Obscure Monuments Tour part 3--Men with 3 letters

 We needed to walk to the end of the FDR memorial for our next obscure monument and the ranger just couldn't resist doing a short presentation on both MLK and FDR (see? 3-letter men). I always learn or see something new. This time it was the signature of the artist on the MLK memorial. So even if you've taken a tour before, sometimes it's worth it to go again!

The left page is my own creation (it happens). I had pulled some of my "Patriotic" stash for the MLK page. I added a mat as a photo to keep the balance around the page. The tag "Liberty and Justice" was the basis for the layout. It's matted on red and then to make it the same size as the photo and journal on top it's matted on a remnant of the paper I used for the half-circle. The thin border at the bottom is the bar code strip for the background paper. I don't have a lot of paper from places other than CM but I do use some. It's nice when they give you that extra border to decorate the page. I added a ticket (I think it is supposed to be a tag when folded) and then found the 3 letters for the title (pretty sure the M was originally a W). I used a sketch from the August Scrap Your Stash Class on the right. It uses a border maker cartridge to decorate all 3 photos. This uses up some ancient CM paper.

The walk through FDR took a bit longer (it's 4 terms after all). The ranger talked a bit about the funeral procession and the relief panels depicting it along one of the walls. 

I am not sure what sketch I was following for this layout. It might be an older virtual crop sketch. In the beginning, those sketches didn't have much paper manipulation. So by using just 3 borders (beige at the top and bottom, yellow gingham, and border stickers at the top) there is a "frame" for the photos. Using photo corners in the angles between the photos helps draw the eye around the page. My favorite cluster is the bottom left--I fussy-cut a bunch of elements from one of the Eastern National scrapbook papers. The rest of the elements are from Art Nouveau and yes, the flowers really go well with stone and brass!

No Foolin! It's back to FDR!

Happy April Fool's Day! I guess no need for an extra post since it's a Friday. Today we'll cover a bit more of my ranger talk along the Tidal Basin. Our next stop was the FDR memorial. The ranger is quite a character and continually mugged with the various statues. But he was quite knowledgeable and I enjoyed hearing his perspective on FDR's 4 terms. 

Although I completed this in May, I used a sketch from my January class. I wanted to pull out the oxidized look of the statues and plaques so I chose a piece of paper from "Painted Harvest" (which I think was a bonus pack of paper--it only had one of each design included). The green is probably supposed to be a leaf, but it gives a nice base for the antique look. The other thing to highlight was the stone so I chose another piece of the Stone paper pack. Black borders define the edges of the page. The sketch was set to have all the photos on the decorative pages. This is another instance of using that as a background and adding my photos regardless of shape. The 2 vertical photos do not detract from the layout even though they cross the black borders. However, if you would like everything to be "between the lines" you can cut the strips in the middle wider so that everything is tucked away.

FDR's second term is marked by the great tragedies of the depression and dustbowl. The wall behind the ranger highlights all of the programs he created in his "New Deal". They include faces and hands of those helped by the programs. It's the first time a ranger explained this mural to me and it really highlighted the chamber. Before that, I thought it was a random decoration. Though I should know that the NPS doesn't do "random" too often.

This layout  is based on a May class sketch. It called for 2 decorative circles and a wide strip through the middle. I chose the same paper pack as the first 2 pages--Painted Harvest and Stone. I took one 12" laser-cut border strip and cut it into 3 sections to use as embellishments around the page. The title comes from the Memoirs and Memories sticker pack. Though it has gears on it, I think the sentiment fits perfectly.

The 3rd term focuses on WWII of course. The second statue of Roosevelt, though much larger, shows how much he's aged. His knee and Fala get a lot of touches so they don't have the oxidation that the rest of the statues do.

This layout is based on a PJ party that I attended. I cannot show you the sketch, but it focused on building the border on the left. Cutting the triangles and diamonds was a little tricky but using some scraps from the Memoirs and Memories pack as well as the Archiver pack, I was able to get a nice "army" feel to the page. I added the stickers of the WWII hats and helmets to provide context. Not a lot of embellishment but it sets the tone nicely.

The Roosevelts

After leaving the George Mason memorial, I made my way around the Tidal Basin to the Roosevelt Memorial. Never having been there before I accidently entered at the end and viewed all the rooms backwards!

I didn't really know what to do with my lone photo of Eleanor, so I decided to give her a solo page. The background is one of the Gallivant fast-to-fabulous pages. I rooted through my Eastern National materials and found the die cut of Eleanor and the 5x7 card on the left. I suppose the card could have been a photo mat, but I thought it also worked well as a journal box. The same image of Eleanor is on the card so I thought it worked well.

OK, on to FDR. The monument is divided into rooms representing his 4 terms. Each is filled with symbolic statues and some sort of water element.

The left page is the back of the fast-to-fabulous which I really liked. To make a match on the right I found a piece of gray paper for the bottom and a red and gold remnant for a top border. The yellow mat under the photo also helps to pull the page together. The mat under the photo of me and FDR was chosen for the pale green paper which reminded me of the patina of the statues.

One of the most moving sections was the room featuring the challenges of the depression. Apologies for the blurriness of the photo, I had an issue with lighting.

For this page I used the new Archivers paper from Creative Memories as well as some older retro stickers from the early days of Creative Memories. I thought the brown tones went well with the rugged looking statues.