embellishment

Doodlebug Goodie Box HALLOWEEN Embellishments For Scrapbooking, Card Making & Craft Projects
$9.29
Get really spooky with this adorable collection of Halloween embellishments by Doodlebug Designs. Contains 1 jellishment - 8 buttons - 1 yard of ribbon - a pinch of sequins - 25 mini brads - 4 mini silk flowers. Scrapbook friendly / acid, lignin and pvc free. The cute box can be used over and over again. Other Doodlebug Goodie Boxes sold separately.

Diecuts With A View Chipboard Embellishments Boxed Travel Shapes and Letters, Textures 101Pieces
$8.99
Chipboard Embellishments Box includes die-cut chipboard shapes and letters in a convenient box for storage. Includes 101 textured pieces. Theme: Travel. Made in China.

Complete Embellishing: Techniques and Projects
$24.95
I anxiously awaited this book, having ordered it sight unseen based on the rave reviews (friends perhaps?), but I keep glancing through it and finding little I like about it- except the terrific binding and layout from the publisher. The pictures are good, but they are repeated several times. I was expecting a book about every embellishment I could think of- and then some- for art quilting. However, the bulk of the book is made up of 'how to's' for such basics as sewing, embroidry stitches, crochet stitches, patchwork, and (what I really DID need to know)...Painting and Etching- but GLASS not fabric! Glass?? All the rest of the book concernes sewing...if one is going to toss in glass why not wood, paintings on canvas, metal, etc? I really could have used some techniques on painting on fabric (like with shiva art sticks or fabric paints), but they are not even mentioned. The book does mention however printing on fabric with potatos.

To be more specific about the how-to section, as an example, in the crochet section, instead of having patterns for tiny roses and leaves and stems, they had page after page of nothing but basic crochet stitches. So it is not 'how to use crochet for embellishing', it is 'how to crochet'. In the one crochet related project, a couple of small flowers were added to a headband, but so much more could have been done, if the reader is shown what they can do with it.

Also not mentioned, are using items like glitter, feathers, shells, and tiny ornaments. Very little is said about using buttons or the huge number of decorative buttons that are out there. So much more could be done with beading. Or simply using yarn, etc. I would have loved lots of pictures of examples of things, but very little in the way of examples were shown except for specific projects. Which brings me to the projects. I love artistic and creative art- especially folk art, but almost all of the projects made me wonder who on earth would want to try to reproduce that exact project or even anything similar.

I buy a huge number of books, and never ever return them- I can find something good in all of them. But this one is NOT a keeper, despite the low cost and the fact that I will have to pay for a box and shipping to return it. I think young teens who love to be artistic and have very little background in the basics could get a lot out of the book, but it does not seem geared toward the older adult.

Uchida RPT900 Paper Trimming Buddy Portable Paper Trimmer
$29.99
I purchased this trimmer some time ago and have tried others. I love the ease of changing the blades for this trimmer, the many different blades and the optional handle I received. I have given away my other trimmers since this is the only one I now use.