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 many ways to achieve the result you want. Attaching things with glue and tape is just one way to make sure your items stay where you want them. Come with me to see some other ideas to make things stick!
You can do your project without any type of adhesive. Accepting a challenge to do so 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 see them worn in between flower 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 album or booklet, making a hang tag to cover hidden journals, providing an anchor for ribbon or braid or cord, or as an ornament in its own right. Use an odd number of thumbtacks in a row to draw attention to a place 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 punch and grid template first to make room for the needle and thread when sewing by hand). Sew buttons onto your design to keep things in place. Sew the pages of an album to join them, with threads or yarn 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 into place. Sew the ribbon to your page.
Innuendo: If you use your sewing machine to make 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 afterwards.
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, pins, colored staples, and the like can be used instead of nails, glue, or tape. Manufacturers are constantly bringing out new trinkets for the office. Why not incorporate them into your paper crafting projects?
4. Paper folding, cutting and pressing
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 paper layers over a few times, then glue them together to add a punch or stitch. Use origami techniques in your project, 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 paper binding tools that don’t use staples, skillfully cutting and crimping papers without metals.
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 book in your design means that 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 it might interfere with the mechanism).
6 velcro
Use velcro to close your label albums, make fun children’s books with elements that can be removed and put back on 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 used on clothing, instead of using magnets.
7. Sealing wax
Before glues and tapes were made in such abundance, people sealed paper envelopes and scrolls with wax. There were special stamps and signet rings to push hot wax to make a decorative or informative 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 cards, designs, and projects off the page without the use of tape and glue. I encourage you to challenge yourself to find new ways to do paper crafts and share your ideas with me if you know of another way or two to do things without adhesives.
