Adhesives ...

Just a quick post today. As some of the dies are very detailed I loved when Stix2 started doing the foam strips. On the same sheet they come as 5mm and 3mm wide which is ideal for different projects.

I just trim the length I need with a non stick scissors. I prefer to cut them rather than using the ready cut 3 x 3mm as this are a pain to place and remove backings. With the strip its so much easier!

Ps: the peace die cut is from the Christmas Phrase Card and the butterflies bellow are from the Butterflies cards.

They would also make the best shaker card adhesives!

Creativa Barcelona - Talleres, scrap y amigos - Workshops, Scrap and friends

The last few weeks have been a bit manic because of personal and work trips, in a month I only have been home for fourteen days and four of  them I have had my parents at home. And the next weeks are more of the same. But I am not complaining. I love to travel and I love my job, though I miss home routines somedays.

Las últimas semanas han sido un ir y venir por razones personales y profesionales. Desde el miércoles santo (16 de Abril) hasta hoy (15 de mayo) he pasado solo en casa 14 días en casa, y cuatro de ellos con vistas (mis padres) en casa. Y las próximas semanas son mas de lo mismo. Pero no me quejo. Me encanta viajar y me encanta mi trabajo, pero echo de menos la rutina de casa.

Last week I was in Creativa Barcelona given my first workshops in Spain. I love the Creativa shows, they are well organised and beautifully displayed.

La semana pasada estuve en Barcelona dando mis primeros talleres de scrap en España. Los hice en Creativa Barcelona (La Farga de Llobregat). Me gustan mucho como estan organizados los Craft Shows en España, con mucho espacio y todo muy cuidado.

The project I taught was a mini album full with die cutting techniques.

El proyecto de los talleres era crear un mini album con un montón de técnicas de troquelado.

Here I am with the girls that came on thursday morning. I enjoyed their company and teaching them so much. And they all finished it.

Aquí estoy con las chicas del jueves por la mañana. Disfrute un montón, y todas acabaron el proyecto.

And with MariCarmen who came to the Thursday afternoon workshop. I really enjoyed the workshops.

Y con MariCarmen de por la tarde. Que bien me lo pase con los talleres. 

It always makes me happy to see Paperartsy on the stand of Natural Scrap. And the stand of Cromatismes? I love it. Aurea has such a good taste and her layouts are wonderful.

Me encantó encontrarme con productos de Paperartsy en el stand de Natural Scrap. Y el stand de Cromatismes? Una preciosidad. Aurea tiene un gusto estupendo y sus LO son una maravilla.

Friday was so much fun. After a fun workshop, I met for lunch with Anam Stubbington, and old scrap friend who is living in Barcelona.

El viernes fue fantástico, comí con Anam Stubbington, una de mis amigas del scrap desde hace años. 

After lunch there was a crop/ scrap meeting with Elena Roche with the colaboration of Azza and Aladine. It was so much fun!

Y luego participe junto a Elena Roche en una crop encuentro de scrap de la mano de Carolina de Azza y Aladine. Fue super divertido.

For dinner  Quim Diaz, Elena and myself went for tapas. to central Barcelona 

Después de la crop, Quim Diaz, Elena y yo nos fuimos de tapas por Barcelona.

Tapas. Glorious Tapas.

Barcelona is pretty at night too even more because of the company.

Y Barcelona preciosa de noche y mas en compañía de amigos. 

Tubo de Ensaio scrapbooking and craft trade event in Lisbon

I was invited by Sizzix to represent them at the Tubo de Ensaio - Sizzix distributor in Portugal - trade event in Lisbon. I have work with many many craft distributors and Tubo is one of the best and there is stiff competition.

El fin de semana pasado estuve en Lisboa invitada por Sizzix para demostrar sus nuevos productos en el evento mayorista (exclusivo para tiendas) organizado por el distribuidor de Sizzix en Portugal Tubo de Ensaio. He trabajado con numerosos distriburidores de manualidades y puedo decir que Tubo es uno de los mejores y eso que tiene muy buena competencia.

The lovely big room where I demonstrated for two days is tiled with beautiful traditional portuguese tiles.

Me encanta la sala donde se celebro las demos y se exhibían los productos. Es una sala muy amplia con luz natural y con esos azulejos tan bonitos típicos portugueses.

And the whole room was full of new releases, luscious craft products that made of all of us lust after them. The new Sizzix releases are awesome. Yes, glues, I love my Stix 2 adhesives!

La sala entera estaba llena de los nuevos productos de compañías como Sizzix, Stix 2... Ya sabeis que me encantan los adesivos!

As I love My Minds Eye's papers and Teresa Collins. 

Papeles y cositas bonitas de My Minds Eye y de Teresa Collins.

In the next room Manoli Picatua was busy teaching 4 workshops between two days.  To the left of the photo, Patricia Villa-Boas de Tubo de Ensaio, to the left Manoli and Claudia de Lembrancas Soltas another craft distributor.

En la sala de al lado Manoli Picatua estaba muy dedicada a sus cuatro talleres. A la izquierda de la foto, Patricia Villa-Boas de Tubo de Ensaio, a derecha Manoli y Claudia de Lembrancas Soltas otro distribuidor de Portugal.

On the right, there she is, Manoli, busy teaching Mixed media techniques. On the left, Maria Joao from Mundo de Cores demonstrating how great the Sizzix range is for fabric. And that sewing machine... I want one of them!

En la foto de la derecha, Manoli muy concentrada enseñando técnicas de mixed media. A la izquierda Maria Joao de Mundo de Cores enseñando lo bien que van los troqueles Bigz de Sizzix con telas.

On Sunday afternoon, I taught a workshop using Sizzix Eileen Hull's Cubes and Teresa Collins Save the date papers and embellishments, click for the proper photos.

El domingo por la tarde, di un pequeño taller de Sizzix utilizando los troqueles Cubo de Eileen Hull y los papeles de Teresa Collins Save the date, para ver fotos del proyecto acabado haz click aquí.

I just love sharing the Sizzix love and teach how to teach die cutting.

Me encanta dar talleres de Sizzix y ayudar a enseñar como propagar los usos de los troqueles.

 I made new craft friends, including (from left): Maria from Bolboretas de Papel (Pontevedra),  Diana from Scrap Salamanca,  Ana from ScrapHouse (Vitoria) and many more!

He hecho nuevas amigas: Maria de Bolboretas de Papel (Pontevedra),  Diana de Scrap Salamanca,  Ana de ScrapHouse (Vitoria) and muchas mas de las que no tengo foto buena!

 At night time we went out for dinner to lovely places. Lisbon has such good restaurants. And the city itself is beautiful.

Por la noche, fuimos a cenar a sitios fantásticos. Lisboa tiene buenísimos restaurantes. y la ciudad es preciosa.

And made new likeminded friends while being with one of my besties in the industry. What more can I ask?

Y he hecho nuevas amigas con las que comparto muchas cosas ademas de trabajar al lado de una de mis mejores amigas. ¿ Qué más puedo pedir?

Adhesives 101

Some people in the craft industry know of my obsessive love for adhesives, which is surprising for some and understanding for others. Last count, I had over eighty different types of adhesives in my studio. In many of my posts in this or other blogs I made references on what it will be the best glue for the project, but I rarely elaborate on why or on which are my favourite brands and why.

Well, today I decided to put that right and start posting in 2014 going through one of the most important elements of papercrafting in my opinion: my favourite adhesives.

(Click on the images for direct link to either manufacturers sites or shops that stock it)

The first thing we need to discuss is Hold and Bond:

• Grab - or instant hold - refers to the ability of the glue to grab the items and it is graded by fastness, how quickly the glue attaches the items together. Basically, short term.


• Bond is how strong and durable the attachment is going to be. Basically, long term.

Some adhesives have a strong  grab but long term - could be days, months or years - will become unattached due to a lack of bond.

Most of the following products have no-brand alternatives, while they may be cheaper they will also be less consistent in their quality. But I don't recommend that, would you like the recipient of your card to have to assemble the elements of it upon arrival? I dont, that is why I like to use the better quality adhesives.

DRY ADHESIVES

They are mess free, easy to use, offer instant grab, but not strong bond even the strongest of tapes will always be bellow the wet glues in long term bond. However, for paper crafting 90% of the time they are strong enough and that fast grab action means makes everything much easier.

Stix2 Foam Pads. We all use foam pads, but like in almost everything else, there are qualities. I don't use any other foam pads, these are the best - I know I have tried 99.99% of the rest. Stix2 are super quality and they come in all sorts of sizes and thicknesses. I have a little post beside my front door saying that the bell does not ring, it is hold by a Stix2 pad, it has been there for over 3 years.

Tape pen. Instead of double sided tape, I use tape pens which are much dater to use and create less mess (backing). Easy to store, easy to use, perfect to attach ribbon to card! I use primarily the Stix2 ones, but I also use other brands.

Stix2 Glue Dots. Again I have used many brands, and seem to like the Stix2 the best, specially the smaller ones which from other manufacturers don't seem to work, but from Stix2 always do. I go for the value box.

Stix2 Double Sided Fingerlift Tape, in a variety of widths. It is the most economical of all types and hence many people choice. I like the fingerlift one because makes the whole removal of backing so much easier. 

Stix2 Ultra Clear Tape - in several widths. The strongest double sided tape ever! Heat resistant ideal for embossing. High tack, instant, clear adhesive. There are a multitude of uses and I try to keep a variety of widths in my studio. 

Stix2 Double Sided A4 Adhesive Sheets. Perfect for die cutting and many other things including guilding, glitters... They are clear so there are a lot of technique that work really well with acetate.

3M Scotch Removable Tape. I have been using this tape since 2003. I always make sure I have one extra. It is the only low tack tape that I trust to secure dies in place when I die cut, the only one that has never rip my paper but at the same time maintained temporarily the item in place.

WET ADHESIVES

Many crafters have a difficult relationship with wet glues, I certainly did for many years. It is challenging working with paper and a wet medium. Wrinkles, bubbles, spills... But use the right wet glue, right applicator and right amount - less is more - and the bond you will get with wet glue will be the best and will remained glued the longest, which is very important when spending time and effort making projects!

Cosmic Shimmer Acrylic Glue. I have been a late convert to this glue, but since I bought it about a year ago, I haven't used any other wet white glue for papercrafting. It dries clear, grabs really quickly and has a very strong bond for a multitude of materials. I use one of the fine tips on the bottle (dont even bother to decant the glue) and works wonders. Remember less is more when it comes to wet glues.

Collall Glue Gel Kit - with Syringe and Dispensing Key. I use it to add height to elements which would not be glued using a foam pad. I prefer this brand to the other well known one because I find that the grabbing power is faster and dries more clear.

Ranger  Studio MultiMedium and Glue and Seal in matte. They are slightly different but I use them both for collage and sealing. They are something I don't use everyday, but that I like to have at hand as they are very good for mixed media projects. (Check Shari Carrol's explanation of mediums, Mod Podge here.)

Tear Mender. A fantastic instant fabric and leather adhesive. Water-proof, permanent, quick drying and flexible. The only drawback is the fact that smells pretty rotten.

OTHER

Cold Melt Glue Gun. So useful for Home Decor and attaching difficult materials that require instant bonding. I prefer cold melt for a variety of reasons, non the least because being myself a clumsy person I rather not burn myself. The trade off is slightly less strong hold but the difference is minimal for the type of projects I do.

Craft Mount Spray Adhesive. The strongest, more reliable spray adhesive I have tried. It comes in two sizes, although the larger one is better value I tend to buy the smaller 200ml size, easier to handle and still lasts a long time. I use it to attach material to card, paper to thicker card, mountboard... specially hen I have to die cut those combinations afterwards.

For archival projects I will use Photo Mount - which is more expensive - and for resticking cutting machine mats I use the Re Mount (Green) which is repositionable.

Heat'n Bond - Lite or Ultra. I am no sewing expert but I love the effect of material on my papercraft and Home Decor projects, and the one products that makes it much easy is this one. Unlike most fabric fusibles, these are solid sheets of heat reactive glue, perfect to die cut with minimal shredding (like one or two) as well as to join two fabrics together. I use mostly the Ultra one (Red) as I rarely sew, but when I intend to I use the Lite version (Purple). It also comes in different sizes, by the metre and packs, so it is easy to buy a tester.

Well done if you have reach this point. Remember, there is no perfect glue, just a variety that will work well for you and your project. These are just my favourites.