Helen's Tutorial

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!