I love brads. Besides being a practical paper fastener they’re also a great way to add a fun, decorative touch to your paper crafting projects. Brads add color and dimension to my pages and cards. I especially love the unique look of shaped brads—and because there are so many different styles of shaped brads, I can always find something that perfectly matches the theme of my page or card. Look how Doggie Bone brads work for a card congratulating a friend on her new pet!

Brads are one of those embellishments that look great in multiples. Use them to highlight corners of photos or accent journaling blocks. I love using shaped brads to create a fun unique border or to highlight my journaling. These Bright Swirl brads are fun flower centers that add dimension and texture to this scrapbook page.

Some of my favorite shaped brads are Hot Off The Press’ new Arrow brads. The arrows give direction on a scrapbook page and work wonderfully to link the various elements of your project. They can work as bullets in journaling blocks, show the timeline of an event by directing to the next picture on the layout, or just make fun and different photo corners.

Place shaped brads anywhere on your project for added color, metallic shine and dimension, or use them to hold elements on your page. One of my favorite things about brads is that they’re also practical. Brads make it easy to secure tags, overlays, silk flowers, ribbons and even photos to your project—while adding a great dimensional touch. And because brads are such an inexpensive embellishment, it’s also easy to build up a fun stash of shaped brads for any project!