Something old, Something new...

If you're anything like me, when you get new scrappy goodies, you dive right in, often forgetting the many treasures you already own. I'm going to share with you just a few approaches on how to incorporate some older product onto your pages without making them look dated.  Don't worry, I know you've got new stuff you're dying to use,  we're just going to sneak a bit of aging stuff in, in order to clear a bit of room for the next trend.

Patterned paper- If you're used to using lots of solid or neutral backgrounds for your pages, dig through your older papers, and pick out some that can be used as solids, and keep them nearby when working on new pages. Often, you can slip them in with a new collection. On this page, I used the reverse of an older My Mind's Eye paper ( green dot) paired with a new sheet from The Amy Tangerine Ready Set Go Collection. You can always slide in scraps of those older papers too, as decorative border strips, as I did with a piece from Sassafras Lass.

Letters- Maybe it's because I love letter stickers so much, but I think even the craziest fonts or colours will work somewhere somehow. Don't forget about the basics you already own, and don't be afraid to use several fonts to make up a title if need be. I used an older sheet of Candy Shoppe letters from Doodlebug Design Inc, to make this simple title.

Embellishments- I added a few stickers from Crate Paper Story Teller collection and some flags from the October Afternoon Sassparilla Collection. These are still newer products, but were being neglected since I had newer things to play with. The really old bits include the metal framed tag and chipboard apple from American Crafts. The key to making everything work, is to keep a balance between the older items, and some newer trendier items or techniques. In this case the wooden shapes I coloured with Distress Stain, and the stenciled background help to keep the page feeling current. 

Trends are cyclical, and it seems everything old is new again. So don't discount your older embellishments and papers, you may be surprised at how well you can incorporate them with the newer treasures you've just brought home. 

Have fun mixing it up!

Erin