Is there a Field of Springs?

Hello and welcome to the kick-off of my December 2021 trip to Springfield, Massachusetts. Yes, December 2021 was a big travel month for me. One of the NPTC club members grew up near Boston and planned a trip home over the holidays. She decided to hold a club meetup at Springfield Armory. It was a site I hadn't been to previously, and I found that I could easily take the Amtrak Train to the city and walk to the park! That piqued my interest, so I planned a little getaway. The blog will feature a few layouts from the trip, but there was much more that I saw around town during my weekend visit. If you have a chance to go to Springfield, plan for at least a couple of days. 

This trip will, of course, get its own album. You might recognize this page from my bonus post on April 12th. Refresh your memory here.

On Saturday morning, I walked up the hill from my hotel to the Springfield Armory site. As you can see, the weather was nice for New England in December! The Armory was not quite open when I got to the bottom gate. As this was my first visit, I didn't know where the main entrance was, so I took photos here and kept walking up the hill. The land is now shared with a community college, so I knew that area would be open, and I was right. It added many steps to my journey, but it gave me a chance to see the quad as I approached the main building. 

I based this layout on Cheryl Even's Sketch #64. I liked the 6x4 photo stretched across the bottom, which I could replace with the park's unigrid. Since the gate pillars were brick, I chose a torn piece of brick paper for the bottom border element. The only other decoration is a border of rifles that I cut apart and tucked around the photos. The background paper is a sheet of gray tonal paper from my stash. I liked the texture of the brush strokes, which gave subtle highlights to the photos.

Good Night Lighthouse (and a LM Challenge)

We've come to the end of the 2021 Hudson River Valley tour. At Mount Gulian, we ascended to the first floor of the house. In the Georgian style, there is a pass-through entryway with 4 rooms branching off. This level is more reminiscent of life in the 1800s, including the lavish dinner setting and the scrapbook in the parlor. When you consider how long this house has survived and the myriad "periods" it has come through. It really is a testament to the volunteers' dedication to bringing the past to life.

I created this layout from a page of border ideas I pinned. I chose the top border and punched the poinsettia leaves in 2 different red papers to create the look on the page. They are layered against the holly border punch. I used a dark gray paper for the top edge, so the dark green is harder to see, but I think it works out pretty well. I layered that above the scraps of red and green papers from the Recollections paper pad. The journal box and Noel card are also from that kit. A few poinsettia flowers around the page finished off the layout quickly. This layout fits in with the Lasting Memories challenge for this week. They provided a tic-tac-toe board, and I'm using the bottom row. Stickers include the little flowers at the bottom of the photos on the green strip; 3 patterned papers (red, green, and the gray at the top); and 1 or more punches--the poinsettia across the top!

While the last page doesn't pertain to any particular parks, since you saw the bridge in the opening pages, I thought you would enjoy seeing the sunset photo I took before heading home Sunday evening. The bottom photo is the Tarrytown Lighthouse — or as close as we could get. With all that construction equipment, we couldn't find a path to get us directly to the lighthouse! But it's there in the middle, glowing brightly. Next time, we begin a look at the Springfield Armory, so come back soon!

This page was made using the sketch from the CM Virtual Crop for February 2026. Scroll to sketch #2. I thought that this layout was the right choice because of the lighthouse. I used the angled paper elements to mimic the lighthouse beacon. The layout is mostly cardstock — blue for the base and center layers, gray for the middle layer, and decorative paper from the Nautical pack. I had gutted the bottom cardstock, so I brought the remnant back and trimmed it for the middle. I used the remaining gold shimmer paper to mat the photos. A few lighthouse elements and enameled dots from my stash completed the layout.

Half a Page is Better than None

Welcome back to my 2021 Hudson River Valley tour. We finally move inside the Mount Gulian house. This is the downstairs area, the only remaining original part of the house. The walls have been whitewashed, and the area is set as if it were the mid-1700s, just around the time the house was founded. I loved the way they used greenery and fruit for the table spread. Lovely historic touches on the hearth and a spinning wheel, too.

This layout is based on Sketch 3 from the CM March 2026 virtual crop. Yes, sketch 3 is meant to be a double-page layout. No, this isn't a double-page layout 😁. I only had the 3 photos of downstairs, and this is the right side of the album (the left is the single-page barn you saw in the last post). But the sketch was the perfect fit for the arrangement of my photos, so I just cut it in half! The background paper is more of a white brick than whitewashed stone, but I thought it made a good base. I rummaged through the remaining Christmas papers on my worktable and chose the pop of red for the horizontal photos. The vertical photo is on a green mat, though with just 1/4" around the edge, it may be difficult to see. I had one sticker border left with the greenery and bows. By cutting it in half and repositioning the rounded edge so it faces left, I was able to create the symmetrical borders above and below the red mat.

Back to Back

Welcome back to the Hudson River Valley tour of December 2021. We've reached the last house, Mount Gulian. This is one of the first houses built in the area, and parts of it date to the late 1600s. The house has burned in the past, so much of the above-ground structure is reconstruction. In this post from September 2025, I talked about the creation of the layout and the intriguing question of which side of the house is the front or back. Take a peek there for more information.

For ease of writing, let's assume that this barn is behind the house--at least it is on the opposite side from where we parked and entered the house! I thought this barn was very charming. Though not originally part of this property, it is true to the time period. They chose to move it by taking it apart, numbering the items, and reassembling it on this property. This provides a better look at what a normal farm looked like as the area was settled. The metal hardware is original, and I loved the old hinges and the "twist" the blacksmith put in the hook latch.

I used Sketch #1 from the CM March 2026 Virtual Crop. You'll notice that I turned the sketch to the right to accommodate my horizontal photos. I thought about the colors I wanted to use on this page, and though I've been doing a lot of Christmas themes, this one said fall to me. The golden sunlight hitting the barn is my inspiration for the color choices. I chose the Burlap and Lace pack (an older secret box) and found a sheet of paper with a wood tone. I mounted that on a sheet of orange cardstock. Since I don't use much orange, I didn't bother gutting the paper in the middle, but it's certainly an option if you like. The center paper is light-toned as well. You don't see much of it. I was able to use the reverse side for the brown "rusty" barbed wire. No, it's not chronologically accurate, but sometimes that isn't really important. I wanted a touch of the western feel here. Using the decorative paper provided a bit of "depth" to the punched borders--more than I could have achieved with just cardstock. That, along with some burlap borders from the kit, made the "frame" for the photos.

Bonus post: THIS is a Star Layout (LM #795)

Popping in on a rainy Saturday to post this layout on weapons of the World Wars. You'll see more of the Springfield Armory National Historic Site in a few weeks. The armory has been in place since just after the Revolutionary War and was one of the largest suppliers of arms to the military between then and the late 1950s. 

I based this layout on a pin I had saved. While the original pin had a more definitive Stars and Stripes approach, my layout picks up on the colors and the diagonal paper cuts. I made those by folding a piece of 12" paper diagonally, then aligning the long fold against the top of my trimmer with the point on the cutting line. It creates a perfect 1/2 page triangle, though you will see the fold on the page. The latest Lasting Memories challenge was to use THIS (stars) or THAT (hearts) on a layout. With a military theme, is there any doubt I was going to THIS? That's 3 of "This" in a row, I wonder if I will pick THAT next week! The thin 1/2" strips of stars also helped me hide the seam of the 2 triangles meeting. A few other star stickers from some old CM military sheets finished off the layout.

No Pictures No Comment

Welcome back to the Hudson River Valley tour from December 2021. Our next stop is called Locust Grove. I was unfamiliar with this house before visiting, but I found out that it was owned by Samuel Morse--yep, the man who invented Morse Code! This was an extensive tour that included the staff areas in the basement. There is a museum next to the visitor center that is included in your admission as well, which goes into some detail on the creation of Morse Code. This house does not allow photography during your tour, so I was limited to just a couple of postcards from the gift shop and the one photo of the Christmas decor that I found when we bought tickets online. 

I made this layout for CM's March Virtual Crop (scroll to layout #4). I flipped the sketch horizontally because I wanted the block of photos to be the beginning of the story, including the brochure and postcards. I used gold paper as the background (I gutted it to preserve the paper). and trimmed the green for the middle. Instead of a third layer of paper, I used thin red Washi tape between the 2 (see — if you leave something out, it is more likely to get used).

I used mostly the Seasonal Sightings paper for this. I chose more of the tonal elements so it doesn't SCREAM Christmas, but it still has a holiday feel. I was playing with items still on my floating table (that's where I store items while I work on a page or album) when I saw the lacy corner. It is black on one side but white on the other, and I thought it added a nice touch to the layout. The ribbon element on the right has a large portion of the white poinsettia border. I used the trimmings to create the corner element on the left page. The lacy stickers along the bottom mimicked the lacy triangle, and that was about all that I needed.

2 Cute 4 Words

Hello and welcome back to my Hudson River Valley trip of December 2021. On Sunday morning, my friend Melania and I met at the FDR Presidential Library for a visit. It's on the same grounds as the FDR Home historic site I've discussed before, but it isn't part of the NPS, so I'll skip the photos (though it is a nice tour if you get to the area). After finishing the Library, we returned to the visitor center and completed the Junior Ranger books for the Home that we saw on Saturday. The Rangers were kind enough to take our picture with our new badges after swearing us in. 

Usually, when I have only 1 photo of a subject, I print it as either 5x7 or 8x10. This takes up a bit more real estate on the page, but I don't want to overwhelm a photo with embellishments taking up the rest of the page. When I printed the photos for this trip, I didn't realize this would be the only one on a page. Instead of reprinting it, though, I added a 6x4 journal box, treated it as a second photo, and then looked for a sketch that would highlight the 2 components. The sketch is from the CM 110 Sketches book (not the one I usually use, the original book). They created the sketch based on this blog post.

I looked through my NPS stash and found this paper with the rubber stamps on it. While it's likely meant for crafting, it also fits my NPTC life nicely, where we collect stamps from our visits. From that paper, I pulled the green and blue tones. Looking through my remainder scraps from the green folder, I found 2 that would give me the triangle in the corner and a rectangular mat for under the photo. I still had that paper Washi tape on my desk, so I pulled the green star roll to create a border along the right edge.

Think Pink

Welcome back to Staatsburg mansion on my Hudson River Valley adventure. Today's layout is of Ruth Mills' bedroom (the matriarch of the family). Ruth apparently likes the color pink. And it's a HOT pink! EVERYTHING in this room is pink! The photo of her is actually from downstairs, but I thought she would enjoy being paired with scenes of her bedroom. This room includes her working desk for letters as well as a relaxing place to lie down and read. 

This layout is based on Noreen Smith's new 1-2-3 + layout from January 2026. The "plus" is that, in addition to one piece of double-sided patterned paper, you use another piece to create some added elements. For this month, it is a couple of borders and photo mats. I headed to my pink stash and found a paper that was hot pink on one side and white with a light pink pattern on the other. I know you can't see the pattern in this photo, but it's a small polka dot. I pulled this paper from the pink tonal pack CM released a couple of years ago. Mounting the pink on black cardstock helps make the layout pop!

Since I had my pink folder out, I saw that I still had pink "Shortcuts" from Old CM. I had a matching set in the pattern shown above, so I used that instead of punching my own. That left plenty of pink cardstock to create mats for everything. The tonal pack had some matching stickers that I used, but I raided my stash to find the makeup, poodle, and small tower of gifts in black. 

Feast Your Eyes on This

Welcome back to the tour of Staatsburg from December 2021. Our next stop in the house is the formal dining room. Just before entering the dining room, there is a small room for a glass of punch before being escorted into one of the most lavish rooms I've ever seen! The table was only set for about 10 people, but it could be extended to accommodate up to 50! The floor and walls are all marble! (Not painted to look like marble but real marble!) The photos on the right are of the butler's pantry, where staging happened before serving. I loved all the mock-ups of the food that would be served.

This page was created based on a pair of pins I saved (left and right) and a YouTube video that covered various ways to use Washi tape. I had quite a lot of Washi tape on my desk and decided to try to use it up. The bottom row with mushrooms, the middle row of black-and-white diamonds, and the red-and-white stripes are paper strips from my stash. The top is a border punched from gold lava paper (a free pack from CM last year). The rest was truly washi tape. The black stripe at the top is actually 4 strips of Washi tape placed closely together to give a bit of depth. It's sort of like busy patterned paper — once you add the photos, you only see the busy patterns in small spots, so it isn't too overwhelming. What do you think about the matches I made on these strips?

Bonus Post: THIS Title Page

Time for a Bonus Post as I play along with the Lasting Memories Challenges. This week's challenge has a choice of how to make a title, and I chose THIS — letter stickers. This is the title page for an album you'll be seeing in a few weeks for a trip to the Springfield Armory.

Because I was making the journey there by rail, I chose to recreate this pin I had saved to make my title page. I had purchased the Graphic 45 tablet called "Come Away With Me" many years ago, and I was happy to use up some of that material. The bottom of the page is a Graphic 45 calendar page, which I purchased separately. I bought a dozen of them, intending to make a calendar, and they've been sitting in my stash. I liked the idea of just using the edge as shown in the pin. Instead of photos, I used one of the cut-apart sheets and found the 4 boxes that make up the title image. It references not only the train I took but the industrial age of the armory I was about to visit. There is a matching sticker sheet with the letters, so I could spell out my title and two chipboard embellishments to round out the page.

Tree-mendous!

Welcome back to the December 2021 tour of Staatsburg Mansion. As we moved through the house, we came to the front door. Yes, we had to enter from the rear, so we didn't get the full effect that someone visiting the family would have seen. But this would have been quite impressive. This area includes the large staircase to the second floor, and the Christmas tree extends up into that space! I don't know where they found such a large tree, but it was beautifully decorated. The rest of the room is also set up for receiving guests, including the decanter on the sideboard. The Titanic headline in the newspaper is a little out of place, though--that happened in April! 

When planning this page, I knew I wanted to make a tree as a large element. I turned to this layout that I saved from Creative Life Scrapbooking and then purchased the instructions through their website. I think the directions could have been clearer, but essentially, you take the CM candy cane border maker cartridge and make strips that become the tree's branches. The directions called for 4 strips, but clearly, you need at least 7 or 8 to make the tree. The tree is punched from sequoia-colored cardstock and is backed with a lighter green (scraps, so I don't know which color). 

I mounted this on 2 squares of decorative paper from the Recollections paper pack. I pulled a long photo mat in gold. I used the center and an oval custom cutting system shape to create the tree skirt, then used the small ornaments from that card as decorations on the right-hand page. I completed the pages with ornament and gift stickers from my stash. The Merry Christmas title square is also from the Recollections tablet.

THIS: The Mouse House

Welcome back to my December 2021 trip through the Hudson River Valley. One of the cuter displays at Staatsburg is this collection of tiny mouse-house vignettes in several rooms. I don't think they were items that the family displayed. I believe the historical society uses them for a scavenger hunt for kids to keep them engaged during a "boring" house tour. Each vignette was placed in the "big" room, similar to the display (e.g., library, parlor, bedroom). 

I created this layout based on the CM Virtual Crop from February 2026. This is sketch 1, which I doubled to create the 2-page spread. Luckily, Lasting Memories is having a challenge this month featuring "This or That". For week 1, "This" means to follow a sketch while "That" means to scraplift one of the designers. "This" was too easy! 

The background papers are beige cardstock, while the punched stockings are Cranberry cardstock. The small green squares are from my stash of Plaid papers (not entirely sure which collection, since when I'm left with one or two sheets, they are "recycled" into other parts of my stash). The white triangles are also plaid (though you may need to zoom in to see the detail). My favorite part of the layout, though, is the use of the cut circles to create little mouse faces. The original sketch meant them to be hearts, and if you look through the CM Virtual Crop Facebook pages, you will see a million variations on those details. I added some small grey and pink circles for the ears and used a marker to create the eyes and nose. 

I found the Vellum quote from "Twas the Night Before Christmas," and since it mentioned mice, I thought it was the perfect addition to the layout. You can see that I moved the squares and mouse heads to the bottom of the page, rather than the middle, as in the original layout. That left a little space at the top, and to continue the poem's theme, the shadowy laser-cut border of Santa and his reindeer was a great addition. The final touch, and the final nod to the poem, are the stockings. Not just the border, but the stickers spread across the layout. 

Deck the Halls

 Welcome back to the Staatsburg Estate. We took a self-guided tour of the house. There were docents in nearly every room, so if you had questions, they could answer them. The left page shows their library — dark wood and furniture. A cozy room for reading. The right page is the parlor. Much brighter and "feminine" with lots of floral sprigs around the room. 

This layout is based on a sketch that CM posted only on the Virtual Crop Facebook page. Noreen Smith (my idol) retired from her position as Creative Manager in December 2025. To thank her for all she has done, they sponsored this mini challenge. The overall sketch is one of the Simple Page Kits Noreen designed. This demonstrates that if you like a kit, you can replicate it with paper from your stash! I chose Seasonal Sightings, a Christmas pack from a few years ago (2022). There was a bonus pack called "Write On" that included cardinals and other papers. 

Since there was a birdcage as one of the room elements on the right, I felt justified in spreading cardinals around the layout. For the banner element at the top right, I trimmed one of the decorative mats and kept only the ornaments — nearly the same thing! The title is from that card, too, but trimming it meant I didn't have to reserve 4 1/2 x 6 1/2" of space in the corner. 

It's All Greek to Me

Welcome back to my 2021 Hudson River Valley trip. Today, we look at the next house we visited, called Staatsburg. This house is a Greek Revival house--I mean, just look at that portico! It screams Greek Temple. This front entrance is not used by the public to enter the home, so my friends and I walked around the outside to see the details. They decorated it with simple wreaths, and the windows were filled with massive nutcrackers about 5 feet tall.

This layout was created using the CM Virtual Crop sketches from February 2026. Scroll to Sketch #4. I continued using the old CM Reminisce Christmas papers. I had 2 of the green papers left. One of them had to be the base of the right page. The sketch shows an 11 1/2 x 11 1/2" square. Because you cover the right edge, you can get away with a smaller piece of paper — just use the border to seal the 2 pieces together. On the left, I cut the inner circle from the other green page and used the remnant to create the 2 "triangular" pieces at the top and bottom. I trimmed those at 45 degrees and then slipped the tan papers underneath — there's no reason to cut those papers, and you end up with a perfect seam that way! The entire left page is mounted on white cardstock for stability.

Fit for a Queen

Welcome back to the December 2021 Hudson Valley trip. Today, we finish the Home of Franklin Delano Roosevelt by looking at the guest quarters. The 2 rooms shown below look fairly standard for the period and much like rooms in traditional homes. So would it surprise you to know that the royalty of Europe, including King George VI, Queen Elizabeth of England, and Queen Wilhelmina of the Netherlands, stayed here? So did Winston Churchill! I'm sure it was very different from their palaces at home. I wonder what they thought of the accommodations.

This layout is based on one of the sketches in the CM 101 Sketches book (page 61). I returned to the Homestead collection, which was down to just scraps. I used a piece of charcoal cardstock as the base and one strip of paper to create the peekaboo strip on the right. Under that strip is layered several border stickers and a couple of laser-cut borders. A final laser-cut border was cut in half and placed under the edges of the paper to extend the element. Both photos were double-mounted on the mat cards from the collection. A few final stickers complete the layout.

FDR the Boy

Welcome back to my 2021 Hudson River Valley tour. We are continuing our look at the Home of FDR. Upstairs, there is the room where he was born, as well as the room where he lived as a child. This page focuses on the childhood room and the bathroom adjoining. It is the privilege of the oldest son to have this room, and Franklin passed this on to his sons as well. But it is now restored to how FDR would have had it as a boy, including books he collected, framed prints, diplomas, and little trinkets.

This layout is one of the most basic standard layouts. When you have 4 items, 2 vertical and 2 horizontal, you can mimic this layout quite easily. By alternating the directions, you create a visual circle that takes the reader's eye around the page. When I realized I had 2 vertical and 1 horizontal photo, I grabbed a horizontal journal mat to finalize the layout. I chose this historic sports-looking card from the Graphic 45 collection. I like to think that, as a youth, FDR would have been interested in sports, and this card is about the right time frame. I used some of the Homestead collection for the remaining elements. Depending on the size of your photos, you will likely have room for a border at the top or bottom. I used this laser-cut border from the Homestead collection to finish off the page. The arrangement leaves a large square in the center, which is the perfect place to put a title sticker!

Grow Up

Welcome back to the 2021 Hudson River Valley trip. Today, we continue exploring the FDR home in Hyde Park. As you enter the house, the entryway and foyer contain many souvenirs from the Roosevelts' world travels. Large cabinets from Asia and Europe, even a gong. Added later, after the home became a tourist spot, was an interesting statue of FDR as a young man. Not shown in a wheelchair, but not showing his legs either. Interesting juxtaposition of ideas.

This layout is one of Club Scrap's Industrial Evolution kit. Scroll to layouts 7 and 8. When I saw the quote spread across the pages, I thought it was a good match for the life that FDR led after being diagnosed with polio so young. I manipulated the mats a bit by turning 2 of them to horizontal positions and using one of the smaller ones as a journal box.

The rest of the downstairs is shown below. You'll maybe remember this from a bonus post I made for Lasting Memories in early February.

Hyde and Seek

Happy St. Patrick's Day, everyone! Welcome back to the 2021 Hudson River Valley trip. Our second stop of the day was the Franklin D. Roosevelt home. This is where he was born and grew up. He kept it as an adult for a country house getaway. He and Eleanor are also buried here. The grounds include the home, some barns, the graveyard, and his Presidential Library. Today's visit is just to the house.

This layout is based on a sketch I saved from Noreen Smith's 2018 Scrap Your Summer Stash Saturdays event. I'm sure I've used this sketch before, but its versatility makes it easy to reuse endlessly! I continued using the Recollections paper pack. The best part of this sketch is that you can use your scraps. It takes just two 10x5 strips and one 12x2.5 strip across the middle. Want to dress it up? Add some borders above and below the 12x2.5 strip. Or across the middle of the strip. 

Dollars for Bowling

Welcome back to Lyndhurst, part of my December 2021 Hudson River Valley trip. Behind the main structure are several outbuildings. This one was a recreation hall that featured a bowling alley. The ball return was primitive, and it looks like they just used cushions to catch the pins. The photos are not too bad, considering we couldn't go inside and had to take them through the porch windows!

This layout was made during a Paper Loft class at one of the Lancaster Scrapbook Conventions. It had been a 2-page layout, but I used the other portion on a different page. I like the argyle pattern for bowling. It has a very 50's feel to it. I added a few bowling embellishments from my stash. I liked that some of the stickers matched the shape and size of the banner pieces. 

Puppy Love

Welcome back to the 2021 Hudson River Valley tour. This layout features more of the upstairs bedrooms at Lyndhurst. The photos on the right and the bathroom are Helen Gould's room — the lady of the house. Her room is extra large with a seating area. I love that they included a small stuffed dog in a wicker bed in the display. I also like the table with room for books surrounding it. If it goes missing, check my bedroom. ☺

I based this layout on the Serenity Project Recipe from Creative Memories. I used the same border maker cartridge as the recipe, but returned to the Recollections paper pack for the decorative papers. I chose a green print with pinecones and a red floral print. They looked great next to each other as whole sheets. I'm not as happy with how they are cut and arranged into the alternating borders. But sometimes, done is better than good. I found a few small embellishments in my stash that matched the layout's color and tone. As we approach the end of the tour, little journaling is needed, so I wrote directly under the photos.

Starry Night

Welcome back to our look at Lyndhurst Mansion. Today's layout features upstairs photos — two different bedrooms and a unique relic of the building's original communication system. At the bottom of the left page, the "hole in the wall" was the original calling system. If one of the ladies of the house required a maid or other servant, they would call into that tube to summon someone! But the best feature upstairs is the starry night ceiling in one of the bedrooms. It's designed after a similar feature in a French chapel. Also on display is an original Tiffany lamp! 

I created this layout based on the CM Virtual Crop from December 2025. Scroll to Sketch #4. I focused on the blue ceiling and kept to my old CM Reminisce papers. The subtle design of the snowflakes complemented the photos. I used one sheet of paper across the middle. The borders along the edges are coordinating paper ribbon from the same collection. Some green-toned papers from the pack created the horizontal borders. I found a remnant of a journal box in a design that matched the fancy ceiling, so I immediately put that to use! A little dark blue cardstock was used to create the mats. Notice I changed the direction of one of my photos on the left. That left a bit of the cardstock mat, so I moved the smaller photo of the call box into that space. Remember that the sketch is a starting point, not a rule to follow. Make the layout work for you.

The Art Gallery

Welcome back to the 2021 Hudson River Valley tour. The last family to own Lyndhurst, the Jay Gould family, was made rich by the railroads. They collected many great paintings from their travels in Europe and displayed them in this upstairs gallery in beautiful vintage frames. With its vaulted ceiling and stained-glass window, the room is a work of art. 

I created this layout based on the January 2026 Power Hour with Meggan and Tessa. Incredibly, I finished one of their projects in the month they presented it! I selected a piece of plaid paper from one of my Christmas collections and layered the cut pieces onto gold cardstock. Because the photos are so detailed, I didn't want many embellishments. I chose the journal box with a touch of holly and a few holly-and-poinsettia stickers. I thought the title sticker with "reflections" was a good fit for this theme. It was hard to take a decent photo of the stained glass window in the daytime--postcards to the rescue! That's why I always stop in the gift shop on my way out of a tour.

Study Hall

Welcome back to my December 2021 trip through the Hudson River Valley. The next room in the Lyndhurst Mansion is the study. Again, it is decorated for Christmas with some greenery. The room is small but would be big enough for an afternoon tea or a brief visit. 

For this layout, I wanted to use the border you see along the top. I made this many years ago, and I thought that the greenery on the squares would match the room. I don't have any more of the tan diamond paper, but I did have some black diamond stickers. I mounted them on a strip of cranberry cardstock, then added a strip of striped paper down the center, mirroring the top border. That gave me a nice open area on the page to display the photos and the title box cut from the Recollections paper pad. Not much journaling was required, but I added a quick note with a white gel pen to indicate the room name.

Floor to Ceiling

Welcome back to my 2021 trip to the Hudson River Valley. This post focuses on one of the parlors at Lyndhurst Mansion. Each year, they hire decorators to create a Christmas feel for the tour, though some parts of the mansion naturally lean in that direction. In this room, there are painted allegorical scenes on the ceiling. You can see one panel below. The room overview and the other side of the ceiling are in a peekaboo pocket.

I based this layout on one of the Creative Life Scrapbooking Holiday layouts from 2024. Melissa Ullman has a video on creating the wreath using the CM Custom cutting system. I started to use the Recollections paper pad for the background and the wreath components (including the journal box in the middle). You might be able to see the pad at this eBay site. The red borders are washi tape, and the red bow is a very old CM die cut. To give it a bit more sparkle, I painted it with one of the CM Shimmer brushes. 

Chasing Shadows

Welcome back to the 2021 Hudson River Valley Christmas tour. You will recall that Lyndhurst was the site for the exterior shots of the TV series Dark Shadows. Inside, we were brought into this lovely room, where a manikin wore a dress reminiscent of that show. And as our guide explained, that's exactly why it is there! So many people come to see the outside that they designated this room for that show as well. But that has NOTHING to do with the family who lived here and does not reflect any of their decorative styles or clothing choices. Still, it's a lovely dress and room.

This layout is based on a pin I saved related to a Project Life blog. Click on "visit site," and it will take you to the place I originally found it. Click on that link, and you will find yet another blog using the sketch. It's wonderful how versatile it can be, and you can see some additional ideas for how to use it. I chose to use some old CM papers called Reminisce Winter. The pack was made in the early 2000s, and though double-sided, both sides were similarly colored. For example, the dark blue had one side with a border print and the other side was also dark blue with an all-over print. Still, I was able to use the blue and green with a roll of paper ribbon to create the background components. They are layered on Autumn Hay Shimmer cardstock. I used a couple of mats to create the fan spray of strips behind the photos. They are 6 1/2" long, so I joined 2 and hid the joint behind the photos! The title block is from another older CM collection called "Noel". Though the colors are different, both have a "heritage" feel to them that worked well with the topic.

American Gothic

Welcome back to my December 2021 trip through the Hudson River Valley. Our first location on Saturday morning was Lyndhurst. If this structure looks familiar, you might have watched the TV show "Dark Shadows". The exterior of this building was used for that series, though none of the interior rooms were used. This 19th-century structure is one of the best examples of Gothic Architecture in the US. The mansion (dare I say, castle?) is vast, but so are the grounds. There are additional buildings behind this building, and a couple of miles of road and trails leading through the estate. I was joined by friends Melania and Allan on Saturday, so you'll see several selfies of us through the layouts. 

This layout is based on a pin I saved (which I doubled). As I put this album together, I planned to use a tablet of heritage Christmas papers, but since we were outside and there was a baby sled, I decided to go with a more wintry theme here. I liked the blue and silver elements in the sketch and tried to replicate them with silver background paper and remnants from the Silver Bells pack. The silver cardstock is so old that it's 10 x 12. I "welded" the blue paper to the silver to create the 12x12 background I wanted. The old CM Reminisce Winter pack also came in handy for the thin borders and the small tag cluster in the bottom right. I made that tag many years ago and finally have a chance to use it! I used the CM custom cutting system to create the large bracket shape, helping to frame the papers.

Up the River

Welcome back to the blog! Today, we begin a series covering my December 2021 trip to the Hudson River Valley. The official name of the region, as related to the National Park Service, is the Maurice D. Hinchey Hudson River Valley National Heritage Area. The area is vast, stretching from Yonkers, NY, in the south to just north of Albany (but not quite to Saratoga). In that 150-mile range are historic houses, Revolutionary War routes and battlefields, and even the home of a former president. In all, there are 83 sites to visit. We managed only a handful over the weekend, so you can see that a full exploration would take many months! 

I based this kick-off page on a sketch I had saved. I was digging through my stash and came across CM's Gallivant from 2017. There were just scraps of paper and a few stickers left, so I decided to use what I could and recycle the rest. I added a piece of non-CM paper that's been in the stash for a while. The gray-toned paper with the driving logos matched the original Gallivant papers well. CM had suggested Evergreen cardstock, but that color is no longer made. I chose Sequoia, with its gray-green tone, and it proved a good choice. I also used some blue-gray cardstock that matched the mountains, the brochure, and my sweatshirt for some of the contrast strips and triangles. 

The right side page mat is a piece of vellum with a map printed on it. I trimmed that somewhat larger than the original sketch, but I didn't want to cut down my bridge photos. Keeping the larger photos meant I wouldn't have room for the tags at the top, so I moved them to the bottom, which created a bit of symmetry with the left page. I had initially planned this as an itinerary page, but then decided that for a 2-day trip, that wasn't necessary. I changed the focus to my arrival in the area. It did give me a spot for the Hudson River Valley brochure, though!

The Patriot on the Hill

We have reached the final entry for the 2021 Union County Four Centuries in a Weekend. While at the Deserted Village, we walked up the hill behind the general store (the one you saw in the last blog post) to find a reenactor discussing the property's original owner. John Willcocks (later Wilcox) used the abundant forest to create a sawmill and sell planks for building homes. He was killed in the evacuation of Fort Lee (NY) during the War of Independence. He is not buried here, but has an original tombstone and an updated one that is a tad more legible. We enjoyed our talk with the reenactor about what life was like for soldiers of the period.

This layout is based on one of the 101 Sketches book from CM (page 82). I rotated the sketch 90 degrees because most of the photos were vertical. The background paper is from the Bedazzled collection. I love that dark blue tonal pattern with the gold stars. The white mats with gold stripes are also from that collection. The "Patriot" card is from a page my mom gave me from a colonial paper she found. The "journal box" is really a remnant of red-and-white striped paper from a 6x6 tablet. The little birdhouse worked well here as we were standing in the forest.

Where'd Everybody Go?

Welcome back to the Union County Four Centuries in a Weekend 2021 event. The last stop on our tour was called The Deserted Village. This location is a bit like one where restaurants come and go. None of them seems able to thrive for very long. This parcel of land was, in turn, a sawmill, a print shop (which required an entire village to operate), and a summer resort. As each venture failed, the buildings began to deteriorate slightly. A local foundation is raising funds and actively renovating many of the structures so they can be toured, with the eventual goal of housing people again. A barn has been restored and now hosts weddings. There is a tie-in to the Revolutionary War, which you'll see in the next blog post.

This layout was made for Tammy McEwen's end-of-year challenge. It was originally a sketch from the CM August 2025 Virtual Crop (scroll to sketch #3). As I contemplated the papers to use, I wanted something with an almost camping theme. I chose Earthy Home, and while it's stored in my heritage theme box, it could also be in the Camping and Nature box with the wooden texture paper and green leaf patterns. The top border, called "Charming Village," is intended for Christmas pages. But punched from a brown cardstock, it becomes my deserted village in the middle of the forest! A few random stickers from my stash reinforced the nature theme and the fall colors.

Too Salty

Welcome back to the 2021 Four Centuries in a Weekend series. The next visit was to the Salt Box House. Originally, salt boxes had a very steep slope on the opening edge. Here's an example of one.

Compare that to the slope on the back side of this house. This house style was popular in the 17th and 18th centuries, especially in snow-prone areas, because the steep slope allowed snow to slide off without damaging the roof and deflected strong winds. 

This is another stop on the Crossroads of the American Revolution, but it lacks a substantial piece of war history. The houses (2 houses joined) were built well after the War of Independence, though they contain artifacts from the war era. The collection is just that — a collection of donated items. Many of these historical societies need a professional curator to create distinct displays and stories for the houses. On the plus side, we found a historic nursing outfit, and as both Mel and I are nurses, we enjoyed posing with it. There's another oxen yoke too..... (Read the journaling on this blog post.)

This layout is inspired by Tammy McEwen's end-of-year challenge. Initially, it was CM's March 2025 sketch, which you can see here. Scroll to sketch #3. I had used it previously on this John Smith Chesapeake layout. You'll agree that the change of paper creates a dramatic difference between the 2. This layout uses Memoirs and Memories paper, and finishes off my stash of it. I chose a dark background and light-toned documents for the various elements, with the last edge in dotted gray. Instead of punching a design, I simply tore the edges for a vintage feel. The title box is from one of the original CM Archiver's collections. The "What a Trip" title sticker is printed in white, so it needs to be mounted on a dark cardstock strip to be visible. A few "antique" flowers from my stash finished off the layout.

Bonus post--Making it Work

Hello all! I'm adding a bonus post as I'm playing with Lasting Memories Challenges again. This post shows some of the downstairs areas of the Franklin D. Roosevelt House in Hyde Park, near Poughkeepsie, New York. This is part of my Hudson River Valley tour, which you'll see soon. When FDR contracted Polio, the house had to be modified to accommodate his wheelchair. The stairs to the downstairs rooms were replaced with ramps. Luckily, the family had put in an early elevator to haul luggage from the bedrooms to the entry hall. FDR used that for transport upstairs.

I put this layout together for the Lasting Memories challenge: using a quote. Since that's the only rule, I started by looking for a sketch to follow, and I chose this sketch from Club Scrap. They post a bonus sketch for those who receive monthly kits. I found a few of the layout instructions, so I was able to use them for my pages. I chose papers from the latest CM Decades packs. This one uses papers and stickers from the 1920s-1930s, which are right in the home's time period. I wanted to highlight how the Roosevelt family accommodated FDR's paralysis from polio, beginning when he was 21. I found a sticker that says, "Happiness depends more on the inward disposition of mind than on outward circumstances" (Benjamin Franklin). I thought that an apt saying for these photos and his drive to overcome his illness.

Scrapbookers Unite!

Welcome back to my 2021 Four Centuries in a Weekend trip. Our next stop was the Carter House. There is no significant reason this house is included in the Crossroads of the Revolution. It's the oldest house in Summit Township, preserved and moved to its current location by the historical society. No battles here; no prominent citizens lived here. It's just a lovely old house. It is currently home to the Historical Society, and what I loved most was the stacks of scrapbooks from the area. For anyone who wonders what will happen to their albums when they are gone, you should offer them to historical societies. They like seeing the everyday lives of people in the area.

This Layout is based on another of Tammy McEwen's end-of-the-year challenges. It's from the February 2025 CM Virtual Crop; you can see the sketch here. Scroll to sketch #3. I used Legacy of Love for the floral background paper, the title card, and the stickers. The borders along the edge of the patterned paper are from the Burlap and Lace collection. The title card matched the sketch perfectly, and I needed one more photo spot to complete it. Serendipity!

The Fighting Parson

Welcome back to the 2021 Four Centuries in a weekend event. This layout focuses on the Caldwell Parsonage, which is a fancy way of saying "house where the preacher lived." You'll remember that I mentioned Reverend Caldwell when we saw the church he preached at in Elizabeth, NJ. He and his wife, Hannah (pictured on the trading card), lived here with their 10 children. 

The Battle of Connecticut Farms Church, discussed in the last blog, is relevant here. As the British soldiers retreated, they streamed past this house. A shot was fired, which entered the home and killed Hannah. Was it intentional? Was it to get back at her husband, who had been preaching Independence along with the bible? No one really knows. But the moment is sealed into Union County history as the portrayal of her murder is featured in the official County Seal! The original house was, of course, burned by a Loyalist mob, but this home was rebuilt on the original foundation. 

This is the site of the local Historical Society, and so the contents range from the 1700s through the 1800s. The braided hair death memorial is typical of the 19th century, but it fascinates me. I had to take issue with the guided tour, though. We were shown a hip bath and told that families bathed in order, all in one bath, and that by the time the youngest were washed, the water was pretty dirty, which is where the phrase "Don't throw the baby out with the bath water" originated. This is FALSE. Please stop repeating it. That phrase and others are debunked in this Snopes page.

This layout is based on another challenge in Tammy McEwen's end-of-year event. This one goes back to the CM November 2025 virtual crop, and it's the same sketch I used for the East Jersey Olde Towne Print Shop. Because it's different papers on the same sketch, you'd never know that they are from the same source material! It also helps that I had flipped the first layout horizontally. This one uses the Legacy of Love pack. I found 2 sticker borders for the right-side page, then a laser-cut border with a similar pattern for the left vertical strip. I thought that, based on Hannah and Reverend Caldwell's family life, Legacy of Love was a fitting title for this layout.

Fine Dining

Who else is scrapping during the snowstorm? I am working on my Hudson River Valley tour from December 2021. I stopped at Lyndhurst Castle, which you will see in a few weeks, but decided to play along with the Lasting Memories challenge this week. I chose these photos of the Lyndhurst massive dining room, all decked out for a fancy Christmas dinner. Who would have thought the fancy dinnerware would include pheasants painted on the plates!

As I mentioned, I based this layout on the Lasting Memories challenge (#783), which included this sketch of 4 photos. I turned the layout 90 degrees as my photos were all horizontal. I am using a 12x12 tablet from Recollections called Holiday Elegance. The paper is rich and luxe, with gold-foil pages on maroon and green papers. I won this pad at one of the crops I attended, and it will feature prominently on the Hudson River Valley pages. I chose one paper for the background and then another for the large 11x11 mat. I only needed a small border (one of the pages is a stack of several nice borders that I cut apart) to complete the sketch. The green and gold paper takes up the job of embellishing! I found a coordinating journal box in my stash to detail our trip.

But It's Not IN Connecticut!

Welcome back to the 2021 Four Centuries in a Weekend event for Union County, New Jersey. This blog picks up on Sunday morning, and my first visit that you'll see on the blog was to Connecticut Farms Presbyterian Church. Apparently, they liked the name Connecticut, and the original settlers were primarily farmers. The church was also the site of a Revolutionary War battle. I actually visited here twice. I arrived and was awaiting Melania's arrival, but she was at Caldwell Parsonage. I went there to meet her, then returned. While she toured the church, I explored the graveyard further. Lots more 18th-century graves here, but in excellent condition! My favorite stone featured the "autograph" of the stone carver. British soldiers who died during the battle are in a mass grave at the center of the graveyard. That's on a peekaboo pocket that isn't pictured, but you can visit to see the layout in its entirety!

I made this layout during Tammy McEwen's End-of-the-Year scrapbooking challenge. She collected twelve of her favorite double-page layouts from the CM virtual crops this year and packaged them so we could work through the pages quickly in December. Each layout completed earns a ticket toward her prize of one of her classes. This layout was part of the July 2025 Virtual Crop, and you can check out the sketch here. Scroll to challenge #3. As I did with another church page, I selected 2 different background papers — brick on the left and patterned on the right. The light blue cardstock becomes the mat for all the photos. I used some leftover stickers from my stash for decorations. The church sticker is the oldest — likely at least 20 years old. But it still works.

My Favorite People

This post is the last in the Liberty Hall Meetup series from my October 2021 trip to the Four Centuries in a Weekend Event. The final photos inside the house are of the butler's pantry. There was a dumbwaiter and the butler's safe, where all the silver was kept. The last 2 photos are of our meetup group. You can see that for October, the weather was nice, as we were all in short sleeves, standing on the porch of the visitor center. We went out to dinner after the tour. You may remember that my friend Deb once ordered broccoli for breakfast, and I've never let her forget it. Broccoli for dinner is pretty standard, but I had to photograph it anyway!

For this layout, I turned to one of Cheryl Even's sketches from Split Coast Stampers (I flipped it horizontally to place the meetup on the right). I liked this layout because I printed the group photo as an 8x10, and it provided ample space to highlight it. I chose the papers and embellishments from Sweet Blossom (one of the secret boxes from 2023). You can see I didn't have as many photos as the layout indicated. I substituted one block for the title element (a cutapart block from the kit) and a journal box. I debated adding more of those elements to complete the sketch, but ultimately decided to leave the border and paper uncovered for a nicer effect. I was so happy to find that little title sticker "Fave People" in the kit, though!

The Gilded Age

Welcome back to my tour of Liberty Hall in October 2021. Additional rooms downstairs included the parlor and game rooms. I love the decor in here, from the chandeliers to the family photo collections on the side table. And that grammophone! I could get comfortable in here...

This layout is based on the Meggan and Tessa Power Hour class from September 2024. You can watch the video tutorial here (and look at their website to download a paper copy of the instructions). I used paper and embellishments from the Shabby Chic collection (an ancient secret box — possibly the second or third mystery box). Although the rooms are not shabby, the distressed floral print and the border with the baubles on a chain celebrate the spirit of the Gilded Age. The embellishments feature a touch of foil, making the page sparkle. I used a fairly dark background, so I chose a white gel pen to journal.

Give Me Liberty

Welcome back to the 2021 Union County Four Centuries in a Weekend event. My last stop for Saturday was Liberty Hall. I planned another meetup with our NPTC club members, as I had in 2019. This time, however, I was determined to join the tour. The blue house on the left page is the visitor center. Liberty Hall is the yellow house on the right page. Construction of the initial house (14 rooms) began in 1760, with the original owner serving in the Continental Congress and as New Jersey's first governor. The house passed through several other families before returning to a niece of the original owner. By the late 1800s, there was a push to expand the house, and it now stands at 50 rooms! 

By the early 1900s, the family started conservation and the creation of a museum, buying back period pieces from the original owners. The tours for the Four Centuries event are free. Unfortunately, they also only cover the garden and the first floor of the house. If you want the upstairs, you must purchase the whole tour on another weekend. I've seen so many old houses that I doubt I will return to see the rest. You can see a few of the rooms below, and you will see more in the following blog entries.

This layout was made for the CM November 2025 virtual crop. Scroll to sketch #4. The left page is mostly exterior photos, while the right side focuses on interior images, including the dining room set for a Halloween Party (we toured in October, remember). When looking through my collections, I decided on the Burlap and Lace collection, which had previously been a secret box. There were 2 packs of paper, and the lacy prints worked best for this layout. I used three tones of lace paper--white, pink, and brown. Those were layered on soft ivory cardstock. I used border stickers and a few other embellishments from the kit to round out the pages.

Stop Calling our House a Box

OK, first I'll explain the post title. There is an internet meme in which a scrapbooker proudly states that all her supplies can fit in one box. To which the husband says, "Stop calling our house a box!" That might describe me a bit 😆

My next stop for the Union County Four Centuries in a Weekend is Boxwood Hall. This is a lovely mansion and features many rooms of colonial and post-colonial decor. The owner, Elias Boudinot (the trading card on the left), served as one of the Presidents of the Continental Congress near the end of the war (1782-1783). Elias hosted George Washington for lunch on his way to the first presidential inauguration in New York City. Alexander Hamilton also stayed here for a time while attending the nearby Elizabethtown Academy. But that was before he was famous (just you wait!).

This layout is based on a Beginner's Project Recipe given to CM Advisors in January 2023 (I can email you a copy on request). It was meant to correspond to the paper you see in the layout called "Homebody". The sketch can be thought of as one of Noreen Smith's 1-2-3 sketches, though it only takes 2 cuts! You can use any paper, but the Homebody kit had this print that reminded me of the carpets in all of the rooms of this house. Instead of cutting 2" strips from the same side of the paper, I made 2" cuts on each side, leaving me with the border elements for the right side of the page. The middle section is then moved to the left. Both are layered on more papers from the kit, though cardstock is certainly an option. A small pack of embellishments is available with the paper and provides a few clusters of interest around the page.

They Can't ALL be First

Welcome back to the Four Centuries in a Weekend 2021 event. My next stop in Elizabeth, NJ, was the First Presbyterian Church. The congregation began in the 1660s, though they met in a meeting house, not this building. The building they erected was burned by the British during the Revolutionary War. This building dates from just after the war (about 1785). I imagine they burned the first structure as its minister, the "Fighting Parson," was often preaching about the British atrocities (especially after they killed his wife). We'll get to their lives a bit later as we'll visit their home. 

For now, the highlight of this visit was the churchyard next to the church. I'm used to seeing the intricate carvings on 19th-century tombstones, so I was interested to see the 17th- and 18th-century versions. Many of them have fallen into disrepair, but a few remain in good condition. I saw a lot of winged skulls for the decorations. Not quite as intricate as the 19th-century stones, but quite interesting.

This layout is based on one of the CM Project Recipes I've saved, called Memoirs and Memories, though I used Keeping the Faith papers (of course — it's a church!). I moved things to reflect the needs of my layout. I used the vertical paper strip on the left as a mat for the brochure rather than photos. I moved the cluster of embellishments from the bottom of the right-hand column to beneath the pamphlet, since that's where the space was. On the right-side page, I added the photo mats but used a paper design with crosses to offset the pictures and give the graveyard a stronger sense of place.

What is more unusual for me is that I used 2 different papers for the backgrounds! I liked the brick on the left (and I had just acquired a bunch of brick papers at a crop I was attending, so it was a nice freebie!) But it didn't work on the right, so I used a sheet of matching cardstock. The borders have been in my stash for quite a while. I punched them at a previous crop (several years ago) and ended up not using them for that particular layout. I was looking for something "wrought iron" to enclose the graveyard, and these were the perfect fit. This is why we hold onto things!