Vintage Thingies Thursday - My Vintage Paper Struggle

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I have a dilemma.

Do you see that photo above? Does it make YOUR heart go pitter patter? Because it SOOOO makes my heart go pitter patter!

I love paper. Seriously. I love it a lot.

Yes, I, of course, love fresh, new, crisp, just off the presses beautiful colored papers that I use for crafting, but that's not all.

Walk into a library and inhale. THAT, my friends, is one of the most beautiful smells in the whole world. Pure, old paper. Paper that is discolored from lignin and has been in contact the oils of many hands. It's fabulous. Simply fabulous.

The thing is... I don't JUST love paper, you see, I also LOVE books! And I love to paper craft.

Herein lies my dilemma.

Vintage papers from old books in all kinds of fabulous languages, old maps, and various ephemera from times gone by are wonderful for crafting, but in order to use these treasures you must remove them from the tomes in which they reside.

Problem.

I can't do it. I simply CANNOT destroy a perfectly good book just so I can use the paper. It doesn't matter what is in the book, whether I like the content or not is not an issue, the point is simply that it is a book and that it is printed matter and it needs to live on forever. Period. Really.

I told you that I love books.

They serve such an amazing role in society and culture and to destroy even one is to in essence remove a piece of the history of which that volume is a part.

Not. Okay.

But just look at these! Seriously. Aren't they just fabulous? I really do love the paper. I love that thin, fragile, delicate feel to it. I adore the smell! And it looks...well....it just is perfect. Aged perfection. All ready for crafting.

I cheated. I ordered this stash on Etsy. I am going to tell myself that the books that these beautiful pages were taken from were already torn and even partially burnt, so in actuality, I am helping to save at least a portion of them by incorporating them into my art.

That's my story. And I'm stick'n to it.

I thought it would be easier, since I didn't have to pull them from books, but, alas, the guilt is still pressing in on me in quite an oppressive manner. Not sure what to do about that. I should probably make something. That's bound to make me feel better!

But just LOOK at those! Don't they make you happy? Those thin, fragile pages? They make me happy. They really do.

I think I may officially be an evil person. What do you think? What are your thoughts on vintage book pages and such used for other stuff? Tell me your thoughts.


Don't forget that we still have a little less than a week left in the month long giveaway event!!!