Making homemade cards is a great way to show your friends and family how much you love them. With the right materials such as good quality cardstock, glue, and decorations, you can make a special occasion even more special.
So, what are the best glues for card making? The best glues for card making has a precision tip, strong adhesion, dries clear, and won’t cause your paper to warp. They are typically available in bottle and pen forms.
To ensure your homemade cards look professional and stay durable, you want to use the right kind of craft glue. Read on to learn more about the best glues for card making and see a list of recommended products.
Buyer’s Guide For Glues For Card Making
Precision Tip
It’s important that the glue you use for card making comes with a precision tip.
Whether it’s a pen with a dual-tip that offers a precision tip and a wide tip, or a bottle that has a precision tip option, you need that ability to use just a tiny bit of glue at a time.
Craft glue is often designed with a stronger hold, so a little goes a long way. You only need to use a small amount to add any decorations to your card.
Usually, you’ll also be sticking small letters on the card to spell out phrases like “Happy Birthday,” “Congratulations,” “Get Well Soon,” and other common greetings.
To apply these small letters without having that dried glue shine everywhere, you’ll need a precision tip. This will help you use just the right amount of glue for the size and shape of your letters.
Strong Adhesion
Homemade cards are often given to people of all ages. Children may be rough with the cards, and adults may want to display the cards for months or keep them for years.
Both scenarios require strong adhesion and long-term durability. Children are known to be a little reckless when handling fragile items like paper, so it’s important to use a strong craft glue to prevent all the meticulous letters and decoration from falling off.
Many adults find handmade, customized cards to be keepsakes. It shows that their loved one was thinking of them in a special way and put extra effort into creating something to celebrate them.
Because a homemade card can hold a lot of meaning, many people like to keep their cards and either display them or store them in a box long-term. You want a glue that can keep your card intact for the long haul.
After spending hours working on the card you made for your loved ones, it would be a shame for it to fall apart only minutes or days after gifting it.
Dries Clear
No matter how careful you are in the application, chances are that some of the dried glue will shine around the edges of some of the details on your homemade card.
This is typical of handmade items, so it shouldn’t take much away from the beautiful quality that you’ve created.
The best craft glues take this into consideration and are formulated to dry clear. Although you may still see a slight shine on the paper, it won’t be a glaringly obvious white patch.
Glues that don’t dry clear can take away from the overall effect you’re trying to create with your card.
No Warping
When paper comes in contact with moisture, it can start to deteriorate. Depending on the level of moisture, it can either weaken the fibers and create holes, or simply warp the paper as it dries to that it curls rather than drying flat.
Glue is a wet substance, so when it’s introduced to paper, you may see it affecting the paper’s appearance and surface. However, as it dries, it should return the paper to its original flat, sturdy structure.
Some low-quality craft glues can cause warping, changing the shape of your card and making it curl in certain places. This can change the appearance of your card and make it look less professional and clean.
Instead, you want to choose a higher quality craft glue that won’t do this. As we noted above, when it dries, the paper should return to its original shape and structure with no curling or warping.
The Best Glues For Card Making
| Rank | Product | Key Features |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | Bearly Art Precision Craft Glue | Multiple precision tips, strong adhesion, dries clear, no warping, bottle form |
| 2. | Zig Memory System 2-Way Squeeze and Roll Glue Pen | 3-pack, precision tip, strong adhesion, dries clear, no warping, pen form |
| 3. | Aleene's Turbo 2-Pack Pens Tacky Glue | 2-pack, precision tip, strong adhesion, dries clear, no warping, pen form |
| 4. | Elmer's Craft Bond Fabric and Paper Glue | Squeeze tip, strong adhesion, dries clear, no warping, bottle or pen form |
| 5. | Scotch Scrapbookers Glue with Two-Way Applicator | Dual-tip with precision and sponge tips, strong adhesion, dries clear, no warping, pen form |
| 6. | Tombow MONO Multi Liquid Glue | Dual-tip with precision and broad tips, strong adhesion, dries clear, some warping, pen form |
| 7. | Tombow MONO Aqua Liquid Glue | Dual-tip with precision and broad tips, strong adhesion, dries clear, some warping, pen form |
1. Bearly Art Precision Craft Glue
The Bearly Art Precision Craft Glue is one of the best craft glues on the market. It works great for paper crafts, giving you a durable and strong adhesion.
It is a non-toxic glue that dries clear. It comes in the form of a bottle with 4 different precision application tips to choose from.
It even comes with a cleaning pin to clear out any potential clogs that may form and dry in the tips.
2. Zig Memory System 2-Way Squeeze and Roll Glue Pen
Another great option are the Zig glue pens from EK Tools. With this product, you’ll get a 3-pack of glue pens with a precision tip for detailed application.
This glue goes on smoothly and dries clear. You simply squeeze and roll the glue pen across the paper surface.
They’re recommended for scrapbooking use, so you know they’ll work great with paper and won’t cause any warping.
Customers love the ease of use and strong adhesion they get from these glue pens.
3. Aleene’s Turbo 2-Pack Pens Tacky Glue
When it comes to craft glues, Aleene’s is a well-known and well-respected brand.
They have a wide variety of craft glues made for all different types of materials and applications.
These Turbo Tacky Glue pens are perfect for paper crafting.
They have a precision tip to apply neatly on those tiny decorations and letters.
They also dry clear with a strong hold, maintaining the integrity of your handmade card for long-term enjoyment.
4. Elmer’s Craft Bond Fabric and Paper Glue
Speaking of top craft glue brands, Elmer’s is another great glue brand.
Rather than their school glue, we recommend using their Elmer’s Craft Bond Glue. This is made to work well with both fabric and paper, giving you versatility in your craft projects.
It dries clear, and you can either get it in a bottle with the traditional Elmer’s glue cap, or in the form of glue pens with precision tips.
Either way, you’re getting a decent amount of glue. The bottle is 4oz and the pens come in a 6-pack that have 0.356oz of glue per pen.
5. Scotch Scrapbookers Glue with Two-Way Applicator
Yet another highly recognized adhesive brand is Scotch. Typically, when you think Scotch, you probably think tape. However, their Scotch Create Glue Pen is fantastic.
It’s glue that goes on clear and dries clear. It comes in the form of a pen that has a fine tip and a sponge tip, so you can apply your glue in fine precision and in larger sweeps.
This glue is specifically noted to be photo safe, so while some craft glues may run the risk of ruining precious photos, this one will preserve the beauty.
6. Tombow MONO Multi Liquid Glue
Tombow is a popular craft materials brand found on Amazon.
They make art markers, alcohol-based markers, brush lettering, journaling supplies, and more.
With all their craft products, it should come as no surprise that they have a few options in the glue category.
Their Mono Multi Liquid Glue is a fantastic option. Though it appears white as it’s applied, it will dry clear.
This is a glue pen that you can apply using the fine precision tip or the broad tip.
7. Tombow MONO Aqua Liquid Glue
If you feel better using glue that both appears clear and dries clear, then try the Tombow Mono Aqua Liquid Glue.
It’s similar to the Multi Liquid Glue listed above, but it’s clear glue in a clear pen.
You’ll still get the option of applying it with either the fine pen tip or the broad tip.
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