Kicking Off the Album

In this post, we begin a new journey. It's time to highlight the 2021 National Park Travelers' Club Convention, which we'll explore over the next several months. It was held in Washington, DC, and the host parks were Mary McLeod Bethune and Carter G. Woodson National Historic Sites. (Interesting fact--I have not added either of those parks to my park total list as they were not open for touring during our trip and I haven't had a chance to return when they WERE open.)

I based the title page on this pin I had saved. In the original pin, you'll see a plane in the middle circle, but I wanted to switch that up to a train. As you'll see next time, my primary mode of transport to DC was on Amtrak. For the phrase "Let The Vacation Begin", I did some letter manufacturing. I used straight letters (I, K, M, etc.) to create the "T"s and trimmed a "W" for the second A in vacation. But my favorite hack was to use the compass "N" to complete the word "vacation." I knew there was no way I was going to get "Begin" from that same sticker sheet, so I decided to change to a different sheet of stickers. Those letters are all from one sticker sheet, but it features a variety of fonts and colors, making it easy to mix and match. The NPTC lettering is traced from a CM template and colored in with a brown marker. The template has a "school days" feel to it, but the lettering was the right size to fit on the title tag.

Bonus Post--Lost and Found

Hi everyone! I'm adding a bonus post today because I'm participating in the Lasting Memories challenges again. This layout includes photos from the Clara Barton Missing Soldiers Office in Washington, DC. You'll see more of this in a few weeks as I take you through the 2021 NPTC convention. As a taste, this was an office space used by Clara Barton to help track prisoners of war and other soldiers wounded in battle during the Civil War. Her office was boarded up with all of her belongings in the early 1900s, and it was almost 100 years later when it was discovered again. This page shows some of the furnishings restored to their original rooms.

Lasting Memories' challenges this month include a list of paper sizes to use. You can see the details of challenge #753 here. I was pleased to see that Cheryl Even took those sizes and created a sketch based on them, along with the other rules of the challenge. I used her sketch as the basis of my layout. I pulled a variety of papers from my Heritage box to create the design. I struggled to find a title until I discovered the sticker about believing in miracles — given the history of this space, I think it fits perfectly!

You'll Like This a Bunch!

Our last stop in the Chatham Manor gardens is a series of grape vines. I just liked the look of them. They are not historic. The family that currently owns the rest of the plantation land does make Chatham Wine, but there are so few vines here that I'm not sure this would be enough for them to bother with. It may just be that the NPS gardeners put them in to tie in the current family business. This ends my trip (and the album). Next time we'll start the 2021 NPTC Convention!

I based this layout on one of Meggan and Tessa's Power Hour layouts from November 2024. I chose the Vineyard Escape papers from Creative Memories, which were initially a gift with purchase. There is a photo paper in that pack that looks EXACTLY like my photo. But instead of choosing that one for the base, I chose one that was more of leafy ivy. The contrast is then from a paper that I believe is supposed to be red wine. This came with a small collection of die-cut embellishments, including the little journal box. I liked the brick top of it because of the brick walk in the photo.

The View is Incredible

For this entry, we continue our examination of Chatham Manor. When you walk around to the back of the house, you can see the magnificent view of Fredericksburg. I'm surprised the Confederacy didn't claim this as their headquarters first! In addition to the lovely view and the grounds, there are 2 History Trees. I hadn't heard of Catalpa trees before, but these trees have been dated to the time of the Civil War, although they were much smaller then. The intervening years have tested them, and they are nearing the end of their lives. One of them is actually supported with a metal brace. I encourage you to go and see them while you can! Imagine if they could talk....

I based this layout on Sketch #4 in the CM May 2025 virtual crop. I am using a very old CM paper line called "Enchanted". I was actually hoping to use it up, but I still have a little left, which should be enough for one more layout. The papers are heavier and resemble cardstock. The reverse of both of these is also textured. For that reason, I've had trouble in the past getting other papers to adhere to the textured side of the paper. When I attached these, I used the Max Strength Tape that CM offers. And it works! Red is a highlight color for this collection, and as I aimed for a Spring-type layout with a bit of floral design, the red rose punch (one of the Border Maker Cartridges) fit the layout perfectly. I fussy-cut the flower on the right page. I punched the wispy red flowers from some of the mats and papers, then mounted them on circles punched from darker papers. There were a few square enamel dots to help round out the embellishments.

The Castle on the HIll

We're still working through the pages on Fredericksburg National Battlefield. My next stop was north and UP. Chatham Manor sits at the top of the hill overlooking the city. For that reason, it became the perfect headquarters for the Union Army during the battle. After the battle, it also served as a hospital, featuring nursing care from notable figures such as Clara Barton and Walt Whitman. Due to COVID, the house was closed, but I could walk the grounds.

For this layout, I used the Spring Medley Project Recipe. The papers were from a bonus pack called "Unbe-Leaf-Able". Essentially, the directions create the borders along the bottom of the page. The darker loops are from the Spring Leaf border maker cartridge. They are attached to the paper on the back using repositionable adhesive. I had to punch 4 borders to make it work. I matted a few photos and raided my stash to find a few floral and butterfly stickers to accent the page. Did you notice the photo corners on the brochure? CM had offered a special pack of photo corners with various colorful designs. The green ones worked particularly well for this brochure.

The Silence After the Battle

This week, we continue my visit to Fredericksburg Battlefield. My last stop in town was the National Cemetery (just beyond the wall where the reenactors were). There are a few monuments here to generals and other commanding officers, but of course, there are many graves of the soldiers killed here. Although not as grand as Arlington, it is still a worthwhile stop on the tour. 

This layout was loosely based on a pin I saved. I decided to use wallpaper instead of cutting up strips of various papers, as I had already pulled the Civil War page from my stash. The cannon page on the right wasn't sold as a companion page, but it worked out nicely. The silhouette of the cannoneer isn't on the paper; it's a die cut I bought for my Civil War pages. I found one good sticker that fit the page in a CM military pack, but I don't have a lot of good embellishments. If you have ideas about what would work, please drop them in the comments.

The Blue and the Gray--together again

This continues my trip along the Sunken Road, though now we've climbed the hill to Marye's Heights. This is where the Confederates were stationed, and there are cannons in place to show how powerful this spot was! As I arrived, there were 2 reenactors set to discuss the differences in the Union and Confederate soldiers' provisions, uniforms, and weapons. I'm always impressed that the reenactors wear period-appropriate clothing (WOOL!) in the hot summer months, just like the soldiers did hundreds of years ago. These 2 had terrific stories and entertained us for about half an hour.

This layout is based on the CM May 2025 Virtual Crop (Sketch #3). Because of the Confederate clothing, I wanted to use the Burlap and Lace collection, one of the CM Secret boxes. The bottom of the 2 pages has that nice textured paper featured and a green pattern that also fills the mat section. I only had 1 border sticker left of the buttons, so I used that at the top and split it between the 2 pages. The remaining borders were mostly lacy butterflies and banners that didn't fit the layout. I looked through my Civil War stash to find something more suitable. The cannon stickers were the perfect fit. The small 3x3 squares and the remaining stickers and flowers were all from my stash and represent a few disparate collections. But the overall tone matched well!

Innis House Nice?

We are continuing my visit to Fredericksburg and the Sunken Road trail. The next house on the trail still stands and was present during the battle. If you look through the windows, you can still see the bullet holes in the walls! The Sunken Road was a commerce path, and the residents built the stone walls to keep the road passable for the various wagons and horses. Much of the wall has been reconstructed, but the segment in the photo on the bottom of the left page is original. That wall was part of the union's defense--which they badly needed. Though it seems ludicrous to attack the Confederates on the hill (look at the angle to the top of the hill where that red brick house stands), this was one of a few places that had any chance of splitting the Confederate lines. But all attempts failed, unfortunately.

This layout is based on a CM 110 Scrapbooking Ideas and Sketches book sketch. It differs from the one I usually post (it was their first book and didn't have a contest to use it). The sketch in the book has an example, which correlates to this post on their blog. I continued with my use of the Our Moments paper pack. The yellow dot paper on the borders is from the Silver and Gold pack, as I had used all the gold tone paper from Our Moments. It's a pretty close match! You will find that many of the CM packs will work together, so you always have material to make it work. I liked the house mat and wanted to use that for this layout. I was happily surprised to find that the paper had already been cut with the correct angles for the roof! I added a small piece of dark brown paper for the chimney and the wi-fi sticker from the Staycation pack for the smoke (which was a trick I LOVED about the original layout). I needed 2 sets of borders, and I only had one of the house border stickers in the Staycation pack. I remembered I had the house border maker cartridge and punched 2 from bronze paper.

You Sunk My Battle Road!

Welcome back to the blog. We're continuing my trip home from the beach in July 2021. After leaving the Jackson Death Site, I headed to the main visitor center for Fredericksburg Battlefield. A trail leading from the parking lot takes you on a short walk through much of the battlefield sites. It's called the "Sunken Road" and you can see from the photo below that it's at the bottom of a hill. The trail eventually climbs the hill as well, but you'll see that next time. One of the first stops is the outline of a house that stood during the battle. The lady of the house stayed in the building (or so the story goes) through the battle and would even go out and tend to the casualties, giving water and dressing wounds (or at least she did for the Confederate soldiers). 

I used the Project Recipe made for the Archivers collection several years ago for this layout. I don't have more of that pack, but the Our Moments papers filled in perfectly. In the original design, that large rectangle on the left page was a waterfall of photos, but for me, it was the perfect place for a unigrid. I liked adding the brown cardstock but found it too dark for the unigrid, so I added a mat of light brown houndstooth to help it stand out. That semicircle was a remnant in the pack, and it just felt right, so I added it! 

When is a Shrine Not a Shrine?

We return to my trip home from the beach in July 2021. My next stop was to a place I had seen markers for during the 25 years or so that I had traveled with Jim's family to the beach, but had never stopped. It had always said "Jackson Shrine," and I assumed it was some small statue to him--I never realized it was part of the National Park System. This is technically part of the Fredericksburg and Spotsylvania County Battlefields Memorial National Military Park.

This is where Andrew "Stonewall" Jackson died from injuries sustained in battle at Chancellorsville. Ironically, he was shot by Confederate soldiers who mistook his scouting party for a group of Union Soldiers. He was wounded in the arm and hand, and of course, in the 1800s, infection was the real enemy. His arm was amputated, but he eventually died from pneumonia and never made it farther from the field than this building (an office on a plantation). What I like most about this site is that it has changed names to the Jackson Death Site, and the focus of interpretation includes Jackson's time here as well as the story of the Chandler family and the enslaved people living on the plantation. So yes, it's worth a stop!

While the basis of this layout is from a pin I saved (with the left and right sides switched), I am also playing along with Lasting Memories. Challenge #750 is one of this month's tic-tac-toe boards. I chose the bottom row of circle, two patterned papers, and a die-cut border. The papers I chose are from Creative Memories' "Memoirs Memories" pack from 2019, with embellishments from the Our Moments collection (2022). Some other embellishments are from the stash, including the circle, which was mounted on foam squares. There are a few more circles in the enamel dots strewn across the pages.. The laser-cut border on the right was strung on a border sticker. The matching border sticker is along the left page to help tie the colors together.

Don't Forget the Women

This is the last entry for Moore's Creek, but more entries are coming about my drive home from the beach in July 2021. Along the tour route are a variety of memorials, many of which I hadn't seen on my last trip, as I had to cut my tour short. Today, I lingered and took in the various statues. The ones that stood out to me included those for the women of the Cape Fear area and the Patriot Monument. The monument to Mary Slocum is probably not a true story (about having a premonition and riding through the night to save her husband). But the sentiment of a statue for women is unique, and I appreciate the effort. They also serve, those who stand and wait.

The Patriot Monument, also called the Grady Monument, is a sandstone obelisk placed on the battlefield in 1857 in honor of the first North Carolinian to give his life on a contested battlefield for American Independence, John Grady. The monument with the thistle is for the loyalists. Though they fought for Britain, their presence here steered the sentiment that led to the passage of the Halifax Resolves—North Carolina's vote for Independence.

My first note here is to thank my mom for the paper. I was scrapping at her house, and as I had a minimal amount of decorative paper packs with me, I rooted through her stash for something suitable for this page. I chose a piece of paper from the Bold and Slate pack, an Advisor-only paper pack (my customers earn those through purchasing products, and she had earned this set). I liked this paper because of the handwriting design on one side. The journal box is from a very old pack from CM called Archivers. I layered it on a darker mat to differentiate it from that handwriting paper.

To create the design, I turned to one of Noreen Smith's 1-2-3 layouts (December 2016). In the original sketch, the right side had 3 horizontal photos, but it was simple enough to turn that 90 degrees to allow for more of my vertical photos. As I take more pictures with my cell phone, I have more vertical photos. Do you have that same problem? If so, keep a copy of this sketch as it's the perfect way to highlight them. The paper and 6 photos will cover the cardstock, so you can use any color that you want to use up.

Highlander vs. Highlander

Today, we return to my visit to Moore's Creek on my journey home from the beach. I walked the 3/4 mile loop, listening to the audio tour. They highlighted the canon (there were 2 small ones integral to the battle) and the swamp. But the major battle was at the bridge. And if you've read Diana Gabaldon's Outlander series, you will recognize that this is where Jamie and Ian (Highlander Scots) fought for the American Colonials, facing their Scottish compatriots fighting for the British. Of course, I was enchanted by this location and took several photos. 

This layout is based on one of Cheryl Even's sketches. I originally started with 2 white bases (a rarity for me), but as I built the right-side page, I realized there would be too much bright white showing. I traded the cardstock for gray patterned paper from the Passport to Adventure kit. You'll also recognize the green strips from that pack, as they are part of the scrap from the prior blog post. A few other scraps of paper provided more variety in the layout. I am rather proud of myself for using the small passport frame. On one journal card was an image resembling the passport stamps that Eastern National provides. I punched that out and added it to the photo window, then covered the "tickets" sprouting from that frame with the National Park sticker. And voila--the embodiment of the National Parks Passport! The Adventure sticker and the 2 stickers on the left page are from one of the Scrapbook Custom sticker sheets. There is always a sheet specific to the park and then a generic one you can use for any park (as I've done here).

Some More of Moore's Creek

I'm continuing my July 2021 beach trip. Or should I say concluding it? I made my way back home after a fun week at the beach (with no National Park sites). We had vacationed in Oak Island, NC, and driving to Moore's Creek was not far. I've been here a few times, so it was mostly a re-stamp exercise, but I spent an hour walking around the trail. You'll see those photos next week. To start, here's the sign and my sign selfie!

I based this layout on a sketch I saved on Pinterest. I used the Creative Memories collection called Passport to Adventure. It's still available if you want to recreate this layout (and if you do, please post a photo or link in the comments below!) I liked the green paper as I thought those arrows could be imagined as trees in the sign's background. I used the compass punch and the stickers from the pack to create the border along the left. I found many of the little postage stamp embellishments that matched the layout and clustered them around the main focal points.

Finally We Meet the Captain

I kept heading south after seeing the concrete ships. My next destination was First Landing State Park near Virginia Beach. As the name suggests, this is where the original colonists landed in 1607. These settlers would eventually migrate a bit further south to Jamestown. Today, there is a lovely beach next to the Chesapeake Bay, and while I had to pay to enter the park, it was a great little break. And finally, the sun was out! Near the beach are the signs that detail the landing and the connection to Captain John Smith. You can read the stories if you zoom in on the photo. From there, I drove to the Oak Island area for my week with my sister, but we'll pick up my travels to National Parks on the way home!

This layout was also created for the CM March 2025 Virtual Crop. Scroll to Sketch #3. I looked through my papers and was happy that the dark blue background had the same tones as the brightly toned wood papers. Those papers were made about 20 years apart! The dark blue is from the Old CM Primary paper packs. The bright boards are from an advisor-only pack. The background papers have a sand pattern, though it's less visible. I scoured my stash for the rest of the embellishments. The seagulls were from one collection, the title stickers another, and the "Picture Perfect" from yet another kit! Luckily, it all came together nicely. For some fun, I drew a stitched border around the dark blue paper.

Who Knew Concrete Floats?

My next stop on the Captain John Smith Chesapeake Trail was to Kiptopeke State Park in Virginia. You can get to this boat launch area if you drive through the park. Yes, John Smith came through here (his maps were quite detailed, so he likely sailed every inch of the shore). But I don't think he saw these concrete ships. I never knew you could make ships from concrete AND that they could float! However, this became a popular solution during WWII when metal was needed for planes. After the war, they were no longer needed, so they sunk them here to create a breakwater. Birds and other wildlife use them for protection and for fishing. Humans can fish here as well. The weather was terrible during my stop, so it was a brief photo stop, and then I kept driving south.

I created this layout from the CM Virtual Crop in March. Scroll to sketch #2. You can see that I doubled the sketch and turned them 90 degrees so that the paper strips made left and right borders. I used papers from CM's Shiplap (an advisor-only collection) and some scraps from some other neutral-toned papers. Not only does it match the grey skies, it feeds into the "concrete" concept. I didn't use many embellishments. I found a couple of borders that filled the gap between photos and scraps. Then, a few arrows and other small word stickers completed the layout.

The Inside Story

I took a guided tour of the house. Here, you can see both the main floor and the upstairs bedrooms. Some lovely objects were on display, such as the purse and fan used by the lady of the house. In the dining room, the table was set for a fancy dinner. Yes, they did have pineapples, though they were rare in the 1700s. It denoted a family with money who could afford to import them. 

This is another layout from the CM March Virtual Crop. Scroll to layout #4. I chose papers from the Gem Tones collection (a previous secret box offering). I have been using this for historic homes for a while and am getting close to the end (truthfully, I had to create multiple strips of the base papers and layer them on a base of white cardstock). That's why the banner on the right is from a secret box in 2023 called Sweet Blossom. It's not a perfect match, but the tones were close, and I liked the floral stickers in the kit (they were made to be stacked). Since I needed 4 borders, I used 2 matching stickers for the top and 2 similar ones for the bottom (both from the Gem Tones collection). 

Bonus Post--Broccoli For Breakfast

 Hi all! I am playing along with Lasting Memories today. To fulfill the challenge, I created this page that is part of my July 2021 beach trip with my sister. (You just saw the first post Friday night.) It wasn't a stop at a national park, but a breakfast that I had with one of my NPTC friends, Deb. I was staying close to her house, which she noticed when I posted my location on Facebook. The next morning, we met at the Cracker Barrel located next to my hotel. She surprised me most by ordering a side of broccoli for breakfast! I had to take a photo of it, and of course scrapbook it! 

Lasting Memories is having a series of sketch challenges this month (MY FAVORITE!) I realized this combination of photos would work well with challenge #747. I had purchased the Cracker Barrel paper from a vendor at the Lancaster Scrapbook Convention. I originally planned to use it for a Thanksgiving dinner with Jim's family, but somehow that never materialized. But it became an excellent base for this layout. I used scraps from my stash for the yellow and brown rectangles. I did trim some green paper for the photo mat. I wanted a touch of green to highlight the broccoli. Some of the stickers came from that same pack, but the brunch stickers came from a sheet I got for Christmas. The little broccoli stickers on the plate at the bottom left were from a VERY old CM family reunion sticker pack. To complete the layout, I punched out a few trees from a scrap of paper with leaves on it. It gave me a two-toned effect, resulting in what looks like broccoli spears. I tucked them at the top of the layout to keep the green moving around the layout.

Hitting the Trail

My next adventure was in July 2021. My sister and her husband invited me to spend a week at the beach in Oak Island, North Carolina. I agreed, and on July 2nd, I started heading south. My first few stops concentrated on the Captain John Smith Chesapeake National Historic Trail. I've visited several locations on this trail before. You can find information about the trail on the NPS page here. You can click the label at the bottom to find more entries related to this trail on my blog.

So what does Ker Place have to do with the good Captain? Likely nothing. 😀This house is the main location for the local historical society, making it a convenient place to store a stamp (which, to be honest, I had to hunt for through the kitchen to get my ink). A sign near the waterfront (about a mile away) references the Trail. As his travels were in the 1600s and this house was built in the late 1700s, the Ker Family never saw the expedition. However, I will regale you with my scrapbook pages because I got the stamp here.

This layout was created for the March CM Virtual Crop (scroll to sketch #1). I was in a hotel room in Washington, D.C., but I had brought my scrapbook supplies with me in two cases. The papers I chose came from the Our Moments collection. I did not include a photo of the facing page. I added an 8 1/2 x 11 pocket for a brochure about this house (front) and 2 other photos (an interesting piece of carved wood in the basement and a mastodon tooth the owners had found and was on display). But these 3 photos summed up the entirety of the visit (though there is another post with the lovely interiors). 

What a Block House

My last entry for Fort Larned is this blockhouse. Initially, it was meant to be a defensive position (which begs the question of why there is no fort wall if you thought you needed a defensive position). That's why there are slit holes in the top of the building. However, since they realized that wasn't necessary, they changed it to the prison building. You can still see the shackles attached to the floor below. The door on the floor originally went to a well, and tunnels were used to go to the other buildings. That was closed off, and it became solitary confinement. Yep, spend a night in the hole!

This layout is based on a sketch I saved. I initially found it on the gallery at Scrapbook.com. To create this page, I used a piece of brick background paper (which resembles the building). I then took a piece of brown texture paper (I think it's supposed to be leather) and cut a large circle. I cut the circle to place part of it in the upper left and the other in the lower right. I then trimmed off any overhanging paper to create some photo bases. I found some scraps in grunge style along with a border sticker of the rope and stars (a nice Wild West sheriff feel?) to create the banners. The journal box is a sticker that originally had a phrase at the bottom saying "for being too cute". Clearly, I did not need that! I trimmed the bottom and purposefully roughed the bottom edge to match the top. I put that on some lined paper for a little journal box.

Like the Hat?

I was surprised to see the schoolroom, though it makes sense that some of the officers would have children with them who needed to be taught. According to the sign, even some enlisted men would take lessons there. If they already knew how to read and write, they might learn advanced topics for the military, such as Morse code.

For this layout, I followed a Pin I had saved. I made the red shape using a large CM Custom Cutting System square. I wish they had a guide to make the shape more like the one in the sketch. I tried turning the template sideways, but it didn't give me the look I hoped for. I added a border to the top of the page and used a similar sticker to create the edging for two photos. A few other stickers from that same page (old CM Cottage, I believe) and this page was done. 

All About That Bake

The next stop on the tour was the bakery. Bread was part of the standard ration for the soldiers, so all those loaves you see lining the walls represent the amount needed DAILY! In addition to the large ovens, there were HUGE dough troughs. I cannot imagine the amount of dough in one batch, much less working it all by hand! I made bread without using a mixer once. And only once!

This layout is based on a sketch that I saved from October 2021. I don't always think about trimming my photos this small, but I realized my photos would cooperate with this layout. The base page is brick to mimic the brick of the ovens. I recently bought a few sheets of Made with Love (a retired CM paper pack) at a yardsale so I chose the butcher block paper for one of the strips and the black paper for the other strip. The third photo was a trimmed journal mat from that same collection. The embellishments on the left side of the page were from a recent bonus kit called "Baked with Love". I had an extra set since I make so many food pages. At the top of the page is a piece cut from a quilting block. I learned this technique at Farmhouse Memories. I don't often use cloth in my albums, but this flour canister was a good fit for the layout. You use a sticker paper to bind the fabric so that you don't get loose strands when you cut it. 

Tool Time

Another building held this tool and forge area (it also housed the ambulance). I wish I had visited when the rangers were doing a living history presentation. This room could have been much more enjoyable with someone working on a wood project or fixing horse tack. 

This layout is based on the March Power Hour layout from Meggan & Tessa. The paper is a page from the Painted Prairie. Tessa's layout used almost all of it. Reminiscent of how Noreen Smith uses double-sided paper to make the pages interesting, we cut 4" strips off each side of the paper, trimming both to 8" long. The "bare" corner is then accented with a 12" border cut into 4" lengths. I chose a laser-cut horseshoe border from the Wide Open Places collection. Additional embellishments came from the CTMH western pack. I matted the photos with a dark green cardstock to help them pop from the page a bit. An extra step that Tessa recommended to provide visual interest is to use a corner-rounder on the three outer corners. 

General Hospital

 I was very excited to find the medical ward. It was brighter and cleaner than I expected (though the cleanliness may just be for the tourist's benefit). Each bed had a tag listing a soldier and his diagnosis (along with some additional information). There were many different ailments and injuries, but this one with Cholera caught my interest. A stretcher I hadn't seen before was in the surgeon's room next door. It's a hand-carry model with a hood that can be raised to keep the bright prairie sun off the wounded person's face. 

Did you know that Creative Memories produces a "Project Recipe" for every collection they make? I recently started adding them to my Pinterest boards, so I remember to use them. This is the Project Recipe for Wide Open Places, which is the paper I used for the layout. (You could use any paper for the layout, so theoretically, you could use this layout for a wedding using a more formal paper.) Though the theme of the photos is the medical ward, I didn't look for anything related strictly to medicine. I kept with the Western feel I've used for this portion of the album. 

Home on the Range

After leaving the visitor center, I started walking around the buildings. My first stop was the barracks. I love that they have all the gear lined up and ready. They have this designed to hold about 69 men, though a room that size supposedly could hold 119 (not sure if that counts the orderly room in the numbers or not). Nearby is the kitchen and mess area. I thought the cups had an "evil eye" symbol, but then I realized it's just an upside-down cavalry logo. 😁

This layout is from Club Scrap's Western Pages kit. I believe I had previously mixed the pages because the left page is the left page from layout 7/8. The right page is the right page from layout 1/2. To complicate this further, I turned the right side page 90 degrees. I wanted to use the photo mats already placed for my vertical photos. I also wanted to use the horizontal photo to cover up the saying (mostly because it didn't fit with the photos but also because the wording was now sideways). The pages aren't EXACTLY even with the woodgrain paper across the bottom, but you only really notice it in this photo. The album separates them a bit, so you won't notice. I added a few pieces from my stash. I really wanted to title the page "Home on the Range," and I had that printed on one of my papers, so I trimmed it to fit. The vest and chaps are so old I have no idea what company they are from.

No Fooling! Not So Happy Trails

This year, April Fools is on the same day as one of my normal posts, so while it isn't a bonus this time, it IS a No Fooling post.😀

Inside the visitor center is a pretty extensive museum. In this layout, I focus on 2 groups who were key to the history of Fort Larned, but both of whom were treated rather poorly. The Buffalo Soldiers were stationed at Fort Larned for a time, though eventually, they were moved farther west. Their presence was not appreciated by the white soldiers, and frequent bullying and fighting erupted. Additionally, the Native Americans were forced off their lands, and skirmishes occurred frequently related to raids on the Santa Fe Trail wagon trains or to misunderstandings between the Fort commanders and the Tribes. I was impressed with the technology in the museum. The photos below show a hologram inside of the teepee. She recounted stories of her history for the visitors.

This layout was made during one of my Saturday morning classes. It is another 1-2-3 sketch from Noreen Smith, but it is from a class where I cannot share the sketch with you. This is one sheet of double-sided paper. I chose this paper from the Wide Open Spaces collection as I liked the diamond pattern side and wanted that for the Native American portion of the layout. I liked that I could alternate the prominent patterns on each page with this sketch. That way, the Buffalo Soldiers in their blue Union Cavalry uniforms would be on the blue plaid side. Additional embellishments came from Close to My Heart (the Rough and Tough title) and another sheet of stickers I had purchased with Native American themes. 

But There's No Wall!

My next stop in Kansas was Fort Larned. I liked their entry sign area, which had metal silhouettes of soldiers. What is unusual about this Fort is that it never had an exterior wall. Think of it more like a base than an area for defense. The barracks here helped protect and police the traffic along the Santa Fe trail and work with the Native Americans in the area. The buildings are now made of beautiful brownstones. Originally, they were all wooden structures, but to preserve the fort, they switched to stones. The porticos came in handy as it was a bit drizzly during my visit. 

I made this layout as part of one of my Saturday morning classes. It uses a 1-2-3 sketch from Noreen Smith. Unfortunately, I cannot post it here since it was part of a class I purchased. I wanted to highlight the brownstones, so I looked for a similar paper. I didn't have anything in stone or brick that I liked, but the brown and stripe paper I used was an almost perfect match. It came from the Keep the Faith pack, which is usually more appropriate for churches. The borders on the right came from the Wide Open Spaces collection, and so did the journal box. The remaining embellishments were from an older Close To My Heart kit. The stickers are foil and a little delicate. If you don't handle them right, they will tear as you try to remove them from the backing paper.

I had a few additional photos, and since I wanted to highlight the Santa Fe Trail connection, I used an 8 1/2 x 11 pocket. This is the front side. I chose a similarly toned brown paper and added it across the middle to match the 12x12 pages. I used a few random saddle and bridle stickers to represent the trail.

On the back of the pocket, I added 2 more photos of the Fort with a wide-angle look. This page has additional stickers from the CTMH pack.

A Tale of a Trail

After leaving Nicodemus, I drove to the Barton County Historical Museum. They have a passport stamp for the Santa Fe Trail. I took quite a while to explore the museum, which covers every era of this locale, from the Native Americans to the 1950s. I won't include all the pages about the museum, but they did have a display of the Santa Fe Trail, including this reproduction wagon filled with supplies. There are wagon ruts still visible in places, but I did not have time to go to each site (and not all were open due to the pandemic). I'm heading to Fort Larned next, another site along the route, but I will focus on its structures rather than the Santa Fe Trail. What you don't see on this page is the Santa Fe Trail passport book for Barton County (they have stickers, not stamps). I placed it in a pocket attached to the page. Stop by to see it for yourself!

This layout is based on one that I pinned. Take a look and realize that it is a VERY LOOSE interpretation. I was at a crop when creating this and purposefully had not brought all my cardstock. I forced myself to use scraps and other papers from my stash. The background papers are from an older Advisor-only pack called Painted Prairie. I liked the ombre effect and thought it created a sunset look. I then added some dark brown along the bottom to represent the earth and covered it with a border punch of wheat stalks. The wagon was cut on the Cricut. The sheriff is a very old item called "Paperkins." Before Cricut, die-cut machines, or fancy punches, these little kits gave us a parade of people in all sorts of costumes. This one came with a hobby horse, but I decided that would be too juvenile for the page. The final touch was the journal box. The Wide Open Places kit had this saloon door card and was a good fit.

Saving Grace

One of the buildings that the Ranger showed me was the AME church. Though built in 1885, it has undergone renovation several times, and now the park is trying to restore it to the original interior. They found a panel where people had signed the walls as they worked. They applied plexiglass over the top to preserve it so it remained visible. The other church, which I think was the Baptist church, is still in disrepair and cannot be explored. 

I made this layout as part of a Saturday morning class using a 1-2-3 sketch from Noreen Smith. I cannot share the sketch with you, but it features one of my favorite tricks--fooling the eye into thinking there is more paper on the page. On the right page, you see a square of blue paper under the church photo and sunrise paper. That is a set of 1" strips carefully aligned above and below the sunrise paper! This is one way to save paper--we used just 1 sheet of double-sided paper for the layout. I used this paper from the Keeping the Faith collection. When I measured the first cut, I realized I could preserve the sunrise and cross. In the original sketch, a 4x4 photo was to be placed there. It's a great way to use the photo papers in some of our packs. My final embellishments included border stickers and stickers from the same pack.

A Tale of One City

In the morning, I made my way over to Nicodemus. I started my visit at the Town Hall, the visitor center. This ample space resembles an auditorium, with many tales of the city's inhabitants displayed around the room. There was just one ranger on duty, so I waited until he had time to give me a brief tour of the town. He highlighted 2 buildings and then had to return to the visitor center. They don't get many visitors, so I don't think I kept him from seeing anyone, though I know I wasn't the only one to visit that day. The walking tour brochure does detail the history of the buildings, and it's an easy walk around the town (though it was still chilly for early May).

If this layout looks familiar, I posted it for the Lasting Memories Challenge. For details about the construction and papers, check out this blog post.

I added an 8 1/2 x 11 pocket page between the main pages of the layout. I placed the walking tour brochure and a photo of the crumbling infrastructure on the front. I used a piece of paper from the same pack to create a feeling of continuity as you look at the pages.

On the back side of the pocket, I added 2 more photos of the town (same building but one zoomed in). And to emphasize the forlornness of the site, I added a die cut of a crooked house. It's supposed to be on a Halloween page as a haunted house, but scrapbooking has no rules. I also found an old CM die cut that had some embossing. I used a black marker to ink the embossed areas to make them more visible.

Cover Story

Welcome to Kansas! In the next few weeks, we'll review my trip from May 2021. I had been vaccinated and felt like I needed another getaway (it had been more than 6 months since my last national park trip--that's unheard of for me). However, I still didn't want to go where there were too many people. Nicodemus National Historic Site in Kansas posted on their Facebook Page that they would soon be opening, which seemed remote enough to match my goals. While today's post won't directly include anything from Nicodemus, I wanted to show you the kick-off to the album. 

This is the album's cover page, but I did something more unique. I used 2 of the 6x12 peekaboo pockets for the top. Looking closely, a tab under the barn door latch says "Lift." When you lift that tab, you will see the layout below. The 12x12 base and the 2 peekaboo extensions on either side create a complete 2-page layout! The idea started with that barn door paper. I'd always wanted to incorporate it into a design, but you can't tell what it is if you cover it in photos. I only added the Kansas title I purchased from Paper Wizard for this page. Cutting it in the middle was tricky as it is about 7 layers of different colors. But I managed the feat and was able to attach the 2 sides so that they met evenly on the papers.

The trip started with a flight to Wichita, and I drove to the Schweizer Hotel in Hill City, KS. There are not many hotels in Nicodemus, and this one was inexpensive. I was a little leery over what I would find, but it was similar to staying in my grandmother's house! The furnishings are all vintage but sturdy enough to be livable, not a museum. Indeed, they encouraged me to sit in the front area as if it were my living room. There will be additional pages in the album, but I'm limiting myself to showing these 2 pages since it doesn't really have anything to do with the National Park site. If you are ever in the area, I encourage you to visit and stay the night.

I didn't follow a sketch per se, but I've created pages like this before. The difference is that instead of splitting the middle page across 2 backgrounds, it is solid with 2 wings. The back of the barn door paper (Rustic Manor collection) has a marble look, and I thought that worked with the photos. In contrast, the main page is a light wood tone. I added some rustic rose paper cutouts from a very old tablet. I found a few journal boxes in my stash and 2 matching laser-cut borders for the edges. In the next blog, we'll look at Nicodemus.

A Taste of West Virginia

We decided to have lunch at the lodge. Initially, we sat on the patio, but those pesky wind bursts blew our umbrella (and nearly our food) all over, so we asked to be moved indoors. (Remember, this is still pre-vaccine Covid, so it was not a decision we took lightly). We enjoyed our appetizer of brisket dip, and then each of us ordered sandwiches. The bonus to eating lunch here was that they "validated" our sky ride, so we did not have to pay! 

I made this layout during the Tammy McEwen end-of-2024 challenge. It's based on the March 2024 Virtual Crop Sketch #4. I chose papers from the Backyard BBQ pack from Creative Memories. I liked the red gingham paper and added some red cardstock to punch the dinner plates and silverware for the bottom borders. I didn't want to use many of the stickers from the BBQ pack since this was a restaurant, so I dug through my stash and found all of those corn-on-the-cob stickers, so I threw one on each of the plates. A few full plates and napkin packs helped round out the layout. This also ended the album, so we'll visit a new park next time!

Autumn is in the Air

After our hike, we relaxed at the resort's outdoor features. Though the fire pit had no fire, the swings were pretty comfy. We also found some Adirondack chairs overlooking the river. We enjoyed that, except when the wind created microbursts around us, and the leaves and dirt flew. You can see Kris protecting herself during one of them! 

I made this layout during Tammy McEwen's end-of-year challenge. She brings back sketches from the CM blog over the year, and we are to create additional layouts to help finish our albums quickly. The sketch had originally been shared during the summer in a weekly challenge. I chose Shades of Golden Harvest for my layout and used orange shimmer cardstock for the base. Instead of pockets, I trimmed the foliage photos to 3x4. I love how trimming my horizontal images makes it look like they are matted when they are simply attached to the orange base. The large blue mat on the left is a piece of vellum that had been issued with the papers. I didn't have any stickers left from that pack, but I found some in my stash that worked well, including a thin title sticker border that I cut and layered on the right side.

Blazing a Trail

After my "dip" in the Bluestone River, we decided to take the River Trail. They had not maintained all of the trail, which was confusing, but we did manage a nice walk. I found some hanging vines along the trail and persuaded Jim to do a little "Tarzan" impersonation. Although it is called the River Trail (and does start near the river), we ended up on a path further into the hills for the return part of the trip.

I chose one of Cheryl Even's sketches for this layout (I love that she allows so many photos on the layouts). You can see a copy of it here. The sketch calls for a border at the bottom. I chose the one on the left page that I had made in one of my Saturday classes with my customers. The technique will work with any paper pack and is great for using up scraps. Cut any color of cardstock to 1 1/2" wide, then cut a bunch of 1" strips of paper. Start away from a corner, lay one of the strips diagonally across the cardstock, and then trim the ends. Continue mixing and matching strips along the length, cutting off the extra at the edges. For the left side, I added a small title and embellishments from the coordinating sticker pack (this is all from Hello Autumn). When I decided to use the border, I found more papers and created another matching one. (I matched the angle of the paper from the first border so that there was consistency across the page. After that, I simply mounted the highlight photo on a mat and arranged the rest of the pictures and memorabilia. I found that lovely mat card and turned it into a journal box. I switched to a white pen when I got to the dark green section of the card.

Am I Bluestone

Once we reached the resort, I headed over to where the river flowed and could put my hand in the river. Now I have officially visited the park!😀 What's interesting is that while Pipestem is the official location of the park, there are no stamps here. I obtained the stamp about 40 miles from here, at the New River Gorge Visitor Center. 

I used the CM Virtual Crop Sketch from September 2024 for this layout. Scroll to layout #5. I chose a vibrant background cardstock (Goldenrod), so my designer papers are more tonal, and the colors are muted. These are scraps from Hello Autumn, which is just about gone. I did add some embellishments from Leave Nothing Behind, but the photos do most of the work on this layout.

Risky Business

On the 3rd day of our vacation, we traveled south to get to the 3rd and last National Park, the Bluestone National Scenic River. Our best way to visit was to go to Pipestem State Park. During the trip, my sister-in-law Kristin was considering trying a zip line, but we never arranged that. This was the next best thing. To get to the river and the resort, take an aerial tram (gondola) down the mountain. The "Ride at your own risk" sign gave us a little pause, but it was a very comfortable and pretty ride down. 

This layout was made using a 1-page (12x12) sketch by Cheryl Even. I doubled it by creating a mirror image of the page on the left. I wish I could tell you the name of the paper packs I used for this. I was going through scraps, and I could only identify the tan strips in the middle. That's part of Hello Autumn. The leaves are part of an older "Fall In" collection. I liked how bright and cheery they were on this layout. 

Serenely Silent

 Our visit ended with the main Patterson House and burial ground. There were a few more stories of the battle and a description of why someone not family is buried here. The story of the fight in the cornfield reminds me of other battlefields I've seen. Imagine the devastation to a family's income for the year or starvation in the area because the crops were crushed in the fighting.

This is another layout from the Croptoberfest 2016 pack. This layout does something I RARELY do--the background papers are different! They are, of course, coordinated, and the softened tones of the pattern lent themselves to the reflective mood of the photos.

That's a Deep Subject

Near the farmhouse stood a gazebo-like building. Further investigation revealed that it was the site of the well. Oddly, the structure would not have been historically present during the battle. In 2000, a "witness tree" fell over in a windstorm. To preserve the memory of the tree, they cut it into lumber and constructed this well covering. I suppose that's a thoughtful way to keep the story going.

This layout is a page from a 2016 Creative Memories Croptoberfest (if you sense a theme to these pages, you're right--they are all part of the same box of "Fall" themed papers). When I assembled this kit (and it pre-dates me as an advisor, so I never taught it to anyone), I put the photo mats in place as directed in the recipe. And, of course, when I added my photos, they were all in the wrong direction. So I used my Multi-purpose tool to pull them up. A few remnants of paper or tears were still visible, but most of them could be covered by strategically relocating the mats. I then added the "having FUN!" card (leftover from a Paper Loft kit) to cover some additional goofs. 

Same Old Story

Happy Valentine's Day to all! I hope you LOVE my layout 😁💕😊 

After leaving the woods, we found ourselves at the edge of the plantation. We could see the canon and many signs regarding the Civil War battle fought here. I was surprised not only that the battle took place (I'd never heard of Carnifex Ferry before our trip) but also that it secured the division of the states to create West Virginia! There must also be other factors, but it's undoubtedly part of the story.

This page is part of a kit I got as a visit to a scrapbook store during the Buggies and Buds Shop Hop. This was a fun activity that my mom and I often did. At the end of September through Columbus Day, a small group of stores in Central Pennsylvania connected and hosted an event where we would travel from store to store getting our book stamped (guess why I enjoyed it). Along the way, we got "Make and Take" kits, usually greeting card kits but occasionally scrapbook layouts. This had been a 2-page layout, but I used the other side of the design previously. I liked the old wagon here as a 'tip of the hat' to the Civil War era.

There's a Fungus Among Us

After leaving the falls overlook, we continued the trail. The foliage was lovely, and since we weren't hurrying, we could stop and look around. The yellow diamond is the blaze for this trail. You can see in one photo below that we were amidst some very tall trees (that's Jim compared to the tree heights). And then I came across that stump that was just COVERED in mushrooms! 

This layout is from the Creative Memories 2022 Croptoberfest collection. And believe it or not, you can STILL order it! Check out this link. Below are the sample layouts that the Project Recipe kit makes. You can see that I rearranged where I wanted my photos on the pages (this layout is at the bottom of the 2 samples). When I help people create the pages, we always stop before attaching the photo mats. That way, when you are ready to use them, you can adjust the layouts to your photos. But since the tree had mushrooms and the layout had mushrooms--it's almost like they were meant to happen together!

Bonus Post--Happy Horizontals

Hello all! I'm posting a bonus entry tonight for a layout I just completed. You'll see more about this trip in a few weeks. In May 2021, I made a trip to Kansas, and one of my visits was to Nicodemus. This historic site commemorates the community founded by freed slaves after the Civil War. It became a rich cultural settlement with banks, schools, theater, all surrounded by a prosperous farming community. Though there were many of these founded, this one is the only one still inhabited. The population is quite small--less than 50 people remain. But they have a reunion once a year, and the descendants all return to celebrate the town.

I created this layout using a 1-2-3 sketch from Noreen Smith. It was from a package I purchased, so I cannot post the sketch, but it did create the horizontal paper strips you see that match the Lasting Memories challenge for this week. The papers are from the Botanical Bliss collection; most have a floral or butterfly print. But I loved this distressed wood with the green dot print on the reverse. I also used a darker background from the same paper pack with a small detail that might be wheat. There were no embellishments with that paper, so I dug through my stash and found a few laser-cut pieces that would provide a little more color to a fairly light page.

Falling For You

As promised, here are the photos of the Pillow Rocks Overlook. That's the Gauley River, and it's as close as we'll get to it on this trip. We picked the perfect time to visit—look at the leaf color in the photos. We stood here just looking for quite a while before completing the trail. Those rocks don't look like pillows, though. Someone has a vivid imagination!

The left side of this page was made with one of the Advisor Only paper packs. Advisors also receive project recipes to use the papers. While I rarely follow those ideas, I made this one-page layout. When I pulled the photos, I replicated another page on the right side. Unfortunately, I had little of the paper pack remaining. I dug through my stash and found some comparable papers for the background. I didn't find enough to do ALL the leaves I needed (those are one of the CM punches). The top border on the right page is a little different. But the border stickers create a tone for the layout that works.