What I did with my counterfeit paper....

A few days ago I posted about making counterfeit paper from this month's kit here, and all the time I was making it, and every time I caught sight of it on my table, the Katie Melua song came into my mind - 9 Million Bicycles in Beijing.

As luck would have it, also in my mind were my photos from a 1985 visit to China which I have been wanting to scrap for a while, and have done a couple of layouts, but I still haven't found that perfect China paper yet!  The photos were taken with an instamatic camera - very basic and I didn't have much film as customs were so strict and I didn't take anything like the number of photos I would these days in consequence.  However, there are stories to be told, and my eyes lit up when I found photos of me in a skirt that perfectly matched the bicycle paper in colour - however none of them are in Beijing, and I was determined to have my title!!

Materials used: Bazzill Basics cardstock, Scrapagogo stamp, patterned paper - Studio Calico Abroad and Sassafrass . Chipboard frame - Sassafras, Alpha stickers - Scenic Route, Bicycles - Oliver Bonas. Border Sticker - Crate Paper , Other: Washi Tape, luggage label, assorted rubons.

The Art of Layers book (mentioned previously in this post) also helped in the making of this layout - in particular, I was struck by the project about using up old rubons - of which I have many - and which I never use.  They can just add subtle decoration to a page and having resolved to start using them, I have incorporated them into several recent layouts.  I don't buy them really any more, so there is hope that one day my collection will be used up!

Of course I had to use the wire bicycle clips on the layout as well, although I had to sew them on!!  I also love the look of washi tape behind my journalling strips as it makes them pop more.

At the crop on Saturday we were talking about how we are using subtle patterned papers more and more as background rather than plain Bazzill - I'm guessing it's just a trend thing, but it's definitely true for me!