Christmas Nostalgia

Every year in December, I strive to visit a National Park Site decorated for Christmas. For 2019, I planned a visit to the Sandy Hook portion of Gateway National Recreation Area (at the top of New Jersey). My previous visit focused on the lighthouse, but this time, I headed over to the old army post. Many buildings still stand from when this was an active base during WWII. One of the houses was set for a 1940s Christmas party. I was early, so I wandered the area, looking at the other houses and structures like the cannon.

If this layout looks familiar, you may remember the post from July when it was created. You can revisit the blog entry to learn how I made it.

When the official start time for the public open house came, I returned to the house. There had been a special Christmas party for the volunteers who man the base and the NRA. Many of them dressed in period attire. They reluctantly let me in (I had to show them that the public time had started). Their Christmas party was still in full swing, and I felt a bit awkward "crashing" their party. Nonetheless, they set the times, so I wandered through the house looking at the vintage holiday displays.

This layout is based on a sketch, but I cannot find the inspiration (sorry). I used paper from Creative Memories, one of the last sheets in the CM Joy kit. The embellishments are from Graphic 45, except for the car. I had saved that car sticker from the CM Decades sticker pack for the 1940s (and isn't it amazing how it matched the car in real life almost exactly?!?). 

I especially enjoyed seeing the display in the kitchen. The old tins and bottles with original labels were quite interesting. Upstairs, the rooms were set up for the commander and his family, so you see not only the uniform but also what the wife and children would wear and some of their possessions.

The left side of this layout is based on the 101 Sketches book (page 85). I'll admit it's a very loose interpretation. I turned the photos on their sides, and there were fewer pieces of paper between the photo elements.

The right side is based on a pin I've saved for a LONG time! Before the original Creative Memories went out of business, I spent time "pinning" all of the ideas from their blog, including sketches. Those sketches used a lot of smaller photos, and my technique at the time didn't match those (nor was I "reading" the sketches and interpreting them in my own style). I dug into my stash of Graphic 45 papers for this layout (both sides). I've always liked how their papers coordinate with historic home tours. I used a LOT of scraps to put these together, plus some random old stickers from my stash.

Bonus Post--USA in 1945

Once again this month I'm playing along with Lasting Memories. This time the "word" to use to develop a layout is Summer. You can see details of the challenge here.

This layout is the first of several pages of a December 2019 trip I made to the Gateway National Recreation Area in upper New Jersey. I have previously visited to see the lighthouse but this time I came to see the remnants of the army base. Specifically, I came to participate in a 1940s Christmas party at one of the houses. I was too early to go into the house, so I explored some of the remaining structures and that MASSIVE canon!

I will credit Lasting Memories as this page's total impetus. I sorted through my stash and found a sheet with the stars and stripes (I believe that is Scrapbook Customs paper). Since I only had one piece of that pattern, I cut it in half. I struggled with the layout before realizing I needed to turn the right page 90 degrees. Then it all fell into place! Here's how I worked SUMMER into this layout:

S-Stars and Stripes, and the "shell"

U-USA sticker on the journal box

M-Medals border

M-Memorabilia (the 2 brochures)

E-Enamel dots (again--I know! But I really tried to find something else and I couldn't)

R: Red in the medals and in the artillery shells I made for the right side

The artillery shells were cut on the Cricut. I wanted them to resemble one of the larger shells in front of the house on the bottom right page. The background is Latte' cardstock from Creative Memories. Do you like the od-time kraft photo corners I used to mount the brochures?

Wrapping it up

I did not get a chance to climb this lighthouse as it is not in good condition. The Osterhouts and I visited with several of the rangers. As NPTC members we can talk anyone's ear off regarding national parks and travel, and the 4 rangers here were wonderful to talk to and gave us some good ideas for future visits. The sun was setting and it was time to head home. This page completes the album

This page is based on a Virtual Crop layout. Scroll to Sketch #2 for the details. I used some more of the early NSD paper here, a border sticker, and a few other stickers from the kit. I originally saw the green paper as cloth, but after consideration, I decided that it could be similar to the texture of the bricks on the lighthouse. So I used it for the far right border and the mat under the photo of the lighthouse. I wanted a touch more detail on the edges so I used a fine-tip pen to draw some stitching around the cardstock. It's a good way to frame the page.

Seek and Ye Shall Find

Sandy Hook Lighthouse was the last stop on the challenge. As this is a common occurrence, the crew handling the challenge materials were prepared and I was celebrated on completing the journey with cheers, bells, and horns. AND I was given my final card that completes the deck (well, it was, now that card is part of the layout below!) It was here that I met up with a couple from the NPTC--Karen and Tom Osterhout. I was there to witness Karen's completion of the Junior Ranger program and we walked about the site together.

I made this layout as part of a Cricut class I took from one of my Facebook groups. I didn't follow instructions well so I didn't have the cuts done before the class started so I was behind the entire time. But they sent the directions with both cut files for the lighthouses AND print-then-cut files. I started with the print-then cut files and couldn't figure out why we were also assembling cut-out versions. Turns out it was to be my choice--I didn't need both. Ah well, that provided me with a supply of embellishments that I've been able to sprinkle throughout this album. When it came to assembling the page I had some difficulty trimming my photos to fit the small squares in the filmstrip so I left a few empty and used them for journaling and embellishments. This ensured that people would see the concept. The few stickers on the page are using up more of the old NSD kit. It's ALMOST done.

On the Hook

My last stop on the Lighthouse Challenge is at the Sandy Hook Lighthouse in a part of Gateway National Recreation Area. This park has additional sites in New York. This part of the unit includes the lighthouse, lots of beach areas, and the remains of a military installation. On this visit (and, like McArthur, I shall return) I only visited the lighthouse.

This layout is based on a sketch from the CM 101 sketches book (page 10). The essence of the sketch calls for a large die cut or cluster group in the upper right corner. What I really liked about the sketch is that the left side included a vertical photo and a square photo. I substituted the unigrid in that place. It does call for a border around the background paper, so I gutted the background cardstock and then layered a slightly trimmed wood texture paper on top. I struggled a little with embellishments as I was nearly out of lighthouse stickers. With the red strip of paper under the unigrid, I decided to add some blue embellishments. I now keep a "rainbow" binder which separates small embellishments without other themes by color. I turned to the blue page and found all the blue stars and the little laser-cut banner and that seemed a perfect fit. One of the few remaining lighthouse embellishments I DID have, was added to the side of the journal box to give it a little more interest. I suppose on my "to-do" list should be creating more of those embellishments on my Cricut.

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!