Thursday 31 May 2012

11 Ways to Modern Shabby Success! Tutorial






***I am having problems commenting on several blogs -
I keep getting a Malware Warning telling me not to proceed!
Apparently there is something "infectious" on the blogs from
Shabby Blogs.   Carly, Rachael (Scrapping4me), Karen & 
Agnieszka & Sabrina - I will try to visit you again soon!***
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Hi girls!

Happy Hump Day for yesterday!!
I totally forgot to wish you!

So glad we are on the downhill slide of this long week
but also shocked to realise that June is upon us 
TOMORROW! As usual I have a file FULL of all the
 May Challenges I'm supposed to have completed {in my dreams!}
 but the reality has been that with my new Design Team obligations
& real life setbacks I have been kept on my toes so much so that
 I haven't had a chance to squeeze in any more challenges...aaaah :(

Good news though!

The missing girl has been found!! Not sure if she is okay or any
 more details but she is alive and reunited with her family :)

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I had a tutorial due on the ScrapThat! blog today so thought 
I may aswell share it here in case anyone finds it useful.  

Hi everyone!
Helen here with a few TIPS & TRICKS to share!!
1)  If you are anything like me you just LOVE flowers and wish you had more of them!  
Without actually having to BUY them or spend HOURS making them - well I have a way!  
See what I did here?
 Yup I actually CUT the Sea Foam flower from the main kit in HALF
so now it looks like I have TWO!!
I have a few other things to share with you about my layout construction process.
I do hope you find this information useful.  
If you decide to use any of these ideas
I would love for you to post what you did under my  Tutorial thread in the forum HERE.
2)  If you see a sketch that calls for a scalloped/die-cut paper
don't feel like you HAVE to use one that is pre-cut.  When you have
a piece of this type of paper in your stash, before adhering it to your
background paper, trace around it, cut and save it as a template,
then you will be able to use ANY paper you like and simply cut it
to shape as I have done above!
3)  You see I cut that pretty carefully hey?
Reason being that I don't waste AT ALL!
Any teeny piece of paper can be used for something so I strongly encourage you to hang onto your scraps and place them in a small bag back together with the rest of your kit contents.
Often little bits can be punched into small shapes like butterflies for example.
4)  See the yellow identification strip along the top of this paper?
I have used that on my layout!
(Scroll back up to spot it)
Told you I didn't waste a thing!!
5)  If you want to go "Modern Shabby" - which is a phrase I've coined myself for my own
personal style {shabby but clean, with white space and strong saturated color}
then you need to be brave and choose vibrant paper.
 Of course you only need a bit of it so here I have laid the bright pink BEHIND
the scalloped paper - just the right amount of KAPOW factor!!
6) "Audition" your elements.
Lay down the backing paper you have just made by adhering
your newly cut scalloped paper to a nice bright but subtle (in design) print.
Now go through your kit placing the elements you THINK you will probably use
on your layout on your page and start shifting things around until you are
happy with the way they look. 
NO ADHERING AT THIS STAGE!
7)  Use your packaging!
Look in the photo above and you'll see that I have used
the white with green print packaging from the flower pack -
it's there under my tickets and if you scroll up to my finished layout
you will see that it ended up to the left AND right of my photo!
How did I do that?
8) Well I cut it down the middle to give me 2 pieces so merely
created the ILLUSION of a much bigger piece of paper.
 More on that further down!
9)  Can't afford fancy tape runners?
No problem!  Neither can I!!
I just buy the good quality double-sided tape
(the cheap stuff is terrible as the backing doesn't peel of f easily and
this is essential if you need to work fast like me) 
Now lay it down around all the curves of your scalloped paper,
bending as you go, don't worry about it,
when you peel off your tape those folds will flatten out and
be totally unnoticeable from the front.
10.  Ink your edges.
This transforms your style from MODERN to MODERN SHABBY!
Inking is not used a lot by modern scrappers (the clean and simple sort)
but is essential to add the depth required for a truly shabby layout.
My favorite colors are Toffee, Chestnut Roan, Creamy Brown and Dark Brown,
all cat's eyes inks by Color Box and cheap and easily available.
11.  STRETCH your paper!
Create the ILLUSION of a long strip of paper by measuring how much of the paper
you want to have showing at the top and bottom (or on each side) of your photographs/
other papers, then cut that amount PLUS an extra inch for tucking under.
NOW cut that piece into 2 pieces according to your measurements.
One for the top and one for bottom (or each side).
Now each piece will have a HALF INCH for tucking under.
This way you are GUARANTEED that both pieces will be exactly the same
width and your illusion will be completely believable!
I have done exactly that with the Cherry Blossom paper above and below
the photograph above.
I do hope you have found my TIPS & TRICKS useful!

23 comments:

Stefanie said...

Sorry to see that you're being spammed in the comments. It is lousy that a few people make things worse for most people, but I totally understand your need for this. I love seeing your layout creating process, you're so good at stretching things and cutting costs. Love the broad lace used and the deep chalking you do.

Gayle Price said...

Love your page ! Love your explanations and, tips and tricks. You make sense of every thing, and explain things so well. xx

Bellaidea said...

Hi! Great work! Fantastic ideas! You do so well for ST! Can not wait for new projects!

Lizzy Hill said...

SOOOO glad the girl has been found. Now hope she's OK & will pull through the ordeal completely:):) LOVE your tricks n tips....especially using those li'l bits. I must admnit i do tend to chuck 'em...but I won't any more. I promise!!!!:):):) TFS:)
I've gone back to using plain boring old school 'stick' glue - Bostick - much quicker, sticks forever & you can move stuff around even when attached for a few moments:):)

Unknown said...

Helen..
Beautiful LO! Love the flower clusters..The contrasting colors really worked well. Great job!

Julie Tucker-Wolek said...

I loveeeeeeeee how you created that lo! You are amazing!! And so happy that the girl was found!!

Lynnda said...

Great tutorial Helen!!!.... Your layout is absolutely stunning... I love it... as always very inspiring!!!... Hugs..xoxo

yyam said...

Love seeing your process...this layout is beautiful! :)

Desire Fourie said...

Just so beautiful and creative. Thanks again for all the handy tips.
Hugs
Desíre
DS4J DT Member
Digistamps4Joy
Doing Life

ANUPAMA CHOUDARY said...

I like the tip about cutting the photo mat in two. So glad to hear the good news about the missing girl. Have a great weekend :)

Mitralee said...

Always love it when you step us through things. STILL freaking a bit that you cut that flower. I am trying to come up with a OTP for one I have just like it so I can cut it up too, lol!

Jasmine S said...

Stunning Helen. I love the clusters of flowers and the design is so eye catching.

Marjie Kemper said...

A beautiful LO and a great tute... so clever to stretch your flower that way, also. I'm so glad to hear the girl was found.

Eila Sandberg said...

Yup, have said it many times and will do it again: your tuts are so easy to follow, no fuss and straight to the point. Love your tips and trix! and the pretty layout too! love that word KAPOW, really says it all! he he! xoxoxo

Carin McDonough said...

Great tips Helen! I love the cats eyes especially Chestnut Roan and used to use that loads until I discovered the Tim Holtz Walnut Stain Distress Ink and now I use that for almost everything! :)

Denise Price said...

I love the term--MODERN SHABBY--that you coined. It's the perfect description for your style.

Great tips on how to stretch those supplies! Thanks for going through your whole process--I always think that's so interesting to see.

sandi said...

Fabulous lo. So, so pretty and the tutorial is just so easy and fun to follow!

Françoise said...

hello Helen, this page is really beautiful and the photo, I also love all the flowers and lace, bravo! Enjoy the rest of Sunday
Françoise / Granny



google translation

Françoise said...

hello Helen, this page is really beautiful and the photo, I also love all the flowers and lace, bravo! Enjoy the rest of Sunday

google translation

FiKenward said...

Could of sworn I left you a comment for this one last week. Maybe I forgot to push publish. Beautiful page with great techniques, have to say your tutorials are very descriptive and supplying many with some great ideas. Beautiful work Helen.

Marilyn said...

Fabulous Tuto and Gorgeous page!
love how you cut the flower and made two..fantastic! Wonderful work! :)

phamil said...

This is AWESOME! I LOVE the way you did that bloom cutting it in half, such a great idea, and so simple but I never thought of it!!! And the lace is gorgeous, just everything. Thanks for sharing this!!!

Johanna said...

Hi Helen!! Wow...love your work! Thanks for the great tip&trick of cut a flower. :)