Card making is hot—and your customers are looking for innovative ways to add a creative touch to their handmade greetings. With the “clear” trend taking over the paper crafting market, transparent embellishments are one of the coolest new card making supplies.

Of course your customers will have questions. How do I attach clear materials to my card? What kind of papers should I combine them with? And what are some new ways I can use transparent overlays? We’ve got answers. From attaching overlays to fun uses, we’ve got tips, tricks and techniques for you to share with your customers!

Attaching overlays
Remember when vellum was the newest “paper” in the scrapbooking world...and no one knew how to attach it without the glue showing? One trick we learned was to hide the glue, placing it underneath another embellishment. That’s what Shauna did with the large focal message on this card. The card quote (“One of the most beautiful qualities”) is secured on top of the check paper with glue placed only underneath the slide mounts.

Brads are another great option—they’re decorative and functional. Shauna attached the “best friends” border along the right edge of her card, using green mini brads between each group of words. She also used white brads to secure the “friends” and “forever” words on top of her slide mounts. (Staples, clips and other fasteners are also great options!)

Other embellishments
Speaking of slide mounts, those little paper frames are wonderful for attaching clear overlays to a card. Shauna put “friendship” and “laughter” behind two paper-covered slide mounts, then attached the slide mounts to the front of the card.

Ribbons are another great option for card making and for embellishing clear overlays. They’re extremely popular in scrapbooking and card making, and make bright additions to any design. Notice how Shauna simply tied knots in lime and teal ribbons, then used Zots™ to attch them to the top of her slide mounts. Fast, fun and very easy!

Using papers
What papers should you use with clear overlays? We like bright, colorful papers with light or subtle patterns. Clear overlays won’t tone down paper (unlike vellum). Since most of the illustration or type is done with black ink, darker papers simply make the overlay hard to see or read. Frosted overlays, on the other hand, have a light white frosted effect and, like vellum, do mute the colors of the paper underneath.

Direct to paper inking
Can you use ink on transparent overlays? Of course! We recommend using StazOn ink, since it’s designed to work on non-porous materials like transparencies. Use a light touch, and be sure to let the ink dry thoroughly before handling. On this card, Shauna inked around the edges of her card with black, edging both the patterned paper and the overlay.

Ready to get into card making? Then be sure to check out our two new additions to the Cardmaker’s™ line: Birthday Clear & Frosted Overlays and All Occasion Clear & Frosted Overlays. Both collections are packed with cut-out overlays designed just for cards, plus 24 card samples each! Your customers will also have dozens of tips and ideas for using this trendy new material.