Paper you collect

I haven't bought paper online in a really long time, so I'm limited to what the big box stores carry in their b&m stores.

I pretty much just pick up whatever catches my eye. Admittedly, that is mostly paper pads.



I think in the past, had you asked me circa 2005, I would say Basic Grey.

Back then, I had several scrapbook stores to choose from all within an easy drive, and I'd visit them all the time. I could browse each aisle, lovingly selecting each sheet I wanted. It was like going to a mom & pop produce market and hand choosing each perfect, organic apple you bought.

Now I hit up AC Moore, grab a paper pad or two on the cheap, and it's like grabbing a bag or two of apples from Aldi's. You know that more or less the product will be good, though for the cheap price you can stomach to toss the few rotten pieces you find.

Back in the day I could not resist Karen Foster and Creative Imaginations. That theme paper was perfect for me. I didn't care especially for the way Karen Foster had the words going all directions but I made it work. Then I would add Reminisce because while I didn't adore the paper, the theme is what I need. Lastly - Wubie - the photorealistic paper. I LOVED that paper. I still buy photorealistic paper from Scrap your trip. To me it's like scrapping smaller photos on top of a really big photo and not just paper.

Paper I have a hard time resisting now - Simple Stories. Most of those collections are perfect for almost everyone! Then Echo Park - that paper just catches my eye and the colors and themes are great for so many of my pictures.

And then there was Little Yellow Bicycle. I think the Splash Collection was my all time favorite collection even though I didn't use very much of it. They had great boy papers.

October Afternoon was my crack. I bought every collection, once I discovered it. I also live near enough to their warehouse sale, that I went every year.

MME and Simple Stories for me

This was me. Once they first came out years ago, I was hooked. I bought so much and was on a design team at the time where we could get it at wholesale price. When the warehouse boxes came around, I ordered a total of 4 and have not regretted it for a second. Just wish my 5 year scrapbooking hiatus wouldn't have happened. I would have even MORE OA, lol!  I took pics of my stash a few weeks ago when I was finally unloading all my warehouse boxes and getting it all organized.

I also loved BG. I have 6 vertical paper holders full and a bag full from a warehouse box last year or the year before. 

Scenic Route also. *sigh* 

It's really quite ridiculous when I think about this lol. I will never use all this paper even if I scrapped every day. Silly really.

Oh yes mikklynn! I just love flipping through it all. The smell is even uplifting lol. The feel of the thickness of the papers etc. It's truly my escape from everyday life!

Sigh...Old MME.  Bohemia, Wild Asparagus...my faves

All the paper. Seriously. All of it. I have a healthy stash of hoarded KI Memories, Basic Grey, Wild Asparagus, Chatterbox, and Scenic Route. More recently than that I collected a lot of Simple Stories, Kaisercraft, BoBunny and some of the American Crafts lines. I think this is because of what my LSS carries. I tend to buy what I see and my shop carries lots of American Crafts, BoBunny and Kaiser. Depending on my pictures I can find use for a variety of papers, from grungy and distressed, to formal florals, to bright and clean.

Many of the most recent Simple Stories collections haven't been the right theme for me, so I am sad about not being able to stash any of their stuff recently. I also continue to hunt down old collections from Crate Paper, Basic Grey, etc. While I realize that the paper is meant to be in my albums sometimes I have a hard time cutting into those old favourites!

Back in the day, it used to be Chatterbox and Basic Grey. These days, it seems to be spread out among a lot of lines.

It used to be Chatterbox and October Afternoon.. but my stash is pretty all over the place.

By default it's SEI, because I live somewhat near their warehouse. Unfortunately, it no longer has a retail store. I liked being able to look at the paper in person. Ordering online, I gravitate towards boy lines for their B sides. More so the papers than the embellishments because I like the colors.

Simple Stories- Oh how I love their designs!

For me it's Shimelle's lines. I just got back into paper crafting last year (I was a stamper/card maker before, but now I only scrapbook) so the first line of hers I came across was Starshine. I fell in love with it and sought out everything she's done before and since then. I just had Little by Little delivered yesterday.

I also really like Simple Stories (I love the Posh and Hello Fall collections released last year). My favorite collection of all time is Pebbles' Happy Go Lucky from 2011. A couple years ago one of the scrapbook steal sites sold a 12x12 paper bundle and I bought two of them. I haven't used any of the sheets yet, but oh how I love to look at them! There was a 2-3 year period around this same time where I bought all the Pebbles collections that came out.

I have to admit, Shimelle's lines are another I collect. I haven't purchased any of Little by Little...yet. I keep looking at the huge quantity of paper I already and talking myself out of it. I need to just bite the bullet and buy it before I regret missing out on something. It's happened before!