Whether you’re a crafter extraordinaire or a frugal DIY home repair guru, there’s one tool you know you need to rely on: a hot glue gun. While we depend on the reliable adhesive to keep our projects together, we’ve never thought of it as a center-stage kind of material— until now!

That’s because YouTube crafter MORENA DIY has come up with 14 incredible ways to use hot glue to create and to solve problems like we’ve never seen before. Instead of a supporting player, it’s the main material. Check out our favorites, then watch the video below to see the rest of her genius ideas.

  1. Make glitter buttons.

    Make DIY buttons with hot glue and glitterMORENA DIY

    Want to add some sparkle and flair to your outfits or your latest craft project? Make your own glittery buttons with hot glue! All you need to do is shake some glitter out onto a safe, clean surface, pipe some hot glue onto it in a spiral, then shake on more glitter. Allow it to dry, poke some holes through it, and voila! Button!

  2. Replace a pencil eraser.

    We don’t know just why some pencils come without erasers, but some particularly annoying ones do. If you find yourself in possession of one and needing to erase with it, never fear! Just pipe some onto the bare end of the pencil, and once it’s dried, you can use it as an eraser just as good as any traditional pink one.

  3. Create your own one-of-a-kind stencils . . .

    14 hot glue life hacksMORENA DIY

    Love painting with stencils but can never find the ones you imagine in your mind? Simply make your own with hot glue! Our host chose to go with the circular pattern above, but you can do whatever outline or image you like.

    All you need to do is pipe out a design with the hot glue on some baking paper and allow it to dry. Then just peel it off – it should release from the baking paper easily! – lay it down on the surface you want to paint, and sponge or brush on the paint. Easy!

  4. . . . and then use it as a coaster, placemat or trivet!

    Bonus! Once you’ve created art with your hot glue stencil, take a look at the stencil itself. It’s painted, too, and probably looking pretty lovely. Use it now under flower pots, hot plates and more to protect your furniture and get even more use out of that hot glue.

  5. Fashion your own bags.

    Make a DIY bag out of hot glueMORENA DIY

    Yup, thanks to hot glue, you can totally make your own bags, and you don’t need to have any prior knowledge of sewing or textiles. Just grab the hot glue gun, some baking paper and a bottle or tube, and get to work.

    To do it, all you need to do is wrap some baking paper around the bottle or tube, then pipe on an interconnected design. Repeat to make a second, shorter hot glue tube, and allow both to dry. Then pipe a top for each tube, so that you have a kind of cup, and then hot glue on a zipper to attach them together!

    This one definitely makes more sense when you watch MORENA DIY’s video below, but we ultimately think it’s pretty adaptable and easy. You could use the same technique to make vases, cups, or even a “koozie” for your summertime beverages.

So cool! We’re itching to go grab our hot glue guns and start crafting. If you’re feeling the same, be sure to watch MORENA DIY’s video below to see how all of these crafts are done, and to see the other 9 incredible ideas she’s discovered. She makes everything from jewelry to flowers to a special brush for cats you have to see to believe.

What do you think of these hot glue ideas? Have you ever crafted this way before? What other uses for hot glue can you imagine?