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!!