Love Um or Leave Um: To Glue or not To Glue Act 2

Hello Everyone,
 First I want to thank you all for the glue suggestions, but I still have a few more liquid glues in my arsenal. So after using up must of my glue stash I went on the search for more glue.  This time I also wanted something that would work on small die cut pieces.

These next three are glues a lot of crafters love, I kind  of feel bad, but I found they were just not for me.  LEAVE UM!!  And heres why.
 Tombo's Mono multi- this glue has two really cool ways to apply the glue to a project, one small applicator and a bigger one on the opposite end that also allows you to spread the glue out without making a mess.(Me like) This glue worked really well, but for small applications if you did not put a very little it oozed out from under a die cut(dries shiny) and I found myself never reaching for it for bigger projects because I felt I would go through it too fast.
  Zip Dry- Everyone loves Zip Dry my sister-in-law and I were told when we bought this glue at our local shop while scrap booking.  We told them we wanted the glue to adhere paper to chip board to make a book and they said it works great.  Well we used the glue in the store and were not happy.  It was like a clear, smelly rubber cement, and it was drying before we got the whole area covered.  It was oozy and gooey, but it did come off our hands without a big ordeal. We weighted down the book covers and let them dry.  When we looked at them the paper looked fine at first but soon began to pucker in the middle.  No more Zip Dry for use.
  Quickie Glue pen- This pen worked but not for what I wanted it for.  If you want to write a word and quickly cover it with glitter, this is the pen for you.  I wanted to adhere die cuts and found that it dried before I was finished covering the die cut. It also did not last very long.

But there is good glue news brewing and here it is. My go to liquid glues LOVE UM, LOVE UM, LOVE UM!!!

So it took a while but I am pretty happy with these glues.  That's also why I am posting, so that many new crafters can have a place to start their search for glue. I'm talking about the glues from left to right in the picture.

  Zig two way glue- these are the blue tubes. I use these for all my small die cute pieces and I have never had a problem with oozing or pieces not staying stuck.(I use the big chisel only to re-sticky my mattes)
  Scotch Quick Dry Adhesive- Yeah, quick dry(no one likes to sit and wait for glue to dry) and it's true, you have a very little window to remove or reposition your object. The bottle also has a small tip applicator (never had a problem with clogging)so that glue only goes where you want it to go. This is the glue I use to make chip board albums and book covers.
  FABRI-TAC permanet adhesive(acid and lignin free)- This glue is like a combo of rubber cement(a little smelly)/hot glue(It does make strings) Very, very easy clean up, it rolls off your fingers.  Make sure you get the newer bottle which has a long pin point tip, the older bottle style has a wider opening about 1/4 and your glue would dry up in the bottle.( Glad they fixed it) This glue works really well for attaching ribbon, felt, flowers of any material, and it will not pop off going through the mail. I've also used it on paper. It does not seep through the ribbon, you need very little, and you have some move time.
  Glossy Accents- this is technically not a glue but a clear dimensional embellishment. I love the small fine tip applicator and I hate it. My tip seems to be always clogged so I keep a small needle near by. Glossy accents gives major pop to die cuts, stamped images, chip board,plus much more and it acts like a glue. I use it as a glue for bigger objects like metal frames, metal words, big buttons, and to glue paper to acrylic tags or pieces. The major down side is it takes a long time to dry (hours depending on the size), but the results are worth it, and that's why I won't leave um.
Well there you go, the end of my Liquid glue Saga.  I hope you enjoyed and CRAFT ON!

Color Snob

Hello Everyone,
 Ok, ladies this is my silly post for the month.  I would like to know by a show of comments, is it me or are you on this craftin band wagon too?  How many of you see a new product, be it tool, glue holder, what ever and want it and one of the first things that pops into your made is, if only it came in my favorite color? I feel that way all to often and it makes me sick when it does come out in my color 4 months latter, after I have bought it or I have to custom color it my self.(My ATG gun Post)  Ok, how many of you have bought it twice to get the color you want? I can say I have only done that once. The nice thing is the crafting world is hearing us loud and clear, no more gray and orange or just plain black.  Enjoy your evening and Craft On!

Crafty Cardmakers Challenge 32 Use a Freebie

Hello Everyone,
 Sorry I'm late with this. This is a very simple card but I loved the free image I got from Archivers over 7 months ago.  I used a 5 1/2 by 81/2 (I had the wrong measurements on CCM)card scored at 3inch and 6 inches and made into a tri fold. I also added a mat for writing  in the card. The image is pop dotted and I added a Copic blender pen affect to the flower and some PTI ribbon. Come check out what my team members have created at Crafty Cardmarkers.  Enjoy and Craft O!

Love Um or Leave Um: To Glue or not to Glue- Act 1

Hello Everyone,
  So how many different glues do you have in your crafting arsenal? Ok, I love to craft, but I don't like to spend money on a product that's not going to serve my purposes or meet my needs.  In an effort to help other crafters do the same I am doing a series of blogs on crafting supplies and tools called Love Um or Leave Um. In the end the final choice is up to you, I am only giving my humble opinion.

 So let's talk liquid, paste, spray types of glue.  I was looking for a glue to attach paper to chipboard to make mini albums, and maybe I could use it to add embellishments to my book.   I told myself that a spray sounded like a good ideal, it's not drippy or messy.  I went  with Elmer's Craft Bond.  This was a hot mess. The first problem was the fumes.  I had to spray my project in the garage.(middle of winter, not heated didn't help) Second, after I spayed a few sheets the box and nozzle were so sticky and gooey that  my paper started to stick to the box.  This glue does not come off with just soap and water.  I had to use goo gone on my hands.  Third, which is the number one reason I went to a new product was after a while(maybe a month) my papers began to separate from the chip board. LEAVE UM!

So next, I checked on line for what people used for book making and one product which is easy to find was glue sticks.  So I tried UHU glue stick and twist and glue.  I found my self going through this product super fast in order to get good adhesion.  One glue stick covered  maybe two wordbooks, and the same with the twist and glue. LEAVE UM!

On to a new product. Yes Paste.  This product was also one that many recommended online.  In the description it's called a favorite among hobby enthusiasts, artists and crafters everywhere, an all purpose glue for all your crafting needs.  I truly believe the only real reason I tried this product was the amount you got(19oz) and the price $16.75 plus 40% off.  Boy was I sorry. When I opened the jar all I kept thinking was how in the world am I going to spread this without making a huge mess.  I first tried a small putty knife(type of spatula) but in the end I turned into a kindergartner and used my hands.  The problem was getting an even coat on my paper.  This product does work but it was way to much hassle and mess for me.  LEAVE UM!!!

So, after this last  failed glue attempt I stopped searching for a while, plus I had to use up all that I had.  As for the Yes it was so messy I just chucked it. It was not worth the headache and sticky fingers and I would feel guilty giving away a product I didn't like, especially since my little girl wouldn't even touch it.
Until my next post, Craft On!

Crafty Cardmakers Challenge 31 Spotlight Fancy Folds

Hello Everyone,

 Ok, the folds aren't super fancy but it's very elegant and not your normal card folded in half. This is a 4 1/2 by 11 card scored down the center and scored on the front panel in half and folded. Then you add your image panel matted on card stock. My image is from CopicmarkerScrapbooking.com the Oz digtal stamp set, I love this image because you can use it for so many types of cards.  I also showed this card earlier in my Oz  post. I would share more pic's but someone(mother-law) gave my card away before I finished with the pic's.(sorry)

Photographing Your Creations

Hello Everyone,

  So you want to take a good photo of your card or layout but it never comes out quite right.  These are somethings that I do and it works very well for me. I will start with my disclaimer.  I am not a professional photographer but I have been taking pictures for a while and have even done some weddings. That being said here we go.
   First, you should know your camera well, here is an instance where the manual can really help you. How to change settings, turn off flash, and any thing that it can do that will help you to get the best out of camera picture.(the object is to take a picture that needs little to no altering in an editing program)  This may sound silly but trust me it helps so much.  I went on a family vacation with a new digital camera that came 2 days before our trip.(this was not my fault, we ordered it 2 months earlier but they were out of stock) Bad, bad, ideal.  My pictures were so pixelated that lots of them were worthless.  I thought I hated my camera.  Well in time I got to know my camera, and it was one of the best buys I had ever made, in fact 7 years done the road it still works and takes better pics then almost all the new cameras that my friends and family have.

   Second, lighting can make or break a photo. Some photos can be beyond fixing in Photo shop or other editing software if the lighting is to bad.  I use a white background and I light from above with a lamp that has a daylight bulb. I never use the flash on my camera when taking pics of my work, it will wash out the color.When I take a photo I get as close to the card as I can without cutting off any of the card, or scrapbook page. This is not a fancy setup, my background happens to be my all white computer shelving unit and my lamp was clearance $20.

You can try natural lighting but for me I don't like the shadows I get from sunny days. An over cast day would work better.  This is why most photographers who shot outside do so early in the morning or in the evening before it gets to dark.

  Third, you need some sort of editing program.  When you  take a photo of a card there is still so much background behind the card that it distracts from the image and you really can't see the details.  You may also still need a little lighting adjustment. Depending on where you are posting your picture you may have to re size it, and lower the pixels.  All this is done in your editing software.
   I use Photo Shop Elements  to crop, adjust lighting, re size my image, and save for the web.  Here are some screen shots.

This shot shows the crop tool highlighted dark gray. Click on pics to enlarge 

This shows how to adjust the lighting.

 This shows how to resize your Image. I set Resolution at 72 pixels per square inch.

 
  These last two are how to save for the web.  I have to do this before I can put them on a forum or in an email because my camera takes pics at such a high resolution.  You will know if  you need to do this if when you try to load a picture to a forum or send and email it says image is to large.(when you save for web this is not print quality, it's only for viewing on the web)  When you click save for web, a  window pops up with 2 images, the original and the one you are going to change.  On the right there is a box that says new size with a height and width in pixels.  This is were I make my changes. I change my width to around 600 and the height automaticly changes to fit the width. If you make this number to small you image will also be small and you may not be able to see much.  You can always go back and resize it again with no problems
.
  You do not need an expensive editing program to make these changes.  Some are free or come with your camera.  So here are a few pictures to show how my image looks from start to finish.

This pic is straight out of the camera no editing

This is the cropped, light adjusted, and resized image.
Well that's it, I hope this was helpful.  Enjoy and Craft On!