The Sticky Issue of Craft Adhesives

A crucial factor in any craft project is choosing the correct adhesive. When you have worked hard on your design and layout the last thing you want is to have it spoilt by messy glue trails, wet looking or discoloured ribbon or worse still embellishments falling off your cards in the post.
A huge range of adhesives is available on the market today, and knowing which one to choose can be a tricky business. If you are using a mixture of materials in your project, be prepared to use several different types of adhesive to achieve the best results. Whatever type of adhesive you are using it is important to make sure that surfaces are clean and dry before it is applied.
For layering card and paper where you need to cover a relatively large area, try a double sided tape dispenser, they are quick and easy to use and most have refills available. If There are also mega sized tape dispensers for those who use a lot of tape. Standard glue sticks, will give you quick coverage, sufficient adhesion and will not wet the paper or leak out of the edges, make sure you replace the cap when not in use as they tend to dry out very quickly.
Adhesive Foam pads are a great way to add depth to your cards and scrapbook pages, they provide very strong adhesion and by the thickness of the foam, raise items off the page creating a layered or 3D effect. They are available in a variety of sizes. Foam pads stick instantly and are difficult to remove from most surfaces so take care when positioning your items.

For lengths of ribbon or fabric, double sided tape can be cut to the appropriate length and attached to the back of the ribbon or fabric first, making it easier to position. Using a ‘dry’ adhesive like this prevents the ribbon from looking wet or wrinkled and does not stiffen the ribbon as it dries.

Glue dots are small rubbery dots that are sticky on both sides, they are available in a range of sizes, and are perfect for sticking embellishments and decorative items to your projects quickly and easily, with no mess or sticky fingers! Lift the backing paper to reveal a dot and press the item you are attaching to the dot, it will stick to your item and lift off the backing paper, then press it into position on your project. Glue dots are suitable for a wide range of materials such as card, paper, plastic, metal etc. Always make sure you choose a dot that is small enough to be completely hidden by the item it is sticking.

If you are working with transparent or translucent materials such as acetate, vellum, skeleton leaves or shrink plastic then Invisi dots provide the perfect solution. As the name suggests they are translucent glue dots which provide an invisible adhesive which doesn’t show through the transparent materials, spoiling the effect.

If you are using craft punches or a die cutting machine, double sided punch tape can be stuck to the card or paper and cut or punched out to the exact shape or size required, creating your own self adhesive die cut shapes. Watch the video to see how it works.

For envelope making, liquid glue can be used to join the edges of the paper where they meet, always spread thinly to avoid surplus glue squeezing out between the layers of paper. A special moisture activated adhesive called Lick and Stick can be used for the envelope seal.