I'm making a couple of picture frames as Christmas gifts. I've got some thin (1/8"), flat, wooden carved dragonfly ornaments I'd like to attach to the frames, raised from the surface. My plan is the insert 5/16" or 3/8" dowels into the frame and attach the dragonflies to the dowels protruding about 1/4" above the surface. What's the best way to attach the ornaments to the ends of the dowels ? I will, likely, use two dowels per dragonfly.
The dowels will be end grain. I could dimple the dowels to hold more glue, and scuff the backs of the ornaments. Would this be sufficient? Is there a better way? What would be the best glue to use? Maybe I could put some finishing nails in the ends of the dowels but they would only stick into the backs of the ornaments by 1/16", or so. I could help to make a firm attachment with 23g pins, but that would look tacky.