Rocking MLK

We are approaching the end of the 2021 NPTC convention in DC. In the last blog, we concluded the bus tour with a visit to the Old Stone House in Georgetown. The bus dropped us off at the hotel, and then my group made a mad dash for the Tidal Basin. We had signed up for the last Golf Cart Night Tour and needed to be at the Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial for our Ranger talk. Although I've visited this monument several times, I always find something new. This time, I found a medallion set in the concrete, indicating that the time capsule buried there is to be opened on the 50th anniversary of the memorial. That's August 28, 2061, for anyone who wants to put it on their calendar (I'll be 92, so I'll see you there!)

This layout is based on two different pins. First, I chose this sketch (which I flipped left-to-right). I saw the large title border and chose this pin from CM. I had to click through to this page to get the directions for creating the sunburst effect. To boil it down, you cut 2 strips of paper. One piece is cut into strips diagonally, but reassembled on the other strip so that it still appears to be a solid piece of paper. I recommend a lot of repositionable adhesive on the back. Then, simply pull off every other strip and discard it. Trim the edges for a clean edge or layer a border along the edge.

Once that border was completed, I finished the layout with more scraps of red, white, and blue. The Land of the Free title block is from Eastern National. The "Let Freedom Ring" is a vellum accent from Old CM. I used an old CM star punch to make layered blue and red stars to "emerge" from the starburst design. That flowed into the smaller blue and red stars on the left page, almost as if they were getting smaller the further they got from the border. 

After the Ranger talk ended, we boarded our golf carts.

You might remember this layout from my stint as a Lasting Memories Guest Designer in September. You can click here to read all about this layout.

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!

Monumental Memories

 I walked from the Mall toward the Tidal Basin, passing a few well-known statues. I made my way to the MLK memorial where I would meet with a ranger for a guided tour of the larger units along the path. This will be the first time I see it in this direction.

For this layout, I followed the 1-2-3 layout for February 2021. The video of the sketch being put together can be found on YouTube here. The download is available through her Facebook group. I used a paper from the CM texture pack "Stone". The black marble and tan stone on the opposing sides reminded me of the materials used in these monuments. Even though they don't all stand together, it brings them together on the layout. The cuts were simple and I had just a few embellishments to add. The ship on John Paul Jones' statue is from the Eastern National Scrapbook pack. The "Monumental Memories" title is a die-cut from that pack as well. The small honor and star stickers were from a different patriotic sticker sheet.

A New Monument

After leaving FDR, I headed to the newest member of the Tidal Basin--MLK. The monument is fairly straightforward, but very profound.

For this page, I wanted to do something to highlight the "moving lines" on the statue in the bottom left photo. That's why I chose striped paper and turned it to the side. With a little judicious trimming I was able to get all the components into one 12x12 page including the unigrid, a journal box and a decorative sticker (from the Eastern National scrapbook pack).