All that glitters

I have often seen questions about glitter. So pretty, but how to use it on cards and craft projects? First of all, glitter comes in a lot of different forms, and can be used in different ways. I will go through a few ways of using different sorts of glitter.

Glitter and environmental issues

So, lately, there has been a lot of talk about glitter being bad for the environment. I do have heeps of glitter, and I am sure that most crafters have stacks of glitter. It doesn’t help the environment to throw it away, but it might help to use it on something you are planning to keep and keep for a long time?

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Glitter paste or glitter paint

You can get a large variation of glitter pastes or relatively thick glitter paints. They are great to use with a spatular, over a stencil, to create glittery pattern on the paper below. I have used a lot of Izink glitter paste this way. Although this is only one of many brands. I like the thickness of the paint and the fact that it is a plastic bag with a cork. This makes it easy to use. Glitter comes in all sorts of colours, and they can be mixed to create the colour you want.

Vicky is showing how to use glitter paste over a stencil in the first part of this video:

Izink can also be used on fabrics, and you can create fantastic glittery patterns on bags, and on glassware.

Another way to use glitter paints is to paint on paper and let it dry to create glitter paper. Then, you can diecut in the paper, to create your own glitter shapes. This is shown in the card below, with a golden diecut at the back of the card.

Glitter in a box

We have probably all played with glitter when we were kids. Who says only kids can have fun with glitter? As you let kids play with glitter, it gets everywhere. It still gets everywhere, when you use it as a grown up, but perhaps a bit more controlled?

You can easily use a stencil, to add glue or paint, and sprinkle glitter on the top. On the side of this sign, I have used a Tim Holtz stencil and added glue over the stencil. Then I removed the stencil and sprinkled golden glitter over. This resulted in a glittery pattern at the edges of the sign.

Embossing powder with glitter

You can also get embossing powder with glitter. Use embossing ink with a stamp and spread embossing powder over it. You should heat the paper from below, before you heat it from the top. This is to get the embossing powder to stick properly.

Glitter paper

You can make your won glitter paper, with glue and glitter. I don´t really know if I would recommend it in the long run. I often feel homemade papers lose some of the glitter and you do get glitter everywhere. If you only need a bit of paper, you can try. However, I would recommend baying glitter paper. Try and see, and test out different glues.

I use glitter paper quite a lot. I use it with dies and in my Silhouette, to create words and die cuts for different projects. I don´t like the card to be to thick, as the Silhouette struggle with really thick glitter card stock. I also like it not to be to thin, as the diecuts has no hold to them. I often build my projects in 3D, so the paper need some hold in in. Here, I have used glitter paper on the roof of the church, and as a frame for the window in the box.

Glitter washi tape

Glitter washi tapes are perfect for project, without adding the glitter mess that comes with all the glitter. I often use these as a part of the background, to create shimmery effects in small stripes.

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Glitter sprays

Glimmer mist, was probably the first spray I got, several years ago. I think most of my projects had some glimmer mist effects to them. I rarely use them now, but the effect is still nice. You can use them over a stencil, or just choose to have a glitter over your finished project. If there are parts of your project, that you would like to keep spray free (eg. photo or motive), keep some card over these parts of the project.

Other ways to use glitter

There are several good ways of using glitter on craft projects. Just get your glitter out and try.

Have a good crafty week.