Could your desk use a little help in the organization department? Make yourself a set of organizers using an assortment of items from the recycling bin! I covered mine with free maps I got while on vacation.You can use newspaper, magazine/book pages, scrapbook paper, wallpaper, music sheets, wrapping paper, or anything else you want to decorate yours!

Project estimate:

• Assorted empty boxes and cans, on hand
• Maps, free and up
• Hot glue, on hand
• Black marker, on hand
• Mod Podge, on hand or $1 and up
• Poster board, on hand or $1
• Packing tape, on hand or $1

Total:  Free and up!

Collect the boxes and cans and make sure they are clean and dry.  Prepare the boxes and cans.

Cereal box magazine holder:

• Mark one side of the box and cut it out.
• Use the piece you cut out as a template for the other side.
• Tape the side pieces that were cut off back to the sides of the box to make it stronger.
• If desired, cover the outside of the box with tape to reinforce it further.

Vegetable can pencil holder:

• Cut a piece of poster board to fit around the outside of the can. (This will cover the ridges of the can)
• Tape the poster board to the can and cover the seam with tape.

Sweetener box (or other small box) business card holder:

• Cut into the shape you want to hold business cards.
• If desired, cover the outside of the box with tape to reinforce.

Apply a coat of the Mod Podge onto the surfaces you want to cover with maps. Apply the paper and press it down using a sponge brush.  Carefully work out as many air bubbles and wrinkles as possible.

Once the paper has dried brush on a coat of Mod Podge over the top. Let dry. Depending on the finish you want, you can do this several more times. Each application makes the boxes stronger.

On the bottoms of cans, fold over the excess in small sections, much like gathering fabric, and use Mod Podge to hold them down.

Measure and cut a piece of black poster board to line the inside and bottoms of the boxes and cans. You can use the cans to trace circles for covering the bottoms. Apply hot glue to hold the poster board in place.

The post Tutorial: Map Desk Set appeared first on Dollar Store Crafts.

Why do I love washi tape?  Because it makes virtually everything cuter.  You can add a little bit of it to just about anything and it instantly has personality and flair.  Even the most mundane items, like office supplies, can benefit from a little bit of the colorful, sticky stuff – and since it peels away easily without leaving a glue-y residue, you can seriously go crazy with it.  Jessica from How About Orange used a wee bit of washi to liven up some thumbtacks and kiss the boring bulletin board blues goodbye; what other everyday things can you think of to decorate with washi tape?  [how to make washi tape covered thumbtacks]

Project estimate:

• Thumbtacks, on hand or $1
• Washi tape, on hand or $1 and up

Total:  Free and up

Love washi tape?  Looking for a whole bunch of washi tape projects all in one place?  Check out a brand new blog called Washi Tape Crafts!  If you aren’t a washi addict yet, this site is likely to turn you into one!

The post Make Washi Tape Covered Thumbtacks appeared first on Dollar Store Crafts.

My son is crazy about Phineas and Ferb. We were doing our what seems like daily trip to the Dollar Store and he almost jumped out of the cart when he saw this little Phineas and Ferb journal. Like all 4-year-olds it was used up with in a day, and the tears started flowing when I told him it was all used up and we’d have to throw it away. Me being the fix it mommy I am decided I can totally fix this. With a hole punch and some paper the journal is new again!

Project estimate:

• Journal or notebook, $1.00
• Notebook paper, on hand or $1
• Ribbon, on hand or $1
• Paper cutter, on hand
• Hole punch, on hand

Total Cost: $1.00 and up

First, remove all the used paper from the inside. It is very easy to pull apart.

Next separate the front and back. Cut close to the edge and remove the binding area.

Punch holes two inches from the ends. Make sure the punch right side so they fit together in the end. Cut the paper to fit the inside and punch as well.

Lastly place ribbon through the holes and secure with a bow. You can also use rings or many other types of material to secure your journal. The great thing now is every time they use up the page you simply take it apart and refill. I saved a few of the pages for scrapbooking because they were too cute to throw away.

The post Tutorial: Refill a Journal appeared first on Dollar Store Crafts.

I love binder clips.  I use them at my desk every day, separating stacks of papers into manageable groupings.  They’re so handy, but most of them are plain and boring.  Why not jazz them up so that they also make you smile?  Candie Cooper was tidying up her craft space when she came across a one along with a couple of pretty embellishments, and a little gluing later she had a custom clip.  Filing has never been so fun!  [how to make decorative binder clips]

Project estimate:

• Binder clips, on hand or $1
• Embellishments, on hand or $1 and up
• Glue, on hand

Total:  Free and up

The post Make Decorative Binder Clips appeared first on Dollar Store Crafts.

How many hours a day do you spend at your desk?  If you’re spending that much time there, shouldn’t it be covered with things that make you smile?  Ditch your plain, boring desk accessories in favor of these cheerfully stitched items.  Chanel from Camille Styles took a standard mesh letter holder and pencil cup and used a coordinating color scheme of yarn to give them a colorful makeover that makes them more suited to her personality.  They won’t make your work day and shorter, but they might make those hours behind your desk a little less tedious!   [how to make a cross stitch desk set]

Project estimate:

• Mesh desk accessories, $1 and up
• Spray paint (optional), on hand or $1 and up
• Yarn, on hand
• Large needle, on hand

Total:  $1 and up

The post Make a Cross Stitch Desk Set appeared first on Dollar Store Crafts.

How trendy are your office supplies?  Are you living with boring, generic staplers and binder clips?  No more, my friends!  With some help from Plaid, now available at Walmart, you can jazz up your desk without spending a fortune.

Plaid is now selling their fantastic products at Walmart! How awesome is that?!?   I love shopping at craft stores, but I don’t always have time to make the extra stop.  Now I can grab what I need and throw it in the cart with the diapers and bananas.

I received a box of products from Plaid, all of which you can get at Walmart today!  Paintbrushes, stencils, acrylic and chalkboard paints, and even Mod Podge!

My challenge for this project was to make as many cool things as I could, using a $25 gift card to Walmart.  My $25 bought me all the office supplies you see above:  two sizes of clipboards, scissors, a calculator, a tape dispenser, a stapler (with staples and a letter-opener), a memo note holder (with notes), a hole punch, thumbtacks, pens and pencils.

When I got back, I pulled out a few colors of Plaid paints in trendy neon colors so that could make the supplies look like they were part of set.  I had decided to color block them to make use of a popular and graphic trend.

All I did to achieve the look was to paint the supplies using the Plaid paintbrushes and acrylic and chalkboard paints.  I freehanded my blocks of color, but using painter’s tape would make for crisper lines.

HINT:  To paint thumbtacks, push them into a spare piece of cardboard to prevent tipping and smudging!

For $25 and some Plaid products, I was able to create trendy and practical supplies for my office. These would make a fantastic, inexpensive gift for a student heading of to college or a graduate entering the workforce for the first time!

If you are as excited about Plaid at Walmart as I am, keep track of the latest news and ideas by following Plaid on facebook, twitter, and both Plaid and Walmart Crafts on Pinterest.

I wrote this post as part of a paid campaign with Plaid Crafts and Blueprint Social. The opinions in this post are my own.

The post Make Neon Color Blocked Office Supplies appeared first on Dollar Store Crafts.

Did you ever do string art as a child?  You know, the kind where you arrange nails or pins in a pattern and then wrap string around them.  The other day as I was hunting for Valentine- and heart-themed crafts, I came across a string art heart at Make Grow Gather made with straight pins stuck into a bulletin board.  My gears started turning and I had an “A-ha!” moment:  What if I made string art on a bulletin board, then spray painted over it, using the string like a stencil?  Would it look as cool as I saw it in my head?  There was only one way to find out, so I gathered up a few supplies and got to work.

Project estimate:

• Bulletin board, $1 and up
• Paint, on hand or $1 and up
• Paper, on hand
• Push pins, on hand
• String or yarn, on hand

Total:  $1 and up

I used a 12 x 12 inch cork tile for my bulletin board, which I found at a local discount store in a four-pack for about $6, or about $1.50 per tile.  (Which is making me tempted to cork up a whole wall!)  Paint the tile in the color you want the shape to be.  I wanted red for my heart, so I picked a nice, bright shade of Martha Stewart multi-surface craft paint called habanero.  I could have just painted the area where I wanted the heart, but I was concerned about how the cork would soak up the paint, so to make sure I had an even finish I went ahead and painted the whole thing.  This will take more paint than you expect because the cork will suck it right in!  You may need to add a second or third coat to get even color.

Cut a heart out of paper to use as a template.  Decide where you want the heart to be positioned on the bulletin board and place the heart there.  Using push pins, outline the heart shape.  Place the pins so that they go around the edges of the paper, but don’t put the pins through the paper.  Once all of the pins are in place, remove the paper template.

Tie one end of the string to a push pin and start wrapping.  There is no right or wrong way to do this!  When you’re happy with the design, tie off the other end of the string.  Push string down on the push pins so that it is as close to the surface of the cork as possible.

Now it’s time to spray paint!  Apply light, even coats of a contrasting color (I chose white) across the tile.  Don’t be too heavy-handed with the paint or you will lose the string details!  Paint just enough to cover up the base color.

When the paint dries, pull out the push pins.  As you remove the pins and string, your design will be revealed!  If you want, you can add extra details or embellishments to the design.

I used a pencil eraser and glitter paint to add some sparkle to the heart’s outline.  Did it turn out as cool as I saw it in my head?  Nope, it turned out even better!

The post Tutorial: String Art Stenciled Heart Bulletin Board appeared first on Dollar Store Crafts.

Have you ever rescued something from the trash because you knew that there had to be something you could do with it — surely something better than sending it to the landfill — but you just weren’t sure what that something was?  (I’m totally guilty of that on multiple counts!)  We got an e-mail from reader Dawn, who needs some post-trash-picking inspiration.  She writes:

I recently rescued a stack of blank white 9″ wide x 7 3/4″ tall envelopes from the trash at work, but I don’t know what to do with them. Any ideas? All of the searches on the internet I have done on envelopes are how to make your own, not crafts to do with existing ones. I have about 45 of them.

Alright, clever readers.  If you has a big ol’ stack of large envelopes in your craft stash, how would you use them?

[image by cohdra @ morguefile.com]

The post Question: What to Make with Large Envelopes? appeared first on Dollar Store Crafts.

Yes, you read that right.  You can make your own pencils out of paper!  When I saw this project the first thing I said was, “woah!”  Using pencil leads (look for the larger-diameter leads for mechanical or drafting pencils) and origami paper, Kimanh from Scissors Paper Wok made the coolest.pencils.ever.  You could also try paper-wrapping the refills for stick ink pens, or look for colored leads…  Or, if you were so inclined, you could even use this technique to fancy up your crayons!   [how to make paper pencils]

Project estimate:

• Pencil leads, about $4
• Paper, on hand or $1 and up
• Mod Podge, on hand

Total:  about $4 and up

The post Make Paper Pencils appeared first on Dollar Store Crafts.

If you enjoy recycled crafts, you should definitely check out Reduce, Reuse, Redecorate.  Blogger Allison has all kinds of great ideas, like this book page pencil cup, perfect for the desk of your favorite bibliophile!  The idea came after she used the book pages to punch a bunch of circles for a lamp project.  Don’t have any books appropriate for mutilation?  Thrift stores are a great source for books on the cheap,  or take the free route and chop up last year’s phone books!  [how to make a book page pencil cup]

Project estimate:

• Book pages, on hand
• Cardboard, on hand
• Cardboard tubes, on hand
• Circle punch or template, on hand
• Glue, on hand

Total:  Free!

The post Make a Book Page Pencil Cup appeared first on Dollar Store Crafts.