Review | Xyron Mini Sticker Maker

Reported by Chel Micheline

I'm a big fan of Xyron products - my husband bought me the Xyron 510 (now known as the 5" Creative Station) about eight years ago as a surprise gift for Christmas and I've pretty much worn it out. I use it to make stickers out of everything- from die cuts to vintage postage stamps to mailing labels.

One caveat to the 5" machine is that if you are just making a few smaller stickers, you waste a whole lot of adhesive in the process.

That's where the smaller Xyron sticker makers come in. The one I used for this project is the blue Mini Sticker Maker, which retails for $4.99.

IMG_2264

The package includes just one thing: an "X" shaped adhesive dispenser that you feed your paper shapes into.

IMG_2265

As far as ease of use, the Mini Sticker Maker is completely simple and intuitive. Just choose an item you'd like to make into a sticker, feed it face-side-up into the top of the Xyron machine, and pull on the paper adhesive strip on the side of the machine, and the sticker is made for you. The machine "pulls" the soon-to-be sticker inside of it and sandwiches it in between an adhesive strip and a clear cellophane top layers. Simply tear off the completed sticker, peel off the cellophane, and voila!, instant sticker.

First things first - let's talk about the size. While it's lovely to have a smaller Xyron to make smaller stickers with, the one issue with the "Mini Sticker Maker" is that it's almost a bit *too* small. Most punch-outs, die-cut shapes, and letters are about 1" wide/long at the smallest, and the adhesive tape in the Mini Sticker maker is only 1" wide.

IMG_2280

However, sequins, enamels dots, and smaller letters/die cuts are all  very trendy at the moment, and this Mini Sticker Maker is perfect for those applications. Pocket scrapbooking is not going away anytime soon, and new, smaller embellishments specifically designed for that style of memory keeping are being released constantly. The Xyron Mini Sticker Maker allows you to turn a handful of sequins, dots, or tiny die cuts into ready-to-apply stickers. (If you have slightly larger items, the Xyron 250 or the new 3" Disposable Sticker Maker by Xyron might be more your style.)

IMG_2260

I decided to go ahead and make some tiny embellishments for a pocket page I am working on for my scrapbook. I grabbed a punch that I love, but that doesn't get much use because of it's small size - the Martha Stewart 3-in-1 Butterfly punch- and see how the Xyron did with that. I also grabbed a pad of 6x6 patterned paper (MME Indie Chic in Citron), which is the perfect size for punching things out of.

IMG_2267

IMG_2269

After punching out a bunch of tiny butterflies, I fed them into the top of the Xyron.

IMG_2271

And then I gently pulled on the adhesive tape at the bottom of the machine to reveal the sticker.

IMG_2273

I tore off the paper with the attached cutting strip, and peeled away the cellophane coating, and the sticker was ready to go.

Within literally seconds, I created a bunch of perfect tiny embellishments for my Project Life-sized projects, and they were all ready to be attached to the page without the muss and fuss of liquid adhesives. Plus, the "dry adhesive" nature of the Xyron means that once the sticker is applied to the page it doesn't shift, which makes it perfect for being slid instantly into a snug page protector.

IMG_2274

IMG_2278

All in all, I love this little gadget and I know it will get a ton of use. It's easy to use, and it allows me to make use of some of the supplies I love to purchase but rarely get to use because of the "fuss factor". The Xyron Mini Sticker Maker makes it easy to create custom stickers from any flat item up to 1" wide (and it's also good for those Thickers that have lost their stickiness - simply feed the letter into the machine and you have a fresh, sticky letter that will not fall off your page!)

Pros:
- very easy to use
- perfect for adhering smaller embellishments
- enables you to create custom embellishments for smaller size projects with supplies you already have on hand (scraps of paper, punches, etc.)

Cons:
- adhesive is non-refillable
- the machine does not come apart (some Xyron uses prefer to use the adhesive rolls *without* the machine because you can save on adhesive that way, but this machine comes pre-loaded and there's no way to get the adhesive tape out of it.)
- very, very small.

The Xyron Mini Sticker Maker retails for $4.99 at major crafts retailers.

Contributor

Craft Critique is delighted to welcome a variety of talented industry professionals as contributors to share their expertise with our readers.


Previous
Previous

Review | New Teresa Collins Stampmaker

Next
Next

Review | Ranger Tim Holtz Distress Paint