WARNING!!!  If you are like me, a hot glue gun can be dangerous.  I burn my fingers all the time when I use them but they are one of the best tools in my craft room.  Now not all hot glue guns are created equal.  Not all hot glue sticks are either.  I have had the cheap tiny guns and they will do okay but they are hard to use and do not stand up well.  They also drip glue.  It was because of this that I decided to invest in a new one.  After doing my research, I went with the brand Surebonder.

Surebonder makes several different size glue guns and also several different sizes glue gun sticks.  The bottom glue gun in the picture above has a fine tip for tiny details.  It is a high temp gun and does not drip.  The top glue gun has a stand and it is cordless.  Once heated up, it can go a full 2 minutes before you need to put it back on the stand to heat up again.  This is great for a craft desk like mine because I can put this thing anywhere and I do not get tangled in the cord.  It has a bit bigger tip to push out more glue.

Surebonder makes full size hot glue guns all the way down to the small mini ones.  They vary in tip sizes.  Some come with cords and some that are cordless.  There is even some industrial ones that work off of batteries.  They also have ones that have two different heat settings.  You have the option of a low heat setting and a high heat setting depending on your project.   I honestly have never used the low heat setting on a hot glue gun because for me it dries to fast.

Lets talk about hot glue.  Right now I have the Surebonder brand hot glue sticks and I love them.  It is just the basic glue sticks.  They come in mini sticks, ones that are about double that size and also long spirals.  I prefer the mini ones unless I am doing a lot of gluing.  There are other brands of glue sticks too like Gorilla Glue makes some that are extra strong.   The glue sticks come in different colors.  I have never used them but I think they would be great for the right project.  There is also different types of glue sticks depending on the material you are gluing together.  You can for sure find something that will work for you with any project.

Over the years I have found some things that make it easier when using a hot glue gun.  One is a silicon pad.

I have a grey small pad and it works great.  They are not just for hot glue but for any kind of glue.  The pads come in a few different sizes.  I can see the value in having one that is bigger.  It would give you a big space to work on without worrying about glue sticking to your work surface and damaging it.  The hot glue or almost any kind of glue peals right off of the silicon without damaging it.  That also means if you are gluing a project together and the glue leaks out, the project will not stick to your work surface.  This pad is worth its weight in gold.

The other thing that Surebonder sells is attachment tips for their glue guns.

I have these but have yet to use them.  I am curious about the flat nozzle.  I think it would be great for things like ribbon or thin pieces of wood.  You might see these in a future post.

Finally the last thing I want to talk about are tools you can use to keep you from touching the glue.  I am pretty sure I no longer have finger prints anymore because I have touched hot glue so much and have peeled the skin off of my fingers.  It happens every single time I used the hot glue guns.  So I was on the hunt to see what else I could use to hold small pieces in place while the glue sets.  I tried my scissors but then glue stuck to them along with what ever I was gluing.  There are silicon finger covers but I do not need 10 sleeves for one finger.  Then like always Dollar Tree to the rescue.  I bought one of their small silicon spatulas.  It works perfect.  That spatula saves my fingers because they are not even close to the heat.  It holds things in place without the glue sticking to it.  I am very happy with it.

I hope you enjoyed our little deep dive into the world of hot glue guns.  You can find Surebonder glue guns and glue on Amazon or at Hobby Lobby.  That is not the only brand out there though.  Walmart, Michael’s Craft Store and many other places sell hot glue guns.  Find what works best for you.

If you have any questions you can comment on here or you can find Yellow Butterfly Craft Designs on Instagram and Facebook.

Thank you for joining me again and as always stay safe and healthy!  I will have another craft project for you at the end of the week!

Melissa McGuire