Have Glue Gun, Will Definitely Dribble

Give me a hot glue gun and things get sticky. And stained. Yep, when you dribble glue onto fabric and leave it there when it goes through the washer and dryer, a stain will remain. Well, maybe you don’t dribble glue, but I certainly do. Me and glue, we have a touchy relationship. I need it for craft projects but oh, how I hate it. Because it insists on spreading itself around where it doesn’t belong.

Aaaanyway, that’s how my favorite v-neck pink top was ruined. I hung onto it though because I just knew that I could come up with some way to use it. Years ago some fabric paint and a stencil came to my rescue on another t-shirt I liked. Wasn’t in the mood for fabric paint this time, even if I hadn’t thrown it away when it got all cloggy.

Tossed around the idea of appliqué and just as quickly tossed it out. This shirt is sort of stretchy t-shirt fabric and I couldn’t figure out how to put a non-stretchy appliqué on it and not end up with puckers or something.

A couple of years passed.

Then sorting through a drawer I found embroidery floss. Used some to spice up a jean pillow I was making. Held the thread up to my pink shirt. Hmmmm.

And I began to stitch. One petal at a time.

Backed up each flower with a tiny piece of old cotton sheet on the underside of the shirt to give stability.

It took a long time because my finger joints don’t get along well with fine hand sewing anymore.

As I stitched I thought about what God does with the staining experiences of my life. Stains incurred by me willfully decoupaging myself with the glue of pride and its counterpart shame, as well as stains in the form of lies sticking to me, telling me about who I am.

The little daisies taking shape under my fingers spoke to me of God’s mercy transforming those stains into beauty—His beauty.

I added a few petals here and there where there were no stains. God’s grace decorates my life with friends who care and provide.

Embroidery is a quiet, peaceful art. Christ sews in His perfect peace and underneath it all, His Word gives me stability.

So delighted to be able to wear my favorite pink shirt again. Even more so now that it reminds me of spiritual truth.

And look! I didn’t spill any sticky stuff in this creative blog project!