It’s very easy to reach for my double sided tape or any of my various glues when making paper. One of the things I love about paper is that there are often so many ways to achieve the result you want. Attaching things with glue and tape is just one way to make your items stay where you want them. Come with me to see some other ideas to make things stick!
You can make your project without any type of adhesive. Accepting a challenge to do it is a fun way to get inspired. Here are seven ways you could do your project without adhesives.
1.Brads
If you’ve been a paper crafter for a while, you’re probably familiar with brads. They are made of metal and come with a split pin backing that can be pushed through layers of paper to attach the embellishments. He often sees them worn in the middle of flowery layers. There’s no reason you can’t use them in other ways, like holding doilies in place, attaching labels where you want them, attaching a small scrapbook or booklet, making a hang tag for hiding journal covers, providing an anchor for ribbon or braid. or cord, or as an embellishment in its own right. Use an odd number of thumbtacks in a row to draw attention to a spot on your page or card, make a curved line with them, or use them as corner points.
2. Sewing
Hand or machine stitching can add a lot to your pages and cards, as well as being a convenient way to keep items together. Sew layers of cardstock or designer paper using straight lines or decorative stitches. Sew around a photo using straight or zigzag stitch or blanket stitch to attach it to your mat (use a paper hole punch and grid template first to allow room for the needle and thread when sewing by hand). Sew buttons into your design to keep things in place. Sew the pages of an album to join them, with threads or thread or rope. Make a folded paper book with a sewn spine. Sew felt or other materials to make flowers or any other shape you like, and then sew them in place. Sew the ribbon to your page.
Innuendo: If you use your sewing machine for paper crafts, make sure you have a needle just for sewing paper. Sewing through the paper will dull the needle a bit and can cause fabric items to snag later.
3. Clips and other stationery accessories
Rummaging through stationery stores can reveal wonderful items for you to use in your paper crafts. Paper clips, small bulldog clips, push pins, colored staples, and the like can be used instead of nails, glue, or tape. Manufacturers are constantly coming out with new trinkets for the office. Why not incorporate them into your paper making projects?
4. Folding, cutting and pressing paper
Clever ways to fold or crimp paper can also help you get by without adhesives. Make cutouts in the paper to place photos or doilies in each corner. Make a row of cutouts and run them through tape, paper, or a pen. Fold the layers of paper a few times, then glue them together to add a punch or stitch. Use origami techniques in your project by folding the flaps of paper and placing them under other layers of paper. Crimp the papers with a paper crimping tool. Re-investigate stationery to find staple-free paper binding tools, cleverly cutting and crimping metal-free papers.
5. Magnets
Using magnets on a metal plate or to hold items in place can be an interactive display. Using a magnet to hold a small journal in your design means people can pull it off the page, read it, and put it back where it belongs. (Use another magnet on the back of the page.) Make paper pins that can be worn on special occasions and use magnets to allow people to wear them on their clothing (check that no one has a pacemaker before allowing them to wear a magnetic pin or you might interfere with the mechanism).
6 Velcro
Use Velcro to close your tag albums, make fun children’s books with elements that can be removed and reattached to the page at will. Sew Velcro to your page or article to keep it in place. Use Velcro to close a small paper box. Use it to make paper pins that can be worn on clothing, instead of using magnets.
7. Sealing wax
Before glues and tapes were so widely made, people sealed paper envelopes and scrolls with wax. There were special stamps and signet rings to push the hot wax to make a decorative or informational pattern before the wax cooled. Try using sealing wax to make a special paper project. Use the wax to seal wedding invitations, for example. You can also use it on your cards or scrapbook pages to keep small items in place.
And there you have it: seven ways to join paper without using glue or tape! There are other ways to make off-the-page cards, designs, and projects without the use of tape and glue. I encourage you to challenge yourself to find new ways to make paper crafts and share your ideas with me if you know if there is another way or two to do things without adhesives.
