That Time I Made A Death Star...

This is another thing I tried for Plastic Free July this year... Making glue!

I used the recipe for glue from My Plastic Free Life which consists of flour, water, and hot water. But her recipe makes like a quart of glue which I do not need especially just for trying out a plastic-free thing...

So I took the same recipe and made it with tablespoons instead of cups: 

1/2 TBSP flour

1 TBSP cold water

3 TBSP boiling microwaved water

I mixed the flour and cold water together in my pot (cold) first while I microwaved the other 3 TBSP of water for a minute. My advice now that I've made a few batches is to always mix in a little bit of water first, then add more water. Otherwise it may come out lumpy. 

I mixed it all together then cooked it on the stove in the smallest pot I have for 5 minutes.

I would probably double this recipe next time so that it's less likely to burn/overcook.

And I have it stored in a teenie mason jar!

I clicked through to a post she linked about stuff to add to homemade glue, mostly to increase shelf life, and added a pinch of salt to my glue. I cooled it in the fridge and then tried it out!

After it cooled, it was a lot more gelatin-y than I expected. I think I overcooked it since I made such a small batch.

But it did work! The 5 minute cook-time was based on a much bigger recipe. Cook it till its hot and smooth then stop. 

I added some water and microwaved it (so the water would mix in) to thin it out. And it worked better. 

Yes, there is tape on the box. I did that before I made the glue. But I glued the label on!

I have since used this glue to glue the package closed. Just needed
something to weigh down the flaps while the glue dries. 

It wrinkled a little from the moisture, but so would any liquid glue. My label actually did pretty much stick to the tape also.

Success!

But you're right. This post is called "That Time I Made A Death Star..."

Well, I didn't originally expect to do this, but I needed to make a paper mache Death Star for Husband because of reasons. Googled how to paper mache, as I haven't done it since I was 8, and turns out flour glue wheat paste is a popular paper mache medium!

So, I made a larger batch - 1/2 cup flour + 2 cups water and had a successful product (and I mixed in my gloppy first attempt). I just cooked it for about 3 minutes, per the paper mache article, and let it cool.

And I started paper mache-ing! I used an old plastic lampshade as a mold, paper-taped wax paper to it (so my half-sphere would come off), and went to work. I let it dry overnight with a fan blowing on it, then made a second one.

I added more layers over several more days and then I had a sphere! 

It's actually upside-down here.

I added more layers over several more days, painted it, and here it is!

It's supposed to be a box, of sorts, so there's an opening and a lid.

I think it came out great. So great that now we can't throw it away!

I did try freezing my glue so that I don't have to throw out what's leftover every time I need to glue something. It caused my glue to separate, but I just microwaved it for a bit (don't let it boil over - I've done that 3-4 times now) and then stir it up again. Let it cool and then you can use it again.