Scrapbook’em

Submitted - September 17, 2010

Lets’ get distressed!

When you are scrapbooking do you ever wonder how some projects have a vintage look to them? We are going to share several techniques so you can create that look in your own projects.

To give your paper an aged look, crumple your paper up into a ball carefully so that your paper doesn’t get torn. Light weight 12×12 paper works best for this project. After you uncrumple the paper you lightly flatten it out. To add dimension to your paper you can take your ink pad and lightly go over all of the creases that were just made. Now your paper looks aged.

You can do the same techniques above with your paper but this time use card stock. It works better if the cardstock has a white core. After you uncrumple the paper this time you can take your sanding block or file boards and lightly sand the crease. Then you can choose to leave the creases white or ink them for two completely different looks.

Another technique to add the age look to a project is to tear or rip the sides of your paper. There are a variety of tools out there to help you in this tearing process if you feel uncomfortable doing it on your own. For a more uniform look you can purchase tearing rulers or the Zutter Distress All. Inking or chalking your raw edges makes your project appear to be older. Tearing towards or tearing away from you gives you two completely different looks.

If you would like to add coordinating chipboard embellishments to your project first cover the chipboard with coordinating paper. Next take you distressing file and file the edges of your letters or other embellishments to finish your project.

As always if you want more instructions or want to try some of these items before you buy, ask you local scrapbook store to “show you how”. Basic Grey and Tim Holtz are two lines of products that are well known for distressing.

Make sure you keep a box of your scraps from your projects so you can experiment with the distressing look you want.