We are in the dog days of summer and with BTW and fall staring us in the face, it’s more than a little important to take a good look at furniture and design elements in your home, yard or office that you might want to tweak. It’s important to look at refreshing the “scenery” to give your environment a fresh feeling and a great sense of purpose. Harper Collins’ book by ” Mr. Kate” (AKA Kate Albrecht) “A Hot Glue Gun Messh A”
HOT”GLUE”GUN”MESS:Funny Stories, Pretty DIY Projects” was recently named Book of the Month by Amazon,
Part DIY, part memoir(she’s the daughter of HBO’s Chris Albrecht!), ” A Hot Glue Gun Mess: is filled with lots of fun (and funny) stories about growing up in “Hollyweird” with a father in the limelight. Each chapter focuses on a pivotal moment in Kate’s life and comes complete with a related and inspired beauty, fashion, home, or lifestyle DIY project.
“Creativity is the story of my life! In this colorful book of fifty hilarious stories and fifty beautiful DIY projects, I take you on a journey through the crazy turns in my world and show you how life can inspire art that anyone can do! See how my first period inspired gorgeous watercolor curtains, how my last minute court-room wedding sparked a no-sew tutu and my one-night stand with the world’s most famous athlete led to a marquee-light project that brightened my home.”
Kate’s love of self-expression and her desire to live an anything-but-normal life “outside of the box’ inspired Mr. Kate to create her own unique DIY life. Her projects involve style, home design, and beauty—including DIY nail art and makeup techniques, up-cycled projects to revive tired items in your wardrobe, and stunning home-decor touches to beautify your living space. You don’t have to be a seamstress, a metalsmith, or an expert at anything to enjoy these projects, all of which are doable in under two hours and require just a few easy-to-find supplies. Now with the help of Mr. Kate’s youtube videos and her book, we can all become DIY Divas!
Here is a project that you can do excerpted from the book. (Thanks to Mr. Kate and her PR for giving us the scoop on this project!)
Crystal – Inlaid Side Table
PREP IT
• Wood stump (I raided mine from my neighbor’s tree trimmings; find them at lumber yards or landscaping supply stores)
• Sandpaper (optional)
• Wood chisel
• Hammer
• Crystals
• 2 to 4 boxes of epoxy resin, depending on the size of the stump
• Disposable container and stir stick, to mix your epoxy
• Polycrylic (seals and keeps out wood critters)
• 3- inch- wide paintbrush
• Drill
• Table legs and screws (optional; if your stump is thin and you want to add height)
DO IT!
1. Wood stumps that have been cut with a mechanical saw usually have smooth faces, so pick the side of the stump you want to be the top of the table. You may want to sand down some of the uneven ridges— I chose to leave them for an organic look. If you have a thick stump that won’t need legs to make it the right height for a side table to a chair or couch, make sure it’s stable. If you have a thinner slice of wood, like mine, make sure the legs will be able to attach evenly to the underside after you’re done with the crystal inlay.
2. Using a wood chisel and hammer, carve out areas of the wood stump where you want to inlay the crystals. If you want them to lie flush with the rest of the wood, chisel a deeper inset. Tip: Chiseling is easy— just hammer the end of the chisel handle to chip out pieces of wood. Don’t worry about making it perfect. Practice your technique on a scrap piece of wood, if you like.
3. Fill in the chiseled areas with crystals, packing them as densely as possible.
4. Follow the instructions on the box to stir together the epoxy resin. This usually involves heating up the two bottles in warm water and stirring equal parts together for around 4 minutes. Stir the resin slowly to avoid air bubbles.
5. Slowly pour the resin mixture over your crystal insets (up to you if you want to leave the crystals peeking out of the resin or cover them completely). For a glossier look, add a thin layer of epoxy over the wood top. (Don’t worry if a little drips down the sides—you can wipe it off or let it cure as glossy drips.) Tip: Use a small propane torch to pop any bubbles that form and achieve a high shine while the resin is still wet. I didn’t use a torch and instead used my resin stir stick to pop and smooth any bubbles that rose from the spaces in the crystals after the initial pour.
6. Let the resin cure for 3 full days in a still, dust- free area.
7. If you haven’t covered it in a coat of resin, seal the wood on all sides with a painted coat or two of polycrylic.
8. Use the drill to screw the table legs to the underside of the stump (I used 3 hairpin style legs).
DO IT Elsewhere!
Use baked polymer clay to make a setting for a crystal necklace pendant. Paint the clay with metallic acrylic paint and hang on a chain or rope!
A HOT GLUE GUN MESS: CHAPTER EXAMPLES
Mr. Kate: Styling Fall Wardrobe Staples!
FASHION
Chapter 5: Lady Humpalot + DIY Royal Animal Rings
Chapter 36: Two Boy-Banders and a Bimbo + DIY Bleached Feather-Print Scarf
Chapter 41: My Grandma the Bitch + DIY Granny Chic Doily Skirt
Mr. Kate: Fun Styling for Photos
BEAUTY
Chapter 2: Hooker with a Head of Gold + DIY Beachy Waves Spray
Chapter 17: I Used to Babysit My Stepmom + DIY Beyond Nude Nail Art—Two Ways
Chapter 21: Cocaine on the Carpet + DIY Bold Brows
Mosaic Lamp (Thanks to Mr. Kate and her PR for providing this DIY project!!)
PREP IT
• Mosaic mirror tiles
• Lamp with a base that will easily fit the mirror tiles
• Hot glue gun and glue sticks
DO IT!
1. Start hot- gluing mirror tiles in place at the base of the lamp by the cord and work your way around. Tip: If there are any gaps between tiles, you can hide them at the back of the lamp.
2. Continue to glue the tiles in layers up the body of the lamp.
3. Plug in and add a pretty shade!
DO IT Elsewhere!
Glue mosaic mirror tiles onto a scrap of leather and connect to a chain with jump rings for a funky necklace!
Mr. Kate in “Mister Sister”
HOME
Chapter 7: Prelude to the Prepubescent + DIY Ironic Art
Chapter 34: My Big Gay Family + DIY Faux Bois
Chapter 48: Earthquakes and Breast Buds + DIY Crystal-Inlaid Side Table
Pomegranates and Porn from A Hot Glue Gun Mess
Order the book from any one of these sites:
Amazon.com: http://bit.ly/17OR0We
Barnes And Noble: http://bit.ly/1DLzoIS
Books A Million: http://bit.ly/1B6cEBl
Walmart: http://bit.ly/1Bg53BN
Indiebound: http://bit.ly/1A1Eedw
Follow Mr. Kate on these social channels:
Site: http://www.mrkate.com/
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/user/TheMrkate
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/mrkatedotcom
Twitter: https://twitter.com/mrkatedotcom
Instagram: https://instagram.com/mrkatedotcom/
Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/mrkate/
If you like Mr. Kate, you need this book. If you want easy explanations and tutorials on beauty or fashion DIY’s, you need this book. If you want to DIY your home, office or your bathroom, you need this book! PS, the book makes great gifting from friends and family!!
Stevie Wilson,
LA-Story.com
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This book looks both funny and useful. I do like to mess around with DIY, but this lady is all in.