Let's Just Go To The Lobby

Another stamping stop is the Mississippi River Visitor Center which is inside a museum in Minneapolis. Luckily you do not need to buy admission to the museum to get to the visitor center. It's a small space with a little bit of information about the river. There is a cool green screen to create a postcard image of yourself at the visitor center where you can choose the background. Given the snow of this week, I chose the winter photo. Outside the museum you can see a bit of the river but there are more interesting views to come!

This layout is based on the August 2022 Power Hour layout from Meggan and Tessa. I used the Ice Blue tonal pack from Creative Memories. They issue a new Tonal collection each quarter and they are quite handy for completing pages that don't necessarily have an obvious theme. The pack had a print that reminded me of a river and the river border punch helped carry that theme across the pages. The matching stickers for the tonal collections are somewhat generic but I was able to find several word stickers that matched the layout. I used one photo spot for a journaling box pulled from a winter collection with the same tones. The other benefit of the tonal collection is that it matches our design papers so you can extend the use of those kits!

Oh the Things I Will do for a Stamp--Part 3

My next trip was in April 2018 to the HPN conference in Minnesota. After I was done with the conference I stayed and saw a little of Minneapolis. My first stop was Fort Snelling but just for a stamp. I drove up the river to Coldwater Spring. I did not walk out to the spring house as it was a cold day (if you see the full album you'll know that even in April it can snow in Minnesota!) I was quite interested to see the stamp that is accessed from behind the sign and only by entering the secret code! (found on the NPTC database of course). It took me a while to find the appropriate sign but I did, and I entered the code and got the stamp! I didn't have ink (if you try this you really should bring your own) so I used some snow to wet the bottom of the stamper and got enough residual ink to stamp my book!

I based this layout on a pinned sketch. I used more papers from the Outdoor packs but while I like this overall, there are a few changes I would make. First, the title at the bottom right should have been trimmed from both the top and bottom so it didn't look like it was falling off the page. Next, I would have done a little something else with the border that runs through the middle. It's mostly covered up. I probably could have made it go OVER the photo on the bottom left. I do like that I cut a ring from white cardstock to highlight where the lock box is on the photo--a great way to draw the eye. And I like my use of a few random stickers and embellishments from Gallivant (a collection that is almost used up).

Big Wheel Keep on Turning!

Hello all! It's time for another bonus post to join a Lasting Memories Challenge! Tonight I worked on this section of the Slater Mill in Pawtucket, RI. It's part of the Blackstone River Valley National Historical Park and was part of the bus trip in July 2018. You'll see more of this trip in a few weeks. Meanwhile, see if you think Jim is loafing in that photo below!

So, as I said, I'm working on a challenge for Lasting Memories (and tonight is the last night to get it in!) For the challenge, we needed to use 3 items beginning with 3 sequential letters and then 1, 2, and 3 items. So, I am using the letters "C" for Cornice, "D" for Die Cuts, and "E" for Enamel dots. And I used 1 corner, 2 rulers, and 3 enamel dots! (Also 3 die cuts.) The overall layout is based on this pin from my sketch board. There will be a peekaboo pocket on the bottom left corner of the right side of the layout with more photos of the pulleys and belts. The papers are a mix of CM design kits. I'm close to using up many of the "Home" based packs. There will be some consolidating and "Recycling" coming soon!

Resting but not Relaxing

 For this visit, I drove to the Jockey Hollow cabins area. The distance between where the enlisted men stayed and where General Washington stayed is considerable but I suppose they couldn't put all the men in town. They have recreated several cabins and outfitted them with daily rations. The bunks are just boards but I imagine they also pulled in some pine branches to cushion the beds. Up to 12 men in a cabin at once! Perhaps all the body heat helped them stay warm. My favorite photo is the plaster cast of a soldier in his bunk.

This layout is based on an idea I pinned. I used some of the paper from the Deep in the Woods collection from CM. The page is actually quite simple--there are just 3 papers (double-sided) and the squares are 4" tall by 3" wide. I just staggered them across the bottom of the cardstock and topped each with a border sticker that resembled a birch log (hides any non-uniform cuts). I added a journal box from my stash and topped it with a few other stickers. A quick page to end the visit.

It's Not Easy Being Green

It's bonus post time! I'm playing along with Lasting Memories again so here's an additional layout for this weekend! (And there may be more to come!) This layout starts a tour I took along the Green in Dover which is part of the First State National Historical Park. The stamps, you may recall from this post, are inside the Old Dover State House and the staff there will tell you that touring that building in no way counts as visiting the National Park Unit. So I planned my visit to take advantage of a guided walk along the Green. One of the first stops was King George's Tavern, a gathering spot for discontented colonials who debated the need to break with England. Eventually, this was also the site where Delaware ratified the Constitution making it the First State of the Union (and ultimately naming the National Park Unit!)

This layout was made to fulfill the Lasting Memories Challenge #658 "Sharing is Caring". The instructions are to scraplift one of the design team's previous layouts. I chose this layout from Cheryl Evans. I used her sketch but did make a couple of modifications given my photos. I also used 2 different papers for the "A" and "B" pieces on her layout. There were some gaps at the corners and as I was hunting embellishments I found 3 die-cuts from a CM Heritage kit from many years ago. The black cardstock provided a nice tie-in across the 2 pages though and I think it was a great finishing touch. The background cardstock is Avocado (yes, the 70s have returned!) which is new from CM (I just got my supply this week). I added some Graphic 45 papers from the Olde Curiosity Shoppe as components A and B as well as the embellishments. It came together fairly quickly!

Old and New Museums

While waiting for the festivities to start we took time to browse the museum pieces on the upper floor. I've been here before but there are always new details to note. I find historic fashion--whether it be clothes or home decor--fascinating.

This layout is another set of pages that I made from a Paper Loft class using the Euphoria papers. The photos matched the mats a bit better than the Hogmanay pages but I never really worried about that. I didn't add any embellishments and I don't think it needed anything.

The ribbon cutting was held upstairs in the meeting hall and then everyone wandered downstairs to see the new displays. They went into a lot of detail on life in the huts and the general needs of the soldiers. 

If this looks familiar to you, it's because I posted it a few weeks ago as I completed it. Refer back to this post for any information about the layout.

The Non-Meetup Meetup

My next trip was in February 2018. My friend Alan wanted to put together an NPTC meetup event to coincide with the grand opening of the Morristown Discover History Center (a new museum in the lower level of the visitor center). Unfortunately, Alan didn't get the request submitted in time, so we had no official meetup. Still, there were several club members and we enjoyed our tours. They had selfie stations in the auditorium and I had to take a couple of shots with my "best buds"!

You're seeing the left half of the first 2 pages. Interspersed is an 8 1/2 x 11 page that is in a pocket. Now that I'm using top-loading pocket sleeves from CM I have to take everything out of the pockets if I forget to photograph them when I make the layouts. This particular 2-page layout uses another set of pre-made pages from Paper Loft's Euphoria line. The paper in the 8 1/2 x 11 pocket is one of the few remaining pieces of a paper pad with a patriotic (historic) theme. But it was the perfect size to mount the unigrid and the agenda of the day.

Several highlights of the trip--we got to meet the park superintendent and talk about our club with her; we got to meet the reenactors who are a very fun bunch; and there was a musician playing a variety of historical instruments. 

The back of the pocket page is 2 scraps of paper which come from the same 8 1/2 x 11 paper pad as the front side. I thought the layering worked well and the red plaid was just the right size for matting the photos. I also had some historic stickers which complemented the musician photos perfectly.