Brads have become a hot trend in scrapbooking embellishments. They come in many colors, sizes, and shapes. They can be as simple as round and silver, or more decorative, like in the shape of a Christmas Tree.
Using brads in scrapbooking is easy. Just press the brad through the paper and flatten the ends open on the other side. You may want to first make a pilot hole if you are working with delicate paper or materials, like tissue paper flowers. Remember to put tape across the back edges of the brad if you plan to use it on interactive elements like envelopes with journaling cards. You don't want the journaling card to catch on it as you slide it into the envelope.
Brad’s come in sizes from mini to jumbo, and each season they release new decorative ones for everything from holiday pages to baby pages. Most scrapbooking design lines include coordinated brads, as well. If you can't find one that fits with your page theme, try changing the color of a brad. You can use paint or marker pen to easily customize the color, or glue a rhinestone to the top of the brad to dress it up.
Brads can become a piece of another page element. For example, one
pressed into the center of a flower becomes part of the flower. Silk flowers
can be difficult to glue to a page, but with a brad as its center, it's easy to
attach it to any place on your page. Make them a part of your lettering. Use
brads in the rounded part of your letters or in place of the letter "o" in your
titles. Titles aren't the only page elements that can be accented with brads.
Try them on your borders. Ribbon borders are only one option. Lacing
borders are easy with brads. Place them in the pattern you want on your
page. Then use ribbon, floss, string or twine to lace through them. You can
create many different kinds of patterns with brads and a lacing technique.
Finally, they can become bullet points on your journaling blocks.