Friday, February 22, 2013

Free Tip Friday -- Removing Adhesive


Friday is tip day, and I do have some tips for you, but I’m also hoping that today you might have some tips for me!  You see, I purchased a bottle of something (see the photo) at Great American Scrapbook Convention in 2011.  I’m sure that at the time, I was absolutely convinced that this product was the best thing since sliced bread, otherwise why else would I have bought it?  Unfortunately, it was in a sack for several months before I remembered it and by then I had forgotten why I purchased it in the first place.  I tried looking it up online, but so far Google has not been able to link this product name to anything that makes even the least bit of sense.  So…if you happen to know what this product is, what it does, who was demonstrating it at Great American Scrapbook Convention in 2011, or anything that will help me figure out why I bought this product, I would be immensely grateful, and I might even have some goodies to send your way.  So if you know anything, please post it in the comments.  If I figure out why I got it, I’ll draw a winner from all the comments that led me to the answer.


And now for today’s tip….

Earlier this month, I posted a lot of information about adhesive, but what always surprises me is how many crafters don’t know how to get adhesive off of their craft projects.  Today we’re going to explore two items I consider to be must-haves for any scrapbooker or paper crafter as well as a common household item that can be used to unstick just about anything.


Un-du:
It always amazes me whenever I meet another scrapper who has not heard of Un-Du.  This was one of the first products I learned about when I started scrapbooking again.  Available at scrapbooking and craft stores, Un-du is marketed as a “sticker, tape, and label remover.”  It is acid free and photo safe, and will safely remove just about any kind of adhesive on contact.  The way Un-du works is by softening the adhesive to a gummy state.  Simply saturate the area with Un-du and use the attached scraper to gently lift up your sticker or photo.  Un-du will evaporate quickly, leaving no residue, and the sticker can be repositioned or used again elsewhere.


Xyron Adhesive Eraser:
This handy little gadget is basically just a textured rubber square, but the amazing thing about it is that it can pick up adhesive on contact.  For small bits of Xyron adhesive around die cut letters and shapes, simply press the eraser down firmly and lift.  Repeat until all the adhesive is removed.  For larger areas, such as stripes of adhesive from a tape runner, use short scrubbing strokes to ball the adhesive up and then lift it with the eraser. As the eraser gets gummed up, you can pull off the sticky parts or cut it with scissors to expose fresh eraser.

I cut my Xyron adhesive eraser in half.  Here you can see a clean, unused half as well as a much-used half.


Dental Floss:
Yes, you read that right – dental floss.  This was actually the very first tip I ever learned for removing a photo that had been adhered to a scrapbook page.  Be sure to use unflavored floss.  Hold a strand of it tightly like you intend to floss your teeth and drag it under the photo, lifting gently as you go.

Do you have a favorite tip or trick?  Send me an email about it! 

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