9 Must-Have Card Making and Scrapbooking Embellishments!

Card making and scrapbooking are great hobbies that anyone can do. It doesn't matter if you're a child, adult, or even an older person with limited mobility. Handmade cards and scrapbooks can be made to suit any occasion, whether it is a birthday, anniversary, or just because! It's the perfect way for people to spend time together while crafting something special.

Once you get going, you’ll find yourself being drawn into the world of paper crafting, which has so much more to offer than what might appear at first glance! Additionally, there are many different kinds of paper crafting supplies out there, from clear stamps and craft dies to stencils and watercolors! One of the best parts of creating DIY crafts is the beautiful, unique, mostly shiny, decorative embellishments available for crafters!

In this blog post, we’ll explore different kinds of embellishments along with fun and fresh inspiration for you to try! There will likely be an example or two that you haven't tried before, so it might just introduce you to a whole new world of bling and pizazz!

Altenew Embellishments

What Is An Embellishment?

An embellishment is something that is used in an art and craft project to make it more aesthetically pleasing. Card embellishments come in all shapes and sizes, colors, and styles. It is essential to find one that will suit the card or scrapbook you are making at any given time. There are many different types of decorative embellishments, including glitter, ribbon, beads, gems, sequins, buttons, stickers, enamel dots, and pins. Let’s explore each of them!

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Types of Embellishments

Embellishing handmade projects is all about using what you like. You can change or add embellishments to a card or scrapbook at any time to fit what you are trying to achieve. It is important to remember that your decorations must match the theme of your project, whether it be traditional, modern, clean and simple, or vintage. The more you work with unique and cool embellishments, the more creative you will become!

1. Glitter

Glitter is a type of decoration that comes in a range of colors and styles. There are three types of glitter based on their size - fine, medium, and chunky. Of course, the best glitter for your handmade project will depend on what you are making, but it's likely that if you are making homemade cards, then the fine or medium glitter will be best. This is the best card making embellishment for beginners since it’s easy to find and use. 

Glitter can come in many different colors, including gold, silver, blue, green, and pink - just to name a few! When it comes to decorative embellishments, glitter is trendy because of the number of colors it comes in. It’s also great to mix and match them for a variety of occasions. For example, red glitter with silver is perfect for Christmas cards or holiday-themed scrapbook pages.

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2. Ribbon

Ribbon is also trendy in card making and can be tied to the front of a handmade card to add an extra special touch! Ribbons come in many different colors, so you can match them up to the color of your handmade card. These also come in different types, such as grosgrain, twill, and satin, so be sure to match them with the kind of paper you've chosen for your handmade project.

3. Beads

Making a card? Using beads is a great way to decorate! Think about all those times when you have seen beads in a craft store and thought, "Wow! That'd look great on a card!" Well, now is the time to start thinking outside of the box. You can easily stick beads to cardstock or any kind of craft paper. They come in various sizes and colors, making them one of the most versatile card embellishments.

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4. Sequins

If you want to take your card making skill to the next level, bling it up with some sequins! These pretty and shiny embellishments come in a range of sizes, shapes, and colors, so you can easily find one for your DIY cards and scrapbook pages. Sequins usually come in sets or packs, so investing in a few neutral and primary colors is wise.

5. Stickers

Sticker is a no-brainer when it comes to card making embellishments! These aren’t just perfect for handmade cards but also for sealing envelopes, scrapbooking, journaling, weddings, party favors, or just adding a special touch to your packaging. There’s a wide variety of designs, colors, patterns, sizes, and shapes to choose from, so you won’t regret hoarding these!

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6. Buttons

Buttons aren't just for clothing! They can also be used as card embellishments! The best thing about these is that they can be easily found around your home! Wood epoxy buttons are also trendy in the scrapbooking world because they include cute and unique themed designs and colors, and they’re pretty sturdy as well.

7. Wood Veneers

Wood veneer is a versatile and trendy scrapbooking embellishment. Essentially, it is a type of woodcut that is paper-thin. Some companies offer self-adhesive wood veneers for ease of use, but you can always find strong adhesives to stick your wood veneers onto your cardstock paper.

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8. Enamel Dots

Enamel dots are the epitome of the perfect cool embellishments. Why? They’re small, shiny, and not bulky! Most enamel dots are also self-adhesive, so you don’t need to worry about which adhesive to use on them. Some brands feature versatile enamel dots in various shapes other than circles, such as hearts, triangles, and stars.

9. Gems

Gems are small decorations that can be used on scrapbook pages or handmade cards. They come in many different colors and are often found in sets of the same color. For example, if you're making a birthday card, then red will probably be your best bet because red goes with everything! Pick up some gems that will go with most colors - like basic or neutral ones.

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Why Should You Use Embellishments In Your Cards and Scrapbook Pages?

Decorative embellishments are a great way to make your scrapbooks and cards unique. If you cannot find the perfect embellishment for your handmade project, there are many ways to make your own decorations. These decorative pieces come in many different colors, shapes, and sizes, so it is important to take some time before picking one for your DIY project by considering what style you want.

Here are a few reasons why you should use embellishments on crafting projects:

1. First of all, card making embellishments can be used to add color or texture to your otherwise flat or monochromatic project. 
2. These can also be used to cover mistakes you might have made during the card making or scrapbooking process.
3. These beauties can help you achieve the look you want in a handmade card or scrapbook page by adding dimension, texture, shine, and shimmer! 

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How To Decorate a Card

Embellishments can be used to decorate the front of your cards. You can also embellish the inside of your card by using stickers, flowers, ephemera, and scrapbooking paper. 

Embroidery is another popular way to embellish a card. You can embroider your card with ribbon, yarn, or thread to make a striking design. Embroidery designs are often traditional patterns like flowers, hearts, butterflies, and more. You can also use any image you like as a cool embellishment by stitching it into the card.

Here are some quick and easy card making inspiration to get you started:

1. Three ways to use sequins on handmade cards
2. Two cards with cool embellishments
3. Clean and simple embossed card with sequin accents 
4. Quick cards using scrapbook paper and embellishments

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How to Decorate a Scrapbook

Scrapbooking is all about embellishments. These are an integral part of scrapbooking because they help define the theme or look of your scrapbook that you are trying to achieve. You can use stickers, scrapbook paper, ephemera, enamel dots, wood veneers, and many other types of cool embellishments in your scrapbook pages. 

Many crafters only focus on putting pictures in their scrapbooks and neglect the embellishments. It is important to remember that these are just as important as putting your photos in the scrapbook. Decorative embellishments help tell a story and add details to your photo's story.

Check out these super easy scrapbooking ideas:

1. Layering embellishments on a scrapbook page
2. Create your own handmade scrapbook embellishments
3. DIY decorations using stamp sets

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We all know that crafting is a great way to give ourselves some creativity, but sometimes it can be hard to find the time or inspiration for new projects. That's where embellishments come in! These must-have items are easy to use and (mostly) inexpensive, so you'll never have an excuse not to get creative again. Make sure you stock up on these card making embellishments before your next paper crafting project by visiting our website today! 

As always, drop by our All About Crafting page for more fresh ideas and quick reads like this one.