Have you noticed that your parents and grandparents are good at fixing things? Many people in my generation don’t fix things; when something breaks we throw it in the bin and buy another. Either we are lacking tools and knowledge or things are cheap enough to replace easily. If billions of people around the world are doing the same, that adds up to a lot of waste.
A few years ago Scott and I discovered Sugru. It’s a mouldable rubber you can use to modify and repair things. The only tools you need are your hands. When Sugru offered me a Create & Craft kit, I gladly accepted. And it arrived just in time because a few things around the house needed fixing.
Sugru is a soft, self-curing putty that you can shape any way you want and stick to almost anything. In 24 hours it cures into a surprisingly strong and durable, flexible rubber.
Our watering can rose is pretty flimsy and cracked after just a few uses. Water was leaking out of the hole so I plugged the crack. Now look — no more leaks! It seemed a shame to replace the whole head when only a small area was broken.
I used Sugru to stop the ends of my camera straps fraying.
This plug is my arch nemesis. Trying to pull it out of the socket drives me round the bend; it’s so flat my fingers slip off. I moulded some fingers grips to make it less slippery.
Until now, I’ve only used Sugru to fix things, but this time I had a go at creating something new! We had some Christmas tree branches left in the garden so I cut them into blocks to make stampers. The stamper itself is a blob of Sugru rolled flat and pressed onto wood.
Twenty four hours later they were dry enough to carve and print onto a notebook. Normally I’d use lino but Sugru is much easier to carve for small projects.
Don’t forget to stop by the Sugru website to get some inspiration!
Disclaimer: Sugru sent me a free Create & Craft kit in exchange for a feature on my blog. All opinions and photography are my own.
I have found one thing that sugru won’t fix, the hinge on my chest freezer. it just won’t stick to the lid of the freezer.
Oh! Maybe you could tweet Sugru and ask for some tips?
Adding the extra texture to the grips is a great idea. Is that what the brush is also for?
It’s a texturing brush. I didn’t use it for anything I made this time but it’s handy to have 🙂
Love this stuff! Last week I fixed my camping lantern as a wife had come loose and I didn’t have a soldering iron handy! So pleased as it saved me throwing it away and another £40 to buy a new one!