Paper vs Cardstock

I'm literally working on my very first layout, and I had a question about the background paper. I have books and books of the 12x12 decorative cardstock but I liked this little 59 cent paper I saw at Hobby Lobby so I bought it. Now, when I'm all done with it, do I put it in the album as is (with photos, stickers, and some decorative cardstock glued on) or do I glue the whole sheet to the piece of large cardstock that came in the album? It would make it sturdier but I don't know if I should try to keep the album as thin as possible. Thanks!

I dont use a backing when doing a LO on pattern paper. I too, like to keep the album thinner.

I don't generally use that cs that comes in the album. First of all I find it kind of thin in its own right, and second of all, I don't generally need it. I try and use a thicker cs for my background paper to begin with. However, every now and again, the background paper I am in love with is very thin, and I will then glue that to a piece of heavier cs just so that it doesn't bend too much when it's removed (if it ever is) from the album,,,,

Occasionally, I will move LO's from one album to another,,,,I might decide to do one whole album of family Hanukkahs and go through my albums and find all the Lo's of those,,,,

or I might decide to do a whole album of just my DGD at age 2, so I will go through and remove all those LO's and put them in their own album,,,,

so it is feasible that they will be removed, so I want them to be somewhat sturdy.

They are also easier to put IN the album (I find) if they are a bit sturdier than thin paper,,,,

so my answer is,,,,,if the background paper is VERY thin, then yes, I'll glue it to anohter piece of cs,,,,,,but in general, I do not because the background paper is heavier cs to begin with.

In general I leave the CS in the album, especially if my background paper is thinner, but I prefer not to glue my backgrounds to the CS. Although that's just personal preference, you may find you would rather glue them down.

If you do choose to go with the CS in the album for whatever reason be careful if the CS is black. This can show through the thinner papers, even colored. Although you might find that you like the look of the black behind your pages.

So really all about personal preference-play around and you'll find what works best for you in different situations-and have lots of fun!

i agree. it's all about personal preference. i don't glue mine to heavier cs if i've used a thin background paper, but that's just because i like to save my cs for other projects and i usually don't have a problem putting my thin pages into my albums. i might consider doing this if i had a lot of heavy embellishments on the thin paper though.

My preference is to use a cardstock in a color that compliments the picture than I glue printed paper and embellishments to the cardstock. I like having a sturdiness if I choose to slide the pages in and out of the page protectors.