Hello, and happy 4th of July! I’m very glad you liked the first part of my story. I will post more on Sunday.
Now, onto the subject of today’s post. It must be confessed that I am rather lazy at times. I don’t really like to sew things on, for example. I would much rather glue them on. That’s where the remarkable invention of the hot glue-gun comes in.
I have learned, however, that this remarkable invention does not come without a price. I’m not talking about the small price you pay to own it, but something worse.
Guess what? Hot glue guns are…wait for it…HOT! Oh yes. Very hot, and very glue-y. So if you get glue on yourself, it will burn, and it will stick to you.
Okay, you knew all this already. But evidently I didn’t. Because, you see, I was lounging on my bed, gluing a doll’s hair onto her. (More about that later.) I set the glue gun down and thought I had unplugged it, though truthfully I hadn’t. Then, after a few minutes, I started to get up, and I put my arm down on top of the hot glue gun.
(Yes, I’m being dramatic and drawing this out for an unreasonable length of time. But let’s continue.)
So the hot glue gun burned my arm, and it left behind a sticky glob of glue. Naturally I couldn’t walk around with a glob of glue on my arm, so I had to peel it off. If you’ve ever had to peel a glob of glue off of a burn, you’ll know it isn’t the most pleasant thing to do. And it left behind a nasty-looking wound.
This was about five days ago, and I thought I should share with you a list of hot-gluing tips, so you don’t share the same fate as me.
1. Always hot-glue on a flat surface, like a kitchen counter or a table.
2. Plug the hot glue gun in when you’re ready to start gluing, and unplug it as soon as you finish.
3. Wait at least five minutes for the hot glue gun to cool down before putting it away. Otherwise it will stick to whatever you put it next to.
4. Before you apply hot glue to something, triple-check the placement so you don’t mess up. Marking it helps.
5. If you think you’re going to run out of glue, get another glue stick BEFORE you start hot gluing.
6. Whenever possible, sew things instead of hot gluing them. Then you won’t run the risk of burning yourself. Of course, you could still stab yourself with the needle, but it’s less painful.
If you were wondering about the aforementioned doll, she is doing just fine. I ended up making her a different head since the first one was totally creepy.
She’s a crocheted Bleuette, in case you were wondering, and here’s the link to the pattern.
Be careful with your glue guns, people! Crafting is a dangerous occupation. 😉 And have a good 4th of July.
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