About Me






Hi!  My name is Helen Tilbury &  I live in Durban, South Africa.  
My family moved here in early 2006 due to the problems in Zimbabwe.  
I work in the textile industry & live with my husband, 2 teenagers & 4 cats. 
 We have another 2 older kids in their 20's who live with us on & off :)

My blog focuses on my vocation & life as a mixed media papercrafts artist.

I began this blog as a novice back in 2007, when I had been scrapbooking
for 3 years.  Since then I have had quite a journey & worked for dozens of
different international Design Teams online  as well as Guest Designing
for many others, had my work printed in magazines in the US, UK
& Australia & worked for an English magazine preparing articles 
tutorials.  Last but not least I've made many, many 
 awesome friends & contacts along the way too!

 Currently {2015} I own & run my own scrapbooking challenge site
that hosts monthly scrapbooking competitions {Scrap Around The World}
as well as working for 7 Dots Studio, an amazing Polish company, 
2Crafty Chipboard, an Australian Chipboard Manufacturer & Studio 75,
another really great little Polish manufacturer or all things beautiful.  

My style is "layered collage with light mixed media".

I love creating layouts that tell simple stories about myself & my family,
as well as canvases that I keep to decorate my home or make specifically
as gifts for loved ones.  I also love to create smaller items like cards & tags
& also enjoy art journaling as a means of recording the way I feel as an
artistic expression.  Often I make mini-albums of family events & holidays.

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How I got here


I stumbled across scrapbooking by pure chance 12 years ago 
& it immediately peaked my interest.  I started attending basic 
lessons for a few years until my local scrapbook store closed
 down & I was left with nowhere to go. 

Restrospectively that's when I grew my crafting wings, 
began my blog & discovered the online scrapbooking/
blogging community that is now an integral part of my life.

In 2007 I entered a huge local scrapbooking competition
& was placed 2nd & 3rd {with 2 different layouts}.
That gave me the confidence to start blogging, with no clue
as to how to go about it!  I began online knowing no-one at all.

I shared my daily creative pursuits & discovered & started
entering online scrapbooking challenges.  I met a lot of 
people along the way, which began my journey into the 
vibrant & supportive world of online world of papercrafters.

After a couple of years of building my confidence I began 
applying for Design Team positions & initially was turned
down everywhere I tried!  After a year of failed applications
I was accepted onto one team, then another, & another,
& since then it has been one roller coaster adventure of
a ride, working for dozens & dozens of Design Teams,
kit clubs, challenge blogs, manufacturers (&  even a
  magazine!) all around the world!  Moral of the story?!?
DON'T GIVE UP!  You never know when you are 
going to turn that corner!!

I jumped on the "mixed media bandwagon" when it first
began several years ago & that's when I really came alive.

I loved getting my hands dirty & the unexpected results
that came from playing with wet media.  Since then I
have found my style & love to experiment with artist
supplies & mediums in my work.  For me scrapbooking
has gone way beyond the photo for me now.  
It is all about the art!!

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My 2015 Style



Collage Art is the best way of describing my scrapbooking style today.
I love texture, colour & working with beautiful products.  I love using
 polaroid photos & strip photos from my Instagram account.

Most of my layouts are based on single photographs or a few small
photos that tell simple stories about my life, my holidays, my kids, 
pets & what is important to me.  I love light mixed media & a free,
spontaneous look that says "Hey, I had fun making this!". 

 With 2 sons & 2 daughters I am used to creating both funky masculine 
pages as well as feminine, floral "modern shabby"ones.  Layering is my 
favourite technique &  I love using various art mediums to build up my 
page from the base up, as well as threads, wire, mesh & paper layers.  



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THE LONG VERSION OF THE STORY!
HOW IT ALL BEGAN FOR ME & EVERY STEP OF MY JOURNEY
FOR THE FIRST 3 YEARS - AN INTERESTING READ IF YOU ARE
KEEN ON ONLINE SCRAPBOOKING & GETTING ONTO DESIGN TEAMS.

MY CREATIVE JOURNEY PART 1 - 2003 - 2012

Why I scrapbook {click to find out!}
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Facts about me {click to read!}
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My 2012 Style Statement {click in to see!}
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I was Featured Scrapbooker here on July 18, 2011 - 
with the article below, which encompasses my creative journey until that date.


Creative Journeys - Meet our Next Guest!
           On to today's guest--meet the talented, fabulous Helen Tilbury-
-all the way from Africa!


I started scrapbooking in 2003 in Harare, Zimbabwe, after my daughter attended a holiday workshop & brought home a simple layout that 
captured my heart!

 For a couple of years I attended weekly lessons at a really basic studio using simple products &  none of “the latest stuff” as it simply wasn’t available.

 For the first 2 years of my journey all I learned were the basics as I had
 no time to scrapbook at home & had no idea that there was a whole new 
world waiting for me online.

In 2005 we emigrated to South Africa & I took a short break from scrapbooking
 for a year while I was adapting to my new environment. 6 months later I started attending weekly scrapbooking lessons at my new local scrapbook shop.

 Now that all my kids were at school I began scrapbooking there every morning as our rented home was limited on space & there was nowhere
 for a studio there.   I discovered Creating Keepsakes & it was
 the first scrapbooking magazine I’d ever seen! 

I became an instant fan of Ali Edwards & finally the cogs started turning 
& my mind-set regarding my hobby began to shift to a more serious
 mode 4 years down the line.  With that my excitement for 
scrapbooking started to grow exponentially as I shifted
 to a whole new mindset.

In September 2007 I entered the then only (now non-existent) national scrapbooking competition &came 2nd out of thousands of entries.
I was so excited but it lead to nothing, there were no sponsored prizes
 for 2nd place (as most scrapbooking products sold in South Africa
 are imported) & no design teams to get onto as there are virtually
 no local manufacturers. No recognition followed.

The scrapbooking manufacturing industry in South Africa is almost non-existent
 & the market in relation to the population is very small, especially in the
 province in which I live as it's not one of the main towns.  The local 
scrap store is owner run & she teaches the classes so opportunities
 for me to get to know more scrapbookers & become involved locally 
were not available to me. There had to be a way I could indulge
 my passion &succeed despite my location!

 I  first heard the word “blog” mentioned by Stacey Julien, when I attended
 a scrapbooking event at vast expense in one of our big towns
 {because I had to fly there & stay in a nearby hotel} 
& had no idea what it meant but I just KNEW I HAD TO GET ONE!!

I gathered it was some type of personal online interactive website & began
making enquiries...despite never having been online!  Yup September
2008 & I had never surfed the web!!  Wow did I have a treat instore for me!!!

 I began fighting with my kids’ old 'box' computer whilst they were at school
 & in October the same year, through pain & suffering like my children,
 my blog was finally born!  I spent hours online, learning the ropes, 
started commenting a lot – figuring someone was bound to notice me 
eventually if I just kept at it & after a year I had a small readership of 23 :)

I discovered just how excellent so many scrapbookers were online
 & I remember feeling like I could never “get there”, but the more
 I saw the more desperate I was to learn & to eventually succeed
 at creating layouts just as good! 

I lost my way a bit as I fell in love with blogging & ended up blog-hopping more than I was scrapbooking.  I certainly made up for all my years offline as I was
 so excited to broaden my horizons & learn so much about the world beyond Africa.  I had lost sight of my dream of becoming a well-known scrapbooker whose work spoke for itself.  I had become side-tracked...

I have always been a competitive person & it just came naturally to want to go
 all the way with something I was so passionate about. I was determined 
I didn’t need a national competition to succeed – I was aiming higher
 than that – I wanted to take on the world! 

. After my first couple of years online, getting to know people, watching how things worked & soaking up all the different scrapbooking styles in the
 world, towards the end of 2009 I started my online education in earnest.

 Less blogging &  more studying. I poured over layouts by talented designers from all over the world & tried to emulate them. I gave myself an 18 month intensive online course in scrapbooking by studying successful scrapbookers from all over the world, whose work I admired & used as my inspiration.

 I was struggling to find my own style & not sure of what I liked & disliked.
 I was trying too hard & doing too much – I was all over the place!

Towards the end of 2010 (2 years since I started my blog) it dawned on me that I was never going to “get anywhere” if I didn’t release myself from the confines of my blog and “get out there”. I began taking part in challenges, joining forums, adding my work to galleries & I had various successes along the way. 
FINALLY, 2 YEARS LATER, I HAD THE HANG OF THINGS!

Definitely more failures than successes but finally I felt like something was happening. In 2010 I started to apply to various design teams & faced rejection upon rejection. By Christmas 2010 I realized that I couldn’t go on & needed to reassess what exactly I was doing! Or at least trying to do!!

I prayed to God to please give me a change of heart, so that I was able to apply for design teams then forget all about it (as opposed to keep checking my inbox for the e mail that never came…only to see the DT advertised on their blog!).
 I cried my heart out then went away on holiday! 

This was the turning point for me. The next DT I applied for when I returned accepted me! And the one after that, & that, & that, & that, & that!

6 design teams in six months & definitely more successes than rejections.
The tide is finally turning. I feel I have worked for everything I have but at the same time I want to give all glory to my maker for giving me the stamina & attitude needed for this harsh game. Scrapbooking is sweet & lovely &
nurturing & healing, but competitive scrapbooking? Welcome to the 
School of Hard Knocks! 

Want to give it a go?!  I hope my story has encouraged you & that, if it’s what 
you really, really want (as the Spice Girls would say) that you’ll go 
confidently in the direction of your dreams.

 I love finally having a real audience, feeling like my work has a greater purpose
& getting a “wow” once in a while. I am striving to be the best I can be & looking forward to the rest of this wonderful journey. I still have a long way to go 
(I have my first CK publication this month but it’s actually a photograph – 
check out page 99 of your latest issue) & I’m still not on the DT of any
 “major” scrapbooking manufacturers, but I am in it for the long haul
 & I’ve always believed I’ll make it eventually.

I do think that it is definitely harder for an “international” (especially an African)
 to make it in an American dominated industry – mainly because it takes a
 month to receive any product & I have to make almost all my scrapbooking
 purchases online from the States – but I don’t think it is impossible –
 you just have to be fantastic – and that’s what I’m aiming for! 

My advice – count the cost. There is a lot involved, & that’s the honest truth. You need to up your game on all levels if you want success. 
You need to work long & hard.You need to meet deadlines. 
You need to be 100% reliable. 

You can’t blog about the bad day you’ve been having if your DT has it’s reveal that day – you’ve got to put your happy hat on & encourage everyone to play along.  You need to comment on all the entries & in some cases judge the winners, & that is really hard!

 But along the way you will have a wonderful, exhausting time!

You’ll be rewarded with the most wonderful affirmation of your work 
(& you’ll make some enemies along the way who despise you just
 because they’re jealous so you’ll get the occasional nasty comment too!) Toughen up & let it slide off you like water off a duck’s back. 

Just keep your eye on the prize! 
If you’re prepared to work for it it can be yours – 
you can live the life you've imagined!!


Helen lives in Durban, South Africa, with her husband & 4 kids – Chelsea (18), Jack (16), Reilly (13) and Cami (11). She is a keen photographer & when she’s not taking photos, scrapbooking or blogging you can usually find her in the car, rushing up & down the freeway with kids off to dancing lessons, soccer
 matches or sleepovers!  Currently Helen is designing for 
Scrapbook ChallengesInspired BlueprintsOnce Upon a Sketch
Bird is the WordPretty Paper Petals&Scrap-it-Lah
You can find her blog @ http://helentilbury.blogspot.com.