The Great Western Journey Part 17--End of the Road

We have come to the final entry for the Great Western Journey. If you recall, we flew into Denver to start the trip. Before returning to Denver we made a bit of a southern spur to visit my aunt and uncle who live in Florissant. They had a lovely log cabin there and we stayed for a couple of days. In that time we of course had to go to Florissant Fossil beds. A repeat visit for me, it was Jim's first time seeing the unusual artifacts in the park

This layout is one that I made many years ago when Club Scrap first brought out their National Park collection. If you go to this page and scroll to pages 13-14 you will see the base. It looks like I might have been short some of the right-hand page papers but given the number of photos, it works out fine. I didn't bother with ribbon on this one but I did add the cute saying on the bottom right corner to fill in some white space.

I suggested a different trail for this visit and my uncle joined us on the walk through the meadow. The Petrified Forest loop leads you to the large fossilized remnant that you see below: "The Big Stump". It's impressive in size but also for the remnants of sawblades from the 1800s where people tried to get the stump to move or sell pieces of it.

This layout is based on the CM December 2022 bonus challenge. It was a single-page challenge but I doubled the "recipe" for this layout and it worked well in a larger format. The background papers are from the Leave No Trace collection. They are likely supposed to be redwood or sequoia trees but it works well for the fossilized trees (which were redwoods anyway when they lived many years ago!) The borders along the outside edges were made with the Spiky Evergreen border maker cartridge. Each border is 2  sets of punched leaves that I intertwined randomly before adhering to the page. The inner-most border is called "Leaf Trail" and as that was more of an edger border, I could cut them to create the frame edges. Once those were in place a few embellishments and a journal box completed the layout.

Also along the path was a selection of native plants, some with labels on them. My uncle pointed out that many of them were also visible in his front yard. I noted that while this was true, he had no identification signs in his yard! Our visit included several other non-NPS sites and then we headed back home. The rest of the album is available at my house if you want to view it, so drop by for a cup of tea and a visit!

This layout is based on one of my Noreen Smith classes, so I cannot show you the sketch. The papers used were a combination of spring pages. The green "grass" in the middle is from one of the textured paper packs called Glowing Gardens. That bold look is a good contrast to the all-over floral print of the longer strips. One larger embellishment provided the "rest" from the busy patterned paper so that I could add a title easily. I used a few random embellishments from my stash for the rest of the clusters.

The Great Western Journey part 16--I'm not bluffing (no Foolin Post!)

 Happy April Fool's day! Here's my annual No Fooling post! 

Our loop took us south into Nebraska and so we stopped for the night and the next morning visited Scotts Bluff. This area is part of many trails as indicated by the variety of unigrids and passport stamps.

There are 4 total unigrids to include and it turned out that 2 of them were horizontal and 2 vertical. I chose an 8 1/2 x 11 pocket page and mounted them on pages from the Wildflower textured paper pack (textured paper means photographic). Now pay attention to that background page, as you will see it again soon.

While at the park we toured the museum in the visitor center and then headed outside for sign photos. 

The right-hand page is based on this sketch that I saved on Pinterest. Remember the front of the 8 1/2 x 11 pocket? The strip I cut off is on the right side of the page. I chose a complimenting scrap to cut the bracket (it's made with an older part of the Creative Memories Custom Cutting System). I liked this sketch as I had quite a bit of journaling to do and there was a long area in the middle of the bracket that worked well.

We did finally drive to the top of the bluff so we could take in the view. We walked the short nature trail up there as well. I can see why this was a popular (as well as noticeable) place for everyone to stop as they migrated west. If they could talk, the rocks could certainly tell many stories.

This layout is based on one of the last sketches from my year-long class with Noreen Smith. I used an Advisor Exclusive pack called Painted Prairie (appropriate enough!) for the base pages. I've always liked the technique of cutting 2 different background papers and then spreading the pages across the layout. I so rarely have 2 matching background papers that this technique makes it easier to keep scrapping. Similarly, the horizontal strip is one sheet. Keeping the paper against the photos and other papers gives the illusion that I used more paper but stretches your stash! My embellishments were a little loose as I went with ropes and guitars to highlight trail life. Not completely accurate but I'm getting to the end of the Wide Open Places pack!

The Great Western Journey part 15--what's so bad about it?

 After we toured the Minuteman Facility we drove to nearby Badlands National Park. The plan was to drive through the park (a windshield visit) and the exit would put us on the path toward our evening stop. 

This layout was created with 2 papers from Scrapbook Customs. I tried to buy as many of the park papers as I could because they do not last long in their inventory. One side has a photo view of the park with a traditional entrance sign. The reverse has a wood pattern with an image of the state and the park's name. I also added stickers from a coordinating pack so I could add the park map on the left page and a few additional elements on the right. The image of the park on the left page (next to me and the sign) was so close to the photo page that I wanted to layer them. That is a peekaboo pocket and there are more photos of the landscape underneath.

Jim and I were amazed at the formations and at one point Jim told me to stop the car because he just HAD to get out and touch the rock to see what it was made of. In 104F heat, he still did that. So I stayed in the car and took photos. We came across some higher-elevation spots where we could get some great selfies so I did eventually leave the car.

These 2 pages were separate 1-page layouts from one of my Noreen Smith classes. I used the Leave No Trace paper pack from Creative Memories. I believe the background paper is supposed to be HooDoos from Bryce Canyon (or maybe it's supposed to be the Grand Canyon?) Regardless, it worked well for the Badlands as well. I utilized more stickers from the Scrapbook Customs pack--I really like the way the sign "hangs" from the right page. 

And then we started driving toward Nebraska. The problem was that the road turned into a dirt path and was very rough. Washboard doesn't BEGIN to describe it. And then there were the prairie dogs. They were EVERYWHERE and kept crossing the road in front of us almost daring us to hit them. We'd had it with that road so we stopped briefly, consulted a map, and found a path that would get us back on a regular road even though we wouldn't be in the park. As we headed south toward Nebraska we also had a large elk jump across the road in front of our car. You really have to keep your eyes open out west!

I haven't had too many opportunities to do a page without photos, but the highlight of this page is journaling. I came across the old die cut of the rural road so I used that as the base. I had one remaining prairie dog sticker so I cut the tails from some beaver stickers and added them to the road. The nice part of this page is that I got to use up quite a few scraps of paper and some stickers and embellishments from many older kits. But it all helps tell the story!

The Great Western Journey part 14--Home of the Brave

Jim and I had scheduled a tour of the Delta Air Wing Launch Site. This rather nondescript house was full of eye-opening information. It's been decommissioned but they left everything just as it was on their last day. We arrived early after finishing at the visitor center so we sat in our car. It was a very hot day (104F) and we would periodically run the car to get some air conditioning. The ranger came out to us to say that we could come through the gate and into the house, but as he had to remain with us at all times, anytime another tour member arrived we all had to walk back outside with him (and stand in the shade on the side of the house). Once the tour started we heard about daily life for those charged with pressing a button to begin a nuclear war (as well as the support people who kept them ready for their job). Note the lock on the refrigerator. Not only is there no late-night snacking but it keeps someone from tampering with the food supply. And that "smoker" is not for a barbecue. It's to burn classified documents!

This layout is based on a sketch I saved from Even More Scrapbooking (she had posted it on Splitcoast Stampers and her own blog). I like her sketches because she includes dimensions. The base pages as you may have noticed are plain black CM pages. Since I was using the patriotic theme I didn't need other base pages to cover it and the black against the red, white, and blue is striking. The paper is from a Bedazzled set that was free with purchase a little while ago. The white star paper is cut to 11x10. That means that I have a 2x10 border left over. I simply turned that over to the blue side to use as the borders! The red stripe was scrap paper from the same kit. For the circle elements, I chose round stickers from my stash.

Continuing through the living spaces we got to see the bedrooms and lounge areas. I'm still marveling that they left the battleship game in progress. Then we made our way down to the work zone where 2 airmen held the keys to launch the missiles. The middle photo on the right is the door to the bunker. Apparently, each unit had its own distinctive door art. The ranger is showing a photo of the bunker which is essentially a sealed chamber--also to prevent tampering.

The right page may look familiar as I posted it just after I completed it in November 2022. Refer to this post for details on the paper. The left page is based on a sketch from the CM Virtual Crop in September that I saved. The paper is from the same kit as the right-side page.

The time spent in the launch room was limited but we saw so much! The cable Jim is holding is the same one we saw in the morning but now we could see it close-up. Those layers of wrap were to protect it from being easily damaged. Saddens me a little to know that someone did NOT catch the misspelling of Emergency!

This layout is based on a sketch from my last class with Noreen Smith (December 2022). The sketch is for a single page but I doubled it and turned the right page 90 degrees to the right. That creates a visual symmetry that helps you look at all the photos without realizing it! This is some VERY old patriotic paper and when you have such bold patterns it is a good idea to use them sparingly. Those 9x11 strips mat the photos and create interest on the page at the same time.

The Great Western Journey part 13--Wait a Minute!

We stayed in the general vicinity Sunday morning because there was a planned group ranger talk at Minuteman Missile NHS. The talk was at the site of the missile silo and I was amazed that you can look directly down the tube into where the missile is still housed. According to the ranger, the clear dome is to prove to the spy satellites that this is decommissioned and incapable of being launched! It was hot, even early in the morning but so worth the trip out to the site!

This layout is based on a November class I took (sorry can't show the sketch). I wish I could show the sketch as the original layout had more vertical photos on the right. But in practice, the squares created a middle section that was very flexible on photo placement. Those squares also provide a great base for sticker clusters to decorate the page. The green colors really had to do with what paper I had with me as I put this together while at a crop away from home!

At the end of the talk we all posed for a group photo. I think the ranger took it for us!

For this page,  I wanted to highlight that big photo of our group. I chose this pinned layout as a base. Now that pin has a lot of circles across the bottom but the idea is that you want to frame the bottom and have some banners on the top. When looking for a theme for the pages I decided that I would move toward a patriotic theme and all of my following pages for this park follow that idea. The large photo allowed me to use up 2 scraps of paper--one at the top and one at the bottom--to frame the photo. I did create a small border along the bottom but the paper with the star print helps create the "cluster" in the original page idea.

After the ranger talk, we went to Wall Drug for brunch and then to the visitor center. The building is fairly new so the "rusty" look of the main entrance is intentional. The most eye-opening display was the proliferation of nuclear weapons in the world as demonstrated by the blue and orange towers (right page below). Many of the club members were there as well and I caught Jennifer's Junior Ranger swearing-in ceremony.

This layout was based on a class that I took and I cannot show the sketch. The main thrust was the pair of borders--one horizontal on the left and a vertical one on the right. I kept with the patriotic theme and was able to use up a paper pack that was pretty old. The border punch on red cardstock pulled the 2 pages together.

The Great Western Journey Part 12--The Big Meeting

Saturday is the day for the formal meeting for the club. As a board member, I have other meetings to attend in the morning. The main meeting for all the members starts just after lunch. We have speakers, trivia, and presentations of various awards. It's one of the best parts of the weekend!

This layout should look familiar. I made this when I was the guest designer for Lasting Memories in July 2021. I had to store this until I got to this album a year later.

In addition to the photos, I always try to save a copy of the program (The Stamp Pad) and our name tags.

I looked to see what photos were left in my stash for this event and there were just a few. While working on this album I was also working on using up any pre-made pages made directly on the CM base pages. I'm eventually going to transition to top-loading sleeves for my pages. My mission was to find a use for this layout that I made from a freebie paper pack. The class I took used the mats to create a layout leaving blank spots for the photos. My photos didn't quite line up as planned, and I needed to fit the program in as well. But the page is done and that's what counts!

The Great Western Journey part 11--Come and get it!

 Time to start album #2 in the Great Western Journey. This post is sort of the "middle" section from Mount Rushmore. Our bus trip took us to Mount Rushmore in the afternoon, then we went to a Chuckwagon Dinner, and then we returned to Mount Rushmore for the lighting ceremony. 

If you remember, I used a printed calendar page for the kick-off page in the first album. I wanted something similar but not exact. I found this image in my Pinterest files and used it to make the page. I did some math to figure out what the dimensions were--most of which I got right. It does help to use up scrap paper! And then I added just a few travel stickers for emphasis. I wrote "Western Journey" and Volume Two was comprised of some old sticker letters (none of which I had to manipulate to get the words!).

The bus pulled up to the dining hall which surprised me. For some reason I assumed there was a hay ride and we'd be eating in the field. This actually was better--long trestle tables full of people! The hall holds way more than our group but it was not overcrowded.

This layout is based on a sketch from one of my classes. The focus of the sketch was the borders and circles. That gave me the inspiration to go with some bold paper as a background. The borders were cut from a bandana square and in hindsight, I probably should have made the borders smaller so no one sees that the sides go "nowhere". The 3 circles provide "quiet" space on the layout which is great for small sticker clusters (using up some old Western theme CM and other stickers) as well as a place for journaling. Tucking the circles under other elements means that if you accidentally cut too close to the edge, no one will know! Unless you tell them in your blog 😀.

There was a process for getting your meal. Everyone received a metal plate and you walked through the line. The servers placed food in the correct location (you don't get to choose) as you made it through the process. If everyone cooperates, the line moves pretty smoothly. I delayed getting my meal just so I could take photos of everyone in the line. All of the people in the photos are from the club.

This layout is based on the Club Scrap Trattoria deluxe layout #13-14. I had purchased the cut-apart strips but not the paper that goes with the kits. I used other supplies that I had on hand when I put them together. The left strip under "Cowboy" is a saying about pizza. Since that didn't apply, but I wanted to use this particular layout, I added the letters--it really gave "flavor" to the page! (Those letters and the other square decorations were cut from the center of a scrapbook daily calendar I received many years ago--still using the supplies!) I was one photograph short so I chose one of the decorative mats from the Wide Open Places collection to fill the gap.

In addition to dinner, we were entertained by the house band. There was some light-hearted banter included in their remarks and then a variety of Country and Western tunes. It was a great evening.

I wanted to use the left-hand page on this layout (not a lot of other opportunities for me to use a western guitar page). I matched the wood tone on the right but added a pop of purple (I chose that because of the color the stage lights gave to the pages). A purple mat on the left helps carry that color across the layout. I added some random stickers and other embellishments with music themes to finish the page.