Glitter: A Do and Don't Example

Glitter.   It's basically the bane of my crafting existence.  Once you release it, it happily settles into nooks and crannies and gets ready to attack by attaching itself to you, your clothing, or your crafting supplies at the least opportune moment.  I really regret ever buying glitter, particularly the microfine clear stuff my SU rep adores.  Messy, messy, messy!  On top of the mess, glitter is dangerous for our heroes because it makes the heroes visible to night vision goggles if it is inadvertently stuck to a hero's clothing. 

Here are my "do" and "don't" cards to make my point.  They use different materials but the same basic layout.

Do use minimal glitter if you choose to use it at all.  The best choice is to use no glitter at all, but if you must add some sparkle, buy a lovely tube of Glossy Accents and douse all glitter spots with GA to seal the glitter in.  On this card, I used three tiny spots of glitter glue on the focal point.  When they had dried, I added a layer of Glossy Accents over the top.  Still shiny, and very safe.   P.S.- Thanks to Linda for the inspiration to use a snowflake shape to make a "bow" on top of a present. 

DON'T use copious amounts of glitter or glitter products that can't be completely sealed in.  This card is NOT for OWH.  I am sending it to a relative who is turning 3 next week.  (I'm going to add her name to the plain purple strip, but I didn't want that to be posted.)  This glitter paper from DCWV is not to be trusted.  At first, I thought it was sealed.  I've since had a few problems with the edges leaving stray glitter on things.  I had a real glitter disaster when I put this paper through my mom's Cricut- there was glitter everywhere!  As a result, I only use this paper for personal projects and I protect my work surface and clean my tools afterward.  

 

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Cards shipped to OWH in 2012: 928 blank and 215 AnyHero (as of 6/26)
Cards shipped to OWH in 2011: 1695

Check out OWH at www.operationwritehome.org to learn more about its mission and how to get involved.