ISO Good Quality Adhesive. Found: Good Quality Adhesive.

So as you might recall from my endless whining when they discontinued Kokuyo in the USA that I'm more than a little particular about my adhesives (and yes, I'm aware that might be THE understatement of the year --hey it's only January!). So since that sad, sad day when I was cut off, I've been trying adhesives in search of a suitable replacement.

This past weekend I was working on cleaning up the scrappy supply mess that has consumed my basement and during that fun, I came across several projects that go back to 2005 and 2006. So I decided to take a little time to do some quality testing.

Exhibit A - Baby Mini Book

This little beauty (that I promise was the epitomy of scrapbooking style in 2006) was made using the Xyron Cheetah to cover the board book pages. What makes the survival, and near perfect in-tact-ness (yes, I just made that word up) of this piece particulary noteworthy is the fact that it has also endured being a store sample for several months. The Cheetah has been one of my long-time favorite adhesives for covering things and I'm glad to see I can continue to rely on it. This one is definately a top candidate for the first ever "PlayswithGlue Adhesive Award."

Exhibit B - The name of this project is witheld to protect it's identity :)
Layout made about 1 year ago with American Crafts solid runner adhesive. This baby was in need of a complete re-glue. Because of this, DQ'd from contendership. (Yeah, I made that word up too.)

Exhibit C - Greeting Card #1
Made with two different types of adhesives about 1 year ago: 1) Xyron Tape Runner and 2) Ranger Glossy Accents. The tape runner held the paper securely to the card base. The Ranger Glossy Accents were also sturdy and well fixed. Both get nominations for the PlayswithGlue Adhesive Award.

Exhibit D - Greeting Card #2
This was made using the Elmer's Dot Runner about 3 months ago. It's still held together in a few places, but 90% coming apart... so this one chalks up as an epic fail. Also disqualified.

Exhibit E - Circa 2005 Layout
This one had chipboard letters glued to a clear transparency using Ki Memories Clear Glue. Given that ALL of the letters are in a puddle in the bottom of the page protector, this also is getting failed marks... with a research note that it's technically intended to glue acrylic letters to paper, so the failure may have been caused because it wasn't used as directed.  I like to push boundaries, okay?)

Exhibit F - Recipe Card Tin
This baby was also an abused store sample. I used Diamond Glaze to attach 7ge metal tabs to chipboard and it is rock solid. Definately a contender.



The first annual "PlayswithGlue Adhesive Award"
...and the winners are...

Best Tape Runner: 
Both the Xyron Cheetah and the Xyron Tape Runner were reliable and well-fixed. The Cheetah is 2" wide -something probably not to useful for all purposes, so I'd say the Xyron Tape Runner wins. (Do keep in mind that I've recommended the tape runner to two of my scrappy friends and they haven't been unhappy with the way the applicator works. Personally, I have found that while it's a little tricky, with a little practive you can adapt and make it work just fine.)

Best Liquid Adhesive: 
Diamond Glaze by far. Yes, the Glossy Accents held well, but the Diamond Glaze is like cement!

The Scrapbooking Studio Design Team: Quick & Easy Christmas Gift

For one of this month's design team projects for The Scrapbooking Studio I put together a 7ge Printer's Tray will some favorite images from a dear friend's wedding. I mixed it with some Teresa Collin's Notations collection papers.

While this one will be on display at The Scrapbooking Studio for a bit, this would make a great Christmas or Anniversary gift for the new brides in your lives. (I'm guessing you may know a few since Christmas is a popular time to get engaged!)

Printers tray and stand; round sticker - Seven Gypsies; Patterned papers, letter "F" - Teresa Collins; Metal frame, numbers, bottles - Tim Holtz; Black paint - Ranger; Black embossing powder - American Crafts; Purple flowers - Prima; Pearls - My Mind's Eye; Purple bead glitter - Martha Stewart; Cream letters - Momenta; Letter stickers - October Afternoon; Putple Spica Pen - Copic; Trinket pin - Maya Road; Seam binding ribbon - Craft Supply; "Oct" letters - Girls Paperie; Purple Cardstock - The Paper Company; Label Die Cut - Spellbinders; Number "11" stickers - Making Memories.

They were planning to decorate their master bedroom in cream and black with damasks, so the papers from the Teresa Collins "Notations" lines were just perfect for this project!

The photos are all 4" x 6" or less, so it was super easy to run them through my Xyron 510 (it has a 5" width) to make sure that they were evenly covered with adhesive and would be firmly affixed to the printer's tray. For the smaller pieces, I used the Xyron 1.5" (aka 150 or "X" sticker maker). I have always found the Xyron's permanent adhesive to be quite sturdy and reliable.

I used some letters from The Girls Paperie along with some findings from the Tim Holtz Ideaology line to add their wedding date to a few of the squares. The "08" letters were originally silver, which of course wouldn't show well against the cream, so I first painted them black and then heat embossed them with black powder. Their wedding colors were purple, so I filled the mini bottles with two shades of lavender beaded glitter and glued the corks shut so they wouldn't spill.

One of the things I love about Teresa Collin's lines is that she often does ones that are simply just black + cream or black + white. This versatility lets you customize your color scheme with paints and inks to fit your needs. In this case, I colored it in with a purple Copic Spica to add a little glimmer while introducing the purple wedding color. I also used some rub-ons to make a little monogram in the banner.

Head on over to The Scrapbooking Studio to see this project in person and pick one up for yourself. And don't worry about how you'll fill the little boxes, there are guides to the sizes on the Seven Gypsies website and it's a great way to use up little extra trinkets in your stash.