What I'm Loving - Adhesives
For my first post I'm going to introduce you to a fun little gadget which also happens to be a necessity. Now, I realize that a lot of you probably already have one, but for those of you on the fence about whether or not you need one, I will tell you know that you DO. What is it that I'm talking about...?
The Scotch Advanced Tape Glider...or ATG as it's commonly referred. Actually, most people call it an ATG gun but, since I'm a police officer by day, the word "gun" has a different meaning to me and I don't like to use it for something that simply dispenses adhesive, if you know what I mean. But whatever you call it, it's awesome.
If you're a papercrafter, adhesive is a major necessity, obviously. And yes, this contraption is large and doesn't travel quite as well as a tape runner, but it lasts considerably longer...and the adhesive is nice and strong...and is glides on very easy...and HELLO, it's pink! Need I say more?
I was resistant to get one, thinking it wasn't necessary, but when you see how fast you can go through the small tape or glue runners, you suddenly realize why this beauty is a must. And don't let the size intimidate you, it's incredibly lightweight, surprisingly so actually.
But there are times when you definitely need a fine point, after all, the ATG is not a one-stop-shop for all your adhesive needs. There are many glue pens out there, but my pen of choice is the Zig Two-Way Fine Tip (full disclosure, I've only tried one other glue pen, so it's not like I'm an "expert", but I like the versatility of this glue pen).
It's called "two way" because it can be used two ways (imagine that!). It goes on blue and dries clear. If you stick your paper down when it's still blue you will get a permanent bond. However, if you let it dry until it's clear and THEN stick your paper down, you will get a removable bond (kind of like a Post-it note). See? Versatility! That is important to me because I'm an imperfect crafter and I make mistakes. I like being able to "fix" them if necessary.
There's one more "category" of adhesives in every papercrafter's stash and that's dimensionals. Again, I haven't experimented with too many brands so I'm not sure really what ones are the "best", but I do know that it's handy to have them in different shapes and sizes. Here's a few of the ones I have. Half inch circles, half inch squares, and 1/8 of an inch circles. I have some other sizes too, but these are the ones I seem to use the most.
The 1/8 inch ones are super tiny and can be difficult to use if you're not patient, but I used them on a birthday card recently and I couldn't be happier with how it came out. What do you think?
The "Happy Birthday" is on the 1/8" dimensionals (which took me about an hour to do!) and the mat is on the 1/2" circles. If you're wondering, I got the Happy Birthday and the mat both from the Martha Stewart Elegant Cake Art Cricut cartridge (page 67 for the phrase, and page 73 for the mat). The phrase is cut at 2", the pink mat is cut at 3.5" and the white mat is cut at 3.25".
So those are some of my favorites when it comes to adhesives. What are yours and why?
Get crafting!
Bridget
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