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.

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.

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?

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.

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.