Roughing it just got a fancy kitchen gadget, huh?

Isn't it all about the meat and smoke in the end? Adding a bunch of stuff just feels like a cover up.

Omg that's so relatable! But how do you check grain direction before you start? I tried with cardstock once and it was a mess, the pages got all wavy and the cover wouldn't close flat. Is there a trick for mixed media projects when you use different papers? I saw a guide where they used a water drop test, but that seems kinda messy. Do you just learn from mistakes or is there a better way?