UHU Review

About three weeks ago I was searching the web for an appropriate adhesive to use in my latest project. I came across a website run by Maria Filosa. As fellow royalty, she is known by some as the Adhesive Queen. When I saw she was looking for people to review UHU on their blogs, I sent in an email. A very nice gal by the name of Rebecca responded - and promptly send out the two UHU products as seen in the picture. I received them quickly and immediately began thinking about which projects I wanted to use these on.

Since I've always got at least 499 projects going at once, I didn't have a shortage of ideas. Setting my favorite trusty adhesives aside (which was extremely difficult), I stuck both containers of UHU in their place.

I had never tried UHU prior to this but had seen it at all the local craft stores. I am not a fan of glue sticks so I'd never considered purchasing UHU. I was surprised when the samples showed up - there weren't any old, dried up, gummy glue sticks here! I received a permanent UHU Glue Roller (one of my favorite applicators) and a 3.21 fl oz bottle of UHU All Purpose Glue in this cool new "Twist & Glue" applicator. Since I'm such a fan of roller-type applicators, I jumped in to use that one first.

UHU GLUE ROLLER

This is different than most adhesives that come on a roller applicator. This ROCKS! I love that it's so sticky - but doesn't get all gummed up on the sides of the applicator. I also love that there's literally gazillions of minuscule dots instead of annoying tabs or semi-tacky, double-sided tape. This adhesive is very strong and held my paper together well - as well as card stock tags, lightweight metal tags, acetate and die cuts. It's also worked well on holding a variety of fibers/ribbon - and I haven't experienced the puckering that some adhesives cause. The only minor change I would make is to increase the length of the refills (or sell them in multi packs) because this stuff is addictive! Since UHU has begun manufacturing refills for this comfortable applicator, I'm sold on it.I'm really glad I have an alternative to the larger applicators that never seem to work right! FINAL GRADE: A

UHU TWIST & GLUE ALL PURPOSE GLUE

This is one of those "why didn't I think of that??" ideas. The bottle is a good sized bottle - however I would like to see an even larger sized bottle available. The glue is strong and has held on all projects I've used it on - paper, acetate, lightweight metal, rubber...even a small wood embellishment. I love the versatility of both the glue AND the applicator. I was surprised at the number of different substrates this glue worked on - and the weight of the objects it would hold. I am in love with the cool applicator and wonder why it took someone so long to think of this. (Although it never crossed my mind!) It's awesome and definitely cuts down on the amount of applicators/adhesives you need to keep.

The top is a screw top - the screw action controlling whether you get a small tip with which to apply the glue or a flat "spreader" surface. It's terrific. You can use this in tight spaces - and with a flick of the wrist, use the same bottle for larger applications. It's non-toxic - which means I don't have to worry about the childebeasts getting into it - and it has no odor. It also dries quickly. I did notice the best results are achieved when you use the large "spreader" tip to apply glue to a large space - using it with the tip out seems to allow too much glue to "plop out", increasing the chances of paper buckling. The larger flat tip totally alleviates this issue. FINAL GRADE: A

I am completely thrilled with having tested both these products. Like I said before, I'd never used UHU before - in any form. Although I detest glue sticks, I'm willing to rethink that idea and give their glue stick a chance. If their glue sticks are as wonderful as these two items, I have no doubt I'll become a glue-stick-convert. I'm so glad I signed up for this opportunity - and appreciate that I have a fabulous new tool in my arsenal! I give UHU my royal stamp of approval!

PLEASE CHECK OUT THE UHU ADHESIVE REVIEW BLOG AVAILABLE HERE...AND YOU CAN SEE FOR YOURSELF JUST HOW GREAT THIS ADHESIVE IS!

A Day Late & A Dollar Short

Holy moly! Sometimes you can't help it - life just swings out of control and all you can do is hang on for dear life!

I have been Internet/phone less for the last three days - and am still without a phone. It was so weird trying to figure out what to do! Everything went out right after I posted the last entry on my blog...so at least I got that posted. I didn't realize just how much I'm online and dependent on my computer - the last three days were hard!

I was pretty productive though...I started on my Funky Journal for the swap that's due April 30 and got a lot of things organized and hung on the peg board. I spent several hours punching holes in bags and then sticking little reinforcements around the holes so the bags wouldn't rip when hung on the peg board...but the first time I had to get something down I realized that method isn't going to work. All the reinforcements got hung up on the post thingy - and I couldn't get the bags on/off. ACK!

It's been really windy here the last couple of days - but I did walk to the store today. I figure it's about a mile there and a mile back - which isn't too bad. The kids missed the bus on Monday afternoon, so Evan and I walked up there to get them. It was uphill all the way - and it was hot. I was surprised that it only took us about an hour and fifteen minutes from the time we left until we walked back in the door.

Since it's late I'm off to bed. There is so much to be done tomorrow! It's supposed to snow so I'll continue working on the Funky Art Journal - and on Friday we're supposed to get quite a bit of snow. That's when Alex comes back from his fifth grade trip and I just hope they can actually get back! We'll see what happens - I'm sure he's having such a great time that a few extra days wouldn't bother him at all!

Oh - and I got my metallic silver, metallic gold and white thermal ribbons in today's mail - I haven't gotten to play with them yet but will in the next day or two. How fun!

Can You Hear the Trumpets?

Dah - dah - dah - DAAAAHHHH!!

I have finally done it. The pictures are crummy - and I only had time to get one piece done (although I have two others started) - but I can finally explain the new technique. And for those of you who aren't so good with the written directions, there are pictures! ;) I didn't take step-by-step pictures because it's so easy - but if my directions aren't clear, something doesn't make sense, or you just want step-by-step pictures, leave me a comment and I'll be happy to post them. NOW...onto the fun stuff!

This new technique - which I will christen The Royal Ribbon Technique - only requires two items, in addition to whatever medium you're working on (paper, paper mache, chipboard, etc). I have not tried this on glass or plastic so I don't know if it will work on those. All you need is a Clover Mini Iron (or Creative Hot Marks or Textile Tool - both by Walnut Hollow) and a thermal printing ribbon. That's it! (PLEASE NOTE: I HAVE PROVIDED LINKS TO THE ABOVE PRODUCTS IN AN ATTEMPT TO SHOW YOU WHAT THEY ARE IN CASE YOU ARE UNFAMILIAR WIT THEM. THERE MAY BE BETTER/LESS EXPENSIVE ALTERNATIVE PLACES TO PURCHASE THESE THINGS ONLINE AND/OR LOCALLY. PLEASE DO YOUR RESEARCH BEFORE PURCHASING FROM ONE OF THESE RETAILERS - AND REMEMBER, JOANNE'S AND MICHAEL'S BOTH FREQUENTLY OFFER 40% OFF COUPONS. THESE COUPONS ARE "INTERCHANGEABLE" - MEANING YOU CAN USE A JOANNE'S COUPON AT MICHAEL'S AND A MICHAEL'S COUPON AT JOANNE'S.)

You know what a thermal printing ribbon is...

It's the ribbon that is found in barcode printers, etc. It's available in many colors - *if* you look for it. The most common color is black - and unfortunately, I don't have any colored ribbon right now. As soon as it arrives I will repeat this technique and show you how versatile this really is. Also, the thermal printing ribbons are available in wax, wax/resin and resin. It doesn't matter which type you use.

Since thermal ribbon is so delicate (and clingy!), unroll it and cut off a piece. Position it over your project with the dull side down. Using your "iron" on the hottest setting, touch the glossy side for 1-2 seconds. You can use the entire iron surface or use one of the decorative tips that comes with the different ironing tools. You can also use the tip of the iron to write fine lines, letters, etc. Here is one of the ATCs I have only partly finished - and I apologize in advance for the crummy quality.

The background is a lime green and the only "embellishment" done to the card (so far) is the Royal Ribbon Technique. On the right side I used the entire surface of the iron to make petals - and on the left and top I used the tip of the iron to create squiggle lines and dots.



This blue card is also only partly done. The gold is tissue paper I crumpled up and then lightly ironed the thermal ribbon over it. I adhered it to the card with gel medium. The swirl in the upper right corner was done with the tip of the iron, the left corner has an impression of the iron's surface. The black shiny part along the left side is the actual thermal ribbon - on a scrap piece of paper I ironed off portions of the thermal ribbon. Once you iron it, most of the black ink comes off and you're left with a patterned piece of "plastic". I glued this down with gel medium and trimmed the tissue paper and thermal ribbon backing to fit the card dimensions.



And here is the ATC I actually finished. It's bland - but still fun. I began with a white pre-cut ATC card. After painting portions with red and blue watercolors I used the Royal Ribbon Technique to create the black designs you see. I used gel medium to adhere tissue paper with gold stars and the wings you can hardly see. (I'd made the wings with Color Mists on freezer paper.) I cut the picture of the boy out of Rebecca's Highlights magazine, used rub-on letters to spell "FLY" and attached 3 gold star brads. I rimmed the card with gold leafing pen and brushed glossy gel medium over the whole thing. (Don't have any matte.)



The whole piece has a fun, kid-like feel to it - even if it's hard to tell from the picture. I don't know what was wrong with the camera - but it definitely has nothing to do with "operator error". Ha ha ha

So there ya have it...the Royal Ribbon Technique. It's very easy, very fun and very addictive! You never know exactly how the pattern will turn out - even when you have the ribbon flat on the paper and use the iron in the exact same way each time - you'll still get variation. It's fun to wrinkle the ribbon up and see the different images you come up with on both the paper and the ribbon!

I can't wait for my colored ribbons to arrive...I have ordered free samples and they should be here shortly. I will make a few more things and post them so you can check out how different colors react. I think using different colors to do a collage background would be awesome and can't wait to try it!

If you have any questions or need clarification, please leave a comment. :) Thanks for reading - and have a great time experimenting with the Royal Ribbon Technique!! IF YOU DO EXPERIMENT WITH THIS TECHNIQUE, PLEASE POST A LINK BACK TO MY BLOG SO I CAN SEE IT - THANKS! :)

So...now I have to ask...was it worth the wait?

Celebrating Easter

HAPPY EASTER!

I was up early this morning - 4:45. Not entirely unusual in itself - except that I usually don't get up quite so early on the weekends. I woke up cold - my pillows and blankets on the floor, the cat having taken over most of the bed. Becca spent the night at my mom's last night, Alex quickly stating he would sleep in her place. What is it with the 'beasts that they think I can't sleep on my own? Why do they think I need one of them to crawl into bed with me?? I had piled all my art stuff on the bed - eagerly anticipating a little creative time. Since Evan went to a friend's for a few hours, I was excited at the idea of having time to play with the new technique (that I still haven't gotten to post!) and retreat into my creative realm.

NOT!

I received my optical lenses in the mail yesterday and they were screaming for me to do something with at least one of them. I didn't mind Alex being in here with me - in fact, I like spending time alone with each of the kids. (It's the only time they don't fight!) I was even ok with the idea that I'd have more than my fill of tv shows like Ben 10, Drake & Josh, The Suite Life and SpongeBob. (I'll never admit to my secret passion for SpongeBob...ever.) But when he wanted me to move all my stuff - and kept poking me in the side when I wouldn't comply - I almost had to kick him out. :)

With Becca at my mom's and the boys still sleeping, I'm going to take advantage of a little free creative time. I've got more than enough housework to do to keep me busy (just ask my mother - she takes great joy in pointing that out!) but I think I'll be more effective if I "play" for a little while. [Is anyone buying my poor attempt at procrastinating?] I will hopefully have a small piece to post in a couple of hours - and then it's time to get everyone ready so we can go to Easter dinner at my mom's.

I hope everyone has a wonderful Easter and is reminded that the day is about much more than chocolate bunnies. (Although I don't dislike the chocolate - or the Peeps. Do they make a better "food" than the marshmallow sugary goodness of Peeps? I think not. Love them or hate them, they'll have the consumer bouncing off the walls in record time. I've personally observed this with the childebeasts.) I would love to be at sunrise service but it's a bit difficult without a car. Instead, I will take some time for quiet reflection while I work on the new technique. I'll post my results a little later.

Thank you Easter Bunny...bock! bock!