C'est Magnifique Scrapbook Kits and Store: Meet our September Guest Designer

If you're like me, you hate keeping secrets, and it's always a good feeling when you can finally tell someone. Well, today, I get to introduce you to our September Guest Designer. She has been working with us behind the scenes and has created some awesome layouts using our September Kit, Fly Away.

We are pleased to announce that Helen Tilbury is our guest designer. Some of you need no introduction to Helen as she is well known in the scrapping world, and is a frequent contributor to our challenges here at C'est Magnifique. Here's a little bit of information about Helen:

My name is Helen Tilbury & I am a scrap-a-holic J. I am married with 4 children and currently living in Durban, South Africa {I am Zimbabwean and my husband is Zambian}. I’ve been persuing my art for the last 8 years & blogging for the last 4 years. I’m a Fashion Designer & have been involved in creative persuits my entire life. I am totally immersed in this passion of mine & have spent countless hours trying out different techniques to find the right style fit for me.

I’m currently working for a sketch blog, Creative Scrappers, an Etsy shop – Berry71Bleu Tags, & a French paper manufacturer, Les Papiers de Pandore. With 2 girls & 2 boys I’ve learnt to be flexible with my style, which is partly determined by the products & subject I am using at the time. I have created dozens of scrapbook albums as a legacy for my children {well that’s what I tell them but shhhh…it’s really art therapy for me!} but I do create cards & mini-albums usually for gifts.

I love strong saturated colour, mixed media & feminine, romantic products – I call my style Modern Shabby Chic. My love affair with paper is completely enduring. Initially I was waiting for my scrapbooking “phase” to pass {and so was everyone else!} as I have turned my hand to every creative persuit on the planet prior to finding my niche!! Now I know that this love will last forever. Seeing, smelling and touching paper actually has a physical effect on me – my heart beats faster & I experience what I call a “paper rush”! That’s why I called my blog Scrap Addict – I’m addicted! No doubt about it!! At least it’s legal LOL.

Besides scrapbooking I love to take, edit and print my own photos, read & learn about photography, watch movies, read magazines & spend time with my beautiful family. I drink tea, coffee & water all day long & listen to my “scrap mix” on my media player while I’m creating. I love musicians who write gutsy lyrics so my taste varies from Taylor Swift to Eminem. I’m so grateful to have discovered this creative outlet & wonderful way of meeting & interacting with other passionate, like-minded & hopelessly addicted creative people like myself. I blog at http://helentilbury.blogspot.com

Here are a couple of layouts that Helen created with our September kit:

"Today's Special"

I'll admit that when I saw the black based paper with the "Todays Special" I wasn't sure how to use it! The text referred to cooking which certainly isn't my strong point - I much prefer to scrap! Then it suddenly came to me when I saw this photo of my youngest daughter, Cami, with her 12th birthday cake.

I loved inking up the mistable banners from the kit {so versatile as you can make them any color you like and they add such a festive feel to a page!} & I added some youthful "zing" to my page by using the banner packaging {the dynamic black and white striped card at the top and bottom of my page}. I used plenty of mists again & cut the chipboard birdcage directly down the middle so that I could use it to frame my photo. It made for a really interesting page I think!!

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"My Flowers"

To be honest with you peach is NOT a color I scrap with often at all - I find it does strange things to skintones - BUT - it sure does look GREAT with black and white photos! I grabbed this shot of my 4 kids just before they set off around the garden in search of their Easter Eggs {yes the Easter Bunny still visits them all even though 3 of them are teenagers!!}. Of course their clothing was a mish-mash of trendy neon colors so converting my photo to black and white was the only way to save it!

I used LOADS of journaling as I loved the "scrabble style" alphas that came with the embellishment add-on. If I have one regret in life it's wasting time on people that haven't reciprocated my affections. I'm hoping my kids won't make the same mistake so I often make layouts for our family album, that contain meaningful quotes which I hope will give them food for thought. I recolored the Maya Road flowers by simply inking up the top petals & I took my flag sentiments & fussy-cut clock (riiiight at the very top, tucked under my flower cluster) from the Prima packaging.