If you’re like me, you’re probably overwhelmed with the wide variety of adhesive products on the market for scrapbooking! It seems as if there is a special adhesive for adhering just about anything. This is why I though I would give you a quick overview of what is out there and what it’s used for:
Ø Glue stick – Very basic adhesive for scrapbooking is a glue stick. It’s very inexpensive and goes a long way. That is the pro side of it. The con side is the sticky finger part, which is not exactly an advantage when using it to glue photos. If you get it on top of the photo, you will not be able to remove it. It’s fine for adhering paper punches and similar embellishments.
Ø Glue dots – These dots are fabulous! I The dots are transparent and come in all different sizes and have various levels of thickness (for a 3D effect). I use them to adhere buttons, ribbons, photos, flowers, metal embellishments, letters, etc. Make sure that you don’t try to peel the dot off of the paper. Take whatever you would like to stick and push onto the dot and it will automatically peel itself off and stick to your embellishment or photo.
Ø Glue pens – these come in handy for very tiny embellishments or for reattaching little areas that have come unglued.
Ø Diamond Glaze – This is a water-based dimensional adhesive, one of my favorites! You can apply it directly on top of just about anything for a raised glass-like finish or diluted with some water for a lacquer-like finish, or use for adhering glitter, beads, glass, vellum and plastic. I like to punch out small colourful circles and stamp with a mini stamp, then I use pure diamond glaze and cover it 3-4 times, waiting for the last layer to dry before I put on the next. Then I wait about 24 hours and viola, I have created my own special embellishment! This glue is extremely strong and quick drying, so be careful where you put it.
Ø 3D Foam Tape – I love this stuff too, because I’m also fanatic about making things “pop” from the page. You can use it for just about anything, but it’s especially effective if you want to make a shaker box.
Ø Liquid Glue – This adhesive goes on clear and dries clear and gives a smooth and even coverage. Make sure you purchase the acid-free kind though, such as TOMBOW Mono Aqua Liquid Glue. It’s best used on paper and cardboard.
Ø Permanent Adhesive Runner – I love to use these runner adhesives on photos, for paper, ribbons and other light weigh embellishments. If you like quick, then the runner is for you. They are a little bit pricy as compared to a regular glue stick, but it’s very clean, fast and very easy to use. My absolute favourite adhesive! I use TOMBOW Mono Adhesive permanent.
Ø Non-permanent Adhesive Runner – This is the same type of adhesive as just described about, except it’s non-permanent. So, if you want to play around with your layout ideas, this is just the thing to have. It saves you from having accidents. You can also use it to affix cardstock and patterned paper for instance to keep it in place for sewing on the layout.
Ø Vellum Runner Adhesive – Same as above, except this runner adhesive is especially made for adhering vellum as it is for the most part invisible.
Ø Xyron – Xyron is an adhesive inside of a Xyron machine that will attach a sticky side to the bottom of any item that you run through it. There are a wide variety of sizes and types of adhesive if offers and it works without heat. It can be used for almost any type of flat embellishment, paper or photo.
Ø Photo adhesive – This are double-sided sticky squares that are on a dispenser and can easily and quickly be applied to your photos and can be used for cardstock or embellishments as well. This is one of the less expensive adhesives and very clean to use.
So, now you have an idea of the variety of adhesives available and what you can use them for. I’m sure I have not mentioned all of them, but these are basic scrapbooking adhesives. Other ways to adhere embellishments, etc. are to use brads, eyelets, staples or sewing. I hope this article is helpful to you. Now, go out there and “stick” to your scrapbooking!