Take a few pretty focal pendants made of stone, and turn them into a pretty statement necklace. This Statement Stone Necklace takes less than an hour to make, and uses three pretty focal pendants that cost just $1 — for all THREE (from my sponsor, Fire Mountain Gems — affiliate links included in this post). I braided three chains to make a sturdy chain for these eye-catching stones.

I recently got a few goodies from the Fire Mountain Gems $1 sale, and they challenged me to make something with the things they sent me. I was immediately inspired by the group of three focal stones, and I thought they might even look good if grouped together in a single necklace.

Since you can’t often find jewelry-making supplies at the dollar store, I heartily recommend checking out Fire Mountain Gems for their $1 sale, which goes until April 11.

Project Materials:

• 3 Stone Focal Pendants, $1
• 3 18″ chains, $1 each
• Large jump rings, $1 or on hand
• Eye pins, $1 or on hand
• Pliers (Needle nose, chain nose, or round nose will work), on hand
• Lobster clasp, $1 or on hand

Total cost: $4 and up

Step 1: If your chains have clasps on them already, remove them. In my case, my three chains were 18″ unfinished chains. Instead of using an additional lobster clasp, you can reuse the clasp from one of your chains, if you like.

Put the three chains on a jump ring, and then put the lobster clasp onto the jump ring. Close the jump ring.

Step 2: Clip the lobster clasp onto something (like a safety pin on your jeans!!), and then braid the three chains together.

Step 3: Put the three ends of the braided chain through a small jump ring, then add a large jump ring to use with the lobster clasp.

The braided chain makes a sturdy backdrop for the three large focal beads!

Step 4: Insert long eye pins into the holes of each focal bead, and wrap the end of the eye pin around the top, wire-wrapping style. Alternately, use an ice pick bail to mount the focal beads.

Attach each prepared focal bead to the braided chain using a jump ring.

You’re done! You can also add as many additional embellishments as you like. Get creative – there are so many fun beads to buy at the $1 sale!

Disclosure: Affiliate links, and product was provided for free from our sponsor, Fire Mountain Gems.

The post Make a Statement Stone Necklace appeared first on Dollar Store Crafts.

St. Patrick’s Day is almost here! Feel like greening up your decor, but short on budget? Corrie from The Apple of My DIY put this cute chandelier together with some basic supplies, and the results are definitely not-so-basic looking! Her design incorporates honeycomb tissue paper spheres, but if you can’t find those readily available to you, you can get a similar look using green pom poms instead. Or, for that matter, any other embellishments that you happen to have on hand can be worked into this fun project! [how to make a St. Patrick’s Day chandelier]

Project estimate:

• Embroidery hoop, $1 and up
• Beads, on hand or $1 and up
• Straws, on hand or $1
• Honeycomb paper or pom poms, on hand or $1 and up
• String, on hand
• Green paper, on hand or $1
• Glue, on hand

Total: $1 and up

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Got yarn scraps? Turn them into Easter decorations! Over at Blitsy, Meghan shows how to turn your odds and ends of yarn into these adorable pom pom bunnies. You can also use the same basic method with different features to make a variety of other animals or creatures. They will look so cute decorating your Easter baskets or tucked into your spring decor!  [how to make pom pom Easter bunnies]

Project estimate:

• Yarn, on hand or $1 and up
• Felt, on hand or $1
• Beads, on hand or $1
• Glue, on hand

Total: Free and up!

The post Make Pom Pom Easter Bunnies appeared first on Dollar Store Crafts.

It’s my favorite jewelry-making time of year — the annual Fire Mountain Gems $1 Sale! I got a few items from the sale to share with you and pique your appetite to check out what else they have! See what I got in my haul, and then go check out the sale yourself!

Watch my video below for the whole haul! Do you have any ideas of what I should make with these goodies? Check back later this week to find out what I make first!

The post Haul Video: $1 Sale from Fire Mountain Gems appeared first on Dollar Store Crafts.

I’ve been busy bringing color to the gray days of winter with my two projects for the Live.Craft.Love blog – DIY Wooden Geometric Wall Art and a Bungee Bling Necklace. Do you need to add some color to your days too? Go check these projects out!

DIY Wooden Geometric Wall Art

I love these wooden canvases – I have been using them for all kinds of fun art projects around my home, from making cute baby photo art, to letting my children paint on them for an instant gallery of kid art. For this project, I layered colored vellum onto the wooden canvas to create these colorful modern pieces of wall art.

Bungee Bling Necklace:

Bungee cord is a fun material to use in jewelry making, and these large hole Mix & Mingle beads just slip right on to create a perfectly easy jewelry project. This would be a fun one for teens to make!

The post 2 Colorful Craft Projects for Spring appeared first on Dollar Store Crafts.

Want to up your jewelry-making game? This bead-wrapped wire heart pendant from Lisa Yang is a great project for those who have a little experience working with wire and want to learn a fun new technique. Once you master the beading technique, you can use this to give a fancy edge to all kinds of crafty projects! [how to make a bead-wrapped wire heart pendant]

Project estimate:

• Wire, on hand or $1 and up
• Beads, on hand or $1 and up

Total: Free and up!

The post Make a Bead-Wrapped Wire Heart Pendant appeared first on Dollar Store Crafts.

Chinese Glass Rhinestone Earrings
Retail Price: $5.95
Sale Price: $2.96

Lampworked Glass Pendant
Retail Price: $4.40
Sale Price: $1.75

Light Rose Swarovski Crystal Drop
Retail Price: $7.59
Sale Price: $3.72

Sterling Silver and Cubic Zirconia Pendant
Retail Price: $24.95
Sale Price: $5.96

Light Blue Magnasite Beads
16-inch Strand
Retail Price: $7.44
Sale Price: $3.27

Gemstone and Glass Bead Mix
1/4 pound bag
Retail Price: $10.83
Sale Price: $5.15

Czech Fire-Polished Glass Beads
16-inch Strand
Retail Price: $6.07
Sale Price: $3.38

Vintage German Opaque Beads
Package of 24
Retail Price: $3.22
Sale Price: $1.10

Fire Mountain Gems is my favorite online source for beads and jewelry-making supplies, and they have deeply discounted a lot of items for their final sale of the year! Check out these deals, and visit the site for even more fun beading and jewelry-making finds.

disclosure: affiliate links

The post End of Year Bead Sale – Fire Mountain Gems appeared first on Dollar Store Crafts.

I’m going to warn you right now that this project is addictive!  Once you get the hang of it you won’t want to stop making these beautiful wire wrapped bead rings.  They’re quick to make, and I ended up making almost a dozen in just an hour.  This project would make a pretty last minute Mother’s Day or Teacher Appreciation day gift. This is also a great group project for tweens and teens to make.

I used $1 bead bags and wire that I found in the craft section of Walmart, which makes this project really affordable for large groups.

Project Estimate:

• Beads – $1
• Craft Wire – $1
• Ring Sizer (optional) – on hand or $2.50

Total:  $2 and up

Step one:  Cut a 12 inch length of craft wire and place the bead in the center.

Step two:  You can use a ring sizer if you have one, or use a dowel rod or other cylindrical object.  Place the bead on the ring sizer and wrap each wire around it once.

Step three:  Take the ring off the sizer.  I tried to do this next step on the sizer and the wire kept sliding off the bead.  I got much better results when I took the ring off the sizer.  Begin wrapping each of the wires around the bead, kind of like winding the hands on a clock.  I went counterclockwise, but you could go either direction.

Step four:  Leave about an inch of wire on each side.  Wrap that bit of wire around each side of the bead.  I found this step easier to do with jewelry pliers.  I then pressed the end of the wire in firmly with the pliers, or you could cut the end if it is sticking out.

Aren’t these wire wrapped beads pretty?  Don’t get discouraged if the first few don’t turn out perfectly.  I had to make several before I got the hang of it.  Once you figure it out you’ll be hooked!  Then you can start experimenting with different sized beads and with putting more than one bead on the wire.  Have fun crafting and creating.

The post Tutorial: Wire Wrapped Bead Rings appeared first on Dollar Store Crafts.

Mother’s Day Gifts Under $15

Crystal Rhinestone Cameo Ring Retail Price: $4.95 Our Price: $1.49	Open Heart Necklace and Faux Pearl Earring Set Retail Price: $8.95 Our Price: $4.64	Cultured Freshwater Pearl 58-inch Necklace Retail Price: $38.95 Our Price: $12.75
Rhinestone Heart Necklace Retail Price: $17.95 Our Price: $8.62	Rhodium-finished Open Heart Toggle Bracelet Retail Price: $5.95 Our Price: $3.60	6mm Round Sterling Silver Cubic Zirconia Studs Retail Price: $16.95 Our Price: $3.70
Rhodium-finished Steel Heart Earrings Retail Price: $8.95 Our Price: $0.85	Antique Silver-Plated Copper Elephant Bracelet Retail Price: $6.95 Our Price: $3.60	Rhinestone “Mom” Necklace and Stud Earrings Retail Price: $8.95 Our Price: $4.30

Don’t miss Fire Mountain Gems and all their great deals on an amazing selection of goods for jewelry crafting and beyond. You can browse easily here:

Gemstone Beads	Glass Beads	Metal Beads
Pearls	Assortments	Chain
Clasps	Findings	Pendants, Drops & Focals
Charms	Cabochons	Jewelry & Gifts
Displays & Packaging	Shop All Spring Clearance Sale Items

Disclosure: Affiliate links

The post Fun Finds from Fire Mountain Gems appeared first on Dollar Store Crafts.

Spring is a time of growth and renewal, and that includes baby birdies!  Celebrate the season with Heather’s stylized bird nest necklace over at Live Craft Love.  She used freshwater pearls for her “eggs”, but you can use any beads you happen to have on hand.  [how to make a bird nest necklace]

Project estimate:

• Wire, on hand or $1 and up
• Beads, on hand or $1 and up
• Jewelry findings, on hand or $1 and up
• Chain, on hand or $1 and up

Total:  Free and up!

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