Bonus Post--USA in 1945

Once again this month I'm playing along with Lasting Memories. This time the "word" to use to develop a layout is Summer. You can see details of the challenge here.

This layout is the first of several pages of a December 2019 trip I made to the Gateway National Recreation Area in upper New Jersey. I have previously visited to see the lighthouse but this time I came to see the remnants of the army base. Specifically, I came to participate in a 1940s Christmas party at one of the houses. I was too early to go into the house, so I explored some of the remaining structures and that MASSIVE canon!

I will credit Lasting Memories as this page's total impetus. I sorted through my stash and found a sheet with the stars and stripes (I believe that is Scrapbook Customs paper). Since I only had one piece of that pattern, I cut it in half. I struggled with the layout before realizing I needed to turn the right page 90 degrees. Then it all fell into place! Here's how I worked SUMMER into this layout:

S-Stars and Stripes, and the "shell"

U-USA sticker on the journal box

M-Medals border

M-Memorabilia (the 2 brochures)

E-Enamel dots (again--I know! But I really tried to find something else and I couldn't)

R: Red in the medals and in the artillery shells I made for the right side

The artillery shells were cut on the Cricut. I wanted them to resemble one of the larger shells in front of the house on the bottom right page. The background is Latte' cardstock from Creative Memories. Do you like the od-time kraft photo corners I used to mount the brochures?

Madness in the Desert Post 9--Pretty as a Picture

One of the places we stopped was the Museum of the Kolb Brothers. They had become famous (and wealthy) by taking photos of people as they descended into the canyon (this was before the area became a national park, though they continued in some fashion even after that declaration). I enjoyed seeing their old cameras along with the prints they took. The boat was from an expedition to try movie cameras.

This layout is from Scrapbook Concierge. Though it isn't in their current product list, you can see this on their Amazon page. Their kits come unassembled and the bottom of the left page felt like putting together a jigsaw puzzle (and I'm missing a piece!) I don't often use their kits, though I do like them. They tend to have a giant element like the canyon piecing, which takes up valuable real estate on the pages. I can use peekaboo pockets to add material of course. The "Pretty as a Picture" title was cut on the Cricut. The Grand Canyon title on the bottom right was part of the kit.

Madness in the Desert Part 8--Below the Rim

Knowing we had a train to catch, we knew we'd never climb down to the Phantom ranch but we wanted to go INTO the canyon a little bit so we started down the Bright Angel Trail. We got a selfie with our heads below the rim. We went as far as the first tunnel and then returned. Given the heat of the day, that was the right choice. I would still like to get to Phantom Ranch someday though!

This layout is based on another Club Scrap kit, this one is their Remix kit (offered several years after the initial launch). Scroll to pages 7 and 8. One thing I realized was that I would have to be OK with using the theme of National Parks without having a visit to the specific national park on the paper. Since the design paper had a mix of them, it didn't really matter that one said Yellowstone and we were at the Grand Canyon. It gave the right tone to the layout. It has quite a simple layout, just some decorative elements on the top left and bottom right and then a thin border element. The rest is all matted photos! 

Madness in the Desert Part 7--Go West

After stopping at Verkamps for stamps 😁, we continued to walk along the trail west of the village. Though there is a bus that will take you farther, we decided to just see how much we could walk on our own (though being mindful of needing to be back to catch the return trip!) To get an idea of how far we walked, you can see in the photo with Jim that it has an arrow pointing to the El Tovar hotel on the horizon. That's where we were dropped off!

This layout uses Club Scrap's National Park Lite kit (look at layout pages 1 and 2). I waited to add the mats so I was able to put my photos on in a way that worked for my trip, such as putting the journal box on the left page. The camera embellishment is a vinyl sticker that I picked up on the trip.

Madness in the Desert Part 6--Speechless

We had been to the Grand Canyon before, but the first glimpse you get still takes your breath away. Our first glimpse was as the train pulled into the station. We were delivered to the western side of the south rim and we didn't go too far from that area. But every few feet seems like another world. The photos simply do not do it justice. You have to go there to see it.

I made this layout using red cardstock and the Kit 14 dies from Photo Dies. The nice part of the dies is that it cuts that frame for your photos when you cut the mat. That makes it much easier than using a stencil template (like the Lea France ones) to create the same effect. The right page worked much better for my layout as it is the most symmetrical, but the left page fits in just fine. The center block on the right page is from the Eastern National scrapbook kit. The other 2 are stickers and memorabilia from the trip. I also had a Club Scrap sticker left from their National Parks kit which I squeezed into the left side layout.

Madness in the Desert part 5--All Aboard

We got in line to board. Our group had tickets for the same car near the front of the train. We didn't fill the car so I do feel bad for those non-NPTC members who joined us! We got a little raucous. 

This layout is based on a pin I saved. This is all cut on the Cricut. I had planned on a giant oval track but when I changed to a 2-page spread, I cut it in half and used it on the top and bottom of each page. I did like the train title. I also cut the railroad crossing sign for the bottom right. The newspaper title is from one of their newsletters. I chose to cut it up and use selected portions of it on my pages. I did mount it in a sleeve to protect the photos. You'll see more of it in another post. 

While on the train we had some visitors. First, a roving musician sang some songs and invited us to join in. Also, the sheriff came through to ensure we were safe from the "bandits". Our poor cabin steward (in the white shirt bottom left) didn't know what to do with us. On a normal trip when no one knows anyone else in the car it can be quiet. We were so loud she had to shout to get our attention and tell us what to do when pulling into the Grand Canyon station. 

This layout is based on another pin I saved featuring some older Creative Memories products. It's one of the most simple pages but it works quite well. I chose 2 colors of cardstock to match the photos--light blue and brown. Each item is matted and then clipped with the corner-rounder. It's a tool I used to use quite often but now is only pulled out on a special occasion.

Bonus post--Fort Washington

I am playing along with Lasting Memories today so here's a bonus post as I join their "WINTER" games. 

In October 2019 I participated in the Maryland Lighthouse Challenge. One of those is not only a lighthouse but a National Park Unit! This light was placed near the fort in the 1800s and while nominally under the jurisdiction of the US Coast Guard, the keepers were required to abide by the direction of the Fort's military commanders. There never were any battles so other than ensuring competence and compliance I think they had little to worry about. The lighthouse is still working but instead of the large Fresnel lens, it now boasts a small but powerful LED light (very common today). Because the structure is less important, it has been neglected and is in very poor condition sadly. The most interesting part of the lighthouse is the large triangle with the number 80 inside. This was the identification marker so ship captains could locate their position by the color and markers along the Potomac River.

To meet the challenge, I needed to use items beginning with the letters in Winter on my layout. I used:

Woodgrain paper (one of the background sheets)

Inked edges (around the triangle I made on the vellum)

Navy (the other background sheet)

Tag and triangle (tag on the upper right page and triangle on the lower right page)

Enamel embellishments (there are stars and a fish on the tag)

Ripped paper (I ripped the small scrap under the triangle I made)

I typically am daunted by the word challenges but it is a fun way to ensure you have a variety of elements on the paper. If you participate, let me know what you used for your letters! Need some help? I did and I used this handy guide that you'll see as a link in the challenge page. I based the layout on this sketch I saved. The background is papers from Creative Memories as well as Club Scrap. By welding the 2 halves on each side I only needed one sheet of each. I had made the tag at the Creative Memories convention when Serene Waters was launched. The border across the middle (mirrored triangles) is punched on a coordinating collection called Summer Nights. That was a secret box collection and it's great that it works so well as it expands my ability to use the collection components like mats and stickers.