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Robin Messenheimer, Independent Stampin' Up! Demonstrator

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A Bit of a Different Style

March 3, 2023 by Robin

Hi, There, Stampers!

If you’ve followed me for any time at all, you know that the style of my card-making/stamping is to layer things up and arrange items carefully on my card fronts. But earlier this week I decided to break free from what I usually do and try something totally different. I think I succeeded at least partially.

What is “Shabby Chic”?

I belong to a group of Stampin’ Up! demonstrators that has a stamping challenge each week. Last week it was to create something with a Shabby Chic look. If you’re not familiar with this term, one definition of Shabby Chic that it’s something that “is or appears to be pleasantly old and slightly worn.” I chatted with a few friends about what elements they expected in a Shabby Chic card or scrapbook page (yes, scrapbook pages can have this effect, too). For the most part the answers related to making the edges of papers look scraggly; using soft colors with a hint of brown or gray, maybe even with wrinkles, denoting something that’s been sitting around for a long time; including some things that don’t necessarily seem to go together; and including ribbons or embellishments that have an old-fashioned look to them.

So off I went to try it!

Fussing With Paper Edges

Stampin’ Up! used to have a tool that made messing up paper edges really easy. As I rarely get rid of tools, I was sure I must have it. Alas (that’s a bit old-timey, huh?) it was not to be found. Perhaps Madame Pele and her Hawai’i lava has it in their grasp. Whatever, I found that the edge of my Paper Snips works pretty well. So that’s what I used on the edges of the Balmy Blue print from the Awash with Beauty Designer Series Paper set. This was a particularly good print to use for this card as it almost looks like old-time wallpaper.

Once I scraped the edges of all the card’s layers with the Paper Snips, I inked up a Sponge Dauber with Soft Suede Ink and inked up the edges. I “allowed” the sponge dauber to slip onto the paper surface every once in a while, too.

Creating With Old-Looking Elements

While the print in the Balmy Blue paper looked old in and of itself, the Old Olive Cardstock didn’t look too old even after I fussed with the edges. So I thought I’d see if the Painted Texture 3D Embossing Folder would help it look older. Yay, it did! I even sponged a bit of the Soft Suede Ink on some of the textured lines to make it look even older.

As I looked through my stamp sets I decided that some of the flowers from the Hand-Penned Petals Stamp Set looked like they could be made to look a bit on the old side. It turned out that I could make them look even older by using one of the dies in the matching die set to cut some Distressed Gold Paper. That did a great job of making those old-looking flowers look even older.

Adding Some Mismatched Elements

Once I put all these pieces together, I felt like I needed something to help make the card front look a little more, shall we say, “eclectic.” To me that’s another word for mismatched when it comes to art. I immediately thought of the grid die in the new stamp set, Share a Milkshake. There are other grid dies around, but this was the only one I happened to have in my collection. Again, I used the Distressed Gold Paper which made them look a bit on the old side.

Finally I added some Pastel Adhesive-Backed Sequins to the card front to finish it off. They perhaps look a little newer that I would have liked? I used them anyway.

Tying It All Up

As I often like to do, I wanted to tie this card front up with a ribbon. But it had to have some gold and it couldn’t look too new and shiny. At that moment I was so glad that the Gold & Vanilla 3/8″ Satin Edged Ribbon carried over from the July – December 2022 Mini Catalog. Even better was this ribbon’s proclivity for wrinkling at the least little touch. It looked like it was made for this card!

Here’s Where I Drifted Away From Shabby

Once I added adhesive to all of these elements put together and adhered it to the Balmy Blue Cardstock which was the card base, I realized that this is where I fell a little short on the whole look. I did not “mess up” the card base. The main reason is that I really didn’t know how to do it. But by then I was finished. Heavy sigh.

But then I took one more step. I decided to make up for that oversight by adding a Shabby Chic layer inside the card. I shredded and sponged the edges of a piece of Very Vanilla Cardstock and then stamped one of the images from the Hand-Penned Petals set in the lower right corner. OK, so that perfectly un-scratched and un-sponged card base is still there. But I think it still looks just fine. It’s eclectic for sure!

Happy Stamping!





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Filed Under: Die-cutting and Embossing, Handmade Cards, Paper Crafting Tips and Tricks, Stampin' Up! Tools and Tool Tips, Techniques Tagged With: Designer Series Paper, Shabby Chic, Stampin' Up!

Robin Messenheimer

I have been stamping and paper crafting for over 30 years, and have been an Independent Stampin' Up! Demonstrator for 14 years.

My favorite part of being a Stampin' Up! Demonstrator is teaching others to enjoy crafting themselves. Not only do I conduct classes in person, I write tutorials for teaching anyone who has internet access. No matter if you're in my area in The Villages in Florida or anywhere else in the world, let me know if there's something you'd like to learn! Read More…

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Robin Messenheimer
Independent Stampin' Up! Demonstrator
The Villages, Florida
808-854-6145
Robin at RobinsCraftRoom.com


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