TECHNIQUE TIME:

With Amanda Rixon

Shabby Chic Scrapbooking

 

What is Shabby Chic?

Originally shabby chic was a form of interior design where furniture and furnishings were selected because of their age and signs of wear and tear or alternatively new items were distressed to achieve the appearance of being an antique.

Shabby chic items are often heavily painted with layers of different colours showing through obviously worn areas. The style can be achieved by ‘faux painting’ using glaze or paint then rubbing and sanding away the top coat to show the base coat of a different colour. Fabrics tend to be cottons and linens, with linen being particularly popular, inspired by old French linens. Whites and worn pastels are favorite colours. Fabric is often stained with tea to give it the look of old fabric. Bleached and faded are terms often applied to the style.

Thus the essence of shabby chic style is vintage and antique while features are painted white or soft pastel and distressed at the edges and corners by sanding. It is a soft, relaxed feminine style that looks comfortable and inviting and thus translates perfectly to a scrapbooking layout.  Some things seem to get better with age and use so recreating the well-worn vintage look through the use of distressing, inking and layering, then sanding, paint on pattern paper, cardstock, embellishments and even photographs is sure to produce unique and attention grabbing layouts.

 

Shabby chic works well with heritage photographs but it is not limited just to these; black and white photos or coloured photos converted to sepia work equally as well. So read on to find out how to highlight your photos using a range of techniques in shabby chic scrapping style………………………..

 

 

Getting the look:

 

Sanding:

Nothing scratches like sandpaper so this is the fundamental tool for shabby scrappers. It works best on cardstock or a heavy weight patterned paper with a light-colored core. Use a medium grade sandpaper so it’s strong enough to roughen up the surface but won’t rip your papers and cardstock to shreds. Rub sandpaper over just about any scrapping product and instantly an aged, timeworn look is achieved. The direction in which you sand (up and down, backwards and forward or even round in circles) is entirely up to you and dependant the look you wish to create.  The pressure for sanding is also one of personal preference but heavy sanding will give deeper scratches and more ragged paper whilst a light rub will give you a softer, more minimalist effect. After sanding use a soft cloth to brush away all the particles before adding embellishments or photos to the layout.

 

For gentle sanding or small, hard to get at areas (like the edges of a chippie alpha) try using an emery board. It’s great for edges too as there’s more control over where the distressing is placed when compared to a piece of folder sandpaper.

 

Steel Wool:

Rubbing glossy stickers, die cuts or bright patterned paper with a fine to medium steel wool will give these products a more subdued, aged look. Rub slightly harder around the edges and dust with brown chalk to heighten the aged effect. Just a hint - use the steel wool prior to adhering the items to the layout.

                       

Wire Brushing:

There is less control when using a wire brush rather than sandpaper so the brush tends to leave paper surfaces more nappy and rough. Spray heavy paper/cardstock lightly with water before using the wire brush for a better finish. Brush in one direction and the top layer of the paper or cardstock roll off. Don’t scrape this layer off; but let it dry and harden for a rough, uneven surface.

 

Sponging:

Use of an archival stamp pad will give cardstock and pattern paper a timeworn feel. Try experiementing with different applicators  such as a dishwashing sponge, wadded plastic wrap, bath sponge, wrinkled aluminum foil, sea sponge or even a rolled-up mesh orange bag. Cover it with inak then daub onto the paper or cardstock.

 

Wrinkling:

To create a wrinkled texture in paper or cardstock dampen the surface first then scrunch it up into a ball. Flatten it out and repeat the process until the desired texture is achieved.  Most pattern paper is easy to wrinkle as it tends to be thinner than cardstock which may require the application of more water to make it workable. Ironing the cardstock after it’s been wrinkled helps fix the texture.

For additional depth and character tear the edges of the wrinkled paper and chalk them lightly with black or brown chalked for an additional aged or even burnt look.

 

Re-crimping:

Achieve a leathery leathery by running a piece of cardstock through a paper crimper serveral times changing direction each time. Try this with photo mats and die cuts for great looking page accents.

 

Aging:

Use an eyedropper to squeeze drops of tea onto light-colored cardstock or splatter paper with a wet toothbrush dipped in archival ink. Use archival inks around the edges of just about anything to enhance the shabby chic look.

 

Painting in layers:

Coat page elements with at least 2 layers of paint using a lighter colour as the base and a darker coloir as the top coat. Allow each layer to dry before applying the next coat. Once all the layers have dried lightly sand the surface to reveal glimpses of the colour underneath. For a more dramatic effect use a crackle medium between the layers. This technique works on just about any scrapping product that can be painted but works especially well with metal embellishments.

 

Distressing kits:

Scrapping manufacturers like Basic Grey and Kaiser have produced kits to make shabbying up you scrapping supplies much easier. There’s sanding tools and files of various sizes and textures specifically designed for scrappers.

Another great tool to enhance the shabby chic look is the Heidi Swapp Edge Distressor; a really easy to use and nifty little item that has just got to be a part of every scrapper’s stash.

 

Have fun, experiment and try out some of these techniques in your layouts to create an aged and well loved look along with a soft and warm atmosphere.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, November 10th, 2009 at 8:33 am and is filed under Design Team, Product Information, Scrap A While. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.