Adhesives for Card Making

Adhesives — What every beginner card maker should know

Adhesives are used to assemble and embellish your handmade cards. There are a variety of products you could use to affix the card components. You might be thinking why can’t I just use the standard tape that comes in a dispenser? You could if you wanted to roll into a loop in order to stick it to the two pieces. However, it wouldn’t produce a clean and stable card. The following options are ones that I use and recommend.

Option one is the ½” wide double-sided permanent tape. (If the store is out of the ½” you could use the ¾”, but you may need to trim the width some of the time.) It comes in a dispenser like other general purpose tape that one might use for gift wrapping. Double-sided tape produces a cleaner and stronger card than the method described in the paragraph above. Both pieces are attached to the same piece/part of the tape. The end result of using just one flat piece of double sided tape is a card that is neat, slim, and sturdy. I would recommend starting with the cheapest one that is easily found. Based on my experience, they all seemed equal. To learn more about the Scotch Double-Sided Tape, click here.

Option two is the roll-on tape glue. If you are planning on making more than a few cards at a time, then I highly recommend using this product. It comes in a dispenser. It goes on wrinkle free and no drying time. The application of this adhesive is kind of like roll-on deodorant. Conventional tape you measure, cut and place. With the roll-on tape you apply along the edges and lift up when you are done. I haven’t found any difference among the brands for this product. Staples has it own glue tape that has a width of 1/3″. To learn more about their product, click here.

Option three is Zip Dry™ paper glue from Beacon’s. You can use it to assemble and embellish a card. The benefit of this glue is that you have a little bit of wiggle time. What I mean by this is that if your placement of a piece is off by a fraction, then you have a little bit of time to make a slight adjustment. It is acid free, fast drying, and won’t wrinkle. Plus it strong enough to bond metal, wire, glitter, beads, and buttons. TIP: Place glue about ¼” from the edge of the component so it won’t squoosh out. Click here for the product page.

Option four is a glue stick. I like the concept of the product, but I cannot recommend it. This is because over time the glue loses its grip and card components can fall off.

Option five is a glue pen. Glue Pens are my favorite for adding precise embellishments. I have only tried the Quickie Pinpoint Roller Glue Pen by Sakura. This product is a great solution for attaching tiny die cuts and embellishments to layouts and cards. You can also write on your project with the Quickie Glue Pen, then sprinkle glitter, sand or embossing powder on top for a fun look. It’s easy to use and mess-free. Click here for product page.

Option six is foam adhesives. You’ll use them when you want to add dimension to your card. They come in different formats—circles, squares and tape. The foam has double-sided adhesive. You can purchase this product at many craft stores, such as Michaels. Click here for product page.

Option seven is glitter glue. I think of glitter glue more as an embellishment than as an adhesive. However, I chose to include it in this post to help beginners avoid confusion. It is a glue that has glitter inside of it. I have only used Ranger’s Stickles™ Glitter Glue. So, I can only write what I know/like about this product. First, is the bottle. It has a fine tube at the top of the bottle which gives you control over application. Two, is that glitter stays within the product. This helps to keep things tidier than when working with glitter and glue separately. Third, is that it comes in a nice assortment of colors. Click here for the product page.