How to Get Rid of Hot Glue Strings

Happy Happy Wednesday to you! Today I’m sharing a quick craft tip that I use all.the.time. Its been talked about on the Craftaholics Anonymous® Facebook page a few times and is very helpful. I’m all about helping enable crafters and helping others, so I thought it would be fun to have a discussion on here about crafting tips and tricks.

craft tipAs we all know, whenever you craft with hot glue, you are bound to get glue strings everywhere! Many entries into the ‘You Know You’re a Craftaholic When…’ contests include hot glue strings. So we all know it is an issue for crafters everywhere.

How to Make Hot Glue Strings Disappear

craft tipsAfter you’ve completed your hot glue craft, simply grab your hair dryer and blast your craft for a few seconds and watch your glue strings magically disappear before your eyes. too easy!

Just be careful that you don’t do it too long because you may loosen the hot glue in crucial places on your craft.

You can also use a heat embossing gun as well.

I recently used this trick on the felt flowers for my Spring Wreath. {go check it out! its super cute}

So what are some Craft Tips you use? What is your favorite Crafting Tip?


happy crafting, linda

Linda
Hi! I'm Linda, the craft addict behind Craftaholics Anonymous®, a craft blog. Crafting is cheaper than therapy, right? When I'm not DIYing something, I can be found taxiing around our 4 crazy kids or working out. Or shoe shopping... because you can never have too many shoes! Happy crafting! ♥
Linda
Linda

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Comments

  1. 1

    Brilliant! Thank you so much for sharing this little gem!

    One of my favourite tricks right now is to use a sticky sheet lint roller to pick up all the little paper bits left over on my Silhouette cutting mat. It’s so much quicker and easier than scraping them off!

    Claire @ alittlesomethinginthemeantime.blogspot.com

  2. 2

    what a smartie pants you are – i NEVER would have thought of that (instead you would have found me slow picking out the strings!) Now I have this in my toolbox! thanks!

  3. 3

    Wow! This is amazingly simple and I’m thinking “how did I not think of that!?!” lol— Thank you SO much for sharing!

  4. 4

    Neat…thanks for sharing. I think I’ll have to pull out my hair dryer! :) Blessings!

  5. 5

    Thanks for the tip! I have always wondered how to get rid of those! I love your wreath, especially your flowers! These are so much fun to make!

  6. 6
    Amrita

    Great idea!

    One of mine is – use a swiffer sheet to wipe up glitter.

    1. 6.1
      susan foister

      Good idea!!! Glitter is so aggravating and it gets every where! I am still sweeping up glitter from crafts I did at Christmas!!

  7. 7

    Great idea!! Thanks for sharing, I will not miss my time spent pulling out hot glue strings! :)

  8. 8

    Great tip! One of my biggest craft fails was caused because of hot glue strings! I made my daughter the sweetest little ballerina doll, and used hot glue to hold down the thin ribbon ties on her little ballet slippers… of course there were hot glue strings, so I used my candle lighter to re-heat the hot glue strings (*I had done this “technique” before, and it worked great) – well this time, I guess I held the flame too long because I BURNT a nasty black spot right onto the sweet little doll! :( CRAFT FAIL!

    1. 8.1

      Oh no! That sounds awful, Michelle!! I’ve had my fair share of craft fails too, don’t worry lol
      happy crafting,
      Linda

  9. 9

    Really – I will definitely try it.
    Thanks for sharing.

  10. 10

    Great tip! Thanks!

  11. 11

    I am going to use this trick next time I use my hot glue gun… great idea!

    My trick is that after I have applied Wonder Under, I take my seam ripper and score the paper side lightly… it helps get that paper side off much more easily!

  12. 12
    Kristi F

    Great idea! And I am loving the tips in the comments too!

  13. 13

    I can’t believe I never thought of that! So Simple!!

  14. 14

    Good idea. And I want a hair dryer like yours…pink with polka dots, super cute!

    1. 14.1

      Thanks, Shasta! Love me some polka dots :) I’m so glad you stopped by!
      happy crafting,
      Linda

  15. 15

    wow, I never knew that! i always annoyingly picked them away!

  16. 16

    I have been wondering if there was a way to do this thanks for the tip xxx

  17. 17

    Okay isn’t that just brilliant? And can I say, pink hair dryer with white polkadots, LOVE! Where did you get it?

    Used dryer sheets – not only grate for dusting, but anything that leaves lots of small bits of detritus, like glitter.

    1. 17.1

      Hi Katharyn,
      I got my hair dryer at Target a couple years ago. When I saw it, I had to have it! lol I love the polka dots! Thanks for stopping by!
      happy crafting,
      Linda

  18. 18

    Shut the front door!

    Thanks so much for sharing! I can’t wait to use this!

  19. 20

    I’ve also heard tha putting Vaseline on the tip of your glue gun will prevent strings! <3

  20. 21

    Simple and slick…thanks
    Hugs
    SueAnn

  21. 22

    Hi here ! I want to thank you so much for your wonderful website! I’m french, i try to understand all you explained ^^ not so easy ! thanks thanks thanks ! see you soon xxx

  22. 23

    Oooh…I never knew this!! Thanks for making me smarter!! : )

  23. 24

    Genius! Thanks for sharing!!

  24. 25

    Awesome tip! Thank you!

  25. 27

    great tip!!! thank you!!!!!!

  26. 28

    All my life’s worries are resovled thanks to this one post. Thank you so much! :)

  27. 29

    great idea about the hairdryer..i make hairbows…and i hate the gluestrings…one of the small travel hairdryers would be sooo easy to keep in my craftroom for this, thanks for sharing…

  28. 30

    omigosh, thank you sooo much! I make snowflake ornaments for christmas, and I spend way too much time picking out all the strings with tweezers! This makes me smile!!

  29. 31

    LOVE IT!!!!!!!!! we just had a girlfriend craft weekend making fabric flowers and HOLY COW! strings everywhere. this is brilliant!

    1. 31.1

      Thanks, Renee! a Girlfriend craft weekend sounds so fun! Thanks for stopping by!
      happy crafting,
      Linda

  30. 32
    Vanessa

    Great tips, I am always fighting with those strings. thank you!!! would love to see a tutorial of this felt flower, gorgeous!

  31. 33
    fahime

    dear Linda tanks for this practical idea…for days i had problem with these strings… thanx..

  32. 34

    Great tip! I have also found the hairdryer to be helpful for getting dried hot glue off of my kitchen counter or table when my kids or I are neglectful and don’t put down paper first. Just heat with the hair dryer, lightly scrape with a plastic spatula, then go over with a nylon scrubbie if there is still any left.

  33. 36
    Maggie Funke

    Thanks for the tip–I love it! My favorite craft tip is mixing reinkers with alcohol in misting sprayers. I can make it any saturation I want to go with my project.

  34. 37
    Emerson

    I dont understand why this works…. wont the heat just melt my hot glue and ruin all of my hard work??

    1. 37.1

      Hi Emerson,
      Like I mention in the post, the trick is to blast the strings for a few seconds. That way the strings melt but it won’t soften the rest of the glue.
      thanks,
      Linda

  35. 38
    Nancy Marcanti

    What a trick and a great tip. I never knew this and hate those stringy thingys. Thank you from the bottom of my glue gun.

  36. 39
    Jacquie Ashworth

    I’m looking forward to following..

  37. 40

    I think thats such a cute idea

  38. 41
    Mario Cazares

    Thanks! I needed this tip for an animation project :)

  39. 42
    Terry

    Awesome! Thank you so much! Why didn’t I google this before ?

  40. 43
    Sandy

    I’m with Emerson. Even if you use the hair dryer for a couple of seconds, it still melts the glue strings into your project, no? Or are you saying the blast of air knocks the strings off of the project? And unto your table hopefully where you can pick it up? Of course, knowing myself, I would just manage to blow the strings unto the rest of my project! Just call me running with scissors, and other dangerous implements of creation!