The Sticky on Adhesives: Memory Mondays #4

By Vicky Nardone

Today's post is all about adhesives.  When I first got started scrapbooking, I didn't really think much about what to use to stick my photos and other decorations to the page.  Glue is glue, right?  Wrong.

These were my early tools for scrapbook adhesives - Elmers glue and glue sticks.  And that's why I got results like the ones on the page in the right.  I went through a phase where I printed all my pics out on regular letter paper because I didn't want to spend the money to buy photo paper.  So between using letter paper and using elmers glue, the color from my background paper bled through and turned some of my photos green.  Also, I don't know if you can tell but my photos are a bit of a wrinkled mess because I had a difficult time getting things I used the Elmers glue on to lay flat.


I first started to learn about all the adhesives available to me when I started watching Robyn of My Pink Stamper. Her videos were so informative and she discussed the tools she used a lot.  I'm going to try and pass on some of the things I learned.  My favorite adhesive tools and an example of what you might use each for are below.

Zig 2 Way Glue Pen

 Zig 2 way glue pens are great for small detailed pieces.  I cut a lot of things out on my cricut that require assembly and I use the zig for putting them together.  When you pull the cap off this thing looks like a marker but it has a hard tip that you can push down to release the glue and then you use the tip to apply the glue to the pieces.  This dries pretty quickly and is sticky but not too sticky so if you needed to peel something up and reposition it, you should be able to do so.  I used my glue pen to put the bride and groom together on the above card.

Zots

Zots are little glue dots that come stuck on a piece of shiny white paper that you can unroll as you use them.  The main things I use zots for are to attach embellishments to my cards and pages.  In the example to the right, I used zots to attach the ribbon to my card.  They come in different sizes and can also be used to attach things like rhinestones, charms or strings of jewels to your project.

Pop Dots

Pop dots are used if you want to pop a certain decoration of the page to give your project dimensionality.  In the card on the right, I used a few pop dots on the cupcake so that it would stick up from the rest of the card.  I find I used pop dots more on cards than I do on scrapbook pages.  I tend to use them when I have a larger item that's the focal point of the card, to really make the item stand out.

Tape Gliders

I think my Zig 2 way glue pens and my ATG gun get the most use when I scrapbook.  The ATG gun was one of my favorite purchases ever.  Before I got that though, I used to use the mini gliders like the little purple one.  They definitely run out of tape quicker, but if you're not sure if you want to make the investment to buy the larger ATG gun, they are good to start off and they do the same thing that the larger gun does.  ATG guns are good for attach larger pieces of paper to each other and also photos to your background.  In the card to the right, I used my ATG gun to attach the striped background to the pink paper and also the strip of polka dot paper to the background.  You roll the tip of the ATG gun along the back of the paper and it leaves a strip of adhesive on the surface.

So, are you ready to try some of these adhesives for yourself?  Here are links to all of them on Amazon so you can read reviews and see what they're about.  All of them are also available in craft stores like JoAnn Fabrics.

Zots
Zig 2 Way Glue Pen
Pop Dots
ATG Gun
Small Tape Glider

Do you have other adhesive that you use besides the ones that I mention here?  What are your favorites?

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