Have you decided the project is ready for permanent details? Or is that decision based on how many of the various options for permanent details are scattered across the workspace? That is an important consideration to make before opening the tube of glue. Beads, fabric cutouts, paper pieces, or clay details can make a decorative craft project seem complete, but they can also cover up important shape, distract attention from the design balance, or leave permanent marks that you may regret.
First, observe your surface. Is your background paint still sticky? Is your paper base still curling up? Is your wood blank still covered in wood dust from sanding? Do not yet attach permanent details of any sort to an unprepared surface. Permanent details that you attach to an unprepared surface will rarely sit right. Fabric may lift. Paper may wrinkle. Beads may roll off or stay at angles, and you may notice a heavy clay detail may push the paint layer under it into the surface below. If you are not sure about the surface, touch it lightly at an edge or test area, not in the center of the design. If it is not still sticky or rough, you can proceed.
Then, place the permanent details (beads, fabric pieces, paper cutouts, clay details) on the surface before you attach them. Do not use any adhesive. Step back and look. Take off one detail. If the project now looks better and/or simpler, that detail was not necessary to complete the project. Fewer details usually look better. Often a smaller handmade card project needs one paper border and three bead accents. A simple painted panel with just a large stencil pattern does not need a lot of clay details.
Look at how you will attach the different permanent details. A paper cutout that is completely flat requires glue at a few spots along the edge; you do not want to overdo this so the glue shows. A piece of fabric is best secured with a very thin layer of glue so a small puddle does not show on the surface of the fabric. A bead needs a secure spot so it can dry flat in its final position. A clay detail can look heavy and can easily look out of proportion to the size of the project. Be especially careful that your clay detail is not drawing too much attention from the rest of the project. If you are not sure if you are using enough glue to attach a permanent detail, test with a little extra adhesive on a scrap piece of paper first.
Take a look at your color and texture choices before you apply a single permanent detail to the project. A bright color bead looks brighter when you can see the quiet background it has been placed against. A colorful paper cutout may be too busy if a piece of fabric that was chosen to be attached next to the paper cutout has a similar sized print and similar colors. Clay details look heavy and are especially likely to look out of place on a project where you have already layered paper or applied thick paint. If you have chosen several different textures, do not use too many colors, as this may be visually too busy. Or if you chose very strong colors, keep the textures of the surface and the decoration as light as possible. It may be difficult to see these mistakes in progress, but once the piece dries and you have time to view it as a whole, it may be obvious which elements are too heavy or busy.
Finally, be patient. Do not pick up or move a project with new permanent details glued on until the glue is completely dry. Glue that is not dry may allow the project surface to shift or the details to be moved in the glue. Leave glue on surfaces exposed and the project flat. Then, walk away and wait. Once it has dried, view the project again. When you step back and look at your project, what matters is not how many details are glued on but how well each piece has been glued into the overall composition of your design.