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Tips and Ideas to Use Glitter for Paper Crafts

As a professional scrapbook artist, paper crafter, and author, I have taught people how to turn family memories into legacies for 20 years.

Glitter craft ideas

Glitter craft ideas

What Do I Need to Know About Loose Glitter?

I have—on more than one occasion—been called the glitter queen. I just love to add bling to almost every project imaginable. Add a touch of glitter to a simple project, and it will exude some personality.

So many colors of glitter exist that you will never have them all! Start with the ones you really love and add others to your collection as you find them along your journey. The varieties will amaze you and unlock new options for your projects:

  • Neon glitter
  • Glow-in-the-dark glitter
  • Matte glitter
  • Hologram glitter
  • Transparent glitter

Most companies that sell loose glitter have both a color chart and a size chart so that you can select the right glitter for your project. You can buy loose glitter in small containers or sets of containers; the latter is more economical.

What Are the Different Types of Glitter?

  • Ultra Fine: This glitter will float in the air if you throw it. It is like fairy dust. There is an opalescent ultra fine that is nearly invisible until it hits the light. Crystalina ultra fine is opaque glitter that reflects color in a different way. You have to get up close and personal to see this glitter. This is the type of glitter used on nails, so you should be able to find it almost anywhere
  • Extra Fine: This is available in a wide range of colors and has excellent coverage. It carries a beautiful delicate sparkle. It can have a similar shine and coverage, but it's available at a lower price than the ultra-fine glitter.
  • Fine: Probably the most used of all the glitters. It covers well, has plenty of shine, and is very economical. It is easier to clean up than the ultra-fine and fine glitters. But it has less glitz than the ultra fine and the fine.
  • Medium: This glitter is meant to be seen from a farther distance. It's available in a limited range of colors, but the price point on this glitter is very good.
  • Large: Large glitter is not generally used in paper applications. It would be used more on floats than on pages.

Types of Glues for Loose Glitter

  • Clear or Tacky Glue: You probably have what you need in your stash.
  • Spray Glues: Anything that dries clear will work. There is also a specific glitter glue spray. Whatever you use, always remember to use spray glues in a well-ventilated area.
  • White Glue or Mod Podge: most common glue for glittering
  • Double-Sided Tape: comes in many sizes

Use a large sheet of scrap paper in the area below the project where you are using loose glitter. That way, you can gather any leftover glitter. Create a funnel to get all the glitter back into the container.

Glitter ribbon made with foam tape. This gives a new dimension to your products.

Glitter ribbon made with foam tape. This gives a new dimension to your products.

Make Your Own Glitter Ribbons

It is so easy to make your own glitter ribbons to use on your greeting cards, scrapbook pages, and tags.

What You'll Need

  • Double-Sided Tape: Use them in the width of your choice.
  • White Cardstock
  • Very Fine Glitter: Any color will do.

Instructions

  1. Tape strips of the double sided tape to the card stock in the length of your choice.
  2. Peel back the top strip of the double-sided tape.
  3. Apply the glitter, completely covering the tape.
  4. Work (burnish) the glitter into the tape.
  5. Brush any loose particles of glitter off the ribbon (tape).
  6. Cut the strips of ribbon.

Applying Glitter With Double-Sided Tape

Score tape or any double-sided tape is the perfect way to add a line of glitter to a greeting card or scrapbook page.

  • Place a large sheet of scrap paper on your work surface.
  • Place your project on top of the scrap paper.
  • Apply the double-sided tape by removing one side and placing on the area you want to glitter.
  • Remove the other side of the tape.
  • Apply the very fine glitter across the tape.
  • Tape or brush the excess glitter away.
  • Fold the scrap paper over the taped area and rub it in with your fingers.
  • Take a bone folder and burnish it some more.

Using Glue With Glitter

Applying glitter on top of glue is one of the favorite techniques of paper crafters. Here are a few tips that will help you get the best results:

  • Adhere glitter with glitter glue or thin-bodied paper glue. Don’t over glue or your glitter will lose some luster. You want the glitter to float on top of the glue, not sink into it. Don’t delay in applying glitter to glue;
  • You want the glue as wet and shiny as possible for the best overall adhesion.
  • Tap glitter onto the glue as close to the glue as possible to again avoid getting the glitter everywhere. Tap off excess glitter and immediately pour the glitter back into its original container. Let glittered surface set until dry. Again, tap off any remaining excess.

Adding Glitter to a Die Cut Piece

We all love to add glitter to our die-cut pieces, The problem is, the glitter tends to fall off. Here is an easy way to add glitter permanently to a die-cut piece.

What You'll Need

  • Die Cut Pieces
  • Versamark Ink or Emnossing Ink
  • Ultrafine Clear Embossing Powder
  • Glitter
  • Heat Gun
  • Craft Mat
  • Long Tweezers

Instructions

  1. Place your craft mat on your work surface
  2. Cut any die-cut that you would like to use
  3. Cover the die cut with the Versamark ink or any other embossing ink
  4. Then cover the die with the clear embossing powder
  5. Start heating the die with the heat gun
  6. While the glitter is still hot, sprinkle the fine glitter on top. As the embossing powder cools, the glitter will stay in place,
  7. Once cool, I reheated it with my heat gun and this helps the glitter to stay even more. You can do this with any glitter!

Project Tips

  • Use the tweezers to hold the die cut while using the heat gun
  • Warm the heat gun for 10 or 15 seconds before you apply it to the die
You can use any stamp and some glitter to create a one of a kind art piece

You can use any stamp and some glitter to create a one of a kind art piece

Stamp With Glitter

Want to have a little fun with your acrylic stamps? Here is a fun technique that adds some bling to your paper crafts

What You'll Need

  • Cardstock
  • Acrylic stamps
  • Glue
  • Glitter

Instructions

  1. Mount the acrylic stamp onto a block.
  2. Rather than using ink, use glue.
  3. Stamp the paper with the stamp.
  4. Sprinkle the stamped image with glitter. Be sure to cover the entire stamped image.
  5. Allow the image to dry.
  6. Note: Wash the acrylic stamp right away in warm water so that the glue does not dry on the stamp.

Sealing Your Glitter Projects

Once you apply your glitter, there will be some loose glitter on your projects. Sealing your glitter will make it permanent. It is easy to do, and you will be pleased with the results.

You can use a little decoupage medium or some white glue mixed with a little water. Avoid any "matte " mediums as it will tend to dull the glitter. Use a satin or glossy medium. Two coats will make a permanent seal.

Glitter Resources

These distress glitters come in all the delightful colors that Ranger is known for.

These distress glitters come in all the delightful colors that Ranger is known for.

What Is Distress Glitter?

Distress glitter is a little different than regular glitter. It has a more vintage mica look, and is manufactured by Tim Holtz/Ranger. The line coordinates with the colors of the stain, inks, and paints. It is considered a coarse glitter that really reflects the light. As of now, it comes in 24 colors.

  • The best thing about this glitter is that you can add ink on top of the glitter!
  • It works well on every type of paper, including watercolor paper. It is very effective on darker color papers.
  • You can use it on packaging plastic. The light will shine through the glitter and the plastic.

You can use Mod Podge, Glossy Accents, or any liquid glue of your choice. If you ink the project before applying the glitter, the glue will react with the ink and intensify the ink color!

More Distress Glitter Tips

  • Use a cupcake liner or a coffee filter under your project to collect and save the excess product.
  • Coat the project liberally with the glue.
  • Use tweezers to pick up the project to move it to a drying area if it is small.
  • If you use the same ink to pre ink your project before glittering it, you will get more vibrant color and sparkle.
  • It is better to use a wet adhesive for this product rather than an adhesive sheet. The glitter will attach better and reflect more light.
  • You can allow your glittered project to air dry or use a heat tool to dry it.

Distress Glitter Resources

glitter-tips-and-ideas

Stenciling With Glitter

It is so easy to get a beautiful stencil with very fine glitter and a double-sided adhesive page.

What You'll Need

  • Double-sided adhesive strip. Stick It is my personal choice
  • Very fine glitter: The finer, the better
  • Some painters tape or washi tape
  • A stencil: Pattern stencils work best
  • A soft brush

Instructions

  1. Place the adhesive paper on either a craft mat or a large sheet of card stock
  2. Remove the top of the doubled-sided sheet
  3. Place the stencil directly on the sheet. You can secure it with some low tack tape so that it does not shift
  4. Apply a liberal amount of glitter on top of the stencil.
  5. Brush the excess off
  6. Burnish ( rub ) on the glitter with your finger or a bone folder
  7. Rub lightly with a brush to get any excess off
  8. Put any remaining glitter back into your container
  9. Wash the stencil right away with dish detergent and water

You can now apply the stenciled piece to a piece of cardstock to make a greeting card. You can also cut it into strips for a card or a scrapbook layout.

glitter-tips-and-ideas

What Are Glitter Glues?

Glitter Glue has become very popular among paper crafters. It comes in both bottles and pens. Probably one of the best known and most popular glitter glues are the Stickles made by Ranger. Their particular line has 48 colors in an easy to use bottle with a fine tip. It comes in quite a few different finishes too—from fine to chunky. Best of all, it dries flat, and there is virtually no flaking. You want to be careful with it because if you use it too thick, it can take quite a while to dry.

Another popular glitter glue is called Neuvo Drops. These are manufactured by Tonic Studios and also come in some delightful colors.

  • There is another product along this line called Glitter Glaze. It comes with an applicator like nail polish. The product is acid-free and archival. It also dries quickly.
  • Elmer's also makes a glitter glue. It is used to make glitter slime, but also has application for paper crafts. It comes in bottles and pens.
  • Crayola makes a line of glitter pens as well!

Glitter Glue Tips

  • Before getting started with any glitter glue in bottles, make sure to remove the cap from the bottle and stir the glue with the tip of an old thin paintbrush. That way, the glitter will be disbursed evenly throughout the bottle.
  • Make sure to tighten the cap on your glitter glue bottles. That way they will be less prone to drying out.
  • Always store your glitter glue upside down. That way the nozzle area will be less prone to clogging
  • Keep a corsage pin or a needle with your glitter glues to clean the tip if neccessary.

Glitter Glue Resources

What Can You Do With Glitter Glue?

There are so many applications for glitter glue. Here are just a few for you to consider:

  1. Outline and highlight letters on a stamped image.
  2. Embellish scrapbook elements
  3. Create custom papers and backgrounds by adding dots or glitter glue into the pattern
  4. Over another paint on things like vases and boxes
  5. Color a stamped butterfly with your stickles

Straw Blowing Stickles (Glitter Glue) Technique

This is a fun technique that you can use to create fun tags, card backgrounds, inserts for journals and scrapbook pages.

What You'll Need

  • Paper or tags in the size you want
  • Lots of different colors of glitter glue
  • Plastic or paper straws
  • Craft sheet or parchment paper

Instructions

  1. Lay down a craft mat or a parchment paper on your work surface
  2. Place the paper you are working on on your craft sheet
  3. Lay down some glitter glue on the paper. You can use one color or as many colors as you would like.
  4. Blow the glitter glue with a straw to spread it as far as you would like. The more glitter glue you lay down, the farther it will spread
  5. Allow to dry.

Tips: If this is a child's project, I would tend to use the more inexpensive Elmer's glitter glue.


Glitter markers are fun and easy to work with

Glitter markers are fun and easy to work with

Glitter Markers and Pens

There are many different types of glitter pens and markers. Most of them have very similar components. The glitter inside these markers are extra fine, otherwise, they could not come out. Most of them have a brush type tip, or they have a flat tip.

Some markers also have to be activated. The ink is generally stored in the larger base of the pen. The glitter is stored in the capsule closer to the brush part.

When you get the pen, you will need to prime the pen.

  • Unscrew the top part of the pen where the brush is.
  • Notice a ring around the base part of the pen. Remove the ring and re-screw the pieces back together.
  • Shake the pen well.
  • Gently push on the base of the pen.
  • Watch the ink coming toward the brush nib.
  • Shake the pen every time you go to use it.

The Wink of Stella Glitter Markers add a lot of shine. Although technically not true glitter pens, they do add some shimmer to your products.

Nuovo Glitter markers are true glitter. They come in 9 colors. These markers will react so you can use water with them to create a watercolor glitter effect.

Glitter Marker Tips

  • Follow the manufacturer's directions for priming your pens when you get them
  • Any pen that has glitter should be shaken every time that you use them

Glitter Marker Resources

You can make any die cut special with your own glitter paper

You can make any die cut special with your own glitter paper

Die Cutting Glitter Sheets

It is so easy to make glitter die cuts. You start by making a glitter sheet and then cutting away

What You'll Need

  • Card stock
  • Double-sided adhesive paper
  • Fine glitter
  • Die cut of your choice
  • Piece of scrap paper or a large coffee filter

Instructions

  1. Place a craft mat or parchment paper on your work space
  2. Place a piece of scrap paper or a coffee filter to catch stray glitter
  3. Cut a piece of paper to fit your die
  4. Cut a piece of double-sided adhesive paper the same size
  5. Remove one side of the covering of the adhesive paper
  6. Apply the uncovered side of the adhesive paper to the card stock
  7. Uncover the other side of the adhesive paper
  8. Apply the fine glitter to the uncovered adhesive paper/card stock
  9. Tap the paper to remove any excess
  10. Use a soft brush lightly on the glitter piece
  11. Burnish (rub)the glittered piece until their is no loose glitter on your fingers
  12. Die cut the piece with your manual or electronic die cutter

Lift the paper or coffee filter and replace any left over glitter into the jar

Glitter Paper

Glitter paper is fun to work with. The glitter will not flake off, which is important if you want to do fine die cuts. Some of this paper has adhesive backing which makes it easy to work with. While it may be a little more expensive, it is easier and less messy to work with.

Tips for Using Glitter Paper

  • If you are using an electronic cutting machine. put the smooth side of the paper up. That way your blade will not get dull and your cut will be smoother
  • If you can, have one blade just for cutting glitter paper.
  • Glitter paper is heavier than standard card stock, so make sure to use a strong adhesive

Glitter Paper Ideas

Glitter Paste

Glitter paste is literally what the name implies. It is a base of glue mixed with the right amount of glitter to create a thick paste. It can be applied to a stencil or used any way you wish.

Different companies call their products by different names, but they are all basically the same. The paste can be applied to paper and other surfaces. Check the manufacturer's directions for what surfaces can be used.

It can, for the most part, be applied to almost any dust-free surface. Two coats may be required for any non-absorbant surface or to get better overall coverage.

The most popular use of glitter paste is with stencils. The glitter paste is applied to a stencil that has been taped down to the surface that is being decorated with a palette knife. The stencil is them lifted straight off the surface. It is important to have a tub of water nearby so that the stencil can be placed into it. The stencil should be washed as soon as possible so that the water does not stick or dry on it.

At the end of your project day sweep the paste off of the sides or edge of the tub. Using a misting spray, spray the tub twice with water or add up to 5–8 drops of water, then mix the paste thoroughly, close the lid tightly and then tap the base of the tub gently on a hard surface to collect the paste in the bottom of the tub.

If you are putting the paste away for six months or so, perform the routine maintenance and add a teaspoon of water to the top of the tub, don’t mix this time, just close the lid tightly, and place the tub in a cool place. It will be fresh as a daisy when you return.

Glitter Paste Ideas

Storing Glitter, Glitter Glue, and Glitter Paste

Keeping your glitter products organized and stored correctly will keep your glitter experience happy and enjoyable.

Glitter

  • Store glitter in its original container. Many of these containers have pouring sides as well as sprinkle tops
  • Store small amounts of glitter in small plastic bags with zip closures.
  • Store glitter in inexpensive salt and pepper shakers. Use smaller openings in the top for fine glitter and larger openings for coarser glitter
  • Use prescription bottles to store leftover glitter in. They have tight tops that will keep the glitter inside
  • Show off your glitter on a shelf. Arrange by color
  • Use a spice rack to hold your glitter

Glitter Glue

  • Always store any type of glitter glue upside down so that the nozzle does not clog
  • Use a special Art Bin that will hold different sizes of glitter glue in the right position
  • Use an upside-down side of a shelf to hold glitter glue. Use magnets or velcro to hold the glitter glue bottles upside down.

Glitter Paste

  • Make sure that the cap is tightly on the jar
  • Store away from sunlight and heat

Questions & Answers

Question: .Can you ink over glitter medium when dry?

Answer: Yes, it is possible to stamp over glitter. I would assume that you could, Here is one technique to try https://www.jennifermcguireink.com/2012/06/stampin...

© 2018 Linda F Correa

We Would Love to Hear Your Ideas, Comments and Tips on Any Kind of Glitter

Linda F Correa (author) from Spring Hill Florida on April 07, 2019:

Thank you. We appreciate your visit

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