Tuesday, February 23

Jewel Glue (and Fabric Birthday Crowns)

It’s what the salesperson told me I’d need for gluing the jewels onto the crowns. I didn’t really believe her. Sure the back of the bottle says “Bonds hard-to-hold times such as plastic, metal, glass, beads; rhinestones; pearls and sequins to fabric…” but isn’t the information on packaging all just hype? I’ve got plenty of craft glue at home already, in bottles that look identical save for the label – how different can the goo inside really be?!?

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But I bought some Jewel-It anyway. And used it to glue jewels onto Lucy’s crown.

And just to prove how useless it was, I glued on two of the jewels using my regular craft glue. That would be the two jewels that are seen in the photo above… the ones no longer on the crown. Slight bit of pressure of my fingernails under their edge and they popped right off.

Did the same to the gems glued with Jewel-It and they stayed firmly in place. Applied more pressure. Still, they stuck fast. If I’d kept trying, e.g. had the tenacity and curiosity of a 18-month-old, I probably could have pried them off.

But wow! Jewel-It actually works, as advertised!

My Anti-Chaotic Jewel Dispersal Idea worked too. Each guest got to pick out one card when she was eliminated during Musical Seashells, a little consolation prize for being the odd man out when the music stopped. Each name penciled onto the back after selection so gems could be properly redistributed during the craft portion, at which point, the tape was peeled off and each girl had a couple dozen jewels to work with.

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As for the actual application, here’s what we did:

  • Each girl had a cotton swab, a toothpick, and a plate with a glob of glue on it.
  • She used the cotton swab to dab some glue from the plate onto the back of a jewel. When it comes to glue, we usually say, “A dot is a lot and a lake is a mistake,” but in this case, we did want more than “a dot.” We wanted it to ooze out around the edges of the jewels.
  • Then, because fingers got sticky and tended to pull the jewels up again, she used the toothpick to hold the jewel down as she took her other fingers away.

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It was so fun to see what each girl did: fast vs. slow application…

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…symmetric vs. haphazard placement…

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…using only some gems vs. using all plus taking donations.

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And during the making, I miscounted and ended up with one extra crown. So I packaged up some extra glue, jewels, etc and would love to send it out to one of you. If you’d like it, let me know what letter (or symbol?) you’d want sewed on, and also be sure I have a way to contact you. I’ll pick a recipient this weekend some time…

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13 comments:

  1. Can I comment? Can I enter? Please? We would LOVE one of those crowns! And that Jewel-It sounds like the solution to all our craft-get-together problems. I always use UHU but adults have to administer it. If I win it, I'll have to ask for a heart symbol, rather than an initial. Prevents fighting, you know? Such a fun giveaway, K! Thank you!

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  2. You continue to awe me with your creativity K!! I enjoy reading about your newest creations and experiments. Arabella would love a crown so I had to put my name in the running for your extra. And love learning about the glue - I have recently been wondering about what type of glue I might need for some projects I have in mind...and now I know!

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  3. I am always glue leery too- been skunked a time or two. Good to know about Jewel it though, as we have some dress up in need of fixing. The crowns look fantastic!

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  4. I don't want a crown but I wanted to say that it was a great idea for a party! I'll have to remember the glue too.

    (We would need 3 crowns in our house! Actually, 4 crowns...one for me too!!) :)

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  5. wonderful ideas!
    Dianne
    jmclean@mts.net

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  6. Well, I'm never gonna grow up and I don't have a tiara yet, so I would LOVE a crown! With a big F on it, that would be lovely!

    Great product endorsement, too, Karin, I appreciate knowing when something works well or not.

    Thanks for the chance to win, your crowns are so cute, everyone did a great job decorating them and you must be the funnest mom, ever!

    (Funny story- I ALMOST got a tiara once- we were in a Michael's- it was my SIL, a friend we were staying with, my brother's new PITA GF and me- 4 of us. We were all staying at the beach house that belonged to the friend, the guys were all hanging out waiting for us to get back from shopping and we were all having a lot of fun. So on our way out, I spied the bridal counter and there were tiaras in there! I screeched to a halt and declared "We all NEED tiaras!" To with the PITA GF said, seriously, "I already have one." And she kept on walking out of the store. We other 3 girls just looked at each other, our bubbles all burst, and muttered to each other "of course she does." And henceforth, her name became "Princess M******". Forever. In retrospect, it was hilarious, but at the time, I was tasting a tiara! It was that kind of weekend. lol

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  7. Y'all are cracking me up!!! Now I wish I had a DOZEN extra crowns to give away!

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  8. what a wonderful idea...ill bet those girls were just thrilled! my daughter loves crowns...but some how (im hoping usually by accident) my son ends up stepping on or some how otherwise breaking her crowns...

    when my daughter is old enough i would love to 'steal' your idea! those are so wonderful...would you be willing to tell those of us who aren't lucky enough to win, how to make our very own?..

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  10. I would love to get one for my granddaughter...but, at this stage she doesn't know what she is missing so it is o if someone else gets it. Perhaps you want to go into business!

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  11. I just noticed Jessica's post...Jessica, we have a daughter Arabella too. Haven't ever met anyone with the same name. :)

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  12. 'Zeldabeth, we've had a bunch of broken crowns here too and we don't even have any boys. Since i "stole" this idea from people all over the internet, you can certainly do the same from me. I did take photos along the way as I made the crowns so I should be able to post something about the technique. (But I won't say how soon it'll be...)

    Omi - ten crowns was enough for me for now. someone else can go into business selling them. Though i did think how nice it would be to be able to buy little "kits" -- otherwise one is stuck buying a huge bag of jewels, a huge bottle of glue, etc...

    Karee, yeah, isn't it crazy - I know two Arabellas. Jessica's is a little younger than yours and they pronounce it "Air-a..." not "Ah-ra..."

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  13. Ooh! Me! Me! Pick me!!
    :)

    I've always wondered about Jewel-it. Now I know it isn't a waste of money. Thanks for the review and for the rhyme. I LOVE that rhyme.

    The crowns look fantastic. Doncha just love seeing how young minds create?

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