all about GLUE

[HelenaZF]

:zf: ALL ABOUT GLUE



You've heard that saying, "It's the glue that holds everything together." ? Well, that is the truth--GLUE holds EVERYTHING I make together.



And my favorite glue is Aleene's Original Tacky Glue in the bronze bottle. Excellent for use on wood, metal, FABRIC, leather, paper, ceramics, etc. Available at fabric, craft & department stores. It is the best for banner and flag building. Why?

<URL url="http://imageshack.us"><IMG content="http://img280.imageshack.us/img280/5652/g3369ep.jpg"><LIST>

• <LI>
• water soluble</LI>
  <LI>
• not affected by cold or heat</LI>
  <LI>
• long working time</LI>
  <LI>
• dries clear & flexible</LI>
  <LI>
• inexpensive</LI>
  <LI>
• non-toxic</LI>
  <LI>
• comfortable working time</LI>
  

</LIST>Now, the water soluble thing is both a blessing and a curse--but more of a blessing. I have taken glue that is completely dry and re-hydrated it, usually by laying a wet cloth over it. The glue will start to whiten, and then you can separate whatever you have glued. And if you don't let it get too wet...you can usually just roll off the remaining glue 'boogers' left on the fabric. Now THAT is a freeing thing, I tell you.



The curse part is just that if you take your glued banner or flag out into a heavy rainstorm for a long period of time, your designs could start to fall off. So...just don't do that.



That being said, there are applications where another kind of glue is better.



park: hot glue is better for working on an upright object, for example jeweling a crown. Good of attaching beading or other heavy objects. Or when something MUST be waterproof. I don't like it for other things, because I don't like to be tied to a wall, and I'm always burning myself. I also don't like that you have such a short working time and that it is so hard to change things once they are glued.



park: Aleene's Fast Grab. (Used to be called Extra Thick Tacky) Like Original--only thicker. Will sometimes work as well as hot glue. I like to keep some of this in my repair kits.



park: permanent fabric glue is better for flags and garments that you expect will become soiled and need washing. The best one I've found for that is Aleene's "OK to Wash It". A little thinner than the original Tacky Glue. And be sure to test, because some fabrics will mark.



park: Aleene's Jewel-It is best for when you want to permanently bond jeweling to fabric. It will not erode the silvered backing on acrylic or crystal jewels like some other clear jeweling glues (which are also very toxic, BTW.)





Can you tell I think the Aleene's glues are the best? I swear, they should pay me royalties... I've been using the stuff by the gallon for years.



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