Make your own custom “flairs” or brads

 

 

So, I’ve been getting into the world of paper scrapping/project life embellishments lately and since this is all new to me, I’m finding that I’m getting quite obsessed with little things that never really interested me that much when I was a digital scrapper.

 

Amongst them are flairs. Oh boy! The little button type ones, not the pins. I could go nuts in some of those Etsy shops. Unfortunately they are also quite expensive. I’m not saying that they are unreasonably expensive, because they are quite work intensive to make, but I really can’t justify spending about a dollar a piece, however cute they are. At least not at the rate I want to use them!

 

So I looked into making my own, but of course that didn’t pan out at all, as the machines are $300 and up and then there are the supplies, etc. Totally not an option unless I want to go into selling them, and well I’m not at this point in time!

 

There are some smaller, cheaper kits available, but apparently you can’t buy more supplies once you are through your kit, which makes them even more expensive than the cute ones on Etsy.

 

So, I thought I still have some of the mod podge  dimensional magic, so I thought I’d try and make my own buttons. Well, without boring you with too many details, it didn’t end well.  Smudging, bubbles, everything running all over the place and then once fully dried, the whole thing distorted and never laid flat again. Total fail on that one!

 

It did cross my mind to do what I did with some fridge magnets years ago - just use the clear glass pebbles for flower vases and such, but they are just too high for a project life folder and it would really bulge them and not look good at all.

 

So, I almost gave in and decided I was just going to get a couple of sets from Etsy and treat them like gold (read: hoard them in my stash and not use them) - when I came across these little beauties!

 

 

They are clear, 1” round bubble Epoxy Bubble Stickers! See how they are not too high at all?!

 

 

Perfect,  right! And they are self-adhesive, so any kind of issues of  ink jet printed pictures smudging are non-existent! And they don’t turn yellow and are therefor ideal for scrapbooking and crafting!

I got 200 of them for $14.90 + s/h and now can make my own “flair” buttons to my heart’s content! That’s 7 cents per “flair”/brad (as opposed to $1,) plus whatever paper or ink I use to print or add to it, but that is minimal!

I used my Silhouette Craft Cutter to make some buttons as a print & cut and then just attached to the bottom of the clear bubbles! Voila, custom “flairs”!

 

 

And these are super easy to make up on the spot too. You can add photos to it, anything you can print and punch or cut into a 1” circle. Or draw. Or stamp for that matter! Or any kind of scrap paper you want to use! You could even use the clear bubbles as they are and adhere them for emphasis on photos, layouts or journaling cards!

 

 

So needless to say, I am a happy scrapper right now! With about 200 flairs/brads/decorative buttons at my disposal! And not only is all this much cheaper, it is so much more versatile, which I totally love!

 

Chances are I am the last one to catch on to these epoxy stickers, but maybe there are a few others of you out there, who don’t know about them yet and would be as excited as I am, to have them in their stash!

 

After doing a search on Amazon, and have since found them even cheaper than the ones I purchased (5 cents a flair/brad) and in smaller quantities for the 1" round (50), square and oval (and a few other shapes) in case anyone is interested!

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