Hot Glue Hacks and Crafts: 50 Fun and Creative Decor, Fashion, Gift and Holiday Projects to Make with Your Glue Gun

I never imagined such clever uses for hot glue! Often when looking at craft books they seem to get repetitive but this book never does! It’s helpfully divided into Kids Projects, Home Decor, Holiday, “Hacks”, Accessories, and Party Decor. Even better, the pages have lots of color photos detailing each step and the projects are so simple anyone can do them. In the book, they go from suncatchers to vase embossing to even flip flops and stamp making! At the very back they include templates for a few of the projects that may need them. The only part that’s difficult is finding colored glue sticks since they’re used a lot in the book and I think most people don’t usually have them in their house already, but that’s all! They get into detail at the beginning of the book about tips and different craft material types but I didn’t have much issues with the fairly standard one I already possessed.

I love this book! Like many overdrawn parents, I have a crafts cupboard in the garage that could drown me. Somehow I ended up with more sticks of glue than I could imagine using in a lifetime, but this book rescued me. From glass etching to bowl-making to lampshades to Christmas cards, I may just have enough projects to dwindle my supply of hot glue sticks! What a rewarding, versatile medium. Just last week my son made me a sculpture entirely out of hot glue in varying colors. I’m so excited to find a versatile, indoor set of projects just in time for the long winter!

8 year old loves this craft book! Lots of ideas and important information! This encouraged her to read on her own!

Good ideas

Growing up, I had three main creative influences:My dad, who is a painter and photographer. He taught me basic painting and drawing skills.My maternal grandmother, who was an expert in all things needlecrafts. She taught me to crochet, sew, and embroider, and tried to teach me to knit, too. From time to time, we’d do some other crafts, like latch hooking.My mom, who is a masterful seamstress and can flip beat up old furniture into like-new beauties. She would decoupage from time to time, too.Nowhere in my childhood did I experience hot glue. As a relatively clumsy teen and then adult, I continued to avoid it. It seemed like I’d be tempting fate to put heat and glue anywhere near my flesh.Then, in January, I went to the annual trade show for the crafts industry. Before the event officially kicks off, Angie from The Country Chic Cottage and Carolina from Always Expect Moore and 30 Minute Crafts host a night out for crafts bloggers. They had a hot glue project planned, and they patiently took me from life as a hot glue newbie into the world of the anointed.I didn’t burn myself (or anyone else) and I was pleasantly surprised by the results (and the speed). I’m sharing this story because Angie and Carolina recently came out with a book for hot glue newbies and pros alike! It’s kind of like having them both there with you, so if you’re intrigued by hot glue, pick yourself up a copy of Hot Glue Hacks and Crafts: 50 Fun and Creative Decor, Fashion, Gift, and Holiday Projects to Make with Your Glue Gun!Hot Glue Hacks and Crafts starts off with Glue Gun Basics, which tells you everything you need to know about different types of glue guns, glue, and accessories, while also sharing some great tips like how to avoid those little strings of glue that seem to trail off everywhere. The rest of the book is filled with projects, which are organized by type (for kids, home decor, holiday, jewelry, and entertaining). There’s also a Glue Gun Hacks section which shows you how to make stencils, stamps, molds, and faux geodes with hot glue, as well as how to etch with hot glue. This section includes a project for making your own stand, too, which is really helpful (and safer) if your glue gun didn’t come with a stand. There are also templates in the back for some of the projects.My favorite projects in the book are the lampshade, the stencils, and the stamped pillow. All of the projects include detailed progress pictures — just like what you’d expect to see in a blog tutorial — so even when the project isn’t something you plan to make, you can still pick up some hot glue tips and tricks. If you’d like to have the ability to make some quick handmade gifts for friends and family (and yourself), but also to learn how to really maximize your hot glue gun, I highly recommend Hot Glue Hacks and Crafts!Full disclosure: A free review copy of Hot Glue Hacks and Crafts: 50 Fun and Creative Decor, Fashion, Gift, and Holiday Projects to Make with Your Glue Gun by Angie Holden and Carolina Moore was provided to me by Ulysses Press. Although I accept free products for review, I do not accept additional compensation, nor do I guarantee a positive review. My reviews are based entirely on my honest opinions.

I thought I knew everything there was to know about my hot glue gun. I have used my gun to repair and create many things in my home – I certainly couldn’t do a holiday without my hot glue gun. But this book has taken me to a whole new level. I appreciated the information on the various hot glue guns. I like to let my kids use the gun, so this was a good reminder of safety features. But the FUN is the new ideas I got for holidays. We are all about the Bloody Mason Jars for Halloween (photo), and my daughter was quick to think of an adaptation for other holidays. Once we saw how easy it was to make a Glitter Crown (photo), our Halloween costumes took a new turn. As we looked through Hot Glue Hacks we saw many crafts that will make for nice gifts, anytime of the year

All of the projects in this book are so darn clever! Who knew you could make flip flops, a cute pillow, bracelets, a lamp shade and cute organizers all with hot glue?!As I flipped through it I kept saying "OMG this is amazing!" - the authors really out-did themselves thinking of every creative out-of-the-box way to use hot glue. The avid crafter in your life will love this book.

I loved this book. Not only did it have some simple crafts to make using hot glue, but there were some amazing projects I would never guess were made with hot glue and some others made with the glue sticks themselves! Great projects with easy to follow instructions and handy tips and tricks!