What to do with all those 6X6 paper pads?!?

 I am a bit of a paper hoarder. I know, I know, you are all probably shocked, but if there was a twelve step program, I would be the star member. The reason I LOVE 6X6 pads so much is because they are so much easier to hoard than 12X12 paper, and they are so pretty!

I also have a lot easier a time cutting into my 6X6 papers than cutting a strip from one of my precious 12X12 papers (especially for card making), but I've noticed that I don't use those smaller papers on my layouts very much. So I saw a layout someone posted on twopeasinabucket.com and knew that I had found my inspiration.

I started out collecting a few pieces from various paper pads, here I have a sheet from Lily Bee Designs and one from Glitz.

I wanted to use kraft paper as my base (since it goes with anything), this is Stampin Up's Crumble Cake (formerly called kraft). 

I wanted to pop the red color of my husband's hat, so used this red cardstock, and cut 1 1/2 inches from the top and the bottom of it, so that the kraft paper would frame it.

I left one piece of 6X6 paper whole cut the rest of my papers to fit in the red frame. Then I used my paper distresser and roughed up all the edges. 

My cat decided she had to plop right down in the middle of everything I was doing. Typical day. At least the baby wasn't in the background destroying something :)

I also wanted to distress my picture since it has that nostalgic, old times kind of feel to it. I wouldn't have done this if it was my only picture of this event, but I have lots of copies of it, so I went ahead and scratched up the edges of it.

Then I took this handy brush (I bought it long, long, ago as a distress tool, but I think it is actually a grill brush) and I scratched off little pieces of the corners.

I inked the edges of the red and kraft cardstock and left the others plain. Adhered everything down and put in a Jenni Bowlin journaling card (also distressed).

Here is the finished result. I've been trying to find the right patterned papers for this picture for quite a while now, but it turned out I had them all along but never thought to check my 6X6 paper pad stash!

 Thanks for looking!

Keathe