50 states part 14--New Jersey

Next stop--NewJersey! This is another state that I've been to many times, but one of my favorite weekends was taking part in the Lighthouse Challenge. You visit all the participating lighthouses and get commemorative swag and of course, a passport stamp. The last stop for me was Sandy Hook lighthouse which is part of Gateway NRA (a new park for me that day!).

I based this layout on a blog post from Creative Memories. I got to use up some letter stickers on the title at the bottom. One of my favorite elements is the use of the corner punch on the photo mats. It allows me to tuck the corners in for a vintage photo look. The elements are from the Great Escape embellishments and paper. Unfortunately, that line has already been retired. Lucky for me, I picked up the digital elements so I can cut more lighthouses on my Cricut whenever I want!

50 States Album part 13--Nebraska

Our trip to Nebraska was the later part of the "Great Western Loop"--the NPTC convention in 2017. We flew into Denver, drove through Wyoming up to Mount Rushmore in South Dakota and then south through Nebraska to return to Colorado.

This was an unusual inspiration. I based this page on a greeting card. It's not the first time I've done that, but usually, it's a sketch that I transform. I like the thought of corn for Nebraska. Indeed we drove through farmland and it was about all we did see other than Scott's Bluff. The bottom of the page, the green gingham, was cut and layered over the black cardstock to highlight the bottom. The letters to spell the state name were from a kit. The tiny letters do not fare well in my stash and so I had to edit a "4" for the letter "A". The bottom corn stalks are border punches from a vine punch that CM makes. Those corn ears are actually cut from a VERY old calendar with scrapbook mats. They were the center of the green mat. You can't tell it's cut because the photo blocks the holes nicely. The top corn ear was a random sticker I had.

50-states part 12--Minnesota

For my next state, I highlight a trip to the Health Professions Network conference. Frankly, they are the reason I've been to so many states. They have 2 meetings a year and they are always someplace new. The hotel I stayed at faced the Mayo Clinic and it was a highlight of my visit. I wanted to throw a National Park Unit in as well so I included my photo from the Mississippi NRRA visitor center. It's really me against a green screen, but trust me--the snow was appropriate, even though I visited in April!

I based this page on this Pinterest Layout. It's not your traditional state visit page but as I noted above, I really enjoyed seeing the Mayo Clinic. So I looked through my medical pages and came up with this. I replaced the journaling with the state cut out a bit, but also threw in some medical cuts from the Cricut machine.

50 States Album part 11--Massachusetts

The photos here are from my first trip to the NPTC convention in Lowell, MA. In addition to national parks, Jim and I went on a whale-watching cruise. It was the inaugural run of our first GPS unit as well-nicknamed Wall-E for the movie.

I based my layout on this page from Scrapbook.com that I saved to Pinterest. I found free cuts for the larger shells and fish along the bottom. The trickiest part was cutting the whelk shells--they are very intricate. I also got to use up some older CM shell stickers to help vary the size along the bottom.

The state outline was tricky because as I peeled it off the Cricut sheet it lost its form. I had to sort of trace the outline as I pasted it to the page. A layout like this gave me a chance to use a remnant paper since I wanted a blank space on the left to write the state name.

50 States Album Part 10--Maryland

I found it interesting that my best photos for Maryland came from 2 different anniversary trips. I guess living close to the state line, it made a foray down south feel like a getaway.

I modeled this page after the left page of this pin. I thought the use of an old English style font appropriate for the state name. I actually pieced together the state flag--it was sort of like putting a puzzle together. That, the crab and the state cut-out were all free Cricut cuts I found online. The base page of wood reminds me of OCMD even though none of the photos were from there.

50 States Part 9--Louisiana

Happy Valentine's Day everyone!
My next completed state is Louisiana. Jim and I took a trip in January 2017 and while there I was able to reach my 100th National Park Unit! I carried signs with me for parks 99 and 100 and Jim dutifully took photos for me.

This layout is based on this idea. I used a Fast-to-Fabulous page from the Gallivant line as the base. That included the bottom two borders of pink and the compasses. I liked using the shape of the state for the "L" in the state name. All of the letters were cut from the Cricut as was the mask. I didn't size the mask right so it covers a bit of the state name, but I think viewers can figure it out. The little dots were supposed to be mardi gras bead necklaces but they were cut so small I had difficulty putting them together successfully. I decided to just sprinkle them across the page since I had run them through the Xyron sticker maker and they were already sticky.

50 States Album Part 8--Is this heaven? Nope, it's Iowa

I only chose 1 photo for Iowa. This was a trip I took for a conference in Dubuque. I made a side trip to Effigy Mounds. Although I didn't arrive early enough to get into the visitor center, I was able to hike the trails and see the mounds. They were less impressive than I thought they would be and actually didn't photograph well. Maybe it was that it was spring and there were still a lot of leaves on the ground.

I used this pin as inspiration. I found a better background with the barn wall and window and then used the Cricut to create a set of barnyard animals. To change up the journaling I used strips of white paper layered around the animals. There typically isn't a need for a lot of journaling on my state pages since they focus on place.

50 States Album Part 7--Georgia

This month is another non-NPS page. My trips to Georgia were most frequent when my sister lived there and we did a lot of touristy things. My favorite trip was the 1996 Olympics. That's why we were in Atlanta for the first photo (Welcome to Underground Atlanta). The other photo was from an anniversary trip when Jim and I went to Coke World.

The idea stems from This Scrapbook.com Layout. The original is digital, so I used the same sorts of real elements. I like the map paper though it's definitely not from the state of Georgia. The title is a little smudged because I originally had the letters on plain white but they didn't stand out. I tried to give them a little "oomph" but the ink got a little much and spread onto the patterned paper. But to me, it wasn't bad enough to re-do the page. The yellow flower in the bottom left is actually part of a border punch. I used a square piece of paper and turned it around to match the halves and create a flower.

50-states Album Part 6--Florida

My next state completed is Florida. I like that the photo I chose is not only the NPS sign but has a beach as well.

This layout is based on this border set. The layout was quite simple and I used a CM collection called Sun Kissed, which is still available. I used one paper as a backdrop. Though it could be a pool, I think it could also be water along a shore. The border is blue cardstock with a strip of the leaf paper and 2 stickers for the edges. Letters were cut on the Cricut. The fish stickers are from a much older line called "Cottage". It's nice to use up some of the older stuff with the new and see it match so well!

50 States Album Part 5--Delaware

My next entry is one of the more recent pages. I am focusing on trying to have a photo of myself in the state and for as many times as I've been to Delaware, I didn't have a photo with ME in it and in something recognizable. So, in summer 2019 when I traveled there with Jim's family, I was looking for a sign and finally found one! No National Parks here, though I have been to the First State National Historical Park several times.

This layout is copied from this digital example. I chose the boardwalk background and luckily had a boardwalk photo to link it all together. I didn't measure before cutting the letters for the state (well I did, but I measured them for a horizontal application and then decided to put them on vertically). The letters seem to take on the shape of the state though and it works for me. The large state die cut was cut on the Cricut. Using a solid shape allowed me to use it as a journaling box as well.

50 States Album-Part 4: Colorado

Jim and I have been to Colorado a few times. Our most recent trip was summer 2017 when we flew in and out of Denver for our Great Western Loop. Before flying home we went to visit my aunt and uncle who live near Florissant and so, of course, stopped at the NPS Unit there (Florissant Fossil Beds).

I used the left side of this layout as the basis for the page. Instead of buying the kit, I made or had all the components. The title is reminiscent of the Colorado flag and I did have to hand-cut the red circle for the "C". The rest of the large letters I actually had from an old CM pack. I used the same red and yellow for photo and journal mats to bring the page together.
The trees at the bottom were all die-cuts that I had, including the group of 4 that forms the back of the lake. I am not sure why I have a border that is less than 12" but it worked out in this setting. I chalked the outline of each to show on the dark blue background. I hand cut the lake and added a moose sticker I had on hand to complete the page.

50-states album part 3--California

My next entry in the 50-states album is California. Both photos came from the 2014 trip recently posted. Stops included Long Beach, Los Angeles and the Santa Monica Mountains.

This layout was scraplifted from this design. To keep the weight of the page down, I used 1" strips of red cardstock along the edges of the page and then cut the blue dot background paper down to fit the opening. The state shape was created in the same way the Arizona state was, only this time I used a dark tan over a light tan paper. The filmstrip was created using the CM Border Maker cartridge and the state name was cut on the Cricut. The one lonely sticker is a leftover CM Cottage sticker from many years ago. I liked it better than a die-cut though.

50-states album part 2--Arizona

My next state to highlight is Arizona. I only chose 1 photo for this page, at least for now. I may decide to add one more photo to the bottom left corner.

This layout was scraplifted from this one. For this state, I cut the outline in black and then mounted it on a backing paper in a sunburst orange. The title was cut with the same paper as the bottom border and the blue dots and other decorative stripes are (to me) reminiscent of Native American designs. The snake and cactus provide a nice balance to the bottom page. I may add another photo in the bottom left corner someday, but I at least can say it is done at this point.

All-American (The 50-states album part 1)

I'm going to side-track a little as I prepare more national park pages. In addition to visiting all the national park units, I want to visit all 50 states (which, if I get to all the parks, I will have done!) To highlight that goal, I'm creating a 50-states album. Each state gets one 12x12 page and I plan on putting 1-3 photos of me in the state (in front of something that represents the state--that's my hardest challenge so far). While most of these pages will have a national park in the photos, not all will. So it's a little off-topic (including today's post). But it will make more sense if you can see all the states!

OK, my first page done (with photos of me) is Alaska. If you see a state out of alphabetical order, I've either not visited or didn't get photos of myself that will demonstrate my visit. These photos were taken on our Inside Passage cruise in July 2014.

The theme for this page was taken from this Pinterest layout. I found multiple free files to cut the state outline on the Cricut and then added just a couple of stickers for "theme" purposes. The bear and totem pole captured that trip perfectly. I do love the font I used for the state name, though each line had to be applied separately (detail work never being my strong suit). The plaid background was a good choice to set off the paper strip and the photos.