Scrapbooking Adhesives: Stick to the Basics
Scrapbookers can never have enough adhesives, and now it comes in so many choices. The scrapbooking manufacturers offer some very innovative adhesives that can meet the new demands of the scrapbooking industry. Trends and scrapbooking techniques have continues to change, and you need to know what adhesive to choose for your scrapbooking projects.
Photo safe is the most important quality when choosing a scrapbooking adhesive. Make sure any adhesive you choose is archival sage, especially when using them on the back of your photographs. Scrapbookers have so many choices when it comes to adhesives.
Photo Corners: These are the pioneer adhesives of scrapbooking, and they still remain a popular choice for many scrapbookers. When scrapbooking first began, photo corners were used because they would allow you to attach photographs to a page and still remove them. Because photo corners are not permanent adhesives, they are ideal for heritage photographs and anything you don’t want to permanently mount to a page. They now come in a variety of colors and materials.
Glue: When it comes to versatility, glue is the best option for adhesives in scrapbooking. It comes in pens, tubes or bottles, each suited to different types of gluing. For example, use a glue pen for your smallest page elements. Glues come in many varieties, including repositionable and permanent. Specialized glues are available for metal or fabric.
Tape Runners: These are a necessity for any scrapbooker. Tape runners allow you to quickly place adhesive on a large surface, and makes for quick scrapbooking page layouts. They are double-sided adhesive, and come in a roll or in dispensers. They are one of the more economical options for scrapbooking adhesives. You use only the amount you need.
Glue Dots: What would we do without glue dots for our heavy embellishments? Glue dots are ideal for ribbon, fabric and textured items as well. They create a strong bond, and are available in many sizes on either rolls or sheets.
Glue Sticks: If you don’t want the mess of glue, glue sticks are a convenient alternative. They glide on easily and allow you to cover a large area quickly. You can still use them on small embellishments too. Use only glue sticks that specifically state they are photo-safe. Stay away from the ones that are for school use.
Adhesive Spray: The advantages of adhesive spray are even coverage and transparency. They work well with vellum, unlike some adhesives that will show through the paper. You do have to be very careful with over spray. Always put down paper to cover your work surface before using adhesive spray.
Tape: Most scrapbookers prefer double-sided tape for adhering scrapbooking page elements. However, one-sided tape is useful on the back of brads or eyelets to keep paper from catching on the prongs.
Foam Tape: Available in a variety of shapes and sizes, like dots and squares, foam tape gives your scrapbooking layouts a dimensional effect. They work very well with scrapbooking titles and letters.
Scrapbooking adhesive is a basic supply for scrapbookers. Stock up on a variety of glue and adhesives before you go to any crop or workshop. Each project may call for a different type of scrapbooking adhesive. Choice the one that best fits your needs.
Christine Perry is an avid scrapbooker and has over 10 years of scrapbooking experience. Her favorite scrapbooking subjects are her reluctant teenagers. She invites you to her website, http://www.intoscrapbooking.com for more scrapbooking tips and creative memories scrapbooking.
