Creating Keepsakes Blog

Adhesive Basics

Hi there, blog readers! What do you get if you mix a shiny new BMW and the kitchen sink? I don’t know, but I’d love to find out! Mixing amazing new products with already-have-lying around-the-house items can be so much fun. But  since everyday objects aren’t necessarily made with crafters in mind, one thing I rely on is good adhesive—something that will make my item attach exactly the way I want, perfect look included.

I’ve found that some hard-to-adhere items include:

• fabric
• vellum or clear components
• ribbon
• metal

Fabric

Maggie Holmes solved one of these problems in her You layout, shown on page 94 of the October issue of Creating Keepsakes magazine. Notice that she has included fabric squares with a multipurpose adhesive, such as Helmar’s Craft Glue, in this cute fall-themed layout. Fabric adhesive is available in both liquid and spray forms as well as temporary and permanent forms, so be sure to read the back of the bottle carefully when you make your selections.

Tip: Use fabric adhesive to prevent fabric edges from fraying. Dab a little around the edges of your piece, and the fibers will stay put.

Vellum or clear components 

What do you do when the product you are using is see-through? Suzy Plantamura used a spray adhesive which dries clear to keep her patterned transparency in place on her Glamour Girllayout, also in the October 2009 issue, page 95. Notice that there is no adhesive glare competing with the sweet photos and the bling.

Tip: Another option to securing see-through items is to use a glue dot and place a fun embellishment (like a flower or a chipboard shape) on top of the transparency to hide the adhesive. 

Metal and Ribbon

Supplies: Patterned paper: Ronnie McCray, Chipboard: SEI. ; Ribbon: Cosmo Cricket; Stickers: Dee’s Designs, Karen Foster and SEI.; Rub ons: Glitz Design; Adhesive: Fiskars, Judikins and 3M; Other: brad, nails, patterned paper and screwdriver head.

Metal

I took the challenge on myself to see just how far I could take my adhesive with metal. In this ‘for the mechanic in your life’ themed card I included nails and a thick double-sided screwdriver head. I really wanted to know if that head could be made to hold.

I figured a liquid adhesive, such as Aleen’s Tacky Glue, was a must for this type of job. When the card was dry, I shook it and shook it. I’m pretty sure that after an earthquake that metal piece will still be found glued to its paper.

Ribbon

In this card I also played with ribbon. I figured that a tape or roller adhesive would have the real stick-to-it power I needed while keeping a bumpy, wet look out of the picture. I chose  double-sided scrapbooking tape for both my thick and thin ribbon. Not only did it go on easily and smoothly, but it kept both ribbons in place, regardless of weight.

Tip: When selecting a glue for ribbon, be sure to select a glue with enough stick-power. Therm O Web has some fun options in varying sizes. Perfect for lots of different sizes and types of ribbons!

So while combining BMWs and kitchen sinks may require lots of duct tape and super glue (and some muscle action!), completing a scrapbook page made with accents of many different materials can be easy and fun if you have the right adhesive.

Tips from the front lines:

*Reinforce your stickers as needed with extra adhesive. This is especially good if your sticker has lost its sticky due to repositioning or an encounter with a toddler or pet!

*If you want a brad in your layout but don’t want to punch it through the paper (maybe you have something on the other side that can’t have a hole and brad legs sticking through), remove the prongs from the brad and use small dimensional adhesive squares, such as these from Scrapbook Adhesives by 3L. You get the same look and texture without disturbing the other side of the paper.

Dorathy Gilchrist, Associate Editor

P. S. Thanks for the warm welcome last week. I loved hearing from you. I think I’ll stick around!