Do you make your own embellishments or buy pre-made?

I am one of those people who mostly makes my own embellishments because the pre-made ones never seem to come in the color I want. I don't own a diecut machine so it's all hand-cut and handmade. I'm trying to start using the pre-made stuff I have in my stash in the hopes that it will speed my scrapping up but I still find myself getting frustrated with the ability to find the right color and themes etc.
So, do most of you make your own embellishments or are you able to find things that work with your layouts in the pre-made aisle? Am I just too picky?!

I use mostly pre-made...but I usually have to change the colors!

When I first started scrapping, I made most of mine but as my stash has grown I rarely make them now!

I would say I do a bit of both. If I'm just 'trying to get something done', then definitely pre-made. Other times I use the pre-made, and if the color doesn't suit...I change it. Or usually embellish my embellishment, if that makes sense. If I'm working on something that I can take more time on and the mood suites me, then I make my own.

Okay, so tell me....how do you change the colors on a pre-made embellishment without taking it all apart?? Do you ink it?? Trace and cut out parts of it from different papers? This seems like it would take longer than making it from scratch!! I can see how I could do this with things like multi-layed embellishments if I only wanted to change part of it.
I often fancy-up pre-mades, by adding ink or glitter....but when the whole color scheme is wrong I just can't get myself to ignore that!

ink, paint, if it's traceable, then cover it with the paper you want. When that won't work, I 'eyeball it', and draw a new one out of the paper/colors I want. Sometimes you can take them apart too. But I don't do that if it's too much hassel. Use it as a starting ground and come up with something of your own!

i like to try & make my own, i dont really like pre-made ones although i do use them, i feel like im kinda cheating when i can just add it or just stick it on kwim?

Even thicker's i want to do something to them & not just stick them down, kwim?

I ink and paint a ton on pre-made ones....sometimes I trace around in a different color or use the pre-made one for a base and add to it to change it to the right colors....just adding distress ink over the top sometimes will tone it down enought for the colors to blend out!


AND.....I only buy one color of brads and always paint them!

OOOH good brad tip Holly! I've been considering doing that, but, lol...still using brads I've had for awhile, lol.

How to paint your brads!
Take cardstock-fold in half so it will stand up like a card (when you photograph it) Use the fine grit edge of an emery board and lightly sand the brad tops(silver ones do not need the sanding)USE a paper piercer...poke holes and push the brad thru.....Paint the brad...stand up the card (with brads in it and allow to dry....keeps them from rubbing against the cardstock and rubbing the paint off.....I have been doing this for about 6 years now!

IN a hurry? Use a hairdryer to dry them quickly!!!!

Holly wrote:I ink and paint a ton on pre-made ones....sometimes I trace around in a different color or use the pre-made one for a base and add to it to change it to the right colors....just adding distress ink over the top sometimes will tone it down enought for the colors to blend out!

AND.....I only buy one color of brads and always paint them!

I haven't tried painting my brads but I have heat embossed them on occasion. Gives it a nice shiny appearance and looks great if I can keep from burning myself!

Yeah, my problem with a lot of the pre-mades is that the colors are too bright and don't blend with my papers. I think I might try using distress ink and see if I can tone it down a bit. Maybe Antique linen would be a good one to use, because it's pretty subtle.

Not sure what kind of embellies you are talking about, but I guess I use a mix of pre-made and handmade things on my pages. When it comes to things like chipboard... I have a couple of packages that I'll use & cover with pp or paint to match my pages. Because I'm blessed with a Cricut Expression & the Design Studio software, I don't buy a whole lot of letters of any kind... I just cut my own. Lately I've been cutting my own flourishes too! Also, I find myself creating my own bling flourishes, rather than spending the $5 EACH to buy them! Mine aren't as detailed and fancy, but they work with my simple style!

Actually, most of the purchases I make these days are paper, cardstock & FLOWERS! (Can't have too many flowers!!) Other than that, I'm using what I have in my stash and altering as needed!