Some of my Favorite Adhesives

Being a scrapbooker (is that even a word) I have had my fair share of being an "adhesive tester"!  And I think I have finally found my main go to adhesive!  Zip Dry Paper Glue by Beacon.  It is a little expensive, as I think most scrapbook supplies are, but it is well worth it. 

I love this adhesive for several reasons -

1. It dries FAST!  5-10 minute dry time!!
2. It won't wrinkle your papers. 
3. It is easy to remove any of the glue that may seep out from the sides of your work.
4. It dries clear.
5. It's Acid and Lignin free.

I really only use it for layering paper, especially layering letters, but according to the package it will bond, beads, glitter, wire and metal to paper.  I have another adhesive that I use for those things and when that runs out I am gonna give this adhesive a try and see how it works on those things too.  I'll report back when that time comes.  :)  I do recommend following the instructions on the package and using only a thin line to the edges.  Sometimes if you go over board and you adhere thin paper to a darker paper the darker color can bleed thru your top layer, so just go easy on your application.

My Thermo-Web Adhesive Pick-up goes hand in hand with my Zip Dry.  Even when the Zip Dry has passed the 5-10 minute dry time I can use my Pick-up square to remove anything that may have seeped thru.  I actually prefer to wait until the glue has dried before I use it, then I don't have try and remove wet glue and create an even bigger mess.  I wouldn't recommend waiting any longer than 10 - 15 minutes because the one down fall of the Zip Dry is that if you do wait to long it may leave a stain on your paper that almost looks like a grease spot. 



My Second go to adhesive is my Scotch ATG Gun.  It is great for bigger projects.  Since my biggest thing is banners, this works great for layering banner panels / pennants.  It's easy to use and the adhesive is no joke!  If you try to remove what you bonded, you are definitely going to rip something!  To me, that's one awesome adhesive!

Happy Scrapbooking!!!!



It Just Got Better

So my 6th sale was one of my most memorable and maybe the most rewarding.  I got a message from a 1st Grade Teacher in KY that wanted a custom banner for her classroom.  She had a jungle theme in her room and wanted her banner to be a part of and reflect that theme.  My first instinct was jungle colors of greens, yellows, browns etc...  Not the case with this request, she was looking for animal prints with teal, purple, black and white.  So I went to my stash and had nothing of the sort.  As a new shop I was more than eager to come up with the perfect banner her.  I didn't want to disappoint her or have to tell her I couldn't do it.  So I set out on a mission to find exactly what she was looking for.  I hit my suppliers and found some really cool animal print paper, coordinating solids and embellishments to match.  I once again had that vision of how I wanted it to look.  I got home laid it all out and for some reason something just seemed off, but I went ahead and assembled everything thinking it just needed to be together and maybe it would POP!  I hung it up and....that's not what happened, not at all.  I kept looking at it and something was just not sitting right with me.  How could I ship this banner to someone when I don't have that "this is it" feeling.  Once again I don't want to disappoint.  This is what I came up with.  I think it was just to "busy" and a little hard to read.

So I had to do what I could imagine is the worst feeling for any Etsy seller and contact her to say: 

"something is just not sitting right with me on this banner. I feel like the letters don't stand out enough. I want to re-do it with black or white letters. I know I told you it would go out by today, but are you ok with it going out on Monday? I really liked working with you and don't want you to be disappointed. What do yo think?"

In my eyes the worst thing I could do as a new seller.  Great, so much for customer service, there goes this order out the window.  Telling someone their order was not going out as planned had me worried.  I really liked working with this lady and what a great impression that was going to make!  So I went to her class blog and sat down and just looked at the pictures she had of her classroom.  Then it was as if the clouds had lifted and I had a clear vision of how I wanted this to look.  So back at it I went again!  I was not going to let her down, that's not my style!  So I get it all laid out and snap a photo and send it to her.



What came next was "LOVE this! Perfect for my room. Thank you so much for sticking with it :-)"  Whewww, now that was a great feeling!  Eureka, I had done it!  This order was finally complete!  But even better was the response that I got next.  Never in a million years would I have guessed what was going to come next, an incredible opportunity to be a part of her blog and even better a giveaway!!!!  Not only does she have an awesome blog full of creativity but she offers information to other teachers that may be helpful to them in their classrooms, it doesn't get much better than that!  An order gone wrong has turned out to be one of the most important sales my shop has had!  What an fantastic opportunity!  Check it out, how cool is this:

Queen of the First Grade Jungle      

  

Thank you Queen of the First Grade Jungle!  You have definitely opened new doors for me!

In the Beginning

I have always been intrigued by blogs, but for some reason have never had the guts to start one myself....until now.  It has a little something to do with my new minuet slice of the web, a new little venture if you will. 

It all started with the first cross-stitch kit, I received as a gift from my Grandmother.  I was probably around 8 years old at the time.  It was a little heart with the word Mother back-stitched in the center.  That little kit took me forever!  But when it was complete I remember the gratification of knowing that I made this little creation and it looked pretty darn good!  From there it went on to larger cross-stitch kits and then designing my own little patterns.    I soon grew out of the cross-stitching so it was on to the next thing…floral design.  I would make wreaths, dry and silk flower arrangements and misc. home décor.  After I went through that faze it was on to knitting.  I think I must have 50 scarves and 25 wash-cloths, not to mention the countless gifts I have made for people.  I love the feeling of giving someone something hand- made and them knowing that it was a gift made especially for them, it’s a win / win situation.  I used to dream of setting up a little gift shop and selling nothing but hand-made creations from all aspects of the crafting spectrum.  Then I discovered scrapbooking!!!  I have been hooked for the past 10 years! I still go back to knitting, especially in the fall / winter months, but I have always been a sucker for paper crafting and all the cool supplies out there!  Always still dreaming about that magical little shop in my head.

Thinking that it was impossible to make my dream happen, on a whim, I got into the Real Estate Title Industry.  It was a career, right!?!?  As I sat for the next 15 years copying the same ole’ papers and putting together the same ole’ files I would constantly think to myself…there has got to be something better than this!  I knew there was, but didn’t know how to get there.  Then about a year ago I saw and advertisement for Etsy in a crafting magazine.  SERIOUSLY!!!!!  When did this come about?  I had dabbled in EBay before, but it kind of started to get a little ridiculous and I wanted a place dedicated to hand-crafted creations, could Etsy be it?  And so the research began…