Paper, Paper, Paper

Okay, now that I have my scraps organized, I can really get to work. And that I did today. I made two layouts and they took me most of the day. I used at least four QK dies on each one, but my real stumbling block was the paper. For the one of Belle's Storytime I chose plain blue cardstock with brown for the mats. I used some Belle-themed dies (open books, a watch) and journaling blocks, but it was not coming together. Finally I added in the tree with lots of leaves along one side and that seemed to do the trick. Maybe I should have made a border with the books?

The Ariel page was easier. I used 8.5x11 patterned pages on top of solid cardstock with contrast for the mats. I added in several ocean-themed die cuts (waves, dolphin, lobster and sand dollar), but something was still missing. DH suggested a star fish. I don't have one. He was of the opionion I could make one with one of my stars - no need to buy one. He was right. I used the center of the Archiver's Multi-star REV die, aided by scissors and a marker. It was perfect!

However, as I looked at those layouts and the ones for Cinderella and Sleeping Beauty I have made this week (can you tell I am trying to get caught up on our Disney scrapbooks?), I have come to the conclusion that I use too much plain cardstock. Actually, I started to feel like this when I was working on my November DT projects. The pages just needed something else, so I added some stamped owls as a subtle background. That was the problem with Belle's pages, I left them plain and then felt I had to add something, hitting a major block.

But, the paper cannot be too busy. I used a Sleeping Beauty paper with stripes that I cut into strips and spread apart on a plain 12x12 sheet of cardstock. Once the matted photos and the journaling was in place, it was TOO much. I need to find a happy medium - but first I need to use up what I have, even if it for mats.

And I need to not add too much to my scrap bags, some of them are pretty full!