DIY glues

http://snappyliving.com/11-recipes-to-make-your-own-glue/
Recipes for homemade glue

You can make your own glue – even specialty crafting glues. Why would you want to do that? Well, it’s true that store-bought glue is mostly cheap and effective, so you’re probably not going to save serious money by making it yourself. You might in some cases be able to make a better glue for your purposes, especially if you’re doing an arts or crafts project with particular needs. Basically, making your own glue is a form of crafting. You do it mainly because it’s fun, interesting and educational (many of these recipes are such that kids can help).
Homemade glue in a bowl with a paint brush to apply it

1. Flour glue recipe

The most basic homemade recipe, which you may already be familiar with, is just made of flour and water. It tends to dry out over time and stop holding together whatever it was holding together, but it’s fine for, say, making decorations a few hours before a party.

Blend flour with water until it’s near the consistency of pancake batter.
Beat your mixture until it’s smooth.
Pour it into a saucepan on medium heat.
Constantly stir while bringing it slowly to a boil.
Let it cool before using.

Store it in a sealed container and apply it with a brush. If it dries out, you can mix a little warm water into it.

2. Cornstarch glue recipe

This is another basic glue recipe that works better than the flour recipe. It’s good for holding paper together without making ripples or bubbles.

Pour 3/4 cup of water in a saucepan over medium heat.
Add 1/4 cup cornstarch, 2 tablespoons light corn syrup and 1 teaspoon white vinegar.
Whisk the ingredients together until they’re blended well.
Stir the mixture constantly until it thickens.
In the airtight container where you want to store your glue, whisk 1/4 cup cornstarch and 1/4 cup water together until smooth.
Take the saucepan off heat. Slowly add the mixture from your saucepan into the container, and keep whisking constantly so everything blends together smoothly.
Let it cool to room temperature before using.

3. Corn syrup glue recipe

This makes yet another basic glue.

In a small saucepan, mix 3/4 cup water with 2 tablespoons corn syrup and 1 tablespoon white vinegar.
Bring the mixture to a rolling boil.
In bowl, mix 2 tablespoons cornstarch with 3/4 cups cold water.
Slowly add the cold mixture into the hot mixture. Stir constantly for one minute.
Remove from heat.
Once it’s cooled, pour the mixture into its final container. Let it stand overnight at room temperature before using.

4. Basic paste recipe

This recipe makes a simple paste suitable for kids’ crafts.

Slowly add cold water to 1/2 cup flour until the consistency is like heavy cream.
Simmer in a saucepan for 5 minutes, stirring constantly.
Let it cool before use.

5. No-cook paste

This recipe is so easy, and kids can totally make it themselves. It makes a thick paste that won’t hold forever, but is suitable for kids’ crafts.

Mix 1/2 cup flour water in a bowl, adding the water slowly while stirring, until the consistency is gooey.
Stir in a pinch of salt.

6. Waterproof glue (without milk)

When you’re gluing something together that’s going to go under water, you need a glue that doesn’t melt. This is that recipe. This glue needs to be applied warm – the first time you cook it up, that’s simple. For future applications, put your container in a bowl, pan or sink of hot water to warm it up again. Apply it with a brush. It can take a few days to gel, but it’s good for lots of crafts.

A lot of waterproof glue recipes include milk, which of course spoils quickly. This one will actually keep for a while, but isn’t quite strong enough to hold together something like a broken china plate.

Boil 6 tablespoons of water in a saucepan.
Take the saucepan off heat. Stir in 2 packets of unflavored gelatin. (Unless you want your glue to smell like a gelatin flavor, which is an interesting thought.)
Once the gelatin has dissolved, add 2 tablespoons of white vinegar and a teaspoon of glycerin.
Stir well. Let it cool a little before pouring it into your airtight container.

7. Waterproof glass glue (with milk)

This glue can be used to mend broken china, like super glue. It also works well to glue labels on cans and jars, or to glue glass to other surfaces. All in all, it’s pretty strong. For gluing glass to other surfaces, use it while it’s liquid (warm it by putting the container in a pan of hot water). To glue pieces of glass together, use it in its gelled (room temperature) state.

Pour two tablespoons of cold water into a small bowl.
Sprinkle 2 packets of unflavored gelatin over the water and set aside for about an hour.
Heat 3 tablespoons of skim milk to just below boiling and pour it into the gelatin and water.
Stir the mixture until the gelatin is completely dissolved.
Optionally, add a few drops of clove oil as preservative if you’re not going to use all the glue immediately. (With clove oil, the glue will keep for a day or so – when it starts smelling like spoiled milk, throw it out.)

8. Papier-Mache paste

This paste will keep for several weeks. It’s perfect for gluing down layers of papier-mache or collages.

Mix 1/4 cup of flour into a cup of room temperature water until the consistency is runny.
In a large saucepan, heat 5 cups of water to a gentle boil. Stir your flour and water mixture into it.
Gently boil for 2 or 3 minutes, stirring constantly.
Let it cool before use.

9. Gum Arabic (Superglue) recipe

This glue is designed to men broken china and crockery. For that specific use, it should perform a little better than the glass glue at #7. Use a matchstick to apply a very thin coat of it to both sides of broken crockery, and then fit the pieces together. As you would do with Superglue, hold the pieces firmly together until the glue dries, which could be up to an hour. Let it dry at least twenty-four hours before you use or wash the mended piece. This glue will keep for a year.

Mix 3 tablespoons of gum arabic, 1 tablespoon of glycerin and 1/2 teaspoon of water thoroughly inn a bowl.
Put the mixture in an airtight container. Will keep about 1 year. To Use: Apply a thin coat of the glue to each surface and fit the pieces together. Hold firmly until the glue dries – this could take an hour or so. Let the piece dry thoroughly (24 hours) before washing or using.

10. Envelope/stamp glue

If you making your own envelopes, you’ll need lickable glue for them. Mailartists has 4 recipes for stamp and envelope glue. http://www.mailartists.com/artistamps/gluerecipes.htm

11. Library paste

This paste is used for binding paper and paperboard.

1 cup flour
1 cup sugar
1 teaspoon alum
4 cups water
Optional: 30 drops of clove oil

Mix all the ingredients except the clove oil together in a saucepan. Cook on medium heat until the mixture is clear and thick. Optionally add your 30 drops of clove oil as a preservative. Store in small jars, so that only a small amount is being exposed to air and dried out every time you open it.