Summer Road Trip part 7--There's also no Courthouse

 Although the site is named for a real courthouse, there isn't one standing. There WAS a courthouse many years ago, and as you complete the loop around the park you can see an area where it might have stood (they really aren't sure!). But there is not one here currently. I'll be interested to return if they discover the location and recreate it.

This layout was made to enter the Black Friday challenge that Creative Memories held. I used a new pack of papers called Picture Perfect Travels. I also was able to use up a VERY old rick rack border on the bottom. The top border is a Border Maker Cartridge punch.

What is interesting about the monuments you see here, is the way oral histories vary from later historical research. The obelisk below was placed based on where people said the division was situated prior to the battle. Later research indicates that this area was occupied by the British, not the Americans and should be several hundred yards further away!

This layout is another in my November class sketches. I believe the paper is again from Picture Perfect Travels. The journal box is from an older reminisce line that I fussy cut. The rockets are a punch from last year. I like the dark look of them to match the paper. The title is a die-cut from Creative Memories. I felt like it had to be aligned against the corner because the white lettering on top would fade out on the page. I have since realized that I could have colored that with markers so that it was legible.

We come to the last set of monuments. The left page is Nathaniel Greene and is the iconic emblem of this park. The statue is also the main photo of the sticker that goes in the passport book. I enjoyed all the quotes about him around the statue. The other statue is a signer of the Declaration of Independence for North Carolina. They also moved the remains of 2 of the signers to this park, though I don't think the statue is the gravestone for them.

This is a layout I made for a Creative Life Scrapping Pajama Party. I used some brick paper because of the walkway and then some other stone-colored scraps to create the borders. The decoration in the middle uses a new pen that Creative Memories produced. It's called white chalk. When you initially draw with it, you don't see anything. As it dries you will see it become white and chalky. It's better for decoration rather than journaling though. I used a template to trace the designs in the corners. 

Summer Road Trip Part 6--We Lost?!?

 The break between the 2 albums for this trip was sort of the dividing line between the 2 halves of my trip. The first album would have been the same no matter the year--a trip through Richmond, the beach, etc. But the second half was additional traveling so I could get to a work conference in Louisville and then home. That took another week and a half and added some new parks to my checklist.

I wanted to make another kick-off page similar to the first album. I used another Fast-to-Fabulous page from the same line (Adventure, I think), and then made a signpost along the left side. A few luggage pieces and a luggage tag for part of the title, and it was done!

After leaving the beach, I drove west and headed for Guilford Courthouse--a new park for me. When I arrived I had a chance to stop at the visitor center and watch the movie. I had not done any homework on this park so I was awfully confused because it looked to me like we were commemorating a battle that we lost. And we did, but the implications were that we were dragging out the conflict with Britain and this and other skirmishes helped weaken the British as we manipulated them toward the ultimate surrender at Yorktown.

I worked on this layout at my yearly scrapbook weekend retreat. I always provide ideas for the participants in case they get stuck looking for inspiration. I had provided instructions for the border at the right. To make it, you lay out the 4 components and then chop them into 1" strips. Then you arrange them diagonally on another strip to get the woven look. I simply layered that on some green and black star paper. Matting most of the photos allowed them to stand out a bit on the printed background.

After watching the movie, I followed the loop around the park to see the battlefield and the monuments. There are a few silhouettes of soldiers near the visitor center (above right page). I liked the monument below as it was dedicated to a woman (a mother). The white statue reminds me of one of the tents soldiers would use.

This sketch was from my November class bundle from Noreen Smith. I used some fall-themed papers including a very old border strip along the right-hand side. I think that strip was a Croptoberfest pack from around 2010. I love how simple her directions are but it creates pages with lots of interest! You can explore her products at Organizedandcreativemom.com.