I have a collection of rings. I wish I could say that they were the type I wear on my fingers. Nope. They are on my furniture. (I have teenage boys.)

TIME FOR COASTERS.

Those of you that follow our blog know that I like really simple, inexpensive (cheap!) projects that just about anyone can do – BUT the project has to look like a million bucks when it’s done.

Mission accomplished! These coasters are made out of the simplest of materials, but they don’t look like it. These would even make wonderful gifts as a set.

Supplies you will need:

• AdTech Precision Pro® Glue Gun
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• AdTech® Multi-Temp Mini-Size Glue Sticks
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• Yarn (Cotton is the most absorbent. I used multi-colored “Sugar ‘n Cream” cotton yarn by Lily.)
• Felt (or any thicker denim-weight material)
• Scissors & tape

Step one: Prep and twirl the yarn

You will need about 5 to 6 arms’-length of yarn. (An arms’-length to me is the length of your arms from fingertip to fingertip, stretched out as far away as possible. This will depend on the length of your arms of course.)  Don’t cut the yarn. Just pull an arms’-length out 5 or 6 times. (I would err on the side of caution and do 6 for the first one, so you have enough. Can you tell I hate measuring things?)

Alternate method: As you can see, I used multi-colored yarn that had the colors already in it. If you don’t have this type of yarn, you can use strands of different yarns. I would go with 2 arms’-lengths of each color on the first coaster to be safe, and then adjust as you do more coasters. For thicker coasters, use more strands or thicker yarn. 

Next, put the two ends together and straighten the yarn out, then fold it in half and straighten it out again, so you have 4 even strands. Tape the folded (loop) top and tape it to your work table. Twist 2 strands of yarn (over and under) with the other two again and again until they’re twirled together pretty good.

Step two: Glue the yarn onto the felt

Today I’m using our Precision Pro® glue gun. It’s great for projects requiring… well…. PRECISION!

Cut a piece of felt that is close to the color of your design and a bit larger than the coaster size you’d like. Using your Precision Pro glue gun, add a small dab of glue to the center of the felt.

Carefully place the looped end of the yarn strands onto the glue. Let cure for a few seconds then add hot glue around it and start gluing the yarn strands around the middle.

Keep twisting the yarn more as you go around. Press down the design with your fingers to keep it as flat as possible as you go.

Step three: Tie off the end and cut the felt away

When your coaster is the size you’d like, tie off the end so it’s a little tassel. (You can just glue the end and tuck it in if you don’t want a tassel, or you can always add a bead or two if you want to get fancy.) Carefully cut the felt away from the yarn. I find it best to cut at a 45 degree angle, as you can see in the photo. If your coaster is not flat, just hold a warm iron on it for a couple of seconds.

Step four: Fluff the tassel

Use a toothpick or other pointy object to separate the yarn in the tassel.

How cute is that? These work well with both hot and cold cups. I haven’t had any issues with the hot glue using these under my hot tea mugs.

I hope you enjoyed this super easy, inexpensive craft. Be sure to check out our other projects by looking at the menu on the right.

Love what you created? We will, too! Tag us in your image on Instagram, @adtech. Use the hashtags #glueasamedium and #thisishotglue so others can see your creation!

Hi Everyone! Chris here. I’ve got another easy and super-inexpensive project for you. Let’s usher in spring with this Colorful Spring Tree!

I happened upon a similar project over at Everyday Mom Ideas, and was inspired to create a new version using our AdTech® Crafter’s Gift Pack (available at Amazon and other retailers, and contains our Project Pro Glue Gun, MultiTemp Glue Sticks and Permanent Crafter’s Tape). Besides those items, all you need is some scrapbook paper and one or more small tree branches.

The original project called for wiring the leaves onto the branches. I decided to up the simplicity factor with hot glue. Worked like a charm!

Supplies you will need:

• AdTech® Crafter’s Gift Pack
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• Small branches (We had several trees down due to a recent snow storm, so I used those branches.)
• Scrapbook paper in different colors & patterns
• Scissors
• Spray paint (optional)
• Container or vase for the base

Step one: Spray paint the branches (optional)

This is pretty self-explanatory. Shake the can well and spray outside away from objects… like cars, people and pets. You can spray the branches or leave them natural. I felt like white was more spring-y.

Step two: Make a paper sandwich

If you have large 12″ x 12″ paper like I did, you’ll want to cut it into more manageable pieces. I cut each large piece into quarters. (It really doesn’t matter what size. Just use a size that you are comfortable cutting leaves out of.)

Next, apply the Crafter’s Tape to the wrong side of one piece. I ran the tape one way every half inch or so, and then ran a couple of lines across the other way, and around the border.

Place another piece on it (wrongs sides together), so you see a different pattern on each side. Press together.

Step three: Cut the leaves

I didn’t make a template. I just cut out leaf shapes. Pretty easy!

Make a bunch of leaves – as many as you think you’ll need for your tree.

Step  four: Bend the leaves

I took a ruler and bent the leaves a little, to give it a nice effect and show off the undersides of the leaves more.

Step five: Hot glue the leaves to the branches.

Add a small drop of hot glue to the bottom of the leaf.

Touch the leaf to the branch and hold for a few seconds until it bonds. (No need to touch with your fingers. It bonds well just touching the leaf to the twig. Bonus!)

Just keep adding leaves until you get the look you want.

Step six: Add flowers (optional)

This is totally optional, but you can add some paper flowers if you’d like. I happened to have a flower punch kicking around, so I made some quick blooms. I used hot glue to adhere the layers, and a dab of hot glue and a small bead for the center.

That’s it! I hope you liked my version of this awesome project! If I could do it again, I would have made the leaves a little bigger for a fuller effect, but all in all I’m very happy with it. I got a lot of “oooohs and aaahhs” from the AdTech staff, and our receptionist, Cindy, will be taking it home for Easter. (The tree is about 3 feet wide, so I hope she has room!)

Love what you created? We will, too! Tag us in your image on Instagram, @adtech. Use the hashtags #glueasamedium and #thisishotglue so others can see your creation!

All right, Matt hasn’t celebrated Christmas in several years. I am determined to make this one extra special to make up for what he’s missed. That includes baking sugar cookies for his co-workers, buying us ugly Christmas sweaters… and decorating, decorating, decorating!

I saw an advent calendar on Pinterest made with real tree branches, and it inspired this piece for our coffee table. I couldn’t get started making it until Advent had already begun, so this version only has three candles in it instead of four. I recycled three birch candle holders my dad made for me a few Christmases back, drilled to fit tea lights, and decided we’d just light the candles any night we were home, rather on the four Sundays leading up to Christmas.

This project is quick and simple to make (it took less than an hour, not including the candle holders, but if you have a drill and a saw they won’t add on more than ten minutes!), and it will make any room feel like Christmas. We’re using ours on our coffee table, and it has already changed the mood in our house!

Supplied I used:

• AdTech Project Pro glue gun
• AdTech Mini Multi-Temp Glue Sticks
• 10″ cake stand from Hobby Lobby
• Birch branch pieces of varying heights, drilled to fit tea lights
• Artificial pine branches (I chose flame retardant ones!)
• String of artificial red berries
• Glitter pinecones from Michael’s
• Wire cutters
• Paper for tracing
• Pencil
• Scissors
• Yankee Candle red apple tea lights

Step one:

Trace the top of the cake stand onto a sheet of paper, and cut out the circle to use a template.

Step two:

Using wire cutters, trim the artificial pine branches to arc around the circle template, glueing together as needed. Leave circle unfinished.

Step three:

Place candle holders onto template and wrap branches around to ensure these pieces will fit within the wreath. When you are sure you have the length correct, use hot glue to seal the circle.

Step four:

If using berry clusters, simply glue decoratively around the wreath. If using a string, wrap the string around the wreath to help bind it together, cutting only when enough has been used.

Step five:

Hot glue pinecones intermittently around the wreath.

Step six:

Wait for all pieces to set, then lift wreath and place atop the cake stand. Fill with candle holders, complete with tea lights.

Step seven:

Place on a table, light the candles, and enjoy!

*Be sure to keep the candles away from flammable materials for your safety.

Going in a slightly different direction with this new series, which I hope to add to a couple times a month: Home renovation!

As mentioned in one or two previous posts, I recently moved into a new space. A move was long overdue. The space is larger, it’s closer to a lively downtown area, and (important to me as a photographer), it has a lot of windows!

However, as with any new living situation, it needs work—a few repairs, and a lot of personalization!

Altogether there are 6 areas that need attention…

• The entryway—the floor is old and deteriorating, the built-in coatrack is missing some hooks, and the door doesn’t quite fit the frame properly
• The dining area—this room needs more TLC than I will probably get to in my tenure here, but as a transition room between the kitchen and living room, it will at least get some new trim, a nice rug, and some furniture to make it feel more like a breakfast nook than a cave
• The living room—this room has already gotten a fresh coat of paint, but it’s also going to get some permanent shelving over the inactive fireplace, some new windows, and then personal touches like plants and curtains to make it more homey
• The bathroom—the best part about this space is the clawfoot tub; but whoever did work this room last did a shoddy job. LOTS of repairs needed here
• The kitchen—from mismatched cabinets and countertops to a cluttered setup, this room will probably require the most creativity. Coming soon to the Studio: Homemade handles for the cabinets! (To be installed after the room has been painted…)
• The office—an ornate room with new floors and lots of potential, this is where we will be starting today!

As described in the videos at the bottom of this post, the room which has been designated for my office has some pros and some cons. Pro: An ornate ceiling, which makes for a point of interest. Another pro: Although in a historical building, there is a new wood floor in this room, which just makes the space feel a little fresher, like there are endless possibilities in there.

Con: The walls have been finished with panel board, which is dated, unattractive, and ill-paired for the decorative ceiling. Another con: The ceilings are low and the room is asymmetrical. Final con: There are lots of cracks, gaps, and paint drips in this room. Today we’re dealing with the cracks!

AdTech, while known for their hot glue guns, has also come out with a variety of tools for home decorating and repair. One of these is the ProTouch, which is just about the most convenient caulking gun you’ll ever use.

It’s much more compact than your average caulking gun, which makes it easier to manipulate and accessible to people of all strengths and sizes (women who want to take on their own home repairs: get excited. This tool is super handy). It comes with a snap-on cap to preserve whatever silicone or caulking you don’t use (unlike a lot of those larger tubes, which dry up between uses). And you get two tips with the gun, for laying wide, flat lines, or long, thin seams.

If you’re unfamiliar with caulk, it’s literally a filler/sealer for those spaces where you don’t want moisture to end up or where you don’t want cracks to show. Silicone, a rubbery, water-and-heat-resistant material, is sometimes used around industrial sinks; traditional caulk, a white, chalky substance, is often used around home sinks and tubs. Both can be used for a variety of other projects, as well. For this project, we’re using the traditional caulk.

As you can see in the video and the photos, there were a lot of gaps between the panel board and the ceiling in the room which will be turned into my new office. Before painting the room, we cleaned the walls and ceiling, and we sealed up the cracks using caulk, wiping away excess with a damp sponge. This vastly improved the look of the space for the final painting project, and also helped to ensure that excess paint wouldn’t get caught in the cracks and turning into drips.

We also had to sand down old paint drips, remove almost 20 nails that had been left in the wall for the last paint job (why? heaven knows!), and spackle some holes that were simply too large to fill in with caulk.

As of this post, the room is at a point where you can almost never imagine it ever looking beautiful, but we’ve got big plans for it! Looking forward to sharing how different this room looks after a decent paint job….

Stay tuned!

I just moved into a new place, and I’d kind-of forgotten after living in the same place and making it my own for more than 6 years how much TLC a new home can require.

Matt has already set about making small repairs and painting, and I’m working on making the place festive for fall! We hit a fair in a nearby town last week and I have been feeling particularly inspired.

Our place has an inactive fireplace with a nice mantle for decorating. Here are 3 super easy projects that each take less than an hour to complete which you can use to make your own mantle a centerpiece in your home for autumn.

I’m also including a scrumptious apple cider recipe, because autumn isn’t just vivid harvest colors—it’s aromas and flavors, as well! Let it simmer on the stove for 15-20 minutes, and your whole home will fill with fall fragrance that will make you want to stay in all evening.

Project #1: Twine vases

This project is very cheap to make. All you need are some glass vases, twine, and a hot glue gun. You can get vases for as little as a dollar each at Goodwill if you’re not picky about the shape, or at Michael’s for a few dollars more if you know exactly how you’d like them to look.

Decide where you want the “back” of the vase to be, and glue a portion of the twine vertically to the bottom of the vase. The twine doesn’t need to be cut yet; it can roll directly from the spool. Then wrap the twine around the vase a few times, securing as needed with glue to cover up the vertical piece.

Then spiral the twine around the glass in the design of your choice, glueing down as needed, preferably on the back if you can, that way less glue spots are likely to show. At the top of the vase, wrap the twine around several times again, and tuck in the end when you finally cut from the spool.

Fill with sheaves of wheat, sunflowers, or other fall botanicals!

Project #2: Gilded pinecones

The hardest part about these is waiting for the gold paint to dry! You can gather pinecones from the great outdoors if you live near pine trees (try to get a variety of sizes), or you can pick them up in a craft store or buy them online.

Using liquid gilding or gold paint, dab the ends of the bristles. This will be very subtle, but will allow the pinecones to pop if you spread them over your mantle or, like I did, stack them in a clear jar!

Project #3: Homemade candlesticks

Fun fact: My mother sells vintage dishes for a living, and I know because of that how much chipped dishes lose their value. If you have a chipped saucer and an old wine goblet that could reuse repurposing, this project is perfect!

Just flip the goblet over (be sure to give it a good scrub first), spray with primer, and finish off with spray paint in the color of your choice! I chose cream to add a bright neutral to my display. Pro tip: Paint outside so you’re not breathing in fumes. (Matt was a little annoyed when I started this project indoors!)

Do the same with a saucer that’s both a good size to fit the base of your goblet and catch the drippings from your candle, and then glue the two together. I created three tiers of candles using this method—and they look great!

On the Mantle

When it comes to using these three projects together on your mantle, go for varying heights, and pull them all together with greens, berry stems, flowers, gourds, pumpkins, or pinecones wound around their bases. Make sure not to light any candles underneath wheat or flowers so that your fireplace doesn’t—well, catch fire! Then warm up and enjoy your display with some hot spiced cider.

Recipe

• 1/2 gallon local apple cider
• 1.5 cups orange juice
• 3 fat cinnamon sticks—3”
• 8 whole cloves
• 1 pinch allspice
• 1 pinch nutmeg

Bring all ingredients to a simmer on the stove, and allow flavors to blend on low heat for 15-20 minutes. Turn off heat. Use a ladle to extract cinnamon sticks and cloves. Serve hot! Makes 6-8 large mugs of cider.

If you’re a creative, you’ve spent time on Pinterest. And if you’ve spent time on Pinterest, then you know that there is a wide range of DIY inspiration out there—from projects you’ll never even want to do, to projects you really want to do (and are totally feasible), to projects that look super awesome but you kind-of know would be impossible to duplicate (even if the person who posted the project did it and swears it was worth all the effort).

I thought it might be fun if we here in the Studio started testing a few pins each month just to see how doable they really are. Here is our first batch!

Pin#1: Ice Cream Cone Garland
Original Creator: Growing Up Gabel
Our Review: On a scale of 1-10, 10 being the easiest, this project was an 8

This project required limited materials, demanded no specific artistic skill, and could be done in under an hour. It could also be customized easily; I personalized the color scheme to match my own decor, so that if I hosted a party and used this garland, it wouldn’t clash with the existing fixtures. The biggest obstacle was trying to keep the ice cream cones from spinning once the garland was hung—one side of a project is always better than the other, and we wanted the “pretty” side facing out. Other than that, though, great project! We recommend trying this pin!

Use the AdTech LoTemp Mini for this project.

Pin #2: Dragon’s Eye Mason Jar Luminaries
Original Creator: Mom Spark
Our Review: On a scale of 1-10, 10 being the easiest, this project was a 6

This project was one we wanted to customize and thought seemed really easy to make our own. Instead of Mason jars, we picked up some square votive holders at Michael’s, along with some clear jewel embellishments that were about 1/4 the size of your average dragon’s eye. To create an ombre effect, we sprayed the votive holder with Aleene’s acrylic spray and then sprinkled the wet adhesive with gold glitter, then applied the jewel embellishments. They didn’t quite come out the way we envisioned; perhaps next time we will use glitter glue and clear glue to create our own embellishments?

Use the AdTech HiTemp Mini for this project.

Pin #3: Scrabble Tile Garden Markers
Original Creator: 5 Dollar Dinners
Our Review: On a scale of 1-10, 10 being the easiest, this project was a perfect 10!

The great thing about using Scrabble tiles for creative projects is that the tiles do most of the legwork in making the project seem both creative and streamlined. We added a little green paint to the craft sticks in order to make them more garden-themey, but with a little painter’s tape to keep the lines straight, even that didn’t make the project any harder! The only obstacle we hit is that this project is ideal only for plants and herbs with short names; since craft sticks are typically about six inches, herbs like “Parsley” or “Cilantro” are hard to spell all the way out on craft sticks using Scrabble tiles.

Use the AdTech HiTemp Mini for this project.

Pin #4: Floral Napkin Rings
Original Creator: Crafts Unleashed (Consumer Crafts)
Our Review: On a scale of 1-10, this project was a 6

We modified these napkin rings pretty significantly. First of all, since it’s getting close to that time that we need to be planning for Thanksgiving, we swapped out the spring colors for autumnal harvest colors. We also forewent the labor of making each flower by hand and instead picked up some faux flowers and fall embellishments. The trickiest part was wrapping birch paper around cardboard cylinders. In the end, we just wound up the birch paper a couple times and glued a seam to hold it together, and that worked well—and looked great, too!

Use the AdTech LoTemp Mini for this project.

Pin #5: Pom-Pom Clutch
Original Creator: Aunt Peaches
Our Review: On a scale of 1-10, this project was an 8.5

Once again, we modified the project. (Well, I did—this was an Alexis project all the way!) I really wanted to find a clutch with vertical stripes, but on short notice I settled for a change purse with horizontal stripes. Instead of pom poms, I used this tutorial for making fabric flowers and found a brightly colored floral fabric to pair with the striped clutch. In the end, I’m a big fan of how mine came out—it’s much more my personality than the pom-poms, and I foresee many people asking me where I got it… at which point I’ll get to say, “I made it!”

Use the AdTech Project Pro for this project.

Do you have a pin you’d like us to test? Fill out the contact form on this page or recommend a pin over on Pinterest!

That’s all for today! Let us know what you think!

I’ve been using the same mirrored box since high school for my jewelry, pins, and hair ties. It has worked fine and all, but I recently noticed it didn’t really go with any of the other decorative items around my home. And honestly, even though I’ve weeded through my accessories several times over the years, I still have more than I did in high school! So I needed a second way to store my most common go-to items where they wouldn’t get buried.

I dreamed up this mermaid ring dish as a solution. It’s very decorative, so it’s going to take the place of that mirrored box on my vanity, while the box moves to my bathroom closet and continues to store my less-often-used items.

I painted my prototype ring catcher coral because it’s a color that makes me feel happy and hopeful… but something about it just wasn’t quite right. In the end I switched to blue because it looked like water, which went with the mermaid theme. If you go with another kind of figurine, like a Loch Ness monster or a unicorn or something, I recommend you choose a color that inspires you or makes you feel the way you like most to feel!

This project was super simple, just a little time-consuming because of all the waiting I had to do for paint to dry, clay to bake, and glue to set. If you’re a beginner DIYer, set aside a morning or afternoon, enjoy the process, and at the end you’ll have a beautiful ring catcher!

You will need:

• AdTech’s Full-Size HiTemp glue gun
• AdTech’s Full-Size Multi-Temp Glue Sticks
• 1.75 lbs white, oven-bake clay
• Rolling pin
• Access to an oven
• Acrylic paint color(s) of choice
• Liquid gilding in gold
• Glaze (I used this one)
• A small plate to trace
• A large bowl with a flat bottom at least as wide as your mermaid figurine
• X-Acto knife
• Paint brush
• Mermaid figurine (I used this one)

Step one

Roll out the white clay on a clean work surface that you don’t mind using a knife on—a self-healing mat, if you have one—until it’s 1/4” thick, or maybe just a little thinner.

Step two

Move the clay to a safe surface for an X-Acto knife.  Trace the plate or bowl with the knife, and peel away excess clay.

Step three

Smooth out edges of circle or oval with fingers, as they will be uneven and a little jagged from the blade of the knife. (This is harder than it sounds, so remember that imperfections add character, and don’t put too much pressure on yourself!)

Flip over the large bowl and place your smoothed-out clay circle over the bottom. Use the curve of the bowl to create a lip for your ring dish, which will hold the rings in. Make sure enough of the center stays flat, because you will need to be able to glue your figurine to it!

Step four

Remove the dish you’ve created from the bowl (gently), and place on a cooking sheet. Bake according to instructions on package. (I had to bake mine at 275 for about 16-17 minutes.)

Step five

While the dish bakes, paint the mermaid figurine, if desired. Mine came looking a little vintage and beat-up, even though it was new; so I painted her white and filled in some of the chips on her face with paint, as well.

Step six

Once the bottom of the ring dish is cool, paint the inside with the acrylic color(s) you chose for the dish, and allow this to dry. Use several coats to ensure evenness if you don’t want a watercolor effect over the original white.

Step seven

Once this paint is dry, flip the tray and paint the bottom, outside, and rim with the liquid gilding in gold. You can also use this opportunity to paint gold accents on the mermaid, if desired (mine was plain white so I painted the seashells and tail gold). Allow to dry completely.

Step eight

Use your AdTech Full-Size HiTemp glue gun to adhere the mermaid figurine to the bottom of the dish you created. (You could also use the HiTemp Mini, but the Full-Size HiTemp will allow you to lay your glue lines faster, ensuring that the glue is still hot and “thin” when you press the mermaid to the base. You want as small a gap as you can get between the figurine and the dish, so being able to set it faster is an advantage.)

Step nine

Paint over the entire project with the glaze, according to the instructions. (You don’t have to do this if you don’t want the dish to be shiny; however, since the acrylic paint is water-based and you may be storing this item on the vanity in your bathroom, at least sealing it with a matte spray might be a good idea.)

Step ten

Fill with rings!