So, I’m bound and determined to get all of my Savannah trip photos scrapped- I have several vacation albums and none of them are complete. All of the ones I did this week are from the day we spent in Charleston. I love two page layouts for scrapping lots of pictures and I like to make seamless 24×12 backgrounds from pages. Solids are easier to do this with as I copy a portion of the center of the page and place it over the visible seam between the two parts of the background. With a bit of erasing with a low opacity brush, the seam is effectively hidden and I’ve got a wide background. Patterned backgrounds are a bit trickier, but it can be done too with a bit of persistence- see the Charleston LO below.
journaling: After arriving in Charleston and finding a hotel room for the night, we drove out to Sullivan’s Island and had a look around Fort Moultrie. It was closed by the time we got there, so we could only walk around the outside path and read the signs, but that was enough. The fort has undergone many renovations since construction began in 1776 to protect the entrance to Charleston Harbor from a British invasion in the anticipated war. Its first incarnation was a thick walled structure built of palmetto logs and sand. It was still incomplete when Commodore Sir Peter Parker and the British fleet attacked on June 28, 1776. After a nine hour battle, the British retreated and the colonists had won their first victory in the revolutionary war. The fort was named in honor of its commanding officer, Colonel William Moultrie. The South Carolina state flag commemorates this battle- the palmetto tree and moon represent the defeat of the British navy here during the first conflict of the Revolutionary war with the palmetto walled fort successfully defending the town.
Fort Moultrie was neglected, destroyed and built-up over the years as war loomed on the horizon. Four incarnations of the Fort have stood on this spot, each with more powerful weapons and defenses than were there before as weapons technology has advanced. Since the advent of nuclear weapons and guided missiles, the critical role of Fort Moultrie in the protection of Charleston Harbor has diminished and now the National Park Service has restored the Fort to represent the major periods of its history.
credits: Sweet Liberty by Dianne Rigdon; Moon from Dream Whispers by Jofia Devoe; palm trees from Sea Doodleys by Weeds & Wildflowers; font: Times New Roman
journaling: We learned lots of interesting things about Charleston during our carriage tour around the city. *“Earthquake washers†hold together many of the oldest houses because they couldn’t afford to rebuild after the revolutionary war. *The English colonists considered brick a poor-man’s building material, but there was no local stone so they put plaster over the brick and scored it to make it look like the buildings were built with stone. *Most houses are long and one room wide because of the practice of taxing homes on the width of the home facing the street in England. *One of Charleston’s nicknames is the “holy city” because of it’s high proportion of churches to it’s population. Of course it is also known as the “city of decadence” for all of the other business types that abound in the city as well, and the churches often owned the properties of them because they paid their rents on time. *Bay street used to run along the edge of the bay, but the city has been practicing land reclamation for many years and the city has grown by several blocks into the bay over the years. *Broad Street was the diving line between the rich and not-so-rich neighborhoods of old Charleston with the most affluent living south of Broad, so in attempt to claim rank people would say that they lived ‘somewhat north of Broad’ which would be shortened to ‘snob.’
credits: Super Sassy Chic, Provence, Notables Alpha and Notables Tags by Dianne Rigdon; LO template 66 by Yin Designs (modified); staple by me; fonts: CK Constitution, CK Neat Print
credits: Amy K kit and metal dates by Holly McCaig; Cocktail Recipe 1 by Amy Hutchinson at After5Designs.com; Hot News No 5 by Lauren Reid at LittleDreamerDesigns; font: CK Journaling Condensed
and for this last layout, I’m reminding you not to forget that as digiscrappers we can change the colors of papers and elements to suit our photos. I have to admit that I tend to forget that, probably because it is just quicker to use the kits as they are and not try to adjust them. Sometimes though, the perfect kit just doesn’t come in the right colors. I used Sweet Abandon for this page, and I changed the paper and charm from blue to green to better fit the photo.
credits: Sweet Abandon (some pieces recolored) by Dianne Rigdon; green sprig from Amy K by Holly McCaig; ribbon and leaf branch by Flergs; large leaf from Realistic Extras by Kim Broedlet; twine and staple by Melinda Staley from Scrapdish Basics Collab (coming soon); Colored Chrome action by Atomic Cupcake; font: Tiranti Solid LET
