One of the biggest questions people have when they start scrapbooking Is, “What kind of adhesive should I use?”

Many people who try scrapbooking for the first time make a mistake when it comes to choosing an adhesive. There are a few do’s and don’ts you need to be aware of when choosing an adhesive.

Don’t think about any glue you bought for your child’s school box. These adhesives are more suitable to paper and wood crafts your child makes at school. Adhesives need to be specifically labeled as safe for scrapbooking (acid-free) in order to be appropriate for use on your layouts. These adhesives are more suitable to paper and wood crafts your child makes at school.

Don’t use rubber cement. While some rubber cements state that they are now acid-free, this is still a messy, time consuming way to assemble your scrapbook.

Don’t use just any glue sticks. Although they’re inexpensive, not all are acid free. If you choose to use a glue stick, make sure that it is acid free. It is well worth your time and money to spend a little more and get a good, quality adhesive for your photos.

You can also use one of the many different tape runners. Tape runners are the most time efficient scrapbook adhesive. Many companies manufacture runners and each has its own pros and cons.

Some are refillable, others are disposable, some dispense a clear adhesive strip, others little, light blue dots, and some tiny, white strips of double stick tape. You can also choose between repositionable and permanent adhesives.

Do use a photo tab dispenser. Photo tabs are small squares of double sided tape that work very well with photos. You only need to use a few tabs per photo. By affixing your photos with a quality adhesive, you’ll be able to remove them later on if you choose to.

You can also use 3-D dots in the same manner. They offer you the ability to add height and dimension to your photos, and still allow you to remove or reposition later on.

Just remember, using the least amount of adhesive necessary to hold items on your page is the best rule of thumb.

Small amounts of tape or just a few photo tabs will allow you to remove items at a later date if needed.