Adhesives are an important part of scrapbooking. I firmly believe that having a nice variety of them is also extremely important. The reason behind this is because we adhere many different elements to our layouts and each one can use a separate type of adhesive.
Since there are so many different types of adhesives, I thought I’d share with you some of the more common ones, and how they can be used.
Photo Tabs
Photo Tabs are small, double-sided squares of adhesive with a peel-off backing, typically dispensed out of a small box. These are best used with photographs, and papers. They work best with any flat item.
Glue Sticks
Glue sticks are washable and can be used on photographs and papers. They are not usually the best choice. They are dispensed out of a tube and are usually the most inexpensive scrapbooking adhesive.
Glue/Tape Runner
Tape runners are the most efficient scrapbook adhesive. There are many different manufacturers for these little runners and each has it’s good points and bad points. You can find runners that are refillable and some that are disposable. Each dispenses a different way, with some dispensing a clear adhesive strip, some dispensing little blue dots, and some dispensing white tiny strips of double stick tape. They typically come in two different types: repositionable and permanent.
Glue Dots
Glue Dots are little double sided sticky dots, available in all sorts of sizes and types. They come in lines, dots and more. They work best with embellishments and are usually the choice for the bulky metals and more.
Photo Corners
Photo corners are the original scrapbook adhesive. Some are self-adhesive corners and others need to be dampened like a stamp. They attach to your layout and you slip each corner of the photograph into them. Any flat item with four corners can be adhered with photo corners.
Glue Pens
Glue pens are tubes with liquid glue inside. Typically available with two different sized pen tips, they come in both temporary and permanent bond. These work best for small items, paper piecing parts, and more.
Mounting Glue
Mounting glue is a clear glue. It’s usually very strong and comes in a bottle. It adheres just about anything from paper, to beads and glitter. This is probably the most efficient glue to use just because of its versatality.
Adhesive Sheets
Adhesive sheets are normally from Xyron. They come in two different styles; by the sheet or a roll that goes into a Xyron machine. Refills are available for the Xyron machines, and the adhesive sheets are sold in different sized packs. These work best on any flat item and are usually best on larger items where a greater coverage is needed.