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I LOVE bling and I love ZVA pearls as an embellishment on cards.....but have such a dickens taking them off the acrylic piece that they come on, keeping the in tact and placing them on my card.....inevitably I get them off and they tangle :( and pieces stick to each other and it becomes a ball of pearls. Most times I can get them apart and get them laid out on the card but never without a struggle.... and sometimes I lose part of the lovely flourish that I was intending.
Does anyone else have this problem? Is there a technique to avoid the tangle and get them laid out more easily?
I would love to hear! Love them! Want to use them! Need help!
TIA!
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I pull them off and gently lay them on the cardstock, and then work on placement without firmly pushing down. That seems to work for me, but yeah, I know what you mean! They can become tangled if you're not careful!
I find this true of any brand of bling shapes. Here's what I do...
I start from the top and gently pull up from the plastic sheet - just a short distance - not the whole thing. I then do the same thing from each side and from the bottom... gently pulling up so that just the center is still attached. I then fold down the plastic from the top of the piece (pulling to the back and down) and when just the top portion is hanging off the edge, I attach that to the cardstock where I want it. I then gently pull down and under on the plastic sheet revealing more and more of the design and I just press it down as it comes off. This way I'm keeping the design intact and only adhering a small portion at a time. (I do the initial loosening just to make it easier to pull the plastic off.)
Clear as mud right? LOL
__________________ Colleen Schaan - Education Specialist at Imagination International Inc.,/Copic Marker
Blog - Distinctive Touches;My Copic Books!
I do exactly like Colleen. It's kind of like laying down contact paper so you don't get bubbles. If you take the whole thing off it isn't sturdy enough and will fold in on itself.
No - it's not just you.
I have found ZVA products - in particular their bling - the be a colossal disappointment. They are like substandard Primas. One of those you get what you pay for kind of things. Hard to come off, don't hold their shape, and don't stay on well.
I pull them off and gently lay them on the cardstock, and then work on placement without firmly pushing down. That seems to work for me, but yeah, I know what you mean! They can become tangled if you're not careful!
Try as gently as I can - I'm rarely successful. But THANKS!:p
__________________ ChaosMom Thanks for visiting my: Gallery!
I find this true of any brand of bling shapes. Here's what I do...
I start from the top and gently pull up from the plastic sheet - just a short distance - not the whole thing. I then do the same thing from each side and from the bottom... gently pulling up so that just the center is still attached. I then fold down the plastic from the top of the piece (pulling to the back and down) and when just the top portion is hanging off the edge, I attach that to the cardstock where I want it. I then gently pull down and under on the plastic sheet revealing more and more of the design and I just press it down as it comes off. This way I'm keeping the design intact and only adhering a small portion at a time. (I do the initial loosening just to make it easier to pull the plastic off.)
Clear as mud right? LOL
Thanks ! Colleen and katestamps716 -- I'll give it a try but sounds like a lot of effort and tricky - when it shouldn't be.....but I will try anything at this point as I have a stash! THANKS!
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No - it's not just you.
I have found ZVA products - in particular their bling - the be a colossal disappointment. They are like substandard Primas. One of those you get what you pay for kind of things. Hard to come off, don't hold their shape, and don't stay on well.
Thanks for your feedback! I'm going to try the suggestions presented here but I'm kinda thinking along the same lines as you!:( Hope in the end that I'm wrong!
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I agree with Colleen. But I do think it takes patience (sometimes I don't have any:rolleyes but I also sometimes use my Quickutz Quicker Poker-Picker-Upper. Kinda helps to keep things steady while I place the bling where i need it. I think Zva's quality is just as good as Prima. I have both and really don't notice any difference. I have issues with both getting tangled. Slow and steady wins the race! LOL!!
I agree with Colleen. But I do think it takes patience (sometimes I don't have any:rolleyes but I also sometimes use my Quickutz Quicker Poker-Picker-Upper. Kinda helps to keep things steady while I place the bling where i need it. I think Zva's quality is just as good as Prima. I have both and really don't notice any difference. I have issues with both getting tangled. Slow and steady wins the race! LOL!!
Quickkutz Quicker Poker-Picker-Upper AND Patience! WOW! :rolleyes: Not sure that I can manage both at the same time! LOLOL --- I'll give this a try too - see if it helps! but must admit, not as much difficulty with the Primas as with these....
THANKS! for the suggestion!
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I've never even bought any shaped bling like that JUST BECAUSE It doesn't look like something I could handle without freaking out and just tossing the whole thing. I'm just going to have to live without bling flourishes. So far it's not killing me, trying to untangle those things might! And they cost just enough that I'd REALLY have to try to untangle them. They are not cheap enough to just toss you know?
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I've never worked with these kinds of pearls, but would it work to use a transfer sheet?
What I mean is, take a piece of contact paper or some other sheet of adhesive and lay it on the top of the design - (you need some sort of adhesive that won't stick TOO well, though) - and lay this sandwich on the table with the transfer sheet on the bottom. Then start removing the backing paper from the pearls. The sticky paper would hold the pearls in place and keep them from tangling on themselves. Once you have the backing paper off, then you can flip the whole thing over onto your project, stick it down and remove the transfer sheet.
It's how they get those iron-on crystal embellishments for clothing to work (the sparkly side of the rhinestones are stuck on a sheet of adhesive), and I've seen the same sort of thing suggested on Class-A-Peels stickers, where the sticker is just a thin outline and easy to deform.
I've never worked with these kinds of pearls, but would it work to use a transfer sheet?
What I mean is, take a piece of contact paper or some other sheet of adhesive and lay it on the top of the design - (you need some sort of adhesive that won't stick TOO well, though) - and lay this sandwich on the table with the transfer sheet on the bottom. Then start removing the backing paper from the pearls. The sticky paper would hold the pearls in place and keep them from tangling on themselves. Once you have the backing paper off, then you can flip the whole thing over onto your project, stick it down and remove the transfer sheet.
It's how they get those iron-on crystal embellishments for clothing to work (the sparkly side of the rhinestones are stuck on a sheet of adhesive), and I've seen the same sort of thing suggested on Class-A-Peels stickers, where the sticker is just a thin outline and easy to deform.
GREAT!!! idea .....I just bought a transfer sheet to work with Magenta stickers....should be the same idea! I'll Try it!!! THANKS!!!
All good ideas that I will need to try....because I agree with Erin K - they are too expensive to tangle and throw away!
THANKS! to Everyone! Let's see if I have time to try some this weekend!:p
__________________ ChaosMom Thanks for visiting my: Gallery!
You can cut the design into pieces and put it on your project that way. To use a bling flourish on a card , I usually cut the components apart with a craft knife. Then peel each piece off the acetate and re-assemble it on the card. No one will ever know it wasn't put there in one piece!
HTH,
Jacki
Yep, I too am of the Colleen clan who don't have an issue with laying down Zva (or any bling on a carrier sheet) because I work them off just like I would if I was putting down a piece of vinyl or sticky shelf liner, I attach a corner and slowly remove the backing as I go along. This is especially helpful with the longer, more detailed pieces.
I have noticed that if I get product that is old (like from the discount bins in a store) these create more of a challenge to get off the carrier sheets. Perhaps their adhesive has become unruly or have been exposed to heat.
Additionally, if you do get a sheet of "unruly" bling, you can always snip the adhesive in sections and just reposition them. You won't be able to tell they have been resectioned. Hope this helps.
Yep, I too am of the Colleen clan who don't have an issue with laying down Zva (or any bling on a carrier sheet) because I work them off just like I would if I was putting down a piece of vinyl or sticky shelf liner, I attach a corner and slowly remove the backing as I go along. This is especially helpful with the longer, more detailed pieces.
Awesome!!! I've started a posse!!!
__________________ Colleen Schaan - Education Specialist at Imagination International Inc.,/Copic Marker
Blog - Distinctive Touches;My Copic Books!
I was in Archivers the other day and asked that very question - they had a tiny tweezer so I asked if that was the answer to my flying jewels and pearls. The lady said "No! Here is what you do: The pearls/jewels are attached to each other and the acrylic sheet with a STRIP of glue/tape. Use your tiny scissors to cut the tape, then use your QuicKutz QuikStik and gently use the broad pointed end to tease off your individial bling thing. Then you can use the end with the sticky stuff end to remove from sheet and apply to your card." Well, it was kind of like a "DUH!" moment for me - I came home and tried it and it seems like the perfect solution. I just happen to have about 3 of those Stix, so she gave the advice without making a sale, which I appreciate! She could have sold me a tiny tweezer for about $5, and I can barely manage regular eyebrow tweezers with the aches and arthritis and age in my hands. (Incidentally, when I used to try to use the "backwards" craft tweezers to grab and transfer the jewel from the acrylic sheet to my card, is when I had trouble with flying bling. They pinch the item too tightly, and thus fling the bling. So to speak.)
SQ
I have the answer! Use "Pearl Pens" by Viva. You can make any size you want and place them anywhere on your paper that you would like. They leave no peak at the top...etc.
Check it out.
Take a piece of waxed paper and put next to bling. Start losening up the top and as you do pull the waxed paper down under it and keep going til it's all on top of the waxed paper. Put waxed paper on page and hold embellishment where you want it to be while gently pulling waxed paper out from under it.
I pull them off and gently lay them on the cardstock, and then work on placement without firmly pushing down. That seems to work for me, but yeah, I know what you mean! They can become tangled if you're not careful!
I don't own any Zva, but I do what Julie does with the Kaiser and Queen and Co that I do own. So, pretty much ditto what everyone else is saying.
Suzie Quzie, darloudaha and Binx = More Great suggestions! THANKS!!!! more ways to try to make this work better! Now just have to try them all and see what works for me!
Phillis - more bling - I have them on order! : )
THANKS!!! EVERYONE!
__________________ ChaosMom Thanks for visiting my: Gallery!
ZVA Pearls - Is it just me?
