Single Staple Collage Chunkies

So the idea for this month's chunky challenge was to create a page using materials that are secured with just a single staple.  This seemed to be a rather simple technique, right?  As I got started, however, the most important thing I learned was to wait  until AFTER all the pieces were into (com)position before trimming them to size.  If you trim too early, you may not be able to secure all the pieces with a single staple.  So therein lies the challenge!

I used the various ephemera that I collected on my recent trips to Italy for my pages.  In 2010, we visited Lake Como, Bellagio and Venice.  This past June, I was back in Venice, then Florence, Tuscany (Montalcino) and Rome.  I managed to collect SO MUCH ephemera, that I wanted to use as much of it as possible in my pages.  For this reason, I challenged myself to decorate both front and back of the page.  Now when I look at my finished pages, each piece of paper reminds me of a museum, a restaurant, an Italian paper shop, a great gelato place, a ferry ride...I LOVE that!  And, it's a wonderful way to share some of the highlights of my travels with the other chunky players!