Having just finished my piece "Tzarina's Faberge Treasure", putting hot fix flat backs onto egg shell, I found it difficult. I originally bought a hot fix tool but it did not work for me on the egg and the variety of sizes all the time did not help either. I ended up gluing each one individually using a jewel setter (small wand with sticky end). I basically used "G-S Hypo Cement" for it. It is in a small tube with a needle end for an applicator spreading it in small areas at a time. Worked well.
edith cavell (Noel)
but don't eat it uncooked....
Glueing Flatbacks
Ok, a few people have asked re the best glue to use for adhering flatbacks onto leather. Having experimented with both leather & suede I would recommend a 2 part epoxy resin for leather. Before applying I would sand/file the section of leather you want the crystal to adhere to. Then I would apply a very small amount of epoxy to the back of the flatback, if you apply too much it will bleed out from under the crystal and look very messy. In order to do this I use a long wooden skewer with a bit of blue-tac on the end. This allows me to pick up the crystal on the sparkly side, dot the glue on the rear and then carefully place it on the material. I use another clean skewer to gently puch the crystal down and into place.
When it comes to genuine suede as well as ultrasuede I usually use the hot-fix crystals with the tool - they stay on just fine.
If I want to attach a larger flatback to shiny plastic/metals then I usually attach the crystal to a small piece of ultrasuede then I stick it onto the plastic/lucite/metal. The ultrasuede ensures a much stronger bond - I use a 2 part epoxy for this as well.
Please feel free to share your methods of affixing flatbacks to various objects...
Melissa