What is a glue gun?
The glue gun is a versatile tool for bonding together a variety of materials. The metal heating element in the glue gun's body melts the glue, and melted adhesive flows out the of glue gun's tip. This is probably considered as the ultimate tool in crafting and in minor repairs. Could anyone imagine the arts and crafts world without these dependable hot glue guns?
Different types:
Glue guns come in different power and sizes. The glue gun you choose would depend on how you want to use it. If you are working with delicate materials, opt for a low-temperature gun, this would melt the stick at around 250 degrees. The high-temperature gun is more suited for bonding substantial materials like metal and wood and it works at about 380 degrees. Also available are dual-temperature guns which offer both temp options and cost slightly more. With trigger feed, you simply insert the glue stick and each push of the trigger pushes the stick forward into the heater and melts through the nozzle. Push-fed model is usually for home and school projects, you need to manually push the glue stick in as you go along.
Glue guns come in different sizes, from mini-gun that is just a few inches in size to a large industrial pistol-grip type models. The most common is the one that has a diameter of 11mm. Sticks also come in different lengths, from 10cm onwards. Some manufacturers sell battery-powered hot glue guns, but most models operate off on standard power outlets or are gas powered.
How to use it properly:
The glue is strong and has a staying power. The adhesive bonds immediately and becomes cool to the touch quickly. For people tired with the clear glue, glue sticks come in variety of colors and some even come with glitter. Glue sticks can stick to a variety of materials. You can use it with beads, glass, wood, ceramics, brick, stone, metal, silk, dried flowers, pine cones, cloth and seashells. The possibilities are endless.
For safety though, one must be careful when using a glue gun. The melted glue, even from low-temperature glue guns will stay hot for at least 1minute. It can cause discomfort and burns if the glue comes in direct contact with your skin. Do not touch the hot glue, especially the hot glue gun's nozzle tip. Because of the metal nozzle's heat, the glue may continuously ooze out even when you are not squeezing the trigger, make sure to set the gun down on a cardboard or a sheet of paper to protect surfaces from drips.
End talks:
Part of the hot glue gun's appeal is the price. It is inexpensive and easy to use. It can be bought at any local craft and hardware store and the more specialized industrial glue guns can be purchased from specialist glue gun suppliers, including online retailers. A glue gun has infinite uses; not only for arts and crafts but also for minor home repair jobs and industrial applications.
Hugh Frend is author of this article on Glue Gun. Find more information about Hot Melt Glue. Article Source: Free Articles ArticleSnatch Article Directory
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by Sam Smith
Baby shower invitations are a very important part of the entire baby shower process. A baby shower invitation is the first thing that your visitor will see and therefore your first opportunity to set the mood of the shower. So it is important to think long and hard and really come up with a unique idea for your baby shower invitation.
One way to truly make your baby shower stand out from the crowd is by making handmade baby shower invitations. This might take some extra time but the time spent will definitely be conveyed to those getting a unique handmade baby shower invitation.
In making custom baby shower invitations you will want to first consider you theme for the baby shower. For example if you have a Disney or Winnie the Pooh theme then you might want to collect some ideas around this theme. If you theme is a stroke then you will want to include a stroke in your invitations.
Below are some ideas that can be used to make a unique handmade baby shower invitation.
Computer - There has been a huge proliferation of computers in recent years and almost every household now has a computer. Many of the computers come with wonderful printing and page layout software. For example some popular titles are Printmaster, Microsoft Publisher, Print Artists and many others. If you do not have one of these programs they can easily be purchased for under $15.00 dollars and they are very easy to install and get up and running. The great advantage of doing a baby shower invitations this way is you can make each one unique and custom. You can add in the recipient's names and even change the colors of each invitation to make them all individual and unique. Also with the templates that are often included with these types of programs it should be easy to find a template that will fit your purpose and theme. You can easily find a template that fits in with your theme and then make a few changes to customize it like changing colors or inserting different graphics.
Handmade Paper - It is not very difficult to make your own paper at home or even buy handmade paper at your local craft store. This combined with a few of the other techniques discussed below can really make for a handmade baby shower invitation that has quality written all over it. Honestly there is nothing quite like the touch and feel of handmade pieces of paper. When your recipients of these invitations open and read the invitations they will be delighted with the sensation of handmade paper. These types of papers will work well with stamps, calligraphy and other handmade baby shower invitation techniques.
Stamps - More and more people are getting into stamping and scrap booking. The supplies and techniques that are available in these fields is growing exponentially. It is really a lot of fun and can be a wonderful way to enjoy your hobby while make a handmade baby shower invitation. So simply go to your local craft store and pick up some fun stamps, pens, and even embossing powder and get started making your invitation. Try to find stamps that fit with your theme. A very fun theme can be baby building blocks and there are also many stamps that you can use to make an invitation with baby building blocks or Alphabet blocks.
Stickers - Stickers can be another fun way to make a handmade baby shower invitation. You can easily buy stickers from your local craft store that will fit well into your theme. Pick carefully and use high quality products. You might also want to think about how you can integrate handmade papers, stamps and stickers to make a really unique handmade invitation.
Wax Seals - Wax seals with an initial can be a lot of fun to add a quality finishing touch to your handmade invitation. You simply close and seal the envelope closed and then melt a little bit of wax on to the outside of the envelope. Then press a seal with your initials or family crest into the hot wax. This is a very nice finishing touch to a handmade baby shower invitation.
These are just a few of the many ideas that you can use to make handmade baby shower invitations. The possibilities are really limitless. It is important to tie in the theme of the baby shower and some thought should go into the process. Also just a little bit of advice leave yourself a lot of time to create handmade baby shower invitations. You do not want to be trying to make them last minute right before the shower and be under pressure to get theme finished. Being under pressure to get something done is not very conducive to being creative.
Sam Smith is the webmaster of Baby Shower Guides. A great resource for: handmade baby shower invitations. Article Source: Your Source of New eZine ready Articles daily.
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by Helen L Evans
Setting up a handmade crafts business can be a very daunting endeavour. There is so much to think about, such as where you are going to sell your crafts from, how much you should charge for your products, and what kind of advertising needs to be done.
However, as anyone who has gone through the experience of starting their own craft business will be sure to tell you, the task of setting up is nothing compared to the task of actually running the business and making it profitable. This is where the real challenge lies and it is the primary reason why many people often resolve to simply stay away from taking steps at all.
For those who actually resolve to pursue their craft business, the primary question that invariably persists is how can I increase my profits? Social media marketing can provide a useful avenue to boost the sales that you make from your handmade crafts and in the recent years, more people are appreciating its true value and turning to its use.
So what exactly is social media? Social media is an umbrella term to describe the use of different communication tools that allow you to connect to people around the world and start to engage with others on a more personal level. Social media is a great way to promote your craft business and better still its free! It can be used to advertise your business but not in the traditional way of paid advertising. In social media you won't last long writing on your accounts about what you are selling everyday. You'll have to be a bit more creative and build up relationships by letting your potential customers know more about you personally such as talking about your creative process or posting a 'how to video'.
It is not possible to talk about social media without referring to Facebook primarily due to the fact that it is the single largest social networking platform in use today both in terms of outreach and number of users. Learning how to implement Facebook to boost your craft business should be a priority for you if you want to reach people interested in your crafts. There are a number of things that you can do to make Facebook work for you in improving the performance and presence of your craft business, some of which are discussed below.
1. Build a separate Facebook page for your business. Most people have their own profile page but this should be kept separate from your business page. It's obviously not professional to have a photo of you drunk at a party next to your brand so keep it separate.
2. Create a 'group'. It can sometimes be tricky to find fans for your page if your handmade fairy wings business is under a name like 'Wendy's Wings'. So why not create a group page where people who like fairies can join. or people who like handmade crafts. This will attract hundreds of more fans for you to then share your business page with.
3. Get more 'likes' on your page. Facebook is a big popularity contest. It's all about getting 'likes' so how do you get them? Well, first of all start with your friends, send them a message and ask them to click the 'like' button. It's unfortunate but we all want to be part of the bigger group, it's a case of 'well if this many people like them they must be good' so why not cheat a little to get your numbers up? Check out fiverr.com where you can buy a few hundred fans for $5! Of course these probably wont be people interested in your crafts but having a larger number of likes will encourage more fans to join.
4. Use Facebook advertising. Have you ever noticed the advertising down the right hand side of your Facebook page seems like it is made just for you? That's not by accident. Facebook knows what you are looking for and personalises the advertising to each person. So what does that mean for your business? Targeted traffic! You choose who sees your adverts their gender, age group, what country they live in whatever is important to you, so your adverts are not wasted on the wrong people.
For more information on how to sell your crafts successfully visit http://www.sellcrafts.com.au/. Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Helen_L_Evans
http://EzineArticles.com/?How-to-Use-Facebook-To-Boost-Your-Craft-Business&id=6783974
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by Jesse T Anastasio
The first thing you need to do in order to set up a booth at a craft fair is to make a plan. That means putting together an idea of what your craft show booth is going to look like in advance. Planning your craft show booth involves a couple of things: first, you want to talk to the craft show organizer to see how much space you have, and if there are any restrictions to what you can have in or around your booth. Also, ask if you have a reliable power supply to run your booth. This is important. The next thing you want to do is to get a floor plan of where your booth is located so you can figure out the best set up to keep people moving in and through your craft show display.
When you go to set up you craft show booth, there are a couple of things you must keep in mind, and the first is to reduce clutter. Keep your crafts well-organized into specific areas. If you are someone who knits and you have sweaters for kids and adults, you don't want them together because people will be frustrated with having to sort through the kids sweaters to find the one adult one in the pile.
Spend time perfecting your merchandising skills. If you have a special stained glass window hanging, it would be time well spent to purchase or build a window that you can display in your booth with one of your window hangings in it. When people see the item in action, they can picture it in their own homes, or they can picture using it. If they can do this, then they are more likely to buy it.
Keep items no lower than waist level. No one really wants to bend over after they have been on their feet all day at a craft fair. Keep items within a person's reach and they will be more likely to pick it up and examine it closely, which will lead to more purchases. Leave some floor space for extra stock (in boxes) that you can fill your tables or racks with.
Price everything you have. Make it easy for people to buy your crafts. If you don't have a price, they may think twice about taking the time to ask, and they may just go elsewhere to purchase something at the craft show.
Eliminate log jams. There is nothing worse than having people frustrated by the lack of good flow in a craft show booth. Try and create a natural flow for people to look at your craft fair items. If you create too many spaces where people are bottle-necked or they have trouble maneuvering to see different crafts, you are limiting your sales. Keep your aisles wide and keep everything streamlined. The frustrated customer does not spend their money in a craft show booth that frustrates them.
Remember, you are running a business. Think of that store that you despise going into versus the one where everything flows so nicely, the displays are appealing and all of the price tags are on the items for sale. Make your craft show booth resemble the store you like, and you'll find that people will spend more money on your crafts!
Visit http://www.funandfreecrafts.com for more great, free craft ideas from fellow crafter and writer Jesse Anastasio. Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Jesse_T_Anastasio
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by Janet Polsterbridge
The market place for trying to sell homemade greeting cards has noticeably developed over the years. With the surge of relatively detached and impersonal electronic greetings that have defeated the objective of cards, people today begun to long for standard greeting cards that showed their feelings and thoughts. The web's way of delivering messages with moving graphics and sounds were only desirable temporarily. Gradually, people understood the reality regarding these greetings: people that use "e-cards" do not actually put much care into it and in all likelihood don't possess time to send a more sincere message. Thus returned the growing demand to get time honored greeting cards; and, in recent times, hand crafted greeting cards happen to be quite a market trend. For one, the sophisticated styles of handcrafted greeting cards show the distinctive expertise and effort which the creator has used in the card, thereby showing the love and affection of the message or greeting.
Retailing hand made greeting cards is a great business enterprise option for people who wish to work at home. There isn't any requirement for a large amount of starting funds----parents who work at home can merely make use of materials that they have or can buy inexpensively and get started making creative hand made greeting cards. Personalized greetings, poems, or even just commonly used messages which leave plenty of room for special messages can all be readily incorporated into the greeting card. For any creative person who wish to make a business from a pastime, what could be a day of enjoyable arts and crafts can transform into a cash making period. The secret is to find the appropriate time of year and marketplace. Birthdays, Valentines, and Christmas are often the most busy seasons in the case of retailing hand made greeting cards. Therefore before these dates, the cards need to already be in production. For your initial sale, greeting card designers can decide to sell amongst family and friends. Another choice is to try to sell with the aid of online social networking websites. Tagging acquaintances and asking them to examine the card and possibly buy it is a virtually free process of getting immediate purchasers. Since you are just starting, promoting and marketing tactics are going to be restricted to recommendations and online promotion. Receiving help from relatives and friends in promoting your hand crafted greeting cards may be a big help in enlarging your market. Creating a free blog site that is designed to hold the images and item descriptions of the greeting cards may well catch the attention of customers from other regions. There will be a requirement, however, to explore having postage and packing fees as part of your sale of cards.
The true beauty of handcrafted greeting cards is simply because they happen to be sincerely a "labor of love." Additionally, these handcrafted greeting cards are personalize, this allows the customers to feel special about his or her purchase because they can be assured nobody else will have that unique card which was specifically designed for them. Even though this may be quite taxing, as it would be a great challenge to one's creativeness, the business of one of a kind hand-made cards can certainly be pretty financially rewarding. But for people who find themselves beginning with the business, starting out with a few packs of quite similar, hand made cards can still be a really good start for success.
Author Resource: Glitter Monster Crafts is a prominent internet retailer of craft supplies (http://www.glittermonster.co.uk/) for card making. Article From Article Directory Online : Free Online Article Submission - Articleonlinedirectory
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by Joyce Neilsen
There is a huge variety of ribbons you can choose from when making your ribbon crafts. Ribbons can be made from many different fabrics and come in many different styles. The type of ribbon you use in your ribbon crafts will depend on which application you are using them for.
Acetate Satin Ribbons
These durable ribbons have a shiny, stiff finish. They can come in solid colours or can have patterns stamped on them. Acetate ribbons can be used for gift wrapping, floral arrangements and wreaths, and wedding use.
Sheer Ribbons
Sheer ribbons are made from very lightweight, open weave fabrics such as organza, organdy and chiffon. They very versatile and come in a myriad of colours and sizes. These ribbons can be used in ribbon crafts such as dressmaking, scrap booking, card making, gift wrapping and wedding use.
Satin Ribbons
Smooth and silky, satin ribbons can be single faced, with one shiny side or double faced with both sides being shiny. These ribbons are also very versatile and come in many colours and sizes. Ribbon crafts that satin ribbons are commonly used for are dressmaking, scrap booking, card making, embroidery, ribbon flowers, hair accessories and gift wrapping.
Velvet Ribbons
For a touch of luxury in your ribbon crafts, you can't go past velvet ribbon. It comes in rich colours as well as soft pastels. One side the ribbon is plain and the other side, the plush, dense pile of the ribbon is what gives it it's luxurious feel. Velvet ribbon is great for dressmaking, seasonal decor and weddings.
Grosgrain Ribbons
Grosgrain are a heavier ribbon with thin horizontal ribbing. They are usually made from silk and come in a wide variety of colours. They very durable and are commonly used in scrap booking, card making, hair bows and dressmaking.
Jacquard Ribbons
The term jacquard ribbons is often used to describe ribbons with embroidery on them, but true jacquard ribbons are woven in such a way that the design is actually part of the weave of the fabric. Because of the way these ribbons are woven, there is a definite right side and wrong side. They give a very interesting effect to ribbon crafts that include dressmaking, home decor, scrap booking and cardmaking
Wired Ribbons
The wire in the edges of wired ribbons help them maintain their shape. This is particularly useful for ribbon crafts that require bows.
Lame Ribbons
Light weight metallic ribbons available in many colours. Use these when you require a bit of shimmer in your project.
Moire Ribbons
Usually made from taffeta or satiny fabric, these interesting ribbons have a watermark effect. A nice ribbon for adding a bit of interest in your project.
With so many ribbon types to choose from, you are sure to find one suitable for your ribbon crafts.
Joyce Neilsen - lover of all things ribbon.
Ribbon Crafts Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Joyce_Neilsen
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