My desk this week is littered with sprays and left over metal parts and tools. The little box is slowly air drying in between sprays of colour. My heat gun has broken. The plastic on/off switch broke in half and fell out. I am thinking of buying a heat tool from the hardware store in the hope that it would be better made and hopefully last longer. DH thinks they could be too heavy duty and mumbled something about burning the house down. I can see his point.... I think the heavy duty heat guns are used for encaustic work and stripping paint. Hoping there is a woyww out there that has researched the best heat guns around the globe.
On a completely different note ...
Oriental Lily painted in my sketchbook journal.
Have a great woyww.
Your oriental lily is simply gorgeous....what lovely colours. Have a fun week.
ReplyDeleteHugs,
Annie x #17
Yeah, I think I'd agree with your husband in this one....you don't want your beautiful craftwork (and house) going up in smoke! But I agree with you in that crafting tools seem to be overpriced compared with the everyday tool sort of variety......
ReplyDeleteLove that lily...you have the watercolour knack! I mentioned you on my blog today, as I got my watercolours out to do my ATCs. I really enjoyed painting again, haven't done it for far too long, but need quite a bit more practise :-)
Hugs, LLJ 19 xx
I say, use a coupon at the craft store and get a new heat gun at a discount. Your lily is so gorgeous! And I love the colors you're using on your project. Thanks for the visit. Hugs! Sandy Leigh #41
ReplyDeleteBeautiful lily painting - I love those colours. No help with glue guns I am afraid. x Jo
ReplyDeleteA heat gun that can strip paint does sound a bit too fierce!! The main choice is between the hairdryer type and the 'tube' type which I have. Really not sure what each is better at though I do believe there is s a slight difference. Just gotta shop around!! Gorgeous lily. Happy WOYWW, Cindy #31
ReplyDeleteThe heat gun from the hardware store would burn your papers real easy. Grab a coupon and pop off to a craft store or check out ebay every once in a while you can find a deal with embossing powders to boot hugs Nikki 5
ReplyDeleteYour flower box is coming along lovely and I can't wait to see what else you'll be doing with it! And oh my gosh! I love LOVE you Oriental Lily!! It's beautiful. :)
ReplyDeleteOh the Oriental Lily is lovely! And I shall look forward to seeing the finished box.
ReplyDeleteWhy don't you ring Catchy Crafts and see what they recommend re heat guns, in case they have more than one brand. Have you tried Lincraft? If you check the wattage on your (broken) one against the wattage on the hardware store ones, you could see whether the hardware ones are much hotter than the craft ones. Just a thought :) Are you up for a lunch in June, perhaps?
Oh, that drying time will drive you crazy I know. It's how I get myself into trouble because I often just start another project and before I know it my desk is littered with TOO MANY projects!
ReplyDeleteAs for your heat gun situation, I can offer no tips other than to say that I'm too neurotic to purchase/use a heavy duty one (my little craft one and blow dryers already make me nervous.) However, I know that my husband would say, "You'll be fine with it, just don't do anything stupid." So there's my advice. Take it as you will.
Hi Sandra, you really don't want one of the heavy duty heat guns, they are too hot for crafting and will scorch most things you try to use it with. I have two heat guns depending on what I am doing, one with a wide opening and one narrow. The Dovecraft has two heat settings which is very useful and I also have a Heat It by Ranger which I have had for about 15 years and in my opinion is the best. The Heat It, heats up quickly and gets very hot. The opening is much wider than most other heat guns which I think can be an advantage as it heats a larger area. Hope this will be useful. Happy woyww, Angela x 21
ReplyDeleteThe lily is absolutely gorgeous - such beautiful colours. I have had an old heat gun (Papermania) that blows as it heats and recently replaced it with one that just heats, but doesn't blow any air out - it's much better to use and little papers and powders don't blow all over the place or need holding down while heating. I think it's a Ranger Heat It, and although it cost a bit more I would say it's definitely been worth it (it looks like a little white hair dryer). I hope that helps a bit! Have a great week and thanks for stopping by,
ReplyDeleteDiana #27
Hi Sandra. Your project is looking beautiful, love the flowers. Had to laugh at the thought of you switching on an industrial strength heatgun and just sitting there with a pile of smoking cinders!!!!! It's always hard to decide on a new one, Mine gave up the ghost after many years, although I do have two, one that looks like a hairdryer for drying paint and ink and a directional one for embossing. My new one is doing good service but I can't tell you what make it was...sorry!
ReplyDeleteHope you are keeping well
Hugs Lisax
Love your box, it looks beautiful as it stands now and your painting, well, that is fabulous!
ReplyDeleteI have the Ranger heat gun and believe you me it has done some great service for me as I use it for home crafting and also have used it for demonstrating at shows on a regular basis. I think it is like many things, you can buy a good one or a bad one. I wouldn't advise getting a stripper type though - ouch, think I am with the hubby on that. If you get stuck for doing some embossing and want to heat it on a card - hold it over a toaster and heat from the underneath - I started off like that.
Hugs, Neet (just back from hols - and would love to swap atc's) xx