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The popular vintage trend is all about combining soft and faded prints with subtle textures and distressing techniques. You might think it’s perfect for heritage photos (which it is)... and you might think it’s ideal for feminine page themes (also true). But we just love using those soft colors and designs for contemporary looks as well as heritage, for masculine photos as well as feminine ones.
Not sure how to use the vintage trend? Follow designer Shauna Berglund-Immel’s lead with these tips!
Choose your color. “These colors and patterns reminded me of summer and spending time at the lake,” says Shauna. “I played up the red in this color set with matting, ribbon and flowers to contrast the softer patterned papers and to add a masculine touch to the more feminine colors.”
Mix patterns. The vintage look relies heavily on coordinated combinations of different patterned papers—large patterns mixed with small designs, flowers with stripes, light colors with dark. If this seems like a big job, use pre-coordinating patterned papers, then follow Shauna’s lead and combine cut strips of patterned paper for an easy, versatile background.
Another fun way to mix patterns is with journaling and page titles. Shauna used the Bianca font to spell “summertime”, enlarging it on her computer, printing it out and tracing it onto her patterned paper. “I love how it showcases all the patterns,” she says, adding: “I placed some letters on foam tape for dimension, and mixed in a script font with the big letters for an interesting title.” Note: Yes, Shauna matted each letter on burgundy glimmer paper. For those who love the look but don’t want that much cutting, try edging each letter with an ink pad or a pen!
Embellish with flowers & ribbon. Big flowers are the perfect embellishment for the vintage trend. While they’re gorgeous on a heritage layout, they also look great on a summertime page. Secure them with Zots™, staples, clips or brads.
Ribbons have officially replaced fibers as the accent of choice—and ribbons are a staple product in the vintage trend. Use them as borders, tie them in bows, wrap them around photos or embellishments…but the vintage look is all about embellishments so don’t use them sparingly!
Accent with brads. Brads come in all sizes nowadays…and they do much more than just attach elements to a page! Shauna used brads as decorative elements, placing one at each corner of a photograph and adding a large brad at the edge of some of the paper strips. One fabulous brad technique features a 3/4” circle punch, as Shauna punched floral paper circles and glued them to the tops of the big brads. One big brad is used as the center of her large silk flower and the other is the dot on the “i”.
Distress the edges. Crumpling, tearing, sanding and distressing papers are all key to the vintage trend. Here, Shauna opted to use a lightly colored ink pad; it gives a soft, slightly weathered look without adding too much contrast.
Love the vintage style? Then check out our Vintage sarapapers™ collection and Vintage Embellish-abilities™ for sweet, soft papers. Classic sarapapers™ and Classic Embellish-abilities™ feature the same distressed look, but in a darker, more classic color combination.
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