Hot Glue & Other "Sticky Stuff"
Floral Arrangements
When it comes to ideas on making things like floral arrangements, I am the eternal “copy cat.” To tell you how long ago this “copy cat” thing began with me; years ago, I remember watching a man in a floral shop as he put together a silk floral arrangement. He was working away, paying no attention to me, and I was watching his every move. He put pellets of hot-melt glue in an old electric skillet and then he dipped the tips of each stem into the glue before placing it into the foam base. Yes, there were many “cobwebs” of glue stringing from the skillet to the arrangement, but that was easily corrected, and his arrangements were beautiful. Soon after I watched this hot glue trick, I happened to get a brand new electric skillet. Coincidence? No. It was a necessity purchase since my old electric skillet just happened to end up in my basement workroom, and it was melting hot-melt glue quite nicely. Then along came the glue gun.
I have tried both hot-melt and cool-melt glue, and I have both a small and standard sized corded glue gun as well as a cordless one. When you are using a glue gun for an extended period of time (more than 1 1./2 hours,) you need to use a corded glue gun, and I prefer the light-duty hot glue gun. For this gun, I buy the general purpose multi-temp glue sticks that are 7/16" in diameter, and 10" in length. (The small gun that holds the little skinny sticks of glue requires my constant replacement of glue sticks, and I am much too impatient and I use way too much glue for that!) The large glue sticks last a lot longer, and require a lot less attention.
Do I burn myself with the hot glue gun? Yes! I have had blisters more than once, and since the glue heats to about 380 degrees, it is like touching a hot oven. No… it’s a lot worse than touching a hot oven because once the hot glue is on your skin, it sticks and continues to burn. The best remedy for this hazard is to have a glass of ice water handy, just in case. Plunge that burning finger in ice water, and it sets the glue instantly and stops the burning, maybe even before the blister occurs. I suppose you would call this an occupational hazard.
Other than the obvious danger involved in using a glue gun, it is very easy to use. I keep a power strip on my work table, and the glue gun only has to be plugged in a few minutes before it is ready to go! The gun feeds the glue stick through the heated chamber as you pull the trigger. Once the glue stick is no longer extending outside of the gun, another stick must be inserted to keep the gun working.
A solution to burned fingers is the ColdHeat Freestyle Cordless Glue Gun, and the best price I have seen for this glue gun is at Lowes. This one is the answer when it comes to convenience, safety, and versitility. You just have to snap on a re-chargable battery pack, (it takes about three hours to charge the battery) and you can "glue away" for up to 1 1/2 hours. Although the glue doesn't come out of this gun quite as quickly as it does from the corded hot glue gun, it works well, and not having the restrictions of a cord is great! Also - it won't burn your fingers!
I make it a practice to put at least a small amount of hot glue on the tip of each stem before putting it in place so that it cannot easily fall out. If you use hot glue , it also softens the base material, especially Styrofoam, so that even weak, dried stems can be inserted easily without breaking. (Well, they usually don’t break.) If you do decide that you want to remove or reposition a stem, you can pull it out after gluing it in, but it shouldn’t fall out on its own.
Other “sticky stuff” that I use in floral arrangements is floral tape and floral clay. Floral tape comes in olive, brown, white, and two shades of green (pictured right). It is a stretchy, relatively “unsticky” tape that adheres as you stretch and twist it around stems. Floral tape is a must when you are combining two or more stems, and I also use it for other floral projects such as corsages, nosegays, and boutonnières. I use dark green the most, but on occasion I have used the lighter green, brown, and white tapes, according to the color of the stems and the particular project. The tape color should be chosen to match the stems so that it’s appearance is discrete.
I use floral clay to secure the base material (Styrofoam, Sahara or Oasis) to the container. This special formula sticky clay is a leaf green color. It never hardens and works best when surface is clean and dry. An arrangement, especially one that is “top heavy,” can slide around and pop out of the container if the base material isn’t properly adhered. How unprofessional!
When you buy an arrangement or a wreath at a commercial florist, it is always securely put together so that it is durable and so that it lasts. Your creation should be no different.
- Arranging Roses
- DIY Flower Designs
- Hot Glue & Other Sticky Stuff
- On Sale is a Must
- The Foundation of the Thing
- Tricks of theTrade
- Quality vs. Quantity
- Say No to Plastic:
- Silk, Dried, orPreserved?
- What Supplies Do INeed?
