A Hurricane in the Mountains?

My next stop in Olympic National Park was to drive to Hurricane Ridge. I'm not sure why it's such an accomplishment to drive up--I can think of 2 or 3 worse drives I've done in national parks. But since they had a certificate, I was willing to buy it! The ridge provides a magnificent view of the mountains and is definitely worth a visit.

The layout is broken up a little by including the certificate, but the left page that you see above and the right page that is below are from a sketch from my 2019 Scrap Your Stash class. For that reason, I cannot show the sketch but you can see how I used more of the Adventure paper pack to stretch across the layout. I used patterned paper as a background. Choosing a small print works similarly to cardstock or base pages but with less weight than cardstock.

The view was quite amazing and the air quality was pretty good so I could see many of the peaks described on the infographic signs along the patio.

Using the 8 1/2 x 11 certificate holder gave me a little more real estate for photos. I matted 2 more scenic views on matching scrap paper and added a border sticker. One crop that I went to had a table full of scrapbook supplies someone donated and I found a sheet of stickers specifically for Olympic National Park! I held onto them until I made these pages. The large mountain border is from that sheet and was the perfect addition to the layout.

And yet, even with the 2 extra spots on the back, I still had MORE scenic photos! These didn't exactly match for me to create a panorama but on the other hand--they went well enough next to each other to try.

My other favorite way of adding photos is to use the CM Peekaboo pockets. And that's what you see above. By attaching it to the page, I can get 2 more photos to "Flip" open. And it really did help with the panorama look I was going for.

The Beaumont Cabin

 Just behind the visitor center is a historic cabin. While you cannot go inside, you can get a peek in the windows. I was able to get a few shots of the interior through the glass. Some shots were too blurry or had reflections of the windows but you can see quite a bit here.

For this layout, I used a pre-made set of pages from a class I took with Paper Loft. I had mounted the mats for the photos but with a little effort, I got everything to fit the way I wanted it to. My favorite trick (and one I've used a couple of times since) is to cut a 6x4 photo in half. The 2 small photos on the left with the history of the cabin and the image of the occupant were all one photo. By cutting it I feel I got a bit more emphasis on each piece. I think I originally imagined I would use this page for a personal camping trip. I was happy to see that it had more uses though! I know I've had the layout in my stash for several years!

The Old Tree

Continuing with my visit to the Port Angeles Visitor center, I was taken with a cross-section of a very large, very old tree. It was my first taste of how massive trees get in this area. You can see the full shot on the left page and then close-ups of the various arrows indicating historical events such as Columbus' landing in America.

For these photos, I turned to the June 2020 1-2-3 sketch from Noreen Smith (Organized and Creative Mom). I used more of the Adventure pack. Again, with all the brown in the photos, I wanted some green as the base color. The park sign on the top left is fussy-cut from the Eastern National 8 1/2 x 11 papers. I'm not sure where the tree journaling box came from (though I suspect Paper Loft). A handful of stickers finalized the page. The log stickers on the left fill up a gap where I had cut the photo before deciding on the layout. I've sort of stopped cutting photos until I decide on what sketch I'm following. Sometimes I'll leave a photo larger even though I had planned to cut it down.

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.