Thursday 15 September 2011

Sharing a Shabby Chic Tutorial I wrote for Scrapbook Kits with Jules





No time to blog "properly" today as I'm busy commenting/judging/voting on the newly closed challenges at Bird is the Word & Once Upon a Sketch, so I thought I'd copy & paste a tutorial I wrote today that just went live at Scrapbook Kits with Jules - the kit club in Australia where I have recently made the team.  
You can view it on the Scrapbook Kits blog here and go here to look around the NEW SHOP and see the layouts designed by me & my teamies, all up for sale in kit form!  

Yes I'm learning how to write up kit instructions now too!!

I promise to pop in & visit my bloggy pals over the weekend.  
{BTW THANK YOU for all your support on my Hater's Post :-D}
Let's hope the haters have gone home now LOL...

Back to the judging now & that will keep me busy for the next few hours at least!

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Getting that "Shabby Thang" happening on your Pages!!




Hi there!
Helen here today all the way from Durban, South Africa, by the sea!!
Today I thought I'd give you some guidelines on how to create a SHABBY CHIC layout.
It's really not that difficult but many people shy away from it as they don't know how to go about it or where to start.  


So this is what you need to do!


12 STEPS TO SHABBY CHIC BY HELEN TILBURY

1.  Find your photo.  Once you have that (I use mainly 9 - 13cm photos so that they are not too small but there is still plenty of space around the photo to add all your shabby bits!

2.  Add a strip of patterned paper down the side of your page.  Here mine is 10cm & that's a good measurement to go for as it divides the page into 3rds.  1/3 for your print & 2/3 for your plain cardstock.  That's a pleasing balance on the eye - 3rds are ALWAYS better than halves!

3.  Choose some bits & pieces from your stash - to match your colourscheme.  Doilies are really trendy right now, as are stick pins, and you don't have to spend a fortune on these items.  A friend gave me the doily & the stick-pins I used here are from my sewing stash!

4.  Add a strip of cardstock,co-ordinating print or a border sticker strip so that the top of it sits 4cm above the bottom of your cardstock & it extends from the END of your patterned paper all the way across your page, just like mine does.

5.  Stick down your print and your strip then position your photo to sit on top of the strip just like I've done but DON'T STICK IT DOWN!

6.  Tuck your doily under the top left of your photo (or if you don't have a doily trace around a side-plate or any household item the size of the circle you are after).

7.  Start tucking in all your bits & pieces, making sure to vary your sizes as I have done on my layout.  Glitz Design offer a great selection of precut "What Not's" (yes, that's really what they're called) which make things quick & easy as they all co-ordinate.

8.  If you don't want to buy anything new thought think about using playing cards, tickets, old book or dictionary pages and even downloading images off the internet & printing those out directly onto cardstock -
just cut your card to A4 size & feed through your printer.  There's a great site called"Found in Mom's Basement" that has LOADS  of free vintage images that will be just PERFECT for this type of page!

9.  Now flip your photo over & adhere at the BOTTOM only then carefully lift up each item behind the photo & squeeze out a bit of glue (just make sure it's not the type that will show through the front & no need to use loads!}.  You can even use double-sided tape or glue-dots to get everything stuck down.  Yes - it's a bit tricky but it's worth it!  Use your awl (that pointy thing you use to  make holes in your pages for brads!) to push things further down - tweezers are also a good option but I work better with my awl :)

10.  Don't worry if everything is not stuck down completely.  IT DOESN'T MATTER!  You're going for the shabby look remember?!  So if you have some corners up it just adds to the 3D layered effect.

11.  Add a strip of ribbon along the bottom of your photo (layered slightly over the border strip as you can see on my page) then use some little alphabet stickers to spell out your title.

12.  Almost there!  Lastly you need to add a few bits & bobs around your photo to soften the edges.  Webster's Pages have beautiful vintagey looking flower sprays that look lovely but any flowers will do!  Butterflies are always a good option & if you fold their wings up a bit they look even better.  You can buy them ready made or use a punch to punch them out of your offcuts.  Add in your journaling, handwritten or printed using your pc & printer & that's it.  You're done!

If you would like to see close-up shots of this page you can find it here on my blog.

If this inspires you to try your hand at a SHABBY CHIC layout then link up to THIS POST right here so I can take a look at your pages!

I hope you enjoyed my step-by-step tutorial & will try out a SHABBY CHIC page soon.

WARNING - They are addictive!!




17 comments:

Amelia Khalik said...

Wow!!! U really played well with all those shabby goodness!!! I love this page, it's gorgeous! Awesome layering too!!! :))))

Jess said...

thanks so much for taking the time to post the shabby instrux! the layout is marvelous....that is such a beautiful pic.....he is sooo handsome and she is sooo beautiful! tfs!!

Denise Price said...

Thanks for the tips and tricks, Helen! I especially love the "What Nots" from Glitz (and I love the name)!

Heather Jacob said...

fabulous tutorial Helen you are so amazing with all the detail and info you share ... beautiful girl .. hugz x

Lea said...

Great tutorial! Thanks Helen!!!

Unknown said...

Beautiful Helen!!I am a fan of any shabiness as long as it's very chic..Yours is definitely the chicest of them all!!

Keep smilin'!
Marivic

Patrice said...

great tutorial for a fab layout!

Julie Tucker-Wolek said...

Thanks for the tips!! I loveeeeeeeeeee your lo!! Loveeeeeee that photo and the doily! :):):):):):):):):):):)

yyam said...

This is so pretty! Love the layers and details! Thanks for sharing your tips! :)

Bernadine said...

Thanks for sharing. Definatley going to give it a try.

Shell said...

Great tutorial & ur LO is so amazingly gorgeous!! I luv it. Thanx for the inspiration

sandi said...

Awesome tutorial Helen! I really love all the detail that you give on your subjects...so informative! As for this lo...loved it when I first saw it...such a stunner!

Diana said...

I couldn't see your LO, here or on the original page for the kit club. Hmmmm... I like the idea of a tutorial! People like me need such instructions!

Eila Sandberg said...

Good job on the tut Helen! you always make them clear as rain and non-fussy. xoxoxox

Kirsty Vittetoe said...

Shabby chic beauty, and you are so right, they are addictive!!!

Yolande (pronounced you-land-a) said...

I love this layout...everything works so well together, the design is divine and love the great selection of texture and embellishments. This is such a fab colour scheme too...compliments that stunning photie perfectly. Love the large crochet doilie and the overall vintage feel. Huge thumbs up... :)

Rachael Funnell said...

See I really Thought I had commented on this Utterly Stunning Creation.....
I SOOOOOoo loving all the Glitz Design & the Shabby Chic feel to this is Gorgeous..... xx