From the leaders in hot melt adhesive innovation……we have introduced the Thumb Gun! Available at Joann’s, Amazon, and limited Walmart USA stores. Uses mini size glue sticks and is ideal for quick projects and crafts.
Tom Thumb Gun
Hot Glue Ghost Lights
Here’s another fun and unique craft project using hot glue as a medium. I hope you enjoy these spooky ghost lights! They are cheap and easy to make for Halloween. You can use string lights for decor, or even put little ghosts around a light-up necklace. Just make sure the lights are LED. They don’t heat up like the traditional incandescent lights do. Continue reading “Hot Glue Ghost Lights”
Colorful Spring Tree – featuring AdTech® Hot Glue and Crafter’s Tape
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!
Continue reading “Colorful Spring Tree – featuring AdTech® Hot Glue and Crafter’s Tape”
Hot Glue Stick Crystal Necklace – Who Knew?
One of my favorite statement jewelry pieces is a crystal necklace, made by my good friend, Jessica. I get a lot of comments on it, likely because it combines three very unique elements: a crystal, a bullet casing, and a Day of the Dead skull bead.
For a while, I thought it would be cool to make some necklaces like this on my own… until I discovered that buying nice-looking crystals (cough, ones that didn’t look like they were made of plastic) could cost $10 a pop domestically. Yikes.
Then Chris pointed out that glue sticks look an awful lot like uncarved crystals. Light bulb moment! Suddenly she was taking Multi-Temp sticks and cutting the ends off to make faux “crystals” that looked like the real deal!
Continue reading “Hot Glue Stick Crystal Necklace – Who Knew?”
DIY Hot Glue Sea Glass Earrings! #thisishotglue
Christmastime was our last post, can you believe it? Things have been crazy here at the Studio, between adding and integrating a new member to our team, to renovating our work space, to flying to Phoenix to host one of the most popular booths at #Creativation. We could not be more excited or thankful!
Now it’s time to get back on track, though, and we’ve got some AMAZING project ideas coming to you in the coming weeks! Kicking things off? Sea glass… made from hot glue.
That’s right. There are so many applications for this, my mind almost bursts. I remember being a kid and trying to find sea glass and sand dollars along the beach (I grew up near the coast), and some days I had awesome hauls, but most days were a bust. Imagine not only being able to make your own “sea glass,” but being able to make it into whatever shape you want. The possibilities are endless! Continue reading “DIY Hot Glue Sea Glass Earrings! #thisishotglue”
One Last-Minute Giftwrap Trick for a Trés Chic Look
Less than a week until Christmas! Are your gifts wrapped?
Mine haven’t even all arrived yet… I’ll probably be doing half my wrapping on Christmas Eve. Luckily I’ve had some experience making even last-second wrapping—once or twice using leftover papers I rummaged out of the closet!—look like I planned way ahead.
Here is one trick for making your giftwrapping look top of the line this year. Continue reading “One Last-Minute Giftwrap Trick for a Trés Chic Look”
Last Giveaway in December!
Guys, we are officially ten days away from Christmas! Have you gotten all your shopping done yet?
I confess… I have not. (And thank heavens for Amazon Prime because I am down to the wire and I have a very large family!) If you haven’t gotten all your shopping done yet, you might be excited to know that we have one last giveaway going on in December, starting today, and whether you want the prize for you or a loved one, we are going to try to get it shipped to the winner in time for Christmas. Are you ready? Continue reading “Last Giveaway in December!”
GIVEAWAY #2!
Time for another #giveaway!
Congrats to the winner of our first giveaway, Kayna! She’s a Rodan and Fields rep who has been hustling all year, and we are excited that she got our Seamstress’s Dream stocking as a little something for herself. She deserves it!
Our next giveaway is the Scrapbooker’s Delight stocking. This one is awesome! I was never much one for sewing, but I’ve scrapbooked for years and I can attest that this stocking is full, full, full of products and tools that any scrapbooker will love.
Here is what one lucky winner will receive: Continue reading “GIVEAWAY #2!”
Advent Wreath Inspired Centerpiece DIY
Heat up some eggnog, put on the Bing Crosby, and get out your cinnamon-scented candles, because this project is festive!
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! Continue reading “Advent Wreath Inspired Centerpiece DIY”
Easy, Fancy Holiday Gift Tags
If you’re anything like me, you start playing Christmas music the second that giant Thanksgiving meal has settled. (You might even start your holiday shopping in September…) So now that Thanksgiving is over and the leftovers are finding creative uses, I’m thinking about ways to make the next holiday super festive.
One of the ways I get into the holiday spirit is finding new and fun ways to decorate and wrap gifts. I’m excited to share a few holiday gift-wrapping techniques in the coming weeks, and today I’m kicking things off with these easy holiday gift tags.
We so carefully pick out papers and bows, but in my experience, the gift tag is an under-appreciated afterthought. It often doesn’t match the rest of the wrap job. This year I’m putting some more thought into it than usual. These tags one way I’ve drummed up to make gift tags more interesting, and they are super customizable, so the sky is the limit with what you can do with them! Continue reading “Easy, Fancy Holiday Gift Tags”
Home Reno Project, Week One: Sealing Up Cracks
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… Continue reading “Home Reno Project, Week One: Sealing Up Cracks”
3 Last-Minute Halloween Costumes Inspired by SNAPCHAT
For the last five or six years, I’ve basically missed Halloween. I’m definitely someone who wants to Go Big or Go Home on this holiday, so when I’ve had too much going on, I’ve just, well, skipped it.
This year I realized that if I don’t find a median between “Go Big” and “Go Home,” I’m never going to get to be a part of the fun dress-up tradition again… and I LOVE Halloween and I hate to miss it! So this year, I am going simple. I’m dressing up… as SnapChat!
Now, this will really only work if I can find a few other people to dress up with me. SnapChat filters change every day, so if someone doesn’t happen to see the one I choose for my costume, it won’t make any sense. But if 3-5 of us come together as different filters, I think it will be hard not to see right away what our costume is!
Below are 3 SnapChat filters that I found were super easy to replicate (even at the last minute!), and if you and your friends want to trick-or-treat together, each of you can use a different disguise below and still go out in “group costume.” Ready? Continue reading “3 Last-Minute Halloween Costumes Inspired by SNAPCHAT”
How to Set a Fall Harvest Table (for Thanksgiving or for Fun!)
Setting a table for a feast (or even just a large group) calls for some strategy. To keep the mood relaxed and enjoyable, you want to balance a variety of comforting cues with cleanliness and spaciousness—meaning, you want familiar aromas to fill the air and decorations to abound… and you also want to keep the table clear of dirty dishes and make sure each guest has enough elbow room.
Sounds simple enough—until you realize you want to put both a gorgeous centerpiece and your carefully prepared meal in the same spot on the table. Or that you’ve invited twelve, but only have enough china for ten. Then suddenly you find yourself saying something you never thought you’d say before: “The rules for a traditional table setting would come in really handy right about now!”
I’ve got you covered. Back in the day, I had to learn for a job which silverware was used for what—and in so learning, I actually learned the right way to set a table at the same time. As you plan to host holiday meals this year, consider these 5 handy tips for maintaining the energy of your party from appetizers to dessert. Continue reading “How to Set a Fall Harvest Table (for Thanksgiving or for Fun!)”
3 Fall Decoration Ideas for Your Mantle
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. Continue reading “3 Fall Decoration Ideas for Your Mantle”
Super Cute Save-the-Date DIY with Removable Photos
Project Time: Depends on how many cards you want to make! Could do a few dozen in an afternoon.
DIY level: Easy-Medium
These Save-the-Date cards were inspired the day I made these “wax” seals. I loved making these seals, but I also kind-of thought, what am I ever going to send that’s so fancy it would call for wax seals? Invitations to Buckingham Palace?
Then I decided any occasion can be fancy enough for wax seals if I make it so! And although I chose Save-the-Date cards for such a project, you could apply the embossing technique outlined here to invites for any event—a surprise party, a wedding shower, a baby shower, an anniversary, you name it! You could also use it for your annual holiday card or for Valentine’s Day. Continue reading “Super Cute Save-the-Date DIY with Removable Photos”