America The Beautiful . . . for the most part we all live in different locations…from East and West to North and South, the USA is filled with beauty . . . both in nature and hearts. We've all seen the beauty of the sunset, the majesty of a thunderstorm, the birds on branches, flowers blooming, the seasons changing, freshly fallen snow, rainbows, majestic mountains, sparkling lakes, wooded paths, ocean waves crashing, dessert blooms. We’ve taken road trips and vacations where we have taken pictures that might be so random they don’t end up on the pages of our books . . . maybe it’s the hot air balloon that suddenly appears in the sky above you, or a sign that brings a smile to your face, maybe a barn quilt painted on an old barn that has seen better days, or even an Amish buggy towing a boat. The beauty goes beyond nature and is seen in the love and kindness of a stranger that helps you after a storm, a kind teacher, the mailman who leaves biscuits for your dog, the neighborhood kids with their lemonade stands, playgrounds, and smiles, the person in the grocery line who lets you go in front of them. In these times when we are dealing with so many negative things in the news, where so many only think of themselves, where our country is experiencing unrest, where truth is up to what an individual wants it to be . . . in these times, I think it would be a great thing to just focus on how beautiful our country is and some of the ways we see her.
Remember - A new Blue Plate Special challenge is posted each Monday, Wednesday, Friday, and Saturday, and participants have until the 3rd of the following month to complete and post their creations.
Prize will be a $20 Gift Certificate to their favorite online store (random drawing).....
We will take inspiration for today's challenge from our beautiful and memorable national parks and monuments. Make a layout about a walk in the park, a picnic, or a visit to any park or monument and include more than one picture, the more the better. Have fun!
We had so much fun and were so amazed when we visited the National Petroglyph Monument in Albuquerque, N.M. We took lots of pictures, so I added flip flaps to the 2 pages of my double page layout. Don't be surprised if you see even more pages on this same subject!
Here is my main layout. There are more pictures under the flaps, and you can see them in the galllery. For some reason I was unable to post them here.
