All About Adhesives

When it comes to making something stick, there are thousands of options — literally.

It is imperative that the right adhesive is chosen for the right use. There is nothing worse than a project falling apart after a week, month or year.

Adhesive is not a product to skimp on, either. I know it can be expensive and is not nearly as fun as buying cute paper or pretty ribbon, but it really is vital that you spend the money to get a quality product. After all, what good is it to spend $10 on products for a page only to have them fall apart because you didn’t want to spend an extra quarter on the adhesive?

I put together a list of some of the adhesives you need to have on hand and what types of materials to use each one on in the latest issue of Michigan Scrapbooker Magazine. 

DISCLAIMER: This list is not complete … there are many more quality adhesives available that will work in place of the ones I mentioned. In fact, I have a handful on my desk right now to try and evaluate for a future blog post.

But this list will get you started and will teach you the right type of adhesives for the right project.

Click the link, here, and turn to page 8 … happy gluing!

Inspired by Christmas

I find inspiration for my creations everywhere. It may come from a magazine ad, a piece of paper or another person’s creation. I have even been known to take inspiration from a tile wall in the bathroom of McDonald’s.

This time, I found inspiration at one of my favorite online stores — One King’s Lane. Here are a few of the ornaments I discovered in their store:

Aren’t they beautiful?

Anyhow, I decided to try my hand at my own glass ornaments … each one is totally different, since I was mostly experimenting, but I think they turned out pretty cool. I started with a box of clear glass ornaments. You will notice there are not 6 — two didn’t survive the experimentation and met their fate in the trash can.

I coated the inside of this one with a very thin layer of Piccolo 3D Enamel Gel. I rotated it several times a day for a few days until it dried and then I added Elizabeth Craft Designs snowflake stickers to it. Isn’t it beautiful!

This one I left clear and added a bit of Faux Snow by Art Glitter to the inside. The stickers are from Elizabeth Craft Designs. I coated them with Glitter Ritz glitter in cool highlight and then colored them with Copics. I love how the translucent design allows you to see through the back side.

For this one, I coated the inside with Adirondack Paint. The large stripes are done by attaching Scor-Tape and then coating it in Art Glitter glitter. The other stripes are freehand with Art Glitter Designer Dries Clear Adhesive and Art Glitter glitter.

And, last but not least, this one is coated on the inside with Claudine Hellmuth Studio Paint. The stars and Season’s Greetings are stickers by Elizabeth Craft Designs. The ribbon is from May Arts. Very simple, but very pretty, don’t you think?