G is for GLUE & ADHESIVES - #AtoZChallenge

Hi and welcome back to my A-Z Blog Challenge – Scrapbooking Edition.

Today’s letter is a scrapbooking cornerstone – G is for GLUE & ADHESIVES.

Glue ranks in the top five necessary items needed to create your scrapbook pages, and like every other element, there’s a lot of options out there.

Here a quick run-down of the glues and adhesives available along with their pros and cons:

Clear Craft Glue

Craft glue comes in several formulations, and adheres well. A fan favorite is Beacon’s 3-in-1, which is used by a lot of card makers as well as scrapbookers.

Pros:

-         Goes on clear, gives you a fair drying time (3-5 minutes), and a strong bond.

-         The bottles are large, the needle nose tip allows for a good control of how much is dispensed on small surface areas.

-         When dry, the bond is rubber cement-like with a flexible hold.

Cons:

-         Gooey - If you try to manipulate the glue while it’s in the middle of its goop-like evolution, the slime transfers to your fingers and neighboring objects.

-         Stringy – The glue is thick and when removing the bottle’s tip, the pull can create spiderweb-like threads that drag your project around.

I’ve had the glue threads quickly become marionette strings, and flip the piece I was trying to adhere which becomes hard to control.

*Obligatory NO DOUBT reference*

(Sorry, It's Friday night and I'm feeling Gif-fy.) Moving on.

-         Bubbles – If you squeeze the bottle too much, the glue gets gastointestinal distress, and the tip bubbles.

This makes it where you have to monitor your glue. Once the glue bubble congeals, all you can do is wipe away the excess, which is a little wasteful.

Here, it's cute - but not with your glue.

Another good glue alternative is Matte Multi-Medium

This variation of glue is almost paste-like and comes in bottle.

Pros:

-         Matte Finish – This glue dries matte where any excess that seeps out doesn’t show. This is great for those mistakes when glue squishes out from behind an add-on.

Bob always keeps it positive.

-         Fast – Medium dries within 2 minutes or less.

-         Strong – It delivers a super strong hold with little product. Works great with tiny embellishments.

Cons:

-         Too Fast – A parallel to the pro, sometimes it dries a little too fast, where if you need to reposition something a minute after you laid it down, you’re out of luck.

-         Requires Attachments – A little medium goes a long way, but the small bottle tends to dispense too much product when working with small projects. An adapter tip is available, but is an additional cost.

The next option is a Tape Runner

This is a plastic dispenser with a rotating tip that rolls out a line of adhesive. Many brands offer refills for the plastic case and come in different strengths.

Pros:

-         Quick – The dispenser allows for fast and exact application.

-         Strong – The hold is strong and doesn’t fade over time.

-         Cost Effective – The surplus of tape lasts a long time and refills are inexpensive once you have the case dispenser.

Cons:

-         Paper Friendly Only – Tape runners works great on paper, but not as well on certain accents. If you have a thicker embellishment (button, plastic), you may want to stick with (pun intended) liquid glue.

-         Breakable – This may be my opinion solely, but I have a sad history of breaking my tape runners. I’ve bought three different brands, and each time the case has irrevocably cracked well before I’ve used up the tape.

I’ve given it three tries (strikes) but every runner I've used has ended up cracked and unrepairable, despite my attempts to handle it gently. It may be me (error in chair), but tape runners unfortunately don’t work well for me.

Which leads us to my go-to scrapbook page adhesive – Double Sided Tape

The good-ol’ yellow package, Scotch tape is what I rely on for adhering photos and paper. It’s versatile and easy to use.

Pros:

-         It’s easy to dispense and position.

-         The surface is super sticky but doesn’t transfer to your hands no matter how much you handle it.

-         It allows for some repositioning (contingent on the type of paper) if you haven’t applied pressure to the page.

Cons:

-         Frequent Restocking – If you scrapbook the way I do, you’ll go through tape fast. I invest the 3-pack and dispenser refills.

-         Holds Tight – This is a good thing in the long run, but double-sided tape holds likes the dickens once it’s been on a surface a long time. If you have to tear up and reposition, it’s usually easier to layer on more tape than to try to pick off what’s there.

And that about covers it - I hope this post held your attention. J

Just kidding – but I do appreciate you sticking around for this important but unsung element of page making.

If you have a suggestion of other types of glues, or general feedback about my scrapbooking theme, please leave a comment below, I’d love to hear from you.

And if you’re looking for more A-Z awesomeness please visit the blogs of other participants.

Week one is done of the challenge! Sundays are a break day, but I’ll be back on Monday with H is for HANDWRITING.

I hope you'll check it out!

-         SNG