Tool Talk - September 2013

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Hello everyone and welcome to another fun addition of Tool Talk! If you're new here to Tool Talk, let me give you just a tiny bit of background. One day I was perusing the crafty isles at a big box store and a feeling of overwhelmedness came over me. Sooo many tools and mediums...how are we to know what they are, what they do, which one is better and why??? I immediately went home and started Tool Talk. I have special guests stop in for a visit and tell us about a favorite crafty tool or item of their choice.  If you;d like to be a guest on Tool Talk please drop me a note at "DeNamiAddict at yahoo dot com" or leave me a comment...thanks :)

 

Today we welcome our friend Amy S. back for a visit. She soooo graciously agreed (with out me having to beg too much, hehehe) to return when she found out the guest for September wasn't going to be able to be with us.

 

I met Amy through blogging about DeNami Design and she's such a sweet person, please join me in welcoming her back....

 

 

 

I am so excited to be back for another Tool Talk feature!  I’m honored, and I hope you can either share in my nerdy crafty love of today’s product or perhaps I can introduce you to your soon-to-be-favorite product!  Let’s dive on in, shall we?

Ever found yourself in a sticky situation when working with glitter glues?  Either the nozzle is too big and you end up with a huge glob of glitter glue on your project, or your project looks divine when you apply the glitter glue, but when it dries you find yourself saying, “Hey!  Where did all the glitter go?”  Most glitter glues are a mess, and their ratio of glitter to glue just doesn’t cut it once it dries.  May I now introduce you to your new best friend…

STICKLES by Ranger

I love Stickles.  Seriously.  I loooooove my Stickles!  “But, why?” you ask?  Let me tell you! 

Reason #1:  ALL THE PRETTY COLORS! 

Stickles come in a massive array of colors.  The traditional Stickles line has 48 decadent colors currently available.  It’s hard to imagine a color you might need that isn’t available.  Even if you’re looking for icy white colors, you have several to choose from (while I love them all, Stardust is my favorite).  You can download color charts HERE to keep track of what colors you own and as a color reference while you work.  Here’s what my color chart looks like:

(note: I recently bought the 6 newest colors which are not pictured, but they are included in the current downloadable chart.)

But wait!  There’s more!  Stickles also come in Tim Holtz’ Distress colors which perfectly match the Distress inks colors (they are slightly thicker with a matte finish, and the bottle has a wider nozzle).  Plus, there is a line of Ice Stickles which are bolder, chunkier glitter glues that come in larger bottles.  Plus, Ranger also makes Liquid Pearls which come in the same bottles as Stickles, but they have a pearlescent shine instead of glittery sparkle. 

Confession Time: I have an OCD love of Stickles, folks, so that means I have to own EVERY COLOR.  EVERY. SINGLE. COLOR.  My collection is ALMOST complete right now.  I have only a couple colors of Ice Stickles and Liquid Pearls left to buy, and then my collection will be complete!!!  MUAHAHAHA!

Reason #2: EASY TO USE!

 As I mentioned before, Stickles have a super fine nozzle which gives you incredible control.  Add Stickles just where you need.  You can even do super tiny dots or continue to squeeze the bottle for larger amounts.  You can even smear Stickles to cover a larger area.  Now, I know some of you skeptics may be thinking, “Doesn’t a nozzle that tiny get clogged?”  Here’s the thing…Stickles use SUPER FINE glitter, so they flow easily.  I always give them a little shake before using, too.  Now, I will admit, I did have ONE bottle that clogged.  Let me repeat:  ONE BOTTLE.  So, out of the 100+ bottles of Stickles I have owned, I had one faulty nozzle.  That’s a pretty low percentage, don’t you think?

 

Reason #3:  STICKLES GET BETTER WHEN THEY DRY!

As I mentioned before, so often with glitter glues, when they dry, you’re left thinking, “Where did it go?”  However, Stickles actually look BETTER when they are dry.  They have such gorgeous, vibrant colors, and each little bottle is chock full of tons of glittery goodness.  They have so much sparkle and shine!

Here is a close-up of Christmas Red:

 Didn’t I tell you the colors are rich and the glitter is highly concentrated? Looks even better in person!

 

Reason #4:  STICKLES ARE AFFORDABLE!

Depending upon where you buy your Stickles, they are usually between $2-3 each.  That is a DEAL!  PLUS, they last quite a while.  Sure, in the years that I’ve been addicted, I’ve had to replace some of my most loved colors (Christmas Red and Green  get quite a workout during a certain time of year, as you can imagine), but most of my Stickles are still working great!  

 

Reason #5: STICKLES ARE EASY TO STORE!

In a perfect world, Stickles can be stored upside down (easy to see the colors and keeps the glitter close to the nozzle).  However, with my life being so transient over the past 2 years, I needed mobility.  So, I bought an awesome plastic box with lid from The Container Store.  I used to store them upside down in the box, but I changed it back recently to keep them from rolling around.  I separate my Stickles by type (regular, Distress, Ice, etc…) and ROYGBIV my colors so I can easily find them.

 

The only downside to Stickles is that they do require some dry time.  The exact dry time varies based upon how much glitter glue is applied.  If you are making a project in a hurry, I understand that you don’t always have time to wait.  In those cases, I strongly recommend DeNami Design’s X-tra Fine  glitter. 

Here’s one more photo showing Stickles used on a Christmas card I made a few years ago.  Don’t the colors just POP? 

Well, I hope this will inspire you to give Stickles a try.  If you love Stickles like I do, leave a comment and let us know how you store yours!  If you’ve never tried them before, pick up a couple colors on your next shopping trip!  Play around with them, and HAVE FUN!  I think you’ll love them!

 

Thanks again, Tina, for inviting me to be a part of Tool Talk!