Oh no, that's the worst feeling! That whole grain direction thing is such a sneaky beginner trap. My first few tries did the same thing, just curled right up. Makes you want to never touch paper again, right?
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?