Sticky Thumb Adhesives

Sticky Thumb Adhesives by American Crafts

Sometimes, I am late to the party. Sometimes, I just totally miss the party completely. With crafting, I have the worst luck with products. I seem to have the bad luck of discovering a product right before it gets discontinued or changed.  This time, I think I may have caught the bus on time. 

I was shopping with a scrapbook store vendor at Scrapbook and Stamp Expo in Pomona, California and some adhesive products caught my eye. I was participating in the Expo Crop and I was really afraid I would run out of adhesives after the vendors closed. I noticed a tape runner by a brand called Sticky Thumb. I like the way it was packaged, I liked the logo, and I really liked that it was made by American Crafts.  It looked similar to their This to That taper runner and refills that I could no longer find. But I was really intrigued by the Marathon Runner. I didn't buy it right then, because the vendor did not have any refills, and told me that refills were not available. So I was definitely afraid that it would be something else I would buy, use and love and then not be able to get refills. 

Later I did get the marathon runner, and some other Sticky Thumb Products, and now I am addicted! I have tried just about everything in the Sticky Thumb line by American Crafts and I am impressed! I have really loved everything I have purchased.

The Marathon Runner and refill is on the left, Tape Runner and Refill package is on the right.  The Tape Runner is the same size and the refills are the same size as the old This to That tape runners. The difference is the distribution of the adhesive. This to That came in a couple different styles. The Sticky Thumb adhesive is a solid width of glue. Not dots like many runners, or the small strips, but a solid width of adhesive, which is more secure. Right now, I have only been able to find the tape runner and Marathon Runner. I have not found any refills in other styles.  The tape runner is solid glue, and the Marathon Runner is small pieces. The marathon runner is 100ft, the tape runner is a normal length.

Sticky Thumb has several crafting type glues. The PVA glue is a really good consistency. It doesn't dry out like some of the other brands. I have one brand that the entire contents of the bottle has turned into a brick. The PVA glue also comes in a zip lock type bag that can be used to store it. You won't really need the bag, because the nozzle WORKS. Its rare you find a nozzle on a glue bottle that actually works preventing clogs. 

The glue sticks, wet brush glue are also very useful and hold up well. The best product has to be the sticky tabs. Sticky Thumb Glue Tabs or Sticky Tabs are actually individual pieces. You do not need to waste your time cutting the tabs a part from a roll or sheet. They come in flat and raised with 2 sizes.

Canvass Coloring Book Painting

Along with the adult coloring book craze, I found these mandala designed canvasses to paint / color.  The package that came from the company suggested the use of markers to color in the image. But I decided right off the bat that I was going to use acrylic paints for the painting. I really loved this design. I decided that I would work on the painting in phases. 

Due to the texture of the canvass, the colors come out very mat. Which I really love. I may coat the entire thing with mod podge when I am finally done, just for a coating. The design is wrapped and goes around the edges, which I really like. I wish now that I had bought more than one because I really like the design and the ease of painting. 

I will upload another picture when I have completed it.

Amor Eterno Gift

I call this project my eternal love plaque. I made this for my husband on our anniversary. This is made with a wooden heart, about a half inch think. I painted the base black. The paint I used was basic acrylic paint. After that dried, I used images from scrapbook paper. The paper kit is from a company in California called Sabor Papel. I love their paper. It has an amazing quality. The colors are vibrant and accurate.

After I cut the pieces for the heart, I used mod podge with a satin finish for this project. It probably would have been fine with the mat finish as well. 

I used a hook on the back and this hangs on our wall. 

Home Mini Album Flip Through

This is what I call the Home Mini Album.
This is a chipboard mini book that I totally customized.
I bought the chipboard book, and used ink and scrapbook paper for the design. The paper and embellishments were from a home sweet home kit. This entire book was made with scraps. 

That is the best thing about making these small books, using scraps and leftovers. The ribbon I used on the edges was also leftover from another project. '
I love using leftovers!

Relaxing Getaway Layouts by CTMH

Recently, I purchased the Relax Workshop on the Go Kit from CTMH.
I really liked the kit because it works perfectly with any cruise destination.
I put together 2 of the 2 page layouts.

The thing that I really like about the kits from CTMH is that there is enough materials for the 12x12 layouts suggested in the guide sheet and for several cards when the layouts are complete.

I changed a little bit. I changed some of the backgrounds and instead of using the palm tree paper as the background, I cut it and mounted it on a solid color cardstock to make the kit last a bit longer. I could probably double the amount of pages suggested just by making a couple small changes.

I really liked the embellishments that came with the kits as well. The burlap ribbon was really a beachy / summery type accent that looks good on the pages.
I love that CTMH gives plenty of the ribbon embellishments because it can be used on future projects.

Cruise Albums

Carnival Cruise Lines has a line of scrapbooking products. These are 4 of the albums that I have purchased. We have done 9 cruises on Carnival. I have seen the products and scrapbooking supplies vary based on ship and itinerary. 

There is also a Dr Seuss themed album. The kids club on Carnival has the Dr Seuss Theme, including a character breakfast. The albums have scrapbooking kits that coordinate. The upper left and lower right are the Caribbean albums. The lower right was the current album when we first started on Carnival, the upper left is the current album type. 

Painting Beach Stones

I decided to try my hand at Painting Rocks!

We live in California near several beaches with these beautiful and easy to find stones. 

I decided to give the painting a try, and paint some beach stones.

I used a combination of regular acrylic paint, and mod podge. The mod podge that I used was just for a coating to get a satin finish. 

The other rocks I used just the acrylic paint to keep a softer mat finish.