Not THOSE Olympics!

 It's time to hear about my trip to the Olympic Peninsula in October of 2015. I had been to Seattle for an HPN conference and then drove my way around this MASSIVE park. I started with the main visitor center in Port Angeles and this week (and next week) will focus on sights here. Olympic encompasses a variety of zones from seacoast to rain forest to high mountains. I got a taste of it all but I definitely need a return trip. I think I could easily spend a couple of weeks here!

The impetus for this layout was a Summer Camp scrap class I was taking in August 2020. The topic was to use "Negative Space" meaning use the absence of paper to frame photos. Though unusual, it was a nice way to use up a scrap of paper with a big hole in it! The paper is part of a Creative Memories nature line (I think Adventure) and the green was a nice background for the brown of the "cabin". A variety of stickers helped anchor the elements to the page. Notice, it's just one photo! But the unigrid and the postcard fill in for other main elements.

Grand View

 The last part of the van tour was a trip to Grandview Cemetery. Here many of those who died (known and unknown) are buried. I had never been here and I will return once I determine if any ancestors died in the flood. I so far know of one who survived. It's a lovely cemetery and still well cared for.

Once again, I turned to the CM Virtual crop. This time, however, I used a sketch for a card as the basis for the design of this page. I also made a card, but given the 3 small photos I had, it gave me a chance to use some of the Mellow Meadows paper. In this case, the paper has a photograph quality to it so it looks like I took more photos of my own. A nice way to expand a page. The diagonals are from a rose Border Maker Cartridge. It came together pretty quickly!

Inside the clubhouse

 The clubhouse tour is the biggest part of the reason I signed up for this event. I had been by it so often as a child and really wanted to see the inside. They have painted the outside but are still working on the inside. But I sort of like the run-down look. It really shows how much time has passed.

This layout is another from the CM Virtual Crop. I used several collections including Stitched Sentiments, Timeworn Textures, and Memoirs & Memories. They all had that worn look to them which complimented the photos well. The arcs in the corner are part of a 6" decorative punch. I made the punch, then cut out the center and used just the decorative edge in the corners. The rest of the embellishments were just some vintage-looking elements from my stash.

Part of the tour included an area where they put on small staged performances in period costumes. I hope I get the chance to see one sometime.

And this is another in the Virtual Crop challenges. The background paper is old CM from (I think) a "Vintage" paper pack. Though the other papers in the pack have some mid-century looks to them. But I wanted a soft background for the bold papers. The border on the right is a set of 2 Crystal Chain strips from the border maker system. The layering provides depth to the page with minimal extra weight. The images of the women playing sports and the couple dancing are from Paper Pizazz by Hot Off The Press. They have a booklet of paper-printed cutouts and I was happy to be able to use a few of them. They really bring the era to life for the layout.

Taking the Dam Tour

When we were done with Walk 93, my sister and the rest of our merry band drove to the Johnstown area. (It was a Saturday and we could stop at Conzattis). We had lunch at Pappy's pizza just like when Lisa and I were little. Then we split and I headed to Saint Michael to take a Johnstown Flood tour. Having grown up a few miles from here you wouldn't think I would need to take a guided tour, and in fact, I did know many of the stories; but a part of the tour was inside the Clubhouse. While I passed it all the time, it has only recently been open for tours. But that's next week's story. Today I focus on the visitor center and the incredible diorama of flood debris hanging in the lobby above the theater entrance. If you haven't seen the movie, you should. I believe it won an Oscar for documentaries.

This layout is another Creative Memories Virtual Crop challenge. As you can see in the sketch, the bottom row is supposed to be 4 small photos. I liked it better with my stitched-together panorama. Since I had room I added a small mat from the Archiver's line (still using that up). The background paper is another from the Painted Harvest pack. The other papers are from a very old "Earthy" line from old CM. I inked the edges of the journal box to get it to stand out more.

Walk 93 Part 2

This week we look at the fun side of my visit to Flight 93. Times with my sister are NEVER dull, and we were both excited to do this event together. Also joining us were her boyfriend Jason and her daughter Sierra. Jason has very long arms (he's tall) and so he is essentially a human selfie-stick.

This layout is from the Creative Memories Virtual Crop. I liked the technique on the right page where you make cuts along only half of a square and fold down the inside. It creates a border and allows you to use both sides of the paper at the same time. I used paper from the Creative Memories "Fresh Fusion Brights" pack. The red matched our shirts and the reverse side in green accented nicely (red and green are opposites on the color wheel and always look good together--even if it isn't Christmas). This was the weekend we got the mystery box and the double star punch was part of that kit. I used it to finish filling in some of the blank areas around the page. I liked the right side of the sketch where we created faux Polaroid photos. Cutting a mat longer than the photo by about an inch gives you that look. It also leaves a great space for journaling.

This layout focuses on the walk. Whenever I go to a National Park I always seem to find those like-minded passport devotees like myself and this walk was no exception. If you see the photo below where I'm talking to 2 people (lime and red hoodies), that was me touting the benefits of the National Park Travelers Club to potential members. Lisa found it amusing and took a photograph of it.

This layout is also from the CM Virtual Crop. Challenge 6 featured a card and a border. I used the border sketch to create toppers for these 2 pages. I used some papers that were close in color but are not exactly the same print for the background. All of the paper comes from a collection called "Painted Harvest" which is an older CM line. The fall tones matched the photos well. The borders include the Cable Chain border maker cartridge. Decorations are flowers that I have been gathering over the years. I tried to stick with the red colors to match the layout. I know flowers are not exactly what you expect for fall but I think they work well here.

Walk 93 Part 1

In September of 2015, Flight 93 held a charity walk to raise money for the park. They had just installed a new path around the site. My sister Lisa had always wanted to do something like this with me so I invited her and it ended up being us plus her boyfriend Jason and her daughter Sierra. We arrived at the park early and had time before the event to tour the visitor center and overlook the park from the new balcony. 

This layout is based on a sketch from the Creative Memories Virtual Crop from September 2020. The paper is an older pack called "Reflections". The pack included some matching paper tape and I used that to make the diagonal stripes on the right page. I liked the soft feel for a rather somber occasion.

It was interesting to tour the visitor center with Sierra who was only a year old when the event occurred. And even years later, I needed the tissues provided by the park at the end of the display. 

This page also was part of the September Virtual Crop. This crop was the first time they instituted a mystery box. We didn't open it until just before the first challenge launched. The papers included in that box (there was also a tape runner and a punch) were used for this layout. It had a sort of star-light feel to it and matched the tone of the displays. I was also able to use up some button embellishments (paper buttons) and a few ABC-123 stickers. Next week we'll focus on the happier side of the walk.

No Fooling! Less than a day-trip

I figured I might as well continue the tradition of posting on April Fools day! Enjoy the bonus this week and come back for another layout tomorrow night!

On a Saturday in September 2015, I was near Valley Forge for a conference. Not one to waste an opportunity to refresh my stamps, I headed over after the conference and then drove through some of the park. It was a lovely day for the drive and I was able to get out and explore the various stops.

There are two images of my layout. I had JUST a bit more than would comfortably fit on a single-page spread and less than what I wanted for a 2-page layout. So I ended up using one of the CM 6x12 Peekaboo pockets to extend the page a bit.That allowed me to put the unigrid front and center and have a couple more photos at the back. 

The overall layout was based on the sketch for one of the virtual crops. I used some log paper from the Adventure pack as the base and a matching border sticker to tie the pocket back in. The base paper for the pocket is also from the Adventure pack and the brown plaids were plain enough to not create distraction or eye pain! The stickers of the soldier and drum are from the Eastern National scrapbook kit. The rest of the flowers and leaves came from a variety of packs and were most likely chosen because they were close at hand.