| Buying (also see the supplies page for more tips on buying certain items). Paints Buying acrylic paint in 2 oz bottles is smart because their price is usually ranging between 40 and 70 cents. That means you can buy many bottles and they won't put a dent in your budget. |
| Tips: Find some great tips on this page for whatever you're wondering. Otherwise, email me. |
| Restoring/Reparing Depending on the age or quality of your project you may need to replace some pieces. To do this, gently remove the wobbly or broken piece. Remake the same piece to make sure it will be strong (keeping the old one and trying to repair it won't make it too much stronger than it was before). After you did this, make sure it is strong, and reattach it with plenty of glue. |
| Painting It's important to use acrylic paint when painting wooden sticks. This paint sticks to the wood well and it's very durable. Plus, there are hundreds of fun colors to choose from, and all of them are mixable. They are also permanent and non-toxic. Cover the sticks well. You may want to do two coats. If you are mixing, make plenty of the paint, so you don't run out. You can also write down how much of each color you used. |
| Glueing Glueing is a big part of making projects. You can go through hundreds of glue sticks just making a large project. Cover the sticks well when glueing, but don't overdue it, it's just a waste and it can be messy. If you didn't use enough go into the inside of the project and add more, or take the piece off and re-glue it. The worst thing you can do when glueing is drop a glued stick on your hand. It can be pretty painful. Don't panic when glueing sticks, if you do your hands get shaking and you'll probably drop the stick. If you ever do this, or touch hot glue with a finger, let it dry then take it off. If try to take it off immediately, it will most likely still be drying, and then you will burn more than one finger. You may want to go rinse your finger off under cool water. Never leave your glue gun on when you're not using it. It may ruin the surfaces you place it on, it could even start a fire. Plus you will be wasting glue. If they are hot enough, glue guns can work for up to three minutes after you unplug them. |
| Sticks Buy sticks in bulk and you will save lots of time and money. First look for the best price and see how many you can get. Go for the biggest amount of sticks with the lowest price. You will save time because you won't have to keep going back to the store every month to get more sticks. I buy Craft It! sticks (1000 sticks for $1.27). These are good sticks too. In the same store, for $1.99 I could buy 150 sticks. I always look for the cheapest price. |
| Glue Guns and Sticks When you buy a hot glue gun, go for the smallest gun you can find. (unless you already have one). The sticks melt faster, so you can finish in less time, and the sticks are easy to find, and you can buy them in bulk for a cheaper price. |
| Getting Through Tough Projects When you're doing a tough project, it's easy to get frustrated, when things aren't looking like you planned. When I get stuck and need ideas, I take a break, and make a few more sketches of what I'm thinking of for the project. I've also found out T.V., movies, and music can be a fun, relaxing way to stay motivated. These can also give you ideas for your projects such as colors, style, etc. If these don't help, take a break, and start the project up again when you start to get some ideas. When you're working on a project for hours at a time, it's a good idea to take a few breaks here and there for a snack, and to stretch. |