Glitter is a medium which can add sparkle and light to any project, but there is sometimes some confusion about the best way to get it to adhere to your projects. The truth is, there are several ways, depending on what look you want to achieve. There are glues, adhesive sheets, even tape runners will work wonderfully.

Glue Pads are a great way to use glitter on a stamped image. You simply ink the stamp using the glue pad just as you would any ink pad. After you stamp the image however, you lightly heat the stamped image to activate the glue and make it tacky. Then it is ready to receive your glitter. You can then heat set the glue, however, be careful as to not overheat and cause your glitter to burn off. Glue pads come in both black and clear and can be purchased through Sarilyn Crafts The picture above shows light blue glitter on an image stamped with a black glue pad, and with a clear glue pad.

You can also use a pigment ink pad or Versamark pad as you would for any embossed image, then use a product by Judikins called Sticky Stuff, which is an embossing powder that becomes sticky when heated before it dries, and holds glitter (gold leaf, foils, micro beads, etc.). After adding the glitter, heat it lightly again to dry it. Another method you can use is to use a glue with a fine line dispenser and after stamping your image with a dye ink pad, lightly trace over the image with the glue and then cover with glitter. These two methods are shown in the image above and also use the same light blue glitter.

If you want to make lines or boxes, you can use your tape runner and then glitter the lines or shape you create. You can also purchase adhesive sheets which can be cut to shape (among other methods) and used to hold your glitter. Lastly, as pictured above, you can buy adhesive designs to add instant glamour to your project. These are easy to use, just pick your placement of colors and you can easily make a wonderful project. Above I used a Holly Leaves Design Adhesive and red and green glitters. I then used a gold glitter over the entire design to add a touch of elegance. All glitters used in the pictures above are microfine glitters.

By far, the easiest way to add glitter to your project is with a wonderful product by Ranger called stickles. It comes in many colors and styles, goes on like glue, and dries flat, leaving you with a glittery colorful design. The glitter iteslf is not as dense as it is in the other methods, but they are very fun and easy to use, and produce wonderful results.

All products used above can be purchased at Sarilyn Crafts