Have you ever wondered about all the uses of a hot glue gun? They’re our favourite crafting tool, and they have so many brilliant uses around the home too – so much so that we think they should be included in every toolkit.
What are hot glue guns?
You might be familiar with a variety of different types of glue, but hot glue is very different. The gun uses heat to melt sticks of a thermoplastic adhesive.
The glue is strong enough for small crafts and DIY jobs. It’s mouldable and peels away easily from a lot of surfaces. For this reason, it’s a great glue to use for temporary fixes!
Hot glue gun
Uses of hot glue gun –
1. Fix Buttons
You’re running out the door and notice you have a button that is about to fall off. No time to sew it? Just run some hot glue over the threads and go. Your button will stay in place, and when you have time to sew it, the glue will just pop off the plastic. Unlike clear nail polish, the hot glue won’t damage the button.
2. Halloween Spider Webbing
Most crafters hate those threads you get using low temp guns, but even high temp guns will spin webs for you, so why not use it to your advantage at Halloween? Apply a dab of hot glue to anchor the web and while blowing on the glue, pull it to a different anchor point. Keep repeating it until your web is done. When Halloween is over, just run your hand through the glue, and it cleans up fast.
3. Decorate Windows for Holidays
Apply the glue from a glue gun directly to your windows to create holiday magic. It peels off glass quite easily. Did you know glue sticks come in all sorts of colors, plus some that glow in the dark?
4. Opening Up a Can
Place strips of hot glue over the palm of a cotton glove. The glue will grip the top of any stuck jar.
5. Make Jewelry
Hot glue makes wonderful jewelry. We made a bracelet entirely of hot glue. Kids love it!
6. Hem Pants
You’re in a rush and just realized your hem has gone down for the count. Get out that glue gun and go to town. Later on, just peel the dots of glue off or leave it on while you sew. Use only small dabs and not full lines of glue: This makes removing the glue easier, and it won’t stain the clothing. Washing the clothing has no effect on the glue’s adhesion.
7. Resize a ring
Resizing rings can be expensive. We don’t blame you if it has to wait until payday! Hot glue is a great quick fix for a temporary solution.
Create a small puddle of hot glue on a sheet of baking parchment and carefully dip the back of the ring into the glue. As it dries, shape the glue to where you want it.
8. Make this makeup brush cleaner
Makeup brush cleaning mats are essential for getting all the muck out of your makeup brushes. If you don’t want to splash out on one you can easily make your own with a hot glue gun and a mat.
For the base, you can use anything from a Tupperware lid to a plastic clipboard. It just needs to be waterproof and compatible with hot glue.
Glue some ridges onto the base in any pattern you like. You’ll want to vary the height of the ridges for the best results
If in any case you get burned, keep ice water next to you. The burns can be severe and will continue to burn until the glue hardens. If you try to pull it off, it doesn’t work, and you get burned on the hand you use to pull the glue off with as well. But if you dunk the hand immediately in the ice water, you can halt the burn and remove the glue faster. Keep ice water on hand at all times.