7 Clever Glue Gun Projects

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7 Clever Hot Glue Gun Projects

It’s so nice when something that we already own can be used for other reasons. Especially if those “other reasons” can make our lives so much simpler! Over the years I’ve found some really clever hot glue gun projects, and I wanted to share them with you. That little tool can come in really handy around your house! So instead of thinking to use a hot glue gun for just crafting, think again for clever hacks for other areas of the home.

If you don’t already have a glue gun, Amazon has a nice selection to choose from and you can actually see which ones are worth buying thanks to the comments. Does anyone else make all their purchases on Amazon based on the reviews? Or just me?

Non-Slip Rugs –

If you have a beautiful rug you want to use, but hate stepping on it and finding yourself slipping. Grab your glue gun and add some glue to the bottom part of the rug that touches the floor. Do dots or zig-zags and this will help grip the rug against the floor and prevent it from moving around. This seems to be particularly helpful in the kitchen or anywhere else around your home that has wooden floors.

Homemade Tap Shoes –

Have a child that seems interested in tap dancing? Before you invest in tap shoes, make your own! Take an old pair of shoes, and glue a 3-4 pennies at the top and bottom soles of the shoes. This will create a fun tap dance sound while your child dances around! A very affordable option and even if your little one doesn’t end up with a tapping talent, at least they had fun for a while!

Non-Slip Hangers –

Ever go to hang up a beautiful top only to have it slip right back off the hanger? So frustrating to go and get an outfit out of the closet to wear, and find it on the floor in a crumpled, wrinkly pile. Here’s what to do… using your hot glue gun, on the top side of the hanger where the clothes hang, create a zig-zag pattern with the glue. Once it dries, slip the clothes on, and it will not slip off. You can also do dots if you don’t want a zig-zag pattern. (Uses less glue)

Keep Pictures From Slipping out of Place –

If you go to hang a picture on the wall, you might notice over time it can get a little crooked. So, on the two bottom corners place little dots of hot glue. Let them cool completely and then hang the picture on the nail. The glue will be a nice barrier and prevent it from moving around as easily. This is a great trick to remember if you have pictures that always seem to be moving around from the movement of the little ones in your home!

Add Texture to Painted Jars and Vases –

If you have some mason jars laying around, you can use your hot glue gun to create a design or words. Just write or draw on the jar with the glue. Then once it is fully dried, spray paint your jars. This will add a neat design to the jar or vase, and you can add flowers, cooking utensils, makeup brushes or whatever else and put it on display. If you want another fun mason jar craft, you will love this Tinted Mason Jar Craft.

uses for glue gun

Slipper Grip Bottoms –

This is a great one, especially for children. You put on your slippers to keep your feet warm, walk on the hardwood floor only to find yourself sliding. (My kids have days when they just go “ice skating” on the floor when it’s particularly cold!) Take your hot glue and add dots or a pattern on the bottom of the slippers. This will give you a good grip on those hard floors. floors. Just add some grips on the bottom of those slippers and you won’t have any more problems with that. You can get creative and write your child’s name, or simply just make some lines on the bottom. Either way, it will still work the same.

Plug Bathroom Water Toys –

Did you know that water can stay inside bath toys and start to mold? I’m sure you’ve seen it happen in your own tub toys. They can be very unsanitary (especially when your little one won’t stop drinking the bathwater!), but with a little hot glue you can seal up those toys, and prevent water from going inside. This will be a safer option for your child to play with the toy and don’t have to worry about harmful bacteria growing inside of the toy. They will last longer and you won’t have the cost of replacing the toys as often.

Isn’t this fun? You can see, that old hot glue gun can be looked at in a totally new light now! It has so many neat uses, like you see above. Plus I am sure there are so many more uses you might come up with!

If you have a neat hot glue gun project, leave a comment below and let me know!

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17 Comments

  1. Great ideas, thanks for sharing. When I saw tap shoes I remembered reading one time that thumb tacks, you know the old boring ones, stuck into the bottom of a pair of shoes used to be a trick used. Your penny and glue idea was cute though. *smile* Have a great day and thanks for sharing these fun ideas with all of us. Sincerely, Mommy of two growing blessings & so much more!

  2. LOVE these ideas! You are such an “out of the box” thinker! I wish I’d known about the tub toy hack when my kids were babies and I had to soak their toys in (headache-inducing) bleach. 🙁 I’m going to try the hanger and rug ideas very soon, the rug to hopefully stop my very active dog from skittering the rug all over the dining room floor every time he runs around. Blessings! 😉 <3

  3. Awesome ideas!
    I especially like the one for children’s bath toys.
    Keep up the good work.
    Always learning something from you.

  4. Omgosh! Live these ideas! Especially the hanger, jar and picture ideas!! I’ll be putting these to use this week!

  5. Thanks, Marissa! These are great. Just one question . . . My landlady is obsessive about her hardwood floors (I already have many scratches to be filled) so I wanted to be sure that the rug trick would not hurt the wood floors. They are beautiful and we all live messy lives sometimes! Thanks again. I love checking out what you send and always open my email.
    Warm regards,
    Barbara

    1. I don’t think it would do anything to them if they are hardwood (not sure about laminate). You might want to test on a small section of the rug though first to make sure.

    2. Ms. Barbara,

      A trick to cover up scratches in hardwood floor is to take a nut – walnut or pecan and rub the nut across the scratch. It will erase it when the nut oil gets into the crevice. We had moved into base housing that had parquet floors and the movers scratched up the floor pretty good in a couple of places with their dollies. Had heard this trick a few weeks earlier and thought I would try it and it worked beautifully. Hope this helps!

      Maureen

      1. Hey, thanks, Maureen! I’d heard about this at some point and then hadcompletely forgotten it over time.
        Barbara

  6. Wonderful ideas!!! I have done some of them, but many are new to me. Thank you. 🙂

  7. I love the idea to plug bath toys! I know when my kids were little I always hated how gross they got inside!

  8. Such great ideas! I have used it on the bottom of rugs many a times! 🙂

  9. Thanks for these great tips! I absolutely love the idea of using it as a rug “pad”. Going to try this today on my daughter’s little bedside rug. Visiting from Welcome Home Wednesday.

  10. The slipper one is my favorite Merissa. We have polished wooden floors upstairs and we’re always slip sliding away. Adding glue tractions is going to help so much. Oh and if I my rubber ducky ever springs a leak I know what to do 😉

  11. What a great idea! I even never thought that using a glue gun I can make such wonderful Tap Shoes! These are really eye-catching! Feeling hurry to make a Tap Shoe for my daughter! Hope to get a great one! Thanks Merissa, for sharing such beautiful idea! 🙂