How to Make an Easy Hot Glue Embossed Wood Sign

Call me Danger Girl. I have to admit hot glue is one my favorite adhesives even though it has the potential to sear off my fingerprints. I use hot glue to glue stuff together all of the time but using hot glue to make the craft itself? Not so much. 

Which is why I was very interested when a review copy of the book  Hot Glue Hacks and Crafts 50 Fun and Creative Décor, Fashion, Gift and Holiday Project to Make with Your Glue Gun by Angie Holden and Carolina Moore was delivered to my doorstep. I was happy to learn the book does not feature your typical crafts put together with hot glue. Instead Hot Glue Hacks and Crafts teaches you how to make the craft elements almost entirely out of hot glue – including a pair of flip flop shoes!

(I reviewed a copy of the book for review but that has no bearing on giving you my honest review of it. I am including affiliate links for the items I used to make this project in this post for your convenience.)


One of the things I like about craft books like Hot Glue Hacks and Crafts is how it can inspire you to use several techniques from different tutorials in the book to make a totally different hot glue gun craft on your own. In this case, I drew inspiration from the Hot Glue Embossed Vase and Hot Glue Party Cake Topper projects to make an embossed hot glue Love wood wall sign.

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DIY Hot Glue Wall Art Tutorial

How to Watch Spectrum Cable without a Digital Cable Box

Spectrum Cable TV is switching all of their customers over to digital cable boxes. Which means you now need a digital cable box on every TV in your house in order to watch to watch Spectrum’s new and supposedly improved digital cable TV signal.

That’s all well and good for our main television set in the living room but I’d rather not rent a second cable box for the older flat panel TV we intermittently use in our home office.

Yeah, yeah. I know. Cable TV is old fashioned and costly. This extra annoyance has made me think about cord cutting. (Well, this and I think Spectrum’s service has gotten worse since Charter bought them.)

But as of now cable TV is part of a bundle and I’d like to use what I’m already paying for to watch the news or a movie on the second TV in my office without the extra expense of renting a second cable box or buying a new TV.

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How to Watch Spectrum Cable on an Older TV Set

How to Repair a Front Load Washing Machine that Will Not Drain

I think I am one of the only people in the United States who actually likes her front loading washing machine. That’s why I panicked when my trusty Whirlpool Duet washer stopped in the middle of a cleaning cycle and flashed me a F21 error.

I didn’t want to use a washing machine that will not wash as an excuse to buy a new one. We’ve been good to each other. I wanted to save her, not replace her.

Fortunately, an F21 error on my washing machine means the drain is clogged and is a very simple fix you can do yourself!

 

How to Clean a Clogged Washing Machine Drain

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How to Repair a Loose Cabinet Door Hinge

Recently,  I closed a lower kitchen cabinet door with a slightly more aggressive shove to push whatever dish was preventing the door from closing all of the way to slide back into the cupboard and allow the door to close all of the way. I’ve done this a million times before when I’ve been in a hurry. Maybe you have too.

This time the cupboard decided to revolt after I closed the door and did a nice lean to the right.
I broke the kitchen cupboard door hinge.

I popped the plastic hinge cups that are common on boats, campers, and builder grade kitchens back into the holes. There. Fixed!

Until the next time I opened and closed the cabinet door. Gentle close. Wonk. Door shift to the right.

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How to Repair a Plastic Concealed Door Hinge

How to Make 6 DIY Cooling Body Spray Recipes (Hydrosols)

Summer is hot.

Really hot.

Add a big dollop of Ohio humidity and it feels ridiculously stupid hot.

All I can think of when the heat index makes the air temperature feel like it is 105 degrees outside (like yesterday. Ugh!) is how nice it would be if I could accessorize my outfit of the day with a wearable air conditioner.

Which  I can, sort of, if I make and use a quick, easy, and cheap body cooling spray that feels like an air conditioner in a bottle! Or if you are not the DIY type, you can buy a refreshing cooling spray here (I am including affiliate links in this post for your convenience.)

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Six Quick and Easy Essential Oil Cooling Spray Recipes

How to Repair a Ripped Flag

Last summer, I repaired a rip in an outdoor garden swooper flag a new sewing client flies in front of his business to give it a second year of life. (I am including some affiliate links in this post for your convince.)

I didn’t write a tutorial at the time because I didn’t think there was much of an interest in how to machine darn rips and holes in a garden flag. Based on the number of questions I answered after I did the job it turns out I was wrong.

Luckily, I get a second chance to write a flag repair tutorial because the twin outdoor feather banner has a tear and a hole in the same place where flag sleeve (the part where the flag pole runs though) sits on and pulls against the top of the curved metal pole when the wind blows. The client asked if I would repair Flag 2 like I darned the tear and hole in Flag 1 since Flag 1 is still rip, roaring, and ready to fly.

The blob at the top is the client's attempt at repairing the hole in the flag with hot glue.

 Needless to say it didn't work.

How to Machine Darn a Rips, Tears, and Holes in Fabric

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Time to link up and share your fantastic craft and DIY projects, recipes, tutorials, and ideas! I can't wait to see what you have in store for us this week!

How to Naturally Kill Grubs and Japanese Beetles with Milky Spore

When we bought our condo, the builder planted spirea bushes in front of all of the houses in the neighborhood. Those pretty pink flowers were quite attractive – to Japanese beetles and grubs.

Commercial grub killers from the big box store do not work for me which I only tried as a last resort. I was leery of what the 90% OTHER INGREDNETS listed on the ingredients label actually were since they had a warning about not using the stuff around kids, dogs, and fish ponds.

The only thing that worked was using the all natural, people and pet safe organic grub killing combo of Milky Spore powder and Beneficial nematodes in my flowerbeds. (Disclosure: I am including a few big bold affiliate links in this post for your convenience because I couldn’t find any of these items for sale locally and figure you might be in the same boat too.)

Now if I was smart and applied Milky Spore to my grass and lawn when I did the flower bed years ago, the good Milky Spore bacteria would have been fruitful and multiplied in the soil throughout my property by now.

While the flower beds are naturally pest free but I found a grub in the yard recently and where there is one grub there are a dozen or more. Live and learn  should have applied my organic pest killer to the yard too. But my shortsightedness is your gain because I can write you a quick and easy tutorial.

How to Easily Apply Milky Spore to Your Lawn and Garden

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How to Replace a Lamp Socket That Will Not Light

There are many things a women likes to hear from her husband.

“I love you.”

“Let’s get ice cream!”

“I bought you diamonds! Here are those cutting blades you wanted.”

are a few.

However, “Honey, were those lamps you gave me for Christmas expensive?” is not one of them.

My husband accidentally yanked the pull chain out of the socket when he turned off a lamp in our bedroom. He tried reattaching the pull chain. After several failed attempts, he couldn’t reattach it. He thought a new lamp was in our future.

Until I answered his question with, “Your lamps are hand-crafted stained glass imported from Ireland.”

In other words, expensive.

But easily repaired for under $5.00. I just needed to replace the lamp socket.

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Hi everyone! Many of you asked how my family is doing after Tuesday's tornado in the Columbus, Ohio area. I'm happy to report that all my area of the city got was wind, rain, and a tornado watch. Basically a small helping of first world problems of a few light flickers and slow internet the following day which is absolutely nothing to complain about especially when storm took down power lines and poles and it may take up to 5 days to repair. Been there. Done that. It stunk on ice.

Which given that the weather went from the icy forties's to the warm seventies and back to the icy thirties it's no wonder we had such a severe storm. I'm coping with Lacy snuggles, hot chocolate, and DIY projects.

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How did you celebrate Saint Patrick's Day? I got up waaaaay too early in the morning to help my favorite pub break in their eye popping grill and serve up green eggs and ham!

Well, the event was advertised as green eggs and ham because it was St. Patrick's Day and all but the look weirded out Head Chef C and Sous Chef Lisa. We stuck to food au naturale.

A post shared by Lisa (@condoblues) on Mar 17, 2018 at 5:42am PDT

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It's two days until Saint Patrick's Day! Are you ready to get your ShamROCK on?

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Lisa from Condo Blues chose

Floating Bathroom Shelves from Turtles and Tails

Jerri at Simply Sweet Home chose

German Potato Pancakes from All That's Jas

Amy at A Day of Small Things chose

Matcha Cheesecake from Kiku Corner

Maisy at Becoming Alice chose Cold Kicking Shower Melts from Busy Being Jennifer

Kelly at Under a Texas Sky chose

Barbacoa Recipe from To Simply Inspire

 

Penny at Penny's Passion chose How to Make Relaxing Lavender Bath Salts from Happy Mothering

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Let's get this party started! Time to link up and share your fantastic craft and DIY projects, recipes, tutorials, and ideas! I can't wait to see what you have in store for us this week.

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Lisa from Condo Blues chose How to Install a Beadboard Kitchen Backsplash from Artful Homemaking

Jerri at Simply Sweet Home chose

DIY Kitchen Conversion Chart Tutorial from Live Craft Love

Amy at A Day of Small Things chose

Antique Key Art from Not in Jersey

Maisy at Becoming Alice chose Traditional Irish Soda Bread Recipe from 5 Minutes For Mom

Kelly at Under a Texas Sky chose

Chalk Paint vs. Milk Paint from Repurpose and Upcycle

Penny at Penny's Passion chose Cherry-Pineapple Dump Cake in a Jar from Home Cooking Memories

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 I added a new Lost Bobby Pin Trinket Tray to my store LNWCreativeGifts to help you keep track of and organize your bobby pins, hair ties, and little daily bits. Check it out!

It makes a great gift too!

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Jerri at Simply Sweet Home chose

Gender Neutral Nursery from Health, Home, & Heart

Maisy at Becoming Alice chose

How to Make Fire Water: Natural Cold and Flu Remedy from Artful Homemaking

Amy at A Day of Small Things chose

Banana Split Brownie Pizza from Poinsettia Drive

Kelly at Under a Texas Sky  and Lisa at Condo Blues chose 

Craft Room Organization from The Country Chic Cottage

Penny at Penny's Passion chose DIY Coffee Sleeves from The Country Chic Cottage

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