An honest look at liquid glue, glue tape runners, adhesive foam, and glue dots.

I have tried so many different types of adhesives over the years… and many brands of each type. Once I found Stampin’ Up! and became an independent demonstrator, I found some new adhesives to love. One of the questions I often get asked by crafty friends is ‘what should I use and when should I use it?’

So, I decided to do a video review of different types of adhesives – what I like and don’t like, when I use it and when I don’t, and most importantly… why. I promise this is not a glorified commerical for Stampin’ Up! and some of the results might surprise you.

I’ve split the video into three parts:

Part 1 – Liquid Glues – SU Fine Tip Glue, Tombow Liquid Multi-purpose Glue, Aileen’s Tacky Glue, and the Sweet Petunia Glue Press.

Part 2 – Glue Tape Runners – Stampin’ Seal, Scotch ATG, and E-Z Runner Grand.

Part 3 – Foam adhesive (and glue dots) – Craft4U Foam tape, SU Stampin’ Dimensionals, SU Adhesive Strips, and Mini Glue Dots.

Okay, the third part really does sound like it could be a commerical for Stampin’ Up! but I promise there is another brand in there…somewhere..really. 😂 It’s still an honest review with great ideas for what to use and when., but you’ll have to watch it to see which ones I love and why.

I’m going to keep this blog post short because the video does all the work here. Have a watch. Feel free to skip to the part that’s of most interest for you. You can scroll down for the TLDW (Too Long Didn’t Watch) version at the end of the blog. 😁

Video Tutorial

What do you think? Which of the products in the video are your favourites? Did you learn something new? Leave a comment and let me know your thoughts !

In case there’s something you liked and want to try, I’ve created a supply list below with links to my Stampin’ Up! store for you to explore!

TLDW Version

Part 1 – Glues

My favourite actual glue is Aileen’s Tacky Glue BUT… I have fallen in love with the My Sweet Petunia Glue Press. So easy on the hands and a great precision tip. It comes with a bottle of Nuvo glue but also has another refillable bottle. when the Nuvo glue runs out, I’ll be filling it with Aileen’s Tacky Glue.

That said, the other two glues I reviewed have their uses and while they’re not my favouites, I still use them….

Stampin’ Up! Fine Tip Glue – this is really good for extremely fine details but useless to cover large areas. So it has a niche use but it’s really good for that – fine die cuts, embellishments, etc. If you life the paper up again to reposition it, you might have to apply more glue as it soaks in and dries out quickly. Watch the video for a tip on how to get the needle in the cap into the tip in order to cap it more easily.

Tombow Multipurpose Glue (also sold by Stampin’ Up!) – there’s nothing wrong with this glue… except…. it is SO sticky on your hands and is so hard to get off. So as it dries on your fingers, you can transfer the dirty stringy bits of it onto your projects by accident. It also functions like glue tape in that once something is down, it’s immediately stuck in place and can rip if you try to reposition it – sometimes that’s an advantage; sometimes a disadvantage! The advantages are, it’s very good glue and it has two tips making it versatile. It has a fine tip (not as fine as the SU Fine Tip Glue) and a broad tip with a rubber bit that helps you spread it evenly across the surface. THIS is what I mostly use this for – coveraging large surfaces quickly and evenly.

Part 2 -Glue Tape Runners

E-Z Runner Grand – Don’t bother! Initial cost of runner is expensive. Refills are expensive. The glue it dispenses doesn’t stick well or last. This was the first of the ‘big refill’ runners I bought when I got sick of the small disposal tape runners from the stationery store. This was long before I joined Stampin’ Up! I’m not a fan and don’t use it anymore.

Scoth ATG – This is my goto when I’m doing lots of projects. The downside is the very high cost of buying the dispenser. I paid around $50 (AUD) for it (years ago) but was shocked to discover while making the video that it now sells on Amazon Australia starting at $89 and sometimes up to $250+. That’s a ridiculous amount of money to spend on a tape runner. I’m sure it’s a lot cheaper in the USA. The refills are not cheap either, but they last forever. There is a bit of a learning curve here. You have to put it down, press the trigger and keep it pressed while dragging, then release the trigger before lifting the ATG up. The big advantage, besides the tape lasting a long time before you need to pop in a refill, is that this runner effortless lays down the glue tape without skipping – even if your dragging it around curves. Because I already own it, I use it a lot.

Stampin’ Seal – This is the Stampin’ Up! brand of tape runner. There is also a Stampin’ Seal+ which is even stickier (good for 3D projects) but I’ve never used it as I find the regular Stampin’ Seal to be all I need. I really do love this. A lot. Low initial cost AND it is refillable. Still more expensive to refill in the long run than the ATG but much less expensive for initial outlay. You’d have to use the ATG for a long time to recoup your initial costs. The downside is that the Stampin’ Seal has to be at the right angle to dispense properly (and this takes a bit of trial and error to figure out) and it skips a lot. That may not matter for card fronts and mats but does matter for more intricate pieces. It is also wider than the ATG tape (which is 1/4″) so not always as convenient for going around curves or for narrow areas. But, it is really good with a very strong hold. The demonstrator discount makes this more cost effective for me. If you’d like more information about becoming a demonstrator and getting the personal discount yourself, you can find that information HERE. If I didn’t already have the ATG, I would be using this one exclusively.

Foam Adhesive and Glue Dots

This one really is a bit of a commercial for Stampin’ Up! But it’s an honest opinion. I’ve gotten rid of all my other brands of foam adhesive once I started using Stampin’ Up! Well, except for the one roll I found at the back of the drawer when I was going through my supplies to do the video. 🤣 I won’t use any other brand of foam adhesive now.

Stampin’ Dimensionals – these are my go to!! They come in two sizes – regular and mini – and two colours – white and black. They are so easy to use – whether you use a Take Your Pick, tweezers, or your fingers. The hexagonal shape makes them easy to remove from the backing card, and easy to put in almost position on your cardstock or embellishments. The shape means you can turn it so that it fits in spots that are difficult to fit into without it showing (you really need to see the video for this… it’s hard to explain in words!).

Foam Adhesive Strips – this is another Stampin’ Up! product I use but for specific reasons. They are especially great for making shaker cards. They really do keep the glitter in! They are also higher than the dimensionals so if you want height in your project these are great. While they come in strips, they are bendable so you can create shapes with them.

Crafts4U Foam Tape – this is my no no. It’s ‘ok’ to use but… the roll is not continuous… there are breaks in it. I found it much too frustrating to use it for a project only to have the piece run out when I needed more. Plus the Stampin’ Up dimensionals and foam adhesive strips are much more cost effective… even more so with the demonstrator discount. 😁

Mini Glue Dots – I adore these. They have specific uses and hold so well. I use them mainly for embellishments and ribbon. Occassionally I’ll use them for small cardstock or sentiments tags if I don’t want the height of the dimensionals and glue isn’t appropriate. But their hold for ribbons, bows and embellishments is fabulous – check out the video for a demonstration of this!

So that’s my honest opinion on my favourite (and not so favourite) adhesives. I’ve including a supply list below with links to the Stampin’ Up! products so you can check out the prices and details. This is for the Australian Stampin’ Up! site so if you’re in a different country, google ‘Stampin’ Up!’ for your country and look up the products there for accurate pricing for your region!

Thanks for sticking with me through this review. I hope it’s helpful to you!

Happy Inking!
or…. er…. gluing?
🥰

Supply List

Prices are accurate at the time of publication but are subject to change.