is based on a sketch from my Scrap Your Stash class with Noreen Smith in 2020. The base page is a sheet with a mild yellow tone and I then added a couple of strips of coordinating paper from the CM "Shades of Yellow" paper pack. Luckily, I had a few stickers that matched the items in the photos, so it was a simple layout.

Lasting Memories Post 3--A Day at the Museum

Hello all! I'm serving as a Guest Designer for Lasting Memories all through October! I'll be posting an extra layout each Sunday at noon for the next 2 weeks. Each is following the weekly challenge posted at Lasting Memories and I hope you join the challenge! Post your version through the link at the bottom of their post.

Still from my New Mexico trip in October 2019, this layout features a museum I went to near Santa Fe. My NPTC friend Robbie lives near there so we met to get a few stamps, and this museum covers 2 different trails. Some of the displays were lovely examples of colonial life such as furniture and religious icons. Then there was the display of Paul Pletka's art. Some of which I found quite disturbing. I told Robbie that it was her fault if I had nightmares after seeing that gallery!

Today's challenge is LM #724  - Harvest - be inspired by those growing crops by using ascending sizes of paper strips or shapes OR use a colorful ombre design. I used a sketch from Cheryl Even for this layout. I had remnants from several collections here but the floral print is some of the last of the Creative Memories Mexico theme pack. the cactus border is from that pack as well and I cut it in half to spread across the layout. I liked this sketch as it had room for a large 5x7 photo. I inadvertently made that size when I stitched 2 photos together to show the living space all at once. The outside of the museum is a postcard I purchased in their gift shop.

Madness in the Desert Part 33--Cactus Loop

I had visited Saguaro NP previously but had only seen the park's western side. You can see that post here. This time we visited the eastern end and drove their auto loop (which I'm happy to say is paved!) 

I wanted to make this layout after I saw this post on the Farmhouse Memories blog. I don't use fabric a lot, but they have a few examples that have enticed me to include it. Even though I know it isn't lignin-free, sometimes it just makes the right statement and this page is a good example of that. Farmhouse Memories sells a sheet of sticky paper that you use to stiffen the fabric so that it lies flat and gives you a surface so that you can attach adhesive just like you would for photos or other papers. My hardest decision was where to cut the fabric as I didn't want it to cover the photos. So I ended up cutting off the tops of some of the cacti. There are just 2 photos on this page. The image on the top left is a panoramic postcard I purchased in the gift shop.

Madness in the Desert part 32--Looking Sharp

To refresh, my last post on this trip looked at Montezuma Castle. After leaving there, we finished our drive to Tucson and then spent a day looking at planes. Jim's excitement over that trip was that we would go to the Pima Air & Space Museum, the starting point for a "Boneyard" tour of the nearby Air Force base. All those photos (and there are a LOT) are in the album at home. As they don't focus on national parks, I'll skip them (you're welcome). 😁

After leaving that museum though, we had some time in the early evening so we made an impromptu visit to Saguaro National Park.We did have time for a few photos near the entrance so I could get my sign photo and Jim could pose with the cacti.  

I made these layouts in the spring of 2020 using the Creative Memories National Scrapbook Day kits. Each year, we celebrate National Scrapbook Day on the first Saturday in May (truly--Creative Memories invented this day!) The kit this year featured a strawberry theme. Here's a photo of the kit:

The strawberries were not all that prominent so I was able to show my crop friends that you could really use the pages for anything. The kit makes 2 double-page layouts and the other one I used for some of the photos from the Air Museum. Have you made an unusual choice of pages for a layout? Tell me about it in the comments below!

Lasting Memories Post 2--Historic Pictures

Hello all! I'm serving as a Guest Designer for Lasting Memories all through October! I'll be posting an extra layout each Sunday at noon for the next 3 weeks. Each is following the weekly challenge posted at Lasting Memories and I hope you join the challenge! Post your version through the link at the bottom of their post.

Continuing from last Sunday, this is from Petroglyph National Monument. It seems like you have to walk quite a way along the trail before getting to the petroglyphs, but then they are EVERYWHERE! Some of these are clearly newer than the others (and I do hope that face is historic and not some joker's idea of graffiti). These photos show you just a taste of what you can see in the park. Some resembled the items clearly (like the crosses and maybe that animal). Some were so abstract that I wonder if it was animal, vegetable, or mineral! 

This week we follow LM #723 - Falling Leaves - say out with the old by using an item you've had in your stash for at least two years. I used "Botanical Bliss" from Creative Memories and the date on the package is 2019 so--almost 5 years! (Ironically the same year I took these photos though!) I followed Sketch #2 from the September Worldwide Virtual Crop. There are a few non-CM items here--the title is from the Eastern National scrapbook kit and a couple of the stickers are from the Junior Ranger sticker book.

Madness in the Desert Part 31--The Castle on the Hill

We made our way down to the main part of the park and Montezuma Castle. I can say we were both happy to view the exhibits in the visitor center as it was air-conditioned. Jim felt well enough to join me for a short walk to see the "castle" which is another cliff dwelling but HIGH in the cliffs! I guess I should never complain about my daily commute ever again 😀.

This layout is based on a pin that I saved (and doubled). I was able to use 3 papers for this--2 for the base and one that I tore horizontally to cover the tops. (Had I simply cut it I likely could have welded the 2 halves together, but it doesn't give as much interest as the torn edge.) The 2 ancient pots are cuts I made on the Cricut. If I had the page to do over, I think I would put them both either in the middle or on the edges. It would probably add more symmetry. 

Madness in the Desert Part 30--Well, Well, Well

After leaving Walnut Canyon, we headed south toward Tucson. Along the way, we stopped for a delicious meal (I had elk meatloaf!) and then we drove to Montezuma Well. This is a part of Montezuma's Castle but we are going there after our stop here. Jim did not get out of the car here. With the heat and altitude sickness, he just sat in the air conditioning. I did not want to stay too long but I wanted to explore the park so I walked the loop from the visitor center around the lake and through the scrub brush. Like Walnut Canyon to the north, the local inhabitants eked out a living by housing themselves in caves along the cliffs. Clearly, this was a fortunate spot as there was a decent water source. They were able to create a canal system to irrigate crops. As late as the 1800s, settlers still gravitated to this site to use the dwellings and canal system.

The inspiration for this layout came from a photo I pinned. Instead of making spirals from dot stickers, I chose to cut them from an older paper pack from CM. I've used this pack previously as it has a nature theme to it. I prefer the botanical papers and didn't really know what to do with all the dark brown. I started by punching the argyle borders for the outside edges of the layout. The zig-zag and the spirals were brown-on-brown patterns that I fussy cut. A few other botanical borders gave a little more definition to the page. 

Lasting Memories Post 1--Wild Life

Hello all! I'm serving as a Guest Designer for Lasting Memories all through October! I'll be posting an extra layout each Sunday at noon for the next 4 weeks. Each is following the weekly challenge posted at Lasting Memories and I hope you join the challenge! Post your version through the link at the bottom of their post.

This post is part of my Albuquerque trip in October 2019. I chose one of the less popular trails at Petroglyph National Monument as I wanted some solitude as I explored. There were few others on the trail but I did come across some interesting wildlife, including the coyote featured in the camera below. 

For Sunday, October 6th, the challenge is LM #722 - Pumpkins - use at least 50% orange and include something round. This layout is based on a 1-2-3 sketch from Noreen Smith. You can watch the video of her layout here. It's a pretty straightforward cut, but I did make some adjustments. Knowing that one of the paper blocks would be 4x6, I substituted the one from the printed paper with a mat I had from the matching collection. The page that I cut is the one on the far left--it's a page from the Mellow Meadows pack and is a photographic paper. I thought the thin stalks (wheat?) would match the scant vegetation of the trail I walked. I also used a laser cut title over the base cardstock where another mat was to go (Upper Right). I had thought about stretching it across the photos and the decorative mat in the middle but I decided I wanted it to be all one color. I added a coordinating journal box to keep the orange "count" up on the page. Do you think I made it to 50%? 

Madness in the Desert Part 29--Gardens in the Desert

 There was more to see than just the cliff dwellings. I enjoyed seeing the different plants along the nature trail as well as an old foundation from a "pit house". This was the original dwelling spot (recreated now) for the Puebloans of the area. They would migrate down to the cliffs later. They lived in this area for over 800 years.

This layout is a project recipe. I acquired the paper and instructions when someone signed on as a consultant under me. It was a total surprise as I didn't even know the person. So I enjoyed putting the kit together and I liked how it matched the tones of the desert life.

Madness in the Desert Part 28--Cliff Notes

After the Ranger Talk, we wandered the park for a bit. There is an overlook where you can see to the bottom of the canyon. The park brochure shows one of the housing areas along the cliff face. You can see more on the bottom layout. This page shows a better view of the depth of the canyon. We are standing on the rim.

I thought I had followed a sketch for this layout but could not find a copy if I did. I had also been posting on the Scrapbook.com forums and I entered this in the monthly "Use Your Scraps" challenge. You can see that the bottom border is a series of 1/2" strips left over from many different collections. So long as the tone of the papers matches, you don't need to use the same packs (though if you have remnants of a collection this is a good way to use those up). At the top of the page is a paper border from one of the outdoor collections (Adventure I think). I punched the middle paper with a "knock-out" style border maker cartridge for extra interest. This type of punch leaves a "hole" that shows the bottom layer for contrast.

With Jim still a little tired, we skipped walking down to the cliff dwellings but you can see them from across the canyon on a very nice nature trail. On this page, you get a better sense of the scale of the houses compared to the cliff's height! I cannot imagine walking up and down that cliff every day to either work in the canyon or above it.

This layout is from the CM Virtual Crop in April 2019. I know the circles are from an old outdoor pack. I'm not sure where the base paper came from. I used a laser-cut border to create a middle-of-the-page divider.