If you want to preserve the condition of our photos, it's important to do your research for the right tools before you start your scrapbooking project. This means your choice of adhesive is so much more than just for sticking things down. Your choice of adhesive now holds the survival of your photos in your scrapbook album.
If the first adhesive you're reaching for is rubber cement, then be ready to be amazed at all the other options for embellishments, photo, and paper adhesive!
Aside from checking that the papers or albums you're using are acid-free, the same goes for our type of adhesive. The next thing to consider, what type of acid-free adhesive should you get?
Wet Adhesive | Liquid Glue. This is the most common type of adhesive for scrapbooking and what we grew up using most of the time. Wet or liquid adhesive comes in different forms like paste, liquid, and spray cans. Knowing what kind you need will depend on your scrapbooking projects.
Bear in mind that since these are wet adhesives, a little too much might create wrinkles or lumps on your paper and photos. You can control how much you apply by using paintbrushes or a plastic adhesive spreader.
Dry Adhesive. If you're looking for no-fuss and less sticky mess, then look for dry adhesives. They can be double-sided tapes, glue dots or sheets, craft, and washi tapes. Don't want to mess up the back of your photos? Use photo corners adhesive or mounting squares!
Photo corners are a beautiful decorative touch when it comes to scrapbooking, cardmaking, and papercraft. Photo corners are a photo safe triangular-shaped piece of paper or card that comes in a variety of pre-made sizes, colors, and patterns with a sticky adhesive on the back.
Photo corners are available in most craft stores and can be a lifesaver when it comes to mounting your photos.
Photos corners are used to attach a photo to your project without actually damaging the picture.
With photo corners, you can even swap out photos as it sits inside the triangle itself and it's the corner triangle that is stuck down to your scrapbooking page.
Photo corners also act as a nice design feature on your page!
Another term you can look for aside from acid-free are photo safe and lignin-free. These kinds of adhesives will not deteriorate your photos or turn them yellow over the years.
When using scrapbook adhesives, work on a smooth surface. Otherwise, your paper may become wrinkled or torn in the process. Glue as close to the outside edges of your chosen scrapbook paper as possible. Over time, the adhesive can lose its stickiness and your work can come undone.
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Glue can be a good scrapbook adhesive, but you need to be careful in what type of glue you use. Although hot glue is strong and its adhesiveness will last for years, the heat and acidity can harm your photos.
You also want to avoid using Elmer's Glue or rubber cement on your photos. Instead, consider using scrapbooking glue dots. Glue dots are double-sided adhesives that will bond with almost any surface. They're easy to use, aren't messy like other glues, and don't require any drying time.
Glue dots are available as permanent or removable dots. If you think that you might want to remove a photo from a layout at a later date, then use removable dots. For a lot of gluing, you'll want to use a glue dot dispenser. You simply run the dispenser in a straight line and it will dispense dots at about an inch apart.
If you want to glue a small item, such as a tiny flower, you can purchase glue dots that come on a sheet. You would press the flower onto the glue dot to lift the glue and then place the flower on your layout. In addition to glue dots, this same glue comes in lines. Lines are great to use for heavy materials such as ribbons or borders.
Another option for photos is to use photo corner mounts. They are little triangles that will hold your photographs in place without having to adhere the photos to the paper. Most photo corner mounts are a peel-and-stick product.
The glue will fill the nooks and crannies of the embellishment, allowing it to adhere tightly to the paper. One word of caution though. Be careful not to use too much glue. If the glue oozes out from beneath the embellishment, it can discolor your paper.
TIP: If you ever ask yourself, "where are the scrapbooking stores near me", if the nearest is a drive, then consider online stores
By following these five Do's and Don'ts regarding scrapbook adhesives, you'll be able to create beautiful layouts that will last for many years to come. You won't need to worry about potential glue spots, ugly tape marks, or items falling off of the page.
Click here to find out the best adhesives for scrapbooking you should choose!
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