GLUEGUNGUILD
Stick with it — hot-glue crafts, embellishment, and DIY made easy.
From figuring out how many glue sticks a project needs and which temperature to run your gun at, to costing out a craft fair batch and timing an evening project, GlueGunGuild pairs free hands-on calculators with practical guides and a richly illustrated museum of decorative craft. Glue smarter, craft further.
Hot-Glue Craft Calculators
Free tools for every glue-gun project — glue stick quantity estimator, dry & cure time by material, temperature guide, project cost calculator, coverage & bead-length calculator, and project time estimator.
Glue Stick Quantity Estimator
Enter the total bead length your project needs and your stick length to see exactly how many glue sticks to buy, including a realistic waste allowance for the stub left in the gun.
Dry & Cure Time by Material
Get the open (working) time, touch-safe set time, and full-cure time for a hot-glue bond based on gun temperature, bead thickness, and whether the material is porous or nonporous.
Glue Gun Temperature Guide
Pick the two materials you're bonding and get a low-temp vs high-temp recommendation, plus the expected bond strength — so foam doesn't melt and wood still holds.
Project Cost Calculator
Add up glue sticks, embellishments and trims, and the value of your time to see the true cost of a craft project — and the cost per finished piece for a batch.
Coverage & Bead-Length Calculator
See how many linear inches of trim a stick will lay, or how many glue dots it can place for rhinestones, tesserae, or silk petals — from the sticks you already have on hand.
Project Time Estimator
Estimate hands-on time from piece count and seconds per attachment, plus gun preheat and any drying pauses between layers — know before you start whether it's a lunch-break project or an evening one.
The Handcraft Museum
Wander an immersive museum of decorative handcraft traditions — mosaics and tile work, collage and mixed media, floral and wreath craft, and model and miniature assembly, each in its own gallery, so you can get to know the stories behind every technique: how it developed, who shaped it, and what makes it endure as a craft.
Tour the museum →From the Journal
Fresh guides on gluing technique, choosing the right glue for a material, embellishment ideas, and getting a cleaner finish, plus practical tips for planning, costing, and finishing a craft project.
How Many Glue Sticks Do You Actually Need? A Practical Guide
Running out of glue mid-project is one of the most common hot-glue frustrations. Here's how to estimate a realistic quantity before you start, and why the number is always a bit higher than the obvious guess.
Low-Temp vs High-Temp Glue Guns: Which One for Which Material
The single most common hot-glue mistake is running the wrong temperature against a delicate material. Here's how to tell which gun a project actually calls for, and why sturdy materials benefit from more heat, not less.
Why Your Hot Glue Won't Stick to Fabric (and How to Fix It)
Fabric is one of the trickiest surfaces for hot glue — bonds that look solid can peel away hours later. Here's what's actually going wrong and the technique adjustments that make a real difference.
Getting Started with Mosaic Craft: Tools, Tesserae, and Your First Piece
Mosaic looks intricate, but the underlying technique is simple and forgiving for beginners. A practical starting guide to tools, tile-cutting, and laying out your first small piece.
How to Build a Silk Flower Wreath That Doesn't Fall Apart
A wreath that looks great on day one but drops petals by week three usually has the same root cause: not enough structure underneath. Here's how to build one that actually holds up.
Pricing Handmade Crafts: A Simple Method That Actually Covers Your Time
Most new craft sellers underprice their work by leaving their own time out of the math entirely. A straightforward pricing method that accounts for materials, time, and a sustainable margin.
Keep Learning
Plain-language explainers on hot-melt adhesives and how they bond, craft techniques worth knowing, the materials and supplies that fill a craft box, and the culture of DIY and making — everything you need to dig deeper and glue with confidence.
Visit the Learn hub →