Making embellishments

Not sure if it's considered "embellishments" or not. I make frames.

With my We r memory keeper circle cutter, I made bigger frames and medium size frames with a thick edge(so I can put alphabet letter titles on there).

A few months ago, I got a Sizzix big shot, with circle-square-rectangle dies....so that I can make frames. Played around with it once so far, still figuring it out.

I always struggle when there’s not enough embellishments in a kit.

If there’s patterned paper or a journaling card with elements that are large enough, I’ll cut them out and use them.

I have a big stash of label die cuts, I’ll stamp on them and then use something to jazz it up, like some enamel dots😊. Or, put the day, date or a relevant word in letter stickers on the label.

In the same vein, I’ll take a tag or cut one and do the same.

Sometimes just a bit of ribbon or fiber will work - wrapped around a picture or stapled/glued.

A date stamp stamped a few times is good in a pinch.

I’ll add a tab to the top of a picture or journal card and use one of those skinny words stickers that come on those pesky word sticker sheets.

That’s all I can think of at the moment!

I do a lot with tags, stamps and twine. But I love this thread and have already picked up a couple of ideas!

I make most of my own embellishments:

*Frames (I use the We R Makers Frame Punch board)
*Stamped or stenciled journaling blocks
*Stamped and / or die cut flowers and other images
*Die cut tags
*Die cut and / or punched borders
*Stamped and / or die cut labels
*Hand stitching or hand crocheting on page edges, photo frames, and random other places
*Beaded and handmade tassels for the spines of mini albums

Lately I have dispensed with letter stickers and have started doing my page titles and even some of my journaling digitally. The upsides to this: No more storing oddball letters; no more improvising not-quite-ideal page titles after realizing I don't have all the letter stickers needed to make the title I really wanted to use; and no more struggles over getting all the letters perfectly aligned with each other. Plus I am saving a small fortune over what I used to spend on letter stickers, because I am integrating my page titles into my photos. This means I am spending the same amount on photos that I used to but also getting my page titles done for the amount I'm spending there. The downside is that photo editing got a lot more complicated and time consuming than it used to be.

I use a lot of label stickers.
Either for a snippet of journaling, a stamped phrase or date, or as the base of a cluster.

I always think I'll use a lot of embellishments but it's mostly labels, enamel dots and word strips!
I like the Elle's Studio kits because there's just enough generic die cuts to work for almost any kind of photo.

Yes, I make my own embellishments, more often than not these days.

When I started scrapbooking, I didn’t live near any LSS, but I had stamps. The CM rep obviously thought I was a heretic for stamping on my pages, but patterned papers were really limited (and not nearly as nice), and I was a stamper for at least 10 years before I became a scrapbooker. I was also one of the first to get an electronic cutter. They have become far more capable since those days, and it’s even easier to make your own embellishments now.

During the in between years of my early scrapbooking days and now, there were several years when I had a scrapbook store, and I was happy to buy pre-made embellishments, but I no longer live near one, and TM closed. I am more likely to make my own embellishments again, although I still have a bunch in my stash that I use when they fit my project.

I tend to make my own embellishments because I’m cheap and resent paying what is often silly prices for stickers, chipboard, etc. 😁 I always make titles from the several dozen alphabet die sets I’ve bought from Ali Express in all styles and sizes. I triple cut each letter so that they have the weight and depth of chipboard. 

I die cut flowers, tags, labels, stars, arrows, etc. Sometimes I’ll punch a couple of small holes in a layered shape to make it look like a button. I’ll cut leaves and vines and borders, and use distress oxides or alcohol markers to colour them. I have lots of sticky gems and pearls to add, and sometimes I’ll use markers to change the colour of them. 

I use stencils to enhance backgrounds or add a pattern to a label or tag. Sometimes I’ll use them to add texture, either with heat embossing or mixed media type materials. 

There’s probably more, but it’s nearly 2am and too late to go and pull out the albums! 😄

One of my favorites is making mini envelopes as you can put so many things in/on them. If you haven't already, searching Pinterest for "handmade embellishments" brings up all kinds of fun goodies!

Does anyone remember when Studio Calico cork embellishments were the trendy thing? Usually some nautical icon in white on a cork circle. I bought a roll of sticky backed thin cork at Michaels and went to town using dies and punches and stamps to create my own.

When you look at inspiration, what would you buy if money was no object? Is it something you can recreate with the supplies you have? I love to make my own embellishments. My favorite is labels. I have a label punch and quite a few label stamps. I can stamp the size I need in the color I want. If I want to print journaling on the label, I print it then stamp around it and cut out. Best of both worlds!

I don’t use many embellishments in PL - I don’t want my pages thick and I don’t want to devote hours on one spread. So Washi tape and flat die cuts are my favorite. I am a firm believer that PL doesn’t have to be a perfect spread each time. By the end of the year, the colors all work together and it just flows the way it needs to. If I overthink it - especially this early in the year - I would never complete the album.

I do both of these as well as use my Cricut and QK. I've also been loving the sheets Scrapbook Generation has with their own paper collections that are designed to be cut apart for embellishments. I occasionally stamp -I need to do that more often...I have an abundance of stamps both clear and wooden block. I'm trying to remember to use my embossing folders more as well.

I still buy pre-made embellishments but like others have mentioned -colour-wise or size wise - they don't always work where I want them so I'm trying to get more selective when buying

Ohhh...I love the idea of making photo corners. This will be great for layouts where I am trying to combine square cornered cards and those with rounded corners--just cover up the round corners.

I'll sometimes take a scrap of paper or a 6x6 sheet and punch out/cut shapes to use across the layout. It can help to unify a layout where I'm trying to bring a bunch of colors together.

I hate the rounded corners also, but they can be trimmed or fussy cut and layered on top of other cards also. Elle studio and Traci Reed are great sources of inspo for doing that.