Martha Stewart Crafts Essential Colors Glitter Set

Reported by Rachel Johnson

If the last time you used glitter was in elementary school (remember the large jars of coarse, multi-colored stuff in the art room?), you need to discover the new world of super-fine art glitter. Martha Stewart Crafts seems to be attempting to monopolize the fancy craft glitter market, but I am not complaining. I recently purchased the rainbow of sparkle that is the Martha Stewart Crafts Essential Colors Glitter Set. The set contains twenty-four vials (.37 oz each) of different colors of super-fine glitter. Each glitter color is named after a gem stone or mineral (like onyx, garnet, and peridot) and they cover the full color spectrum, plus white, silver, grey, and black. The full package looks so glorious, I almost did not want to disturb it to make crafts... but I did.

With the holiday season fast approaching, I decided to make a few glittery holiday greeting cards. In addition to the glitter set, I used a variety of card stock papers, a few patterned papers, scissors, a ruler, a bone folder, my Martha Stewart Crafts Wide-tip Glue Pen, and my fine-tip Sakura Quickie Glue Pen to create the cards.

The techniques I used on the greeting cards were very simple. For this holly card, I free-handed the lettering and drew holly leaves. I coated them with three shades of green glitter after I cut them out. The lettering is covered in the "verdelite" color, and the leaves are covered in the "golden beryl" and "peridot" colors. The holly berries are hole-punched red paper, coated in the "garnet" red glitter. I wrote the word "Christmas" using my glue pen and also coated it with the "garnet" glitter.

For this candy cane striped card, I simply drew lines using the two different glue pens and then coated them with the "garnet" glitter. I made the center greeting using card stock and the "verdelite," "peridot," and "garnet" glitters. I wrote the greeting by hand with the glue pen.

This is the one small star ornament that I was able to get coated successfully... I am still working on a few other larger ornaments. I used my wide-tip glue pen and the "lapis lazuli" and "feldspar" blue glitters on the star. It was difficult for me to get the glue to completely coat the entire surface of the star while still preserving the straight edges between the sections. Despite my difficulty, I am really pleased with the results, so I am going to continue working on my other glitter ornaments. Martha suggests using a brush to apply the glue, so I should probably try that in the future.

Overall, I am a glitter lover and therefore I love this set. But even if you are not, I don't think there is much to dislike about the Martha Stewart Craft Essential Colors Glitter Set. It contains the widest range of colors that I have found in a glitter collection and the fine texture creates incredibly sparkly, yet consistent glittered surfaces.

Pros:

  • Amazing wide range of beautiful colors.
  • The fine texture of the glitter creates a brilliant result.
  • The sample set lets you try all of the colors before committing to large jars of glitter.

Cons:

  • Because the glitter is so fine it can stick to surfaces even without glue, but flicking the surface usually gets rid of the excess.
  • The super fine texture is also easy to inhale and may not be best for children.
  • There are five different shades in the brown and gold color family in the set, which seems like more than I need in that color group... but if you need gold, then that is probably a pro!

Have you tried Martha Stewart Crafts glitter or have you attempted any of Martha's glitter projects? What other brands of glitter do you suggest trying?

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