Horsing Around at the Blacksmith Shop

Welcome back to my tour of East Jersey Olde Towne in October 2021. The next location I visited was also unstaffed — the blacksmith's shop. I've seen forges working at other parks, so I didn't need the details, though it is usually a nice program. Additional rusty farm equipment was just outside the barn, so you get a whole idea of all the items they had to work on. Lots of horseshoes are lined up as well.

I based this layout on one of the CM virtual crop sketches from November 2025. Look at sketch #1 (I doubled it for this layout). I wanted to focus on the red barn and the brick chimney. The background paper is cranberry cardstock, and I had 2 matching pieces of brick paper for the mat area. I punched the barbed wire fence with a CM Border Making Cartridge. I trimmed off one link so that it fit just over the mat area. I found a mat with a distressed gray pattern and trimmed it into 4 equal segments. By tucking those under the brick paper, it looks like a single long piece extending across the page. Saves paper that way! I found a border sticker that I cut into short lengths to use as a title, and then mimicked that effect by putting my journaling on white write strips on the right page. A few stickers from the CM On the Farm pack rounded out the layout. 

Up a Steep and Very Narrow Stairway

This blog post is a continuation of the Indian Queen Tavern tour. The upstairs is more reminiscent of family life than of an inn, but it still houses some wonderful pieces. I especially liked the piano (which might be a harpsichord, I forget the details). The stairway itself is a special historic artifact. The period style called for a very sturdy yet winding, narrow staircase. This saves room in the floor plan, but can be treacherous on the climb. Watch your step if you visit!

I based this layout on a pin I had saved. Noreen Smith made the original pages you can see in this pin, but she only posted a photo of the design, no directions. I tried to emulate her style from the one clue in the original post—it's all from one sheet of paper. I chose the last piece of paper in my Literary Romance collection and used the woodgrained side. I started by cutting an 8" square from the center of the paper. That piece is placed as a diamond on the right side of the layout. The remaining piece of paper is turned so the corners hang over the left page edges. I tried to center the paper as best I could, then turned it over and cut off the sides, leaving me with the 4 corner elements for the right-side page. I couldn't tell whether Noreen meant the center mat sections were also from the same sheet of paper, but I don't think they are. For that reason, I found 2 8" square remnants in my stash and used them to mount the photos in the center of the pages. The title element and the corner stickers on the left page are from Creative Memories. The remaining embellishments are from the Paper Loft collection.

In the Inn

Welcome back to my extended fall break from 2021. The first building I walked through in the East Jersey Olde Towne Village was this tavern. It started as a private residence, but with the addition of rooms and remodeling, it eventually became a tavern and inn. The first floor focuses on the tavern portion with the bar room and dining room set up for travelers. As with many other locations, Washington is reputed to have dined here on his journey between New York and Virginia. The manikin below is supposed to represent him. I love that they included a mock-up of the food served, too!

This layout is based on a Club Scrap layout that I saved. The link to the layout sample is here. I found a link to the PDF directions that include the cutting guides (email me if you would like a copy). I chose papers from Paper Loft. Isn't the teapot design simply the best fit for the background? The directions call for several decorative papers. I used 1 sheet for the stripes, 1 for the border bases, and 1 for the small squares. The green tonal paper didn't precisely match the teapot background, so it creates the visual separation needed for the layout to work. There are a dozen 1" squares on the layout. You could use all one pattern, or use this as an excuse to use up a variety of scraps. Just make sure the tones match. The small journal box and the other embellishment cluster were remnants I found in my stash pile.

It Takes a Village

My fall 2021 vacation extended through the weekend, though my husband returned to our home. Union County holds its Four Centuries in a Weekend event on the 2nd weekend of October. I planned to attend those events, but since they don't start until Saturday, I used Friday to schedule visits along my travel route. New Brunswick, NJ, is in Middlesex County (not far from Rutgers University), so I made plans to pick up a few more stamps there. The East Jersey Olde Towne is a collection of buildings that would have been found in Colonial America, but like the Appalachian village in the Great Smoky Mountains, gathered from various sites and moved to a central location. They have a regular supply of living history actors, and I got to meet several of them.

This layout is based on one of the CM Virtual Crop layouts from October 2025. Scroll to layout #1. The secret to the long strip that flows off the bottom of the page is to use 2 mats that are 4 1/2" x 6 1/2". You need to pick 2 that match and tape them together in the middle (you'll cover that with the photos). That gives you 13 inches of length, so you can position it with the ends just hanging off the sides, then trim the excess. I also used some paper from the collection (I'm using Legacy of Love again) because there were decorations in the middle that I wanted to cover, and it wasn't quite covered by the photos, as they were trimmed to 5 1/2" long each. The base is a sheet of  Hot Fudge Brown cardstock. I gutted the middle so I could use it for the mats on the smaller photos. There is a companion page on the right with the village map, and there will be lots more journaling as I go, so I was OK with the small journal box under the photo.

Falling For You

This is the last entry for our Poconos trip, though my vacation continued into the weekend. Our last stop was at Dingman's Falls. The trail is a boardwalk taking you past Silver Thread Falls and on to Dingman's Falls. This was a lovely little trail and not too busy for a Thursday morning. After enjoying the sights, we headed home. You will see my upcoming adventures in New Jersey in the next blog posts.

This is another layout I made from the class I took with Meggan and Tessa. When I created the layouts, I didn't add the mats or any embellishments. When I decided to use the layout, I could fit my photos without forcing them into any particular mat pattern. That means that I didn't have to have 3 horizontal photos on the right page. The left page has one extra "photo"—the map I cut from a brochure. It gives the area's overall look, and then you can see the specifics in the photo. The instructions from Meggan and Tessa included a different border punch, but one that I didn't have with me. I thought the wavy one that I chose would be reminiscent of the wind. When I pulled it from the bag as I created this layout, I realized that it was also perfect for water falling over rocks. And I FINALLY got to use that journal box with the waterfall! I have been saving that for years!

When do Stampers not Stamp?

The last day of our Poconos getaway was a return to the Delaware Water Gap. This time we are heading for a local waterfall. On the way, we stopped at the visitor center/administration building. Unfortunately, with COVID and staffing issues, the building was not open. Instead, they placed a table outside with pre-stamped copies of passport stamps and the most requested brochures. I picked up almost all of the stamps that the database said should be there. Have you ever had to use a pre-stamped image? Were you afraid that all of them would be gone by the time you arrived?

This layout is based on one of the CM Virtual Crop sketches from October 2025. Scroll to Sketch #2. I chose some papers from the Shades of Golden Harvest paper pack. The cardstock base is Autumn Hay shimmer. That creates a soft glow in the back. White would have been too stark. The papers are cut to the same width, but to different lengths, so you get a symmetrical pattern across the page. The sketch called for 3 photos, but I chose to use the longer mat for the Unigrid. I used a coordinating vellum for the mats, also punching a leaf border to match the mat. The blue mat picks up the color in my sweatsuit, while the orange/red mat coordinates with the orange papers. A few stickers from my stash provided the titles and leaves.

Playing in the Forest

Today's blog looks at more of our Poconos trip from October 2021. Our last images of PEEC are of our second trail. The brochure called this an "everyone" trail. Likely that means it's for kids, which, for me, speaks to my inner child! There were lots of touch points--cement pressings, tree-tac-toe, and the best part--instruments to play! Jim doesn't care for it, but I had a great time!

This layout is based on an older Project Recipe pattern from CM called "Adventure". I returned to the Set Up Camp paper pack that you saw when I made the National Park Puzzle page. The light-hearted paper matched the emotion of the photos. There isn't a lot of intricate cutting — truly, most of the cuts are for photo mats. I chose to use the pre-printed mats that came with the kit as much as possible. In that way, you can make the 2 strips for the left page by using 2 sides of a single sheet of decorative paper. One of the mats I chose became a title and a mat by trimming the photo appropriately. A couple of embellishment clusters finished the page.

A Gap in the Water

Welcome back to my Poconos trip in October 2021. Today's blog continues our walk around the Poconos Environmental Education Center. There were a few more lovely shots of the leaves (not totally changed over yet, but you can see them starting) and a photo of the official Delaware Water Gap NRA sign. Delaware Water Gap is an interesting park. It formed over many years when local residents objected to Congress's plans for damming the river, arguing that there was enough recreational use without building a manmade reservoir. In the process, 2 separate but conjoined parks were created. Delaware Water Gap came first, and then the river itself was made into the Middle Delaware National Scenic and Recreational River. That eliminated any threat from the development of dams, and so this lovely natural landscape will be enjoyed by all as intended by nature. While the Middle Delaware NSRR helps protect the 40 miles along the river between Milford and the village of Delaware Water Gap, additional protections to the north and south ensure that further development there will not impact this location.

This was another layout in the Meggan and Tessa Croptoberfest class. The link is in the previous blog post. The left page is another of the laser-cut pages. It looks more complicated than it is. The hardest part is stringing the thin paper along the border edges. The leaves and acorns are backfilled with circles of colored cardstock. Luckily, they figured out the right size, so there wasn't much trimming.

A Peek at the Poconos

Today we'll begin the October 2021 trip to the Poconos. For the second year in a row, Jim and I decided to do a fall "leaf peeping" getaway. This time, we stayed a little closer to home by heading to the Delaware Water Gap NRA area. While there, we spent a day walking, first around the Airbnb we rented and then at the Pocono Environmental Education Center (PEEC) — pronounced PEEK. This non-profit is aligned with the National Park Service, and it has a passport stamp at the visitor center. I chose the Two Ponds trail as our walking path, and the first part was quite lovely. Being near the end of the season, though, it was a little tricky to follow (even with the blazes Jim is pointing out below) and got pretty muddy. We backtracked and chose a different trail, which you will see in a future blog.

I worked on these pages while at a crop. My packing strategy for taking supplies from home is to focus on one album, and this time it was the Fall 2021 trip. Doing that makes it easier to grab coordinating papers and stickers. I just had to grab my boxes with "Fall" and "Camping and nature". (All of my paper packs are sorted by theme or color, just like Tiffany Spaulding recommends.) Since I had all of my older Croptoberfest packs with me, I decided to purchase a class from Meggan and Tessa. Their 2022 Croptoberfest Page Makers Workshop helped me use up some of my extra supplies and create six new 2-page layouts. This is one of the creations from that class. The left page features a laser-cut frame from the Croptoberfest Bundle. I usually struggle with how to incorporate those on a page, so I'm thankful that they had 3 ideas for using them in this class. 

An Apple A Day

Today's post takes a look at a trip my husband and I made in September 2021. Hopewell Furnace National Historic Site is not too far from our house. In their quest to create an authentic historic village, they have recreated an 1800s apple orchard. This means that the varietals are different than what you'll find in today's grocery store. The apples are a little smaller and on the tart side, so they're better for baking than for eating out of hand. The Park allows the public to come and pick apples (though you are not allowed to take any that have fallen to the ground). You pay by the pound, but that includes the tools for picking, like the picker that looks like a Lacrosse stick and the collection bucket. We had fun searching the trees for ripe apples and ended up with a little over a pound to take home! I made a pie with them, which was rather tasty.

This layout was made during the 2020 Creative Memories Croptoberfest event. If you have not participated in an event, a "Project Recipe" kit is available, which includes the papers and embellishments for two double-page layouts. The theme usually coordinates with the fall collection, and indeed, this recipe coordinated with Hello Autumn, which was launched around the same time. I cannot find the sample of how the photos were to be arranged on the page, but I know I had to move some mats around to accommodate my photos and used one as the base for journaling by adding the white Write Strips. I also added a small blurb from one of their brochures that describes the apple orchard. It blends in on the top right page, but I didn't need it to be too obvious.

Mama's Little Helper

Hello all! Today's blog is about a page featuring a National Park puzzle that I received as a birthday present in the summer of 2021. We decided to set up a large table in the living room to have space to assemble it whenever we had time to work on it. Our cat, Murphy, was always on hand to help us out! She is quite the supervisor. The finished puzzle was glued and framed for my scrapbook room.

This layout is based on one of the Creative Memories Virtual Crop sketches from July 2025 (scroll to Sketch #1). I rotated the sketch 90 degrees to the right to fit the layout of my photos, then swapped the circle for the puzzle punch pieces. I chose to use the "Set Up Camp" pack because it is a lighthearted layout, and I wanted the bright, 'campy' feel of the papers. Assembling this is not as complicated as it appears. I punched the puzzle pieces from two different patterns, and layered them on cardstock (with a dark brown paper between for contrast). Then just cut one of the borders in half with the 12" trimmer and spread to the top and bottom (or left and right sides) of the page! I made sure to highlight the cat with arrows in each photo, using just a few other enamel stickers as embellishments. The puzzle pieces are visually busy, so it doesn't need clusters of larger stickers. 

A General Layout

Folks, we have reached the last entry for the 2021 NPTC convention! The Night Tour on golf carts came to a close by driving past the White House and then on to Pershing Park. This is the site of one of the newer memorials dedicated to World War I. The statue of General Pershing had been there, making it the perfect spot to add more material and rename the memorial. You can see the intended look in the photo on the far right. However, the monument isn't quite done! That's a canvas rendering of what the statue will look like. Since I took this photo, the project has been completed, and you will see the results in a future blog post.

I based this layout on an old Project Recipe from Creative Memories called Mix and Match. This is the older of the 2 Mix-and-match collections (2017). I used papers from the "Called to Serve" collection, as well as the back side of a Scrapbook Customs DC page with a map of the National Mall area. I liked the concept of the sketch with mirrored border punches, so I chose a patriotic version with the Flag Banner punch. It mimics the canvas's reflection in the memorial photo.

After the tour, the golf carts returned us to our hotel. It was late and I went right to sleep! It had been a long day. On Monday morning, I had a leisurely breakfast, then packed and headed to Union Station to catch my train back home.

For this layout, I modified an idea posted on the CM blog for creating travel borders (see the 2nd border on the page). The example focused on the Scenic Route travel pack, which I have used up. But the concept of the Passport to Adventure used here is very similar, and there was a lovely premade layered border with a train and a station. I followed all the other directions for the layers. After adding the embellishments, I wanted to point toward our next convention, so I fussy-cut an image of the St. Louis Arch from an Eastern National paper and added the small numbers for the following year.

I hope you enjoyed the journey through DC. Next time, we'll look at some unique park experiences closer to home!

Reflections of Lincoln

Happy Halloween, everyone! It's so perfect that we continue our nighttime tour of the Washington, DC National Mall in 2021. Our golf carts took us right up to the steps of the Lincoln Memorial. I loved capturing the images with the night glow from the lights and the remnants of the sunset. This may be the first time I've understood why the reflecting pool is such an essential part of the National Mall. And then I walked over to the Vietnam Veterans Memorial. If you've not been here at night, it's quite a moving experience--even more so than a daytime trip. 

Similar to the page in my last blog, I had another sheet of black paper with pre-printed photos around the edge. I had initially planned to use those side by side on a two-page layout, but the pre-printed images were arranged along the right-hand side of each page, so I couldn't achieve the desired symmetry. That's when I decided to separate the papers. 

This paper also featured the statue of Lincoln from the memorial; however, the page was quite crowded, and I wanted more space for the photos and unigrid. I took the thin white title strip off at the top, then I cut the page in half and spread it across two pages. I layered each of the 6x11 pieces onto black cardstock so the background consistency carried across the pages. That gave me all the room I needed for my own photos (anything that is a 4x6 or 6x4 photo is mine — everything else was pre-printed), as well as the unigrid from the Vietnam Veterans' Memorial. To be consistent with the pre-printed photos, I matted all of my photos with white cardstock. I reattached the title strip on the right page. To give me a bit more symmetry, I cut a piece of white cardstock to the same width and found some pertinent stickers to fill in the space on the left page.

Around the Mall

Welcome back to the 2021 NPTC convention. In this blog post, we cover a little more ground on our Golf Cart Night Tour. As the sun set, our driver took us to some of the more iconic areas, as well as the new Eisenhower Memorial (since we had just been there the previous week, no one disembarked the carts!). The Jefferson Memorial was visible from the MLK Memorial across the Tidal Basin just before we boarded the carts. On the right page, the Capitol was glowing as the sun set. As we came past the Grant Memorial, the sun was even lower in the sky. This is when the illumination of the memorials begins, as you can see with the Washington Monument.

With this layout, I started on the right page. The photos with the white border are pre-printed on the page along with the Washington, DC title. Since the images were centered at the bottom and right, the paper worked best on the right side of the layout. I liked that the page had a black background because it represented the nighttime tour. To fill in the left side of the layout, I pulled a new set of Advisor-only papers and embellishments called "Everybody Smile". It combines the summer's patriotic holidays with backyard barbecues and family reunion gatherings. The layout is part of the project guide, which is available with the papers if you earn the kit from me. I added the white mats to keep the photos from disappearing into the background. The journal box is from the Eastern National Scrapbook kit. While we didn't have fireworks, it was a nod to the nighttime experience.

Rocking MLK

We are approaching the end of the 2021 NPTC convention in DC. In the last blog, we concluded the bus tour with a visit to the Old Stone House in Georgetown. The bus dropped us off at the hotel, and then my group made a mad dash for the Tidal Basin. We had signed up for the last Golf Cart Night Tour and needed to be at the Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial for our Ranger talk. Although I've visited this monument several times, I always find something new. This time, I found a medallion set in the concrete, indicating that the time capsule buried there is to be opened on the 50th anniversary of the memorial. That's August 28, 2061, for anyone who wants to put it on their calendar (I'll be 92, so I'll see you there!)

This layout is based on two different pins. First, I chose this sketch (which I flipped left-to-right). I saw the large title border and chose this pin from CM. I had to click through to this page to get the directions for creating the sunburst effect. To boil it down, you cut 2 strips of paper. One piece is cut into strips diagonally, but reassembled on the other strip so that it still appears to be a solid piece of paper. I recommend a lot of repositionable adhesive on the back. Then, simply pull off every other strip and discard it. Trim the edges for a clean edge or layer a border along the edge.

Once that border was completed, I finished the layout with more scraps of red, white, and blue. The Land of the Free title block is from Eastern National. The "Let Freedom Ring" is a vellum accent from Old CM. I used an old CM star punch to make layered blue and red stars to "emerge" from the starburst design. That flowed into the smaller blue and red stars on the left page, almost as if they were getting smaller the further they got from the border. 

After the Ranger talk ended, we boarded our golf carts.

You might remember this layout from my stint as a Lasting Memories Guest Designer in September. You can click here to read all about this layout.

Stone Age

Today's blog entry marks the final stop on the Monday bus tour at the 2021 NPTC Convention in DC. The early part of the day included a visit to the National Arboretum and Lincoln Cottage. Since none of that is officially related to the National Park Service, I did not include those pages in the blog (but feel free to visit me sometime to see them!)

We stopped at the Old Stone House in Georgetown. You may recall that I mentioned this house in my Week 3 'Lasting Memories' challenge post, which can be found here. This site is handled by the Rock Creek Park portion of the National Park Service. Built in 1766, this house is the oldest structure on its original foundation within the Washington, DC area. It's a relatively small structure, but you can see that inside is the original fireplace, complete with a scarred wood mantle. Interestingly, the house was not preserved simply because of its age. For over 200 years, a misconception that George Washington used this as his headquarters when traveling helped spur the community to maintain the structure. After the government bought it, historic excavations and research on maps of the area concluded that this was never a tavern, and George Washington never stayed here. However, since it had become a historically preserved site, it was now saved for its own history.  

This layout was made during a Paper Loft class at the Lancaster CKC scrapbooking convention. The overall yellow tones of the stones and my shirt helped pull everything together. Paper Loft intentionally creates pleasing palettes to help create a layout with interest (read--multiple patterns) that do not conflict or cause too much discordance on the page. I wasn't sure how much journaling space I would need, so rather than try to cram it all into a small journal box, I wrote out my journaling on CM's Write Strips. Then I can adhere them to the page and trim the lines as I lay out the strips. The house embellishment on the bottom right comes from the Eastern National scrapbook kit.

An Eye Opening Experience

Folks, I'm happy to say that this is post #600 in my blog! Thanks so much for sticking with me through the years!

Welcome back to the 2021 NPTC Convention and my travels through DC. In the last blog, we visited the site of Abraham Lincoln's death. After leaving the theater, I had planned to visit the African American Civil War Museum. Unfortunately, the museum was closed for renovations, and as of the posting of this blog, it still is. The latest estimate of reopening is November 2025! Since I couldn't see the museum, I wanted to stop at the memorial just across the street from the entrance. There were 2 National Park Rangers who provided an excellent background on the statue and the creation of the memorial. 

The statue in the middle is made "in the round," and additional photos of the other sections are in a peekaboo pocket on top. What made my jaw drop were the silver surround panels. It's rather hard to see in the photos, even in my close-up shots, but each panel is inscribed with the names of African American soldiers from the Civil War. There are more than 200,000 soldiers listed! I had no idea the number was that high. I just turned in circles, goggling at the sheer volume of people documented here. If you view the page in person, you will notice that I have focused on a close-up panel of the 54th Massachusetts, as it is the company most familiar to me due to the movie "Glory." 

I based this layout on a sketch that CM had provided in July 2023. You can see an image of it here, but I don't have a link to the actual document. I have a PDF, though, so if you'd like a copy, please email me and I'll send you the layout. I chose this layout because I had boxed myself into a corner with the last Ford's Theater page. I did not have enough content for a two-page spread of the Peterson House, so I created just the left side of the layout. That left an empty page on the right. I really wanted to use all my photos for this layout and create a 2-page spread of the monument, but I couldn't think of anything else to fill the right-side page and move forward. So I put all the photos on the desk and mulled over them for a bit. 

The first thing I did was trim them down to see how small I could make them. Then I evaluated each photo to see if it would contribute to the story. I didn't really need 6 pictures of the wall of names. I chose a horizontal photo that showcases the immensity of the memorial, and then added two close-up images in a peekaboo pocket on top (which you don't see here). I had trimmed one photo to a relatively small size, which also provided more space for journaling. Once I found the layout, I assembled the pages fairly quickly. This uses the Secret Box "Great Times" paper and embellishments. The sticker in the bottom right corner is from the Eastern National scrapbook kit. 

The Great Tragedy

Today's blog completes my visit to the Ford's Theater historic site, but don't worry. There are more entries for the 2021 National Park Travelers Club convention coming! In the last blog, we saw that after Booth shot Lincoln, he managed to escape. Lincoln, meanwhile, was rushed out of the theater and across the street to the Peterson House. If you take the right tour, you can also see the rooms of this house, which have been replicated to depict the night and the following day when Lincoln passed away. One of the pillows that was under Lincoln's head is in the museum. I'm assuming they didn't want to display one covered in blood, although some clear stains remain here. The house was purchased by the government in 1895 and is one of the earliest bits of American History preserved.

This layout is based on an idea from Melissa Ullman, the Creative Chatterbox. You can watch a video where she puts a layout together similar to this. It uses several small blocks of decorative paper. Due to the brick building, I selected three shades of brick: red, white, and black. Small strips are used to outline the papers and extend a bit to give them a planned ragged look. I'd like to see what papers you choose when you try this, so send me a link when you do!

After the Fall

Welcome back to the exploration of Ford's Theater during my 2021 NPTC convention trip. You probably know that Booth jumped from the box to the stage, breaking his leg in the process, and still managed to make his escape out the back of the building. He went to a physician named Dr. Mudd. Dr. Mudd treated Booth's broken leg and, in the process, cut off Booth's boot. The boot and the surgical kit are on display in the museum (and as a nurse, one of the more interesting displays in my opinion). And, no, this is NOT from where the phrase "your name is mud" is derived. That phrase had been around for more than 40 years before this event.

This layout is based on one of the CM Advisor project recipes. At the end of 2023, they released an Advisor-only paper pack and this recipe to accompany it. It's not QUITE a 1-2-3 like Noreen Smith usually makes, but it is close. You can see from the cutting guide that you trim four 1" strips from a piece of double-sided paper, then turn the paper 90 degrees and cut at 6". That creates the borders at the top and bottom, and 2 larger pieces for the sides. You place four 4x6 photos in the center to cover the cardstock and make it appear as though the large blocks extend all the way across the page. I only had 3 horizontal photos, so I added a journal mat in the exact same colors as the paper. I also added 2 sets of border stickers to dress up the 1" strips. The round stickers are to simulate gunshots. The title pieces aren't from the same collection, but I didn't mind adding blue and green here because I really wanted those titles for my story.

Booth in the Booth

Today, we're continuing a look at Ford's Theater. As I mentioned in the last post, I had been to the theater before, and so I was familiar with the preservation of the box in which the Lincolns were seated. However, I was previously unable to see inside. Part of the door has been replaced with plexiglass, allowing you to see the space. Down in the museum is the original door, as well as a piece of wood that John Wilkes Booth used to jam the door from the inside, allowing him to complete his plan.

This layout is based on Cheryl Even's sketch #114. I returned to the CM Legacy collection for papers and embellishments. One of the key features of this sketch is a 12" border cut in half and used at the edge of the photos. One change I made to the layout was to use a stack of 4x4 photos where her sketch called for 4x6 images. That gave me more space between those photos and the vertical photo on the page to add some small embellishments. The title circle was trimmed from one of the collection's mats.