Sunday 3 April 2016

Stcky business

My very good friend Laura is one of those people that you want to be. She has time for everything but seemingly no time at all - works full time, has a young family, boundless energy..you know. She crochets and sews as the mood takes her. Her forte, for me, is the papercraft. Her scrapbooking is what I would call sublime. She has been quite an influence on my pages, especially over the last couple of years. I dare not call it style. There's one thing though, that I've resisted and resisted until last month.
Glue.
I get it, and as you can see from my to hand sticky collection, I do use it. I stick on tiny embellishments and fabric-y things, lacy bits and tricky die cuts. But only if I have to. I watch gals at workshops using glue like a pro and I wish I did. It buys you a few seconds to straighten stuff up And then I do, and then I get covered in it and my work looks like nursery school stuff. I use too much and end up with globs on the side of whatever it is, fingerprints and smear marks. I use less and the damn thing (whatever it is) doesn't stick. It's a bit of a nightmare for me. Last month though I deliberately chose glue as a scrapbooking adhesive because Laura uses it all the time. And frankly, she powers through a LO and I want to, too. I may be in my fifties, but I am very, very childish about these things.
Crispy, weird finish LO. Left edge is there, I just cant make anything straight at the mo!

Well, it didn't make me any faster, obviously. Nor frankly, did it make me a super LO maker - no surprise there! Yesterday I finally filed the LOs I made at that crop. They were crispy. That's the lasting effect I can tell you about. The rest of my experience was very normal. No one noticed or commented; after all,  I wasn't doing anything unusual really. Only stepping out of my comfort zone! S no, the grass wasn't grrener and yes, I'm a tape gal. But glue will always have it's place. Just not as my 'go to' adhesive. And certainly not in my heart; more all over my fingers.

21 comments:

Helen said...

You had me smiling all through this I don't do scrap booking much (2 ever) bur think I'd go tape every time xx

voodoo vixen said...

I did the glue thing in my early days and then found tape... and then found an ATG and the rest is history... I would not return to glue, the effects I achieve are not ones I want on an LO!! ;) If I have to use glue then it is glossy accents in small doses... and I cans till make a mess!!

Fiona@Staring at the Sea said...

Funny, isn't it? I always use Tombow wet glue when I'm card making, but never ever on a scrapbook page! I cringe at some of the ladies in class (when they are borrowing my spare tubes) and put enough on one panel to make a dozen cards! My adhesive remover is usually in high demand at the end of a session.

Cara said...

Ahh, the comfort zone. I quite like staying in mine, with just the odd venture out into the dangerous areas, as long as there's chocolate nearby, that's good for dealing with fear, or was that just on Harry Potter? Hope you're keeping well and that you have some warm Wiltshire sun. Cara x

Sue Jones said...

aww - I am getting better at using glue- especially for fiddly things and I have LOVED Glossy accents since I first found it. I always use DST for most of my page but also have glue on standby.Your page is fab.

Sue said...

Hi Julia, Must admit I am a tape girl, but am happy to use glue when I think it's needed.

Hope the week ahead is a good one for you. Sue

Ohhh Snap said...

I LOVE this layout! And it looks like you used one of my favorite die cuts (Tim Holtz something about a town on the edge?).

I have switched my glue buying to Matte Finish because I am graceful lol.

Ohhh Snap said...

BTW I have a quilling glue bottle with a metal "precision" tip that has done wonders for my accuracy in dispensing minimal glue (filled with Ranger Matte Multimedia).

shazsilverwolf said...

Hi Julia, I am not a 'wet' Glue person either. In its place, for oddly shaped things, or glittery things, it's OK, but I'll always be a tape person. Too messy by half to be let loose with a tube of glue, lol. Love & hugs, Shaz xx

shazsilverwolf said...

Hi Julia, I am not a 'wet' Glue person either. In its place, for oddly shaped things, or glittery things, it's OK, but I'll always be a tape person. Too messy by half to be let loose with a tube of glue, lol. Love & hugs, Shaz xx

Bernice said...

I'm with you on that one Julia - definitely tape every time or glue dots - wet glue only when absolutely essential!
Bernice

Darnell said...

You're just a brave gal all the way around then, Julia! Go you! It's a great LO and you did Laura proud! I'm with you all the way on the glue v tape thing. (And did you mention buckling?) I wonder: do you think it runs along the lines of dog people and cat people? Big hugs, Darnell

misteejay said...

Great LO Julia. Glue or tape? - a lot depends on what I'm doing and where I'm doing it but I have to say that tape is normally my 'reach for' item...I can squidge glue in all the wrong places along with the best of them LOL
Toni xx

Bleubeard and Elizabeth said...

If I could afford it, I would use tape all the time. But when PVA glue costs 2 bottles for $1.00 (US) and even small tape dispensers cost over $7.00 (US), I MUST stick with glue. I bought three tape dispensers when I made my friend Kathy's Kings and Queens altered book and only got about 50 pages. I've often used no more than 2 bottles of glue for an entire altered book. You do the math. The only way I justified the tape was wait time for glue to dry and how beautifully flat each page was.

Like you, I get glue on my fingers and often on my spreads, too. I'm not necessarily a neat gluer, but I'm very careful when I'm making art for others.

Twiglet said...

Yes, I can be up to my elbows in the stuff, with it in my hair and over my clothes too. Maybe that's why I sew then!!! x Jo

Sharon said...

I'm a tape girl too. If I use glue my projects end up looking like you say yours do! They look a mess - the paper lumpy or creased or not sticking and fingerprints everywhere. Grrrr. I keep trying it and end up with the same results. Sigh. I'll probably stick with tape!

Princess Judy Palmer said...

Oh dear, please don't tell me you started another adhesive war... People are very adamant about what they use and don't want to use other stuff. I'm a glue person too, but understand that it isn't for everyone. A friend watched me put bits of glue down and glue things once. She picked up my glue bottle and immediately started squirting out huge piles of glue. It was truly scary. We've since banned her from all bottles of glue (and maybe even ketchup bottles just to be safe).

Lynn Holland said...

I'm with you Julia on the glue thing, I can't use the double sided tape gun without getting covered in it.

Neet said...

Since I met CS (glue) I have become a glue girl (at my age, a girl?). Looking back at work done a few years ago I find the ds tape has dried up and the layers have fallen off so I became a glue girl. This is my favourite glue, not the best as it dries so quickly and does not give me and my lob sided eyes time for manoeuvre but it does tick and stick well.
Wish I was Laura - or had her energy.
Hugs, Neet xx

ToadilyDiane said...

super layout! I love it! it's so cute.

Plush Possum Studio said...

Such delicate work in that needlework design. Delightful!