Put a little *sparkle* in it!

I love to use alpha stickers to create the title blocks on my layouts. But what do you do when you start running out of a certain color or a particular font? Well, here's an idea. Pull out your letter stickers, along with those neglected glitter bottles that we all own (at least I think we all do), your Xyron sticker maker and some wax paper or a waxy paper plate that will catch the mess but allow you to pull the sticker back off. As a final option, you can use a dimensional adhesive (like Glossy Accents or Diamond Glaze) to set the glitter and create a three dimensional effect.



I have a ton of the American Crafts Mumbo Jumbo letter stickers from a few years back. They came in all these fun colors, but most of the time I like to keep my title blocks fairly unified. When choosing your letter stickers, make sure that you pick a size that will fit in the Xyron sticker maker and it definitely helps if the sticker isn't too delicate, otherwise it will likely rip at some point in the process.



Run the letter sticker through the Xyron upside down and *carefully* remove the sticker from the release film.



Place the sticker on the wax paper or waxy paper plate and pour the glitter on. You may have to rub the glitter into the sticker a bit with your finger to make sure it adheres well.



Let the letter sticker sit for a bit before transferring it to your layout, because anytime you're working with glitter, it is messy! You may choose to set the glitter at this point by applying a thin layer of dimensional adhesive to the top and letting it dry completely. I actually prefer not to use the dimensional adhesive because it takes away some of the sparkle, and replaces it with a high gloss sheen, but that's a personal preference.



One common sense tip I've learned along the way is that the darker the letter sticker you're using, the darker your glitter choice should be. I generally use the lighter colored stickers to cover with glitter, just because coverage is not an issue then. So is any one brand of glitter better than the other? Maybe. I have glitter by both Making Memories and Doodlebug, with the latter being a finer grain glitter. Both work well, but the Making Memories glitter does seem to cover better/thicker. But I love the color choices that Doodlebug offers better. I'm also anxious to try this process with the Doodlebug Crushed Velvet flock!

Have fun!

Jenny