Vintage or Shabby?

I love the look of vintage things.....especially cards, albums, journals, etc.  I seem to have trouble going all the way.............all the way to "Shabby Chic".   As I work on cards, albums, and journals, I always think I'll make something in the shabby chic style.   But as I start adding papers, lace, and embellishments to the work, I feel like I'm overloading it.   Maybe I think it's starting to look shabby,  but not chic.   I realize this card falls far short of being in the category of Shabby Chic, but at this time in my creative box, I haven't been able to push the sides a little wider or even get out of the box.  I think I'm going to have to immerse myself in Shabby Chic literature, photos, cards and journals to push through.

I do like using text as my background.  There's something about the written word that has always intrigued me.  (My friends call me a "word" person :)  Flowers always seem to recall the by-gone era when ladies dried their flowers for use on letters, cards, albums and journals.  It is an endearing addition to any art work.

Butterflies are also an image that one sees often in vintage works, whether on a personal letter or in advertisements or on postcards.  These beautiful gold butterfly embellishments come by the sheet full from my dear friend Susan at stampdiva.com.

Lace seems to be the embellishment of choice on all vintage or shabby chic pieces.  We seem to have a large abundance of it on the market and stashed away in all those boxes and drawers.  Artists even join in swaps with other artists and thereby increase their array of laces.  I do like the elegance that lace provides for any art piece.

This vintage photo copy  of a lovely young lady comes from RedLeadpaperworks.com    They have quite a variety of collage sheets available in the online shop.  I really like the hand-written letter behind her and that the "bye-bye darling" showing across the front of her.

I am challenging myself to try for more "shabbiness" on projects and to get out of this box that prohibits me from adding "more" to the art works that just naturally lead to "Shabby Chic".   Does it really matter if we  just call it "vintage" instead of "shabby chic"?    (Forgive me if I've insulted a purist or two out there.   I am trying to understand it and reach for it.  ")