Embellishments. That's one of the hot words in scrapbooking and paper crafts these days.
"Everyone loves embellishments," says Jenny Weston, communications manager for Making Memories. "These details are how you add your personality to projects."
At the annual craft and hobby convention held in Anaheim earlier this year, embellishments were popular items at their booth, says Weston. "Hands-down, the two most popular items we unveiled were the 'Sweets' page accents as well as the must-have Embellishment Center."
"Sweets" are bright, epoxy-topped charms shaped like hearts, flowers and traditional tags that come in a variety of colors and are accented with words and phrases. They are two-sided, so they can dangle and spin and still give out their message. "They're great for cards and scrapbook pages," says Weston. "And they are so easy to use. You can put them on with a simple brad."
Ease is what a lot of people are looking for these days, she says. "You take something that's super cute and easy to use, and everyone will take it and use it in their own way. That kind of thing is great for beginners, but people who are really into scrapbooking will also find even more ways to use it."
The Embellishment Center is a little cupboard 27 inches tall by 18 inches wide and 3 3/4 inches deep made to hang on the wall. It offers nine storage compartments. The bottom shelf holds a dowel perfect for spools of ribbon.
"No one needs clutter control more than we do," says Making Memories creative designer Jayme Shepherd. "As professional designers, we know how hard it is to manage all the little accents that make our projects possible." The designers teamed up with the product development team to come up with the cabinet, she said.
Another thing about embellishments, says Weston, is that while new ones come along all the time, old embellishments still remain popular. And that was the theory behind one of MM's popular new books. Called "Show and Tell," it takes standard embellishments — such as chipboard, stickers, flowers and buttons, metal accessories and ribbon — and offers clever ways to use them.
There are lots of possibilities, says Weston. For example, glitter is repurposed to create a new look for a sheer frame, and rub-ons over flowers add a new look full of visual interest. Flowers can be stacked on top of each other and secured with a colorful brad to add increased dimension. Small metal picture frames can be painted, glued together to form a box and be used as a vase for dried flowers.
It's easy to get in a rut, just doing the same old things, she says, but with a spark of imagination, you can discover endless possibilities.
"That's what is great about many of the embellishments. They are inexpensive, easy to use. They can be trendy, and they can be lasting."
Here's a quick-and-easy idea from "Show and Tell" for a home accessory:
Take an inexpensive picture frame. You can paint or decorate the frame if you want, or leave it like it is.
Remove the glass from the frame.
Apply rub-on letters to the glass to spell out a favorite saying, such as "Where we love is home." Vary the size of the letters to add emphasis to words such as "love" and "home."
Use glue dots to attach buttons in the shape of a heart (or other design).
Put the glass back in the frame, without the backing and secure with glue and/or nails.
E-mail: carma@desnews.com