Something to try: Distressing

I love layering pattern paper, it adds alot of depth to a layout. However, to ensure that all the layers do not blend together and look chaotic, I do alot of distressing to set the layers apart. My go to method is inking. I use Tim Holtz distress inks and simply use the applicator to swipe antique photo (a nice brown ink) along all the sides of my paper. It is one of the easiest ways to make the edges of a page stand out. I also love cutting my journaling into strips and to distress the strips, so that they do not look so stark against the rest of my layout. Another distressing technique to try is roughing up the edge of a paper by using Making Memories distress tool. It adds so much texture to the page, giving your layout a more organic feel.