Working with Acrylic

All of YMBD's Acrylic products are made from thick .03 gauge crystal clear Acrylic, which is Acid & Lignin Free (archival safe). All pieces are coated with a plastic sheet, both front & back, to protect it from scratches and fingerprints until you are ready to work with it. Important: Remember to remove these protective sheets before working with your Acrylic pieces.



Removing the protective sheets: Peel the coating off by rubbing a hole in the coating with your finger nail, once you have a hole started in the coating, take your finger nail and peel it right off. Easy Peasy!

Adhesive: There is a variety of adhesives you can use to help you adhere your paper, photos and embellishments to your acrylic project. Tacky Tape, Zots (glue dots), Diamond Glaze (Glossy Accents), Tombo Mono Liquid, Zip Dry, Vellum Glue Dots, etc. Some adhesives are clear, others will show through. So depending on your adhesive choice, material being adhered and what you do and don't want to show through on the other side, is where you get to be creative with your acrylic project!

Embellishments: When using rub-ons, stamps, "doodles"... place them in a location where you want them to be seen from both the front and the back of the acrylic. It's like using the same embellishment twice (but only paying for it once)!

Stamping: Staz On Ink works the best on acrylic. It will not smear, and stays where you place it. Darker colors work best, but lighter "opaque" colors work well too. Staz On ink cleaner works great if you make a mistake -- just use it to wipe your mistake away, and start again! Don't have any Staz On handy? Any other solvent based inks, or inks meant for stamping on glass/plastic or other non-porous surfaces will also work.

Pens: Try using Souffle pens to embellish your acrylic. They work great, and the longer you let them dry, the bolder the image becomes! You can also try using other permanent markers/pens (ie Sharpies). Just remember to allow ample drying time (as with any other "wet" medium you put onto your acrylic) before touching it.

Photos: When using photos in your acrylic album, think about what you want to put on the back side of it. You can place another photo (same size), or a journaling block. You can use stamped images, rub-ons, or large embellishments like flowers.

Whatever choices you make for altering your acrylic, just remember to be creative and make it a unique expression of yourself! Have fun with it, and you'll always love the final results!

See some examples of completed Acrylic Albums by YMBD's Design Team:

Donna's Disney Album
Megan's CHA Album

Working with Acrylic

http://ymbd.blogspot.com/2008/03/working-with-acrylic.html