wrinkle-free glue sticks vs. the cheap stuff

I completely disappointed myself by going to Target the other day and not coming home with a bag full of school supplies. I love school supplies and somehow I managed to convince myself that I didn't need a bunch of new composition books, pencils and super awesome other stuff. We'll see how long that lasts. But I did buy one thing: Scotch Wrinkle-Free Glue Sticks.

If you've ever had your paper ripple a bit from the glue, you know that it's just not acceptable and something had to be done. My sweet mother, who is rarely practical about these things, pointed out that it seems unlikely that you would need to pay extra for wrinkle-free, because it's not a huge issue. Friends, I'll admit that the crystal clear tubes of glue might have wooed me. Just look at that!



But the real point here was would these be superior glue sticks. Let's find out.

When I opened the first stick, I found this large bubble on top. I wondered if it would be an issue, and at first it wasn't. Later on, it did cause some uneven gluing, which I did not approve of. But for now, let's glue.



I smoothed it onto some Astrobrights paper, and was surprised that it was stickier than I expected. I suppose that by having a thicker, firmer, sticky consistency, you cut back on the wrinkle that some of the softer glue sticks. It went on nice and even, and even as I took time to take pictures, it stayed sticky enough to adhere to other paper.



And look! No wrinkles! But let's try something a little more prone to wrinkles.



This hexagon is tissue paper. Much more likely to pucker and ripple with glue sticks.



And what's this? Still wrinkle-free! The only time it got close to wrinkling was when the glue stick stuck to the paper a little as I was applying it.

But given that these were a little more expensive than plain old glue sticks (I paid $4 for a 3-pack...as opposed to the ones they have at Target that are 3 for $1!), I thought I had better see how they compare to others. After all, I wanted to prove that I paid more for a reason!



I started with a Dollar Tree glue stick. This photo is a little dark so you can see just how terrible that yellow tissue hexagon looks. And not only that, but the color came off on the glue, which didn't happen with my other tests. So far, I'm glad I bought my fancy supplies!



Then I pulled out my Rose Art stick. These are a little nicer, but still cheap. And do you see what I see? On the Astrobrights paper and the orange tissue (ignore the yucky yellow on the left), the surface is the same smooth texture as with the wrinkle-free version.

Sigh.



It seems that mother knows best. Apparently there's no need for fancy glue sticks. You only need to pay attention and try out a few inexpensive types to find what works best for you. I don't feel too bad though, because I still have crystal clear, very pretty glue, which makes me feel fancy, while still actually gluing things.

Have you ever convinced yourself that you needed something fancy, when plain Jane works just fine?