The Fighting Parson

Welcome back to the 2021 Four Centuries in a weekend event. This layout focuses on the Caldwell Parsonage, which is a fancy way of saying "house where the preacher lived." You'll remember that I mentioned Reverend Caldwell when we saw the church he preached at in Elizabeth, NJ. He and his wife, Hannah (pictured on the trading card), lived here with their 10 children. 

The Battle of Connecticut Farms Church, discussed in the last blog, is relevant here. As the British soldiers retreated, they streamed past this house. A shot was fired, which entered the home and killed Hannah. Was it intentional? Was it to get back at her husband, who had been preaching Independence along with the bible? No one really knows. But the moment is sealed into Union County history as the portrayal of her murder is featured in the official County Seal! The original house was, of course, burned by a Loyalist mob, but this home was rebuilt on the original foundation. 

This is the site of the local Historical Society, and so the contents range from the 1700s through the 1800s. The braided hair death memorial is typical of the 19th century, but it fascinates me. I had to take issue with the guided tour, though. We were shown a hip bath and told that families bathed in order, all in one bath, and that by the time the youngest were washed, the water was pretty dirty, which is where the phrase "Don't throw the baby out with the bath water" originated. This is FALSE. Please stop repeating it. That phrase and others are debunked in this Snopes page.

This layout is based on another challenge in Tammy McEwen's end-of-year event. This one goes back to the CM November 2025 virtual crop, and it's the same sketch I used for the East Jersey Olde Towne Print Shop. Because it's different papers on the same sketch, you'd never know that they are from the same source material! It also helps that I had flipped the first layout horizontally. This one uses the Legacy of Love pack. I found 2 sticker borders for the right-side page, then a laser-cut border with a similar pattern for the left vertical strip. I thought that, based on Hannah and Reverend Caldwell's family life, Legacy of Love was a fitting title for this layout.

But It's Not IN Connecticut!

Welcome back to the 2021 Four Centuries in a Weekend event for Union County, New Jersey. This blog picks up on Sunday morning, and my first visit that you'll see on the blog was to Connecticut Farms Presbyterian Church. Apparently, they liked the name Connecticut, and the original settlers were primarily farmers. The church was also the site of a Revolutionary War battle. I actually visited here twice. I arrived and was awaiting Melania's arrival, but she was at Caldwell Parsonage. I went there to meet her, then returned. While she toured the church, I explored the graveyard further. Lots more 18th-century graves here, but in excellent condition! My favorite stone featured the "autograph" of the stone carver. British soldiers who died during the battle are in a mass grave at the center of the graveyard. That's on a peekaboo pocket that isn't pictured, but you can visit to see the layout in its entirety!

I made this layout during Tammy McEwen's End-of-the-Year scrapbooking challenge. She collected twelve of her favorite double-page layouts from the CM virtual crops this year and packaged them so we could work through the pages quickly in December. Each layout completed earns a ticket toward her prize of one of her classes. This layout was part of the July 2025 Virtual Crop, and you can check out the sketch here. Scroll to challenge #3. As I did with another church page, I selected 2 different background papers — brick on the left and patterned on the right. The light blue cardstock becomes the mat for all the photos. I used some leftover stickers from my stash for decorations. The church sticker is the oldest — likely at least 20 years old. But it still works.

My Favorite People

This post is the last in the Liberty Hall Meetup series from my October 2021 trip to the Four Centuries in a Weekend Event. The final photos inside the house are of the butler's pantry. There was a dumbwaiter and the butler's safe, where all the silver was kept. The last 2 photos are of our meetup group. You can see that for October, the weather was nice, as we were all in short sleeves, standing on the porch of the visitor center. We went out to dinner after the tour. You may remember that my friend Deb once ordered broccoli for breakfast, and I've never let her forget it. Broccoli for dinner is pretty standard, but I had to photograph it anyway!

For this layout, I turned to one of Cheryl Even's sketches from Split Coast Stampers (I flipped it horizontally to place the meetup on the right). I liked this layout because I printed the group photo as an 8x10, and it provided ample space to highlight it. I chose the papers and embellishments from Sweet Blossom (one of the secret boxes from 2023). You can see I didn't have as many photos as the layout indicated. I substituted one block for the title element (a cutapart block from the kit) and a journal box. I debated adding more of those elements to complete the sketch, but ultimately decided to leave the border and paper uncovered for a nicer effect. I was so happy to find that little title sticker "Fave People" in the kit, though!

The Gilded Age

Welcome back to my tour of Liberty Hall in October 2021. Additional rooms downstairs included the parlor and game rooms. I love the decor in here, from the chandeliers to the family photo collections on the side table. And that grammophone! I could get comfortable in here...

This layout is based on the Meggan and Tessa Power Hour class from September 2024. You can watch the video tutorial here (and look at their website to download a paper copy of the instructions). I used paper and embellishments from the Shabby Chic collection (an ancient secret box — possibly the second or third mystery box). Although the rooms are not shabby, the distressed floral print and the border with the baubles on a chain celebrate the spirit of the Gilded Age. The embellishments feature a touch of foil, making the page sparkle. I used a fairly dark background, so I chose a white gel pen to journal.

Give Me Liberty

Welcome back to the 2021 Union County Four Centuries in a Weekend event. My last stop for Saturday was Liberty Hall. I planned another meetup with our NPTC club members, as I had in 2019. This time, however, I was determined to join the tour. The blue house on the left page is the visitor center. Liberty Hall is the yellow house on the right page. Construction of the initial house (14 rooms) began in 1760, with the original owner serving in the Continental Congress and as New Jersey's first governor. The house passed through several other families before returning to a niece of the original owner. By the late 1800s, there was a push to expand the house, and it now stands at 50 rooms! 

By the early 1900s, the family started conservation and the creation of a museum, buying back period pieces from the original owners. The tours for the Four Centuries event are free. Unfortunately, they also only cover the garden and the first floor of the house. If you want the upstairs, you must purchase the whole tour on another weekend. I've seen so many old houses that I doubt I will return to see the rest. You can see a few of the rooms below, and you will see more in the following blog entries.

This layout was made for the CM November 2025 virtual crop. Scroll to sketch #4. The left page is mostly exterior photos, while the right side focuses on interior images, including the dining room set for a Halloween Party (we toured in October, remember). When looking through my collections, I decided on the Burlap and Lace collection, which had previously been a secret box. There were 2 packs of paper, and the lacy prints worked best for this layout. I used three tones of lace paper--white, pink, and brown. Those were layered on soft ivory cardstock. I used border stickers and a few other embellishments from the kit to round out the pages.

Stop Calling our House a Box

OK, first I'll explain the post title. There is an internet meme in which a scrapbooker proudly states that all her supplies can fit in one box. To which the husband says, "Stop calling our house a box!" That might describe me a bit 😆

My next stop for the Union County Four Centuries in a Weekend is Boxwood Hall. This is a lovely mansion and features many rooms of colonial and post-colonial decor. The owner, Elias Boudinot (the trading card on the left), served as one of the Presidents of the Continental Congress near the end of the war (1782-1783). Elias hosted George Washington for lunch on his way to the first presidential inauguration in New York City. Alexander Hamilton also stayed here for a time while attending the nearby Elizabethtown Academy. But that was before he was famous (just you wait!).

This layout is based on a Beginner's Project Recipe given to CM Advisors in January 2023 (I can email you a copy on request). It was meant to correspond to the paper you see in the layout called "Homebody". The sketch can be thought of as one of Noreen Smith's 1-2-3 sketches, though it only takes 2 cuts! You can use any paper, but the Homebody kit had this print that reminded me of the carpets in all of the rooms of this house. Instead of cutting 2" strips from the same side of the paper, I made 2" cuts on each side, leaving me with the border elements for the right side of the page. The middle section is then moved to the left. Both are layered on more papers from the kit, though cardstock is certainly an option. A small pack of embellishments is available with the paper and provides a few clusters of interest around the page.

They Can't ALL be First

Welcome back to the Four Centuries in a Weekend 2021 event. My next stop in Elizabeth, NJ, was the First Presbyterian Church. The congregation began in the 1660s, though they met in a meeting house, not this building. The building they erected was burned by the British during the Revolutionary War. This building dates from just after the war (about 1785). I imagine they burned the first structure as its minister, the "Fighting Parson," was often preaching about the British atrocities (especially after they killed his wife). We'll get to their lives a bit later as we'll visit their home. 

For now, the highlight of this visit was the churchyard next to the church. I'm used to seeing the intricate carvings on 19th-century tombstones, so I was interested to see the 17th- and 18th-century versions. Many of them have fallen into disrepair, but a few remain in good condition. I saw a lot of winged skulls for the decorations. Not quite as intricate as the 19th-century stones, but quite interesting.

This layout is based on one of the CM Project Recipes I've saved, called Memoirs and Memories, though I used Keeping the Faith papers (of course — it's a church!). I moved things to reflect the needs of my layout. I used the vertical paper strip on the left as a mat for the brochure rather than photos. I moved the cluster of embellishments from the bottom of the right-hand column to beneath the pamphlet, since that's where the space was. On the right-side page, I added the photo mats but used a paper design with crosses to offset the pictures and give the graveyard a stronger sense of place.

What is more unusual for me is that I used 2 different papers for the backgrounds! I liked the brick on the left (and I had just acquired a bunch of brick papers at a crop I was attending, so it was a nice freebie!) But it didn't work on the right, so I used a sheet of matching cardstock. The borders have been in my stash for quite a while. I punched them at a previous crop (several years ago) and ended up not using them for that particular layout. I was looking for something "wrought iron" to enclose the graveyard, and these were the perfect fit. This is why we hold onto things!

Four Centuries in one Site

Happy New Year, everyone! Welcome back to my blog and to my Fall 2021 trip. The Union County Four Centuries in a Weekend theme meant that sites located across the county spanned the early 1600s through the 20th century. The William Robinson Plantation took that quite literally, putting a World War II reenactment troop on the front lawn. The house itself dates back to the 1600s, so yes, four centuries in one location! I had visited this location previously, but returned as I was missing a stamp. Having more time here, let me take a closer look at this reenactment. There was a communications tent in active use, and some sort of platoon meeting and activity.

This layout is based on a Fast & Fun Project with Noreen from November 2023. I used the same collection she did, though I didn't have any more of the dark blue word paper, so I substituted navy cardstock. I used a border along the bottom that repeated the word "ARMY". I had more photos than she did, so most of the text was covered. Well, that happens sometimes. There is an 8 1/2 x 11 pocket between the 2 pages of the layout, so this is a one-page layout.

Inside the house, the focus is more on the building's history. The original owner was a physician, and so there is a large display of apothecary jars and equipment. In the backyard, there is an old horse-drawn milk wagon. I had not seen this previously, and it was an interesting display.

The right side of the layout was made with a CM Sketch from April 2022. They had posted three sketches for Earth Day to encourage us to use up our scraps (rather than throwing them out). Those sketches were only ever on Facebook, not on the blog, as they usually post, so the Pinterest link is the only way to view them currently. I used Paper Loft Euphoria papers for this layout (both the back of the 8 1/2x11 pocket and the interior house photos). The border across the middle of the page is a recent punch from CM, and although it is a canning jar, it matched the bottles on the shelves in the photos. I had punched that in black for a different layout, but never used it. This also allowed me to use a scrap in the spirit of the original challenge.

Give us Liberty!

The last stop of the day was at Liberty Hall. I had arranged an NPTC Meetup. While we didn't run into each other much during the day, we gathered here for the day's final tour. I set up my stamper near the official stampers and tried to pull everyone together. However, I missed the last tour as club members kept arriving and wanted to stamp! Well, there will be another one next time, I'm sure! Several of us headed to dinner after this to chat more, and then it was time to return to the current year.

This layout is based on one of the CM sketches in the 101 sketchbook (page 60). I am using a collection called Gem Tone, a secret box from a few years ago. I love it for pages with historic homes. It just seems to "fit". The bottom is 1 1/2" strips (again, a great way to use up scraps!) The border sticker across the top covers any slight imperfections in the length. The kit came with a set of laser-cut frames. The one you see above is 1/2 of the frame in the kit. I only needed to highlight one photo, and I could keep the other half for a different page. I tucked the cut edge under the brochure so you cannot see any imperfect edges.

Post #500! Stop Inn

Wow, this blog is on post #500! Thanks to everyone who has stuck with me over the years. I hope you've enjoyed the tales as much as I enjoyed making and sharing the pages with you.

My next stop was this historic tavern. The location was active a bit AFTER the Revolutionary War. It was part of a stagecoach route connecting Boston, New York, and Philadelphia. They recreated the tavern and kitchen from the early 1800s. Another building on site is related to the Colonial era, but while it is preserved, it serves as their gift shop.

This layout is based on Cheryl Even's Sketch #76. I used an ivory piece of cardstock and a long strip of Old CM paper (I'm not sure what pack that came from, but it's probably 2009 or so). I cut another piece of cardstock with one of CM's large custom-cutting system shapes. It's no longer for sale on their site, but keep an eye out, as sometimes they do "retro" sales and bring back classic pieces for brief periods. Replacing one of the photos with a journal box allowed me to add the brochure for the site to the decorative element in green. I then added a 12" border sticker (cut in half so I could use it top and bottom) and a couple of old candlestick stickers, which I think are actually from a formal dining kit 😊. Given it's a tavern, I thought the "Cheers" title fit pretty well. 

No Bread For You!

My next stop was to the Frazee House. This house is undergoing extensive renovations, so there are only photos of the exterior. I did enjoy the story, though I wonder how true it is. Supposedly Betty Frazee was an excellent baker and the British Army, and supposedly Cornwallis himself, came through and wanted to buy the bread from her to feed the troops. As someone inclined to follow the American Rebels, she declined. Whereby the British ransacked her farm and took the bread anyway. True or not, it is that type of story that helped stir up sentiment to follow the Colonials. And of course, history is written by the victors...

If you've noticed, the past few layouts (including this one) include some little trading cards. They were available at the sites and with a shortage of photos, they really helped tell the story! They are all mounted with photo corners so that they can be removed and you can still read the story on the back. 

This layout is based on a sketch from the CM December 2023 Virtual Crop. Scroll to Sketch #1. I had pulled my patriotic materials to work on these pages and this paper was from a secret box. The paper is called "Starlight" and due to the stars, it ended up in the Patriotic box. It was the perfect background for this layout as I wanted something patriotic but also "homey". The quilted background paper fits both categories. I used some of the larger star embellishments as my journal boxes. If you look closely at the gold strips you might be able to see that they are cut with the new Colonial blade for our 12" trimmer. It's a small detail, but it does work!

Outstanding in His Field

I did not know about the next stop--Ashbrook Reservation. It's a local park and the site of a Revolutionary War Battle called the Battle of the Short Hills (definitely missing from my high school history book). If you want to read a bit about the battle, try this website. The stamp and information booth was in front of a local vocational-technical high school. It was quite odd to see tents and colonial-era people milling about there. I had a great talk with the gentleman on duty about people in the area and names from the era with which I was familiar. In his discussion about the battle, we looked over his cannon. And then he picked it up to show me that it was not only not "period" but was painted styrofoam! His associate had been taking photos with my camera and captured the moment that I realized the folly, and THAT was what I wanted to capture on the layout.

This layout is loosely based on this pin from CM's December 2022 Virtual Crop (also on page 58 of the 101 Sketches book). the background paper is one of the patriotic packs from my stash. Since that was in blue and white, it made sense that my mats were red. I chose 2 punches to add decorations--the CM star punch which makes a frame star and gives you the inner cut star, and the rocket punch. Clustering those in opposite corners gives you the flow across the page. The flag embellishment is from a pack I picked up from Paper Wizard. I bought that pack of minis for my Boston photos. I guess I'll have to pick up another pack!

How could you not like the Drake?

My next adventure was in October 2019 for the Union County Four Centuries in a Weekend Event. Union County, NJ is the home of many historic sites with connections to Washington and the Revolutionary War, the Industrial Revolution, and World War 2. Some sites are connected to the Crossroads of the American Revolution historic trail and have National Park stamps. The event organizers also created Union County stamps so we can generally get 2 at each location. Though it is a 2-day event, I had to work on Saturday so I visited just on Sunday and got to only a few locations. The event is held yearly, so I can return for more visits.

My first stop is a home called the Drake House Museum. This house's claim to fame is that during the Battle of Short Hills, George Washington used the front parlor as his headquarters. The photos on this layout reflect the heritage and rooms that are decorated in the colonial style (including a kitchen and medicine cupboard). I also got to pose as Alexander Hamilton's long-lost cousin. See a resemblance? 😁

This layout is based on Noreen Smith's January 2019 1-2-3 layout. I reversed the layout (imagine it flipped horizontally) so that the tall column of photos is on the right side of the layout. I used some of the last of my CM Americana paper packs. It really is perfect for that Colonial Era theme. The papers are layered on light blue cardstock. Flipping the sketch meant that I had a large blue area on the far right. I used a similar scrap of tan paper to cut 1 3/4" squares. Do you see the small square on the top of the left page? That is part of the indicator sheet included with all the CM paper. It provides a look at each of the papers so you can see at a glance if it will work with your photos. I cut that square as it matched the layout best and mounted it. The small bunny on the right is from an 8 1/2 x 11 paper pad I bought a long time ago. This is just the image of what a paper piecing project would look like, but with a little fussy cutting, it too became an embellishment. I had an extra 12" sticker border with those rustic stars that finished off the layout.