The dollar store pretty much always has mirrors on the shelf, but generally they are lacking in personality.  Kimbo from A Girl and a Glue Gun grabbed one of those plain mirrors recently and, with a little bit of wood, gave it a makeover worthy of a high-end catalog!  Head over to her blog for the step-by-step, with minimal power tool use required!  [how to make a polka dot mirror]

Project estimate:

• Mirror, $1
• Wood, on hand or about $5
• Wood glue, on hand or about $3 and up
• Hot glue, on hand

Total:  $1 and up!

The post Make a Polka Dot Mirror appeared first on Dollar Store Crafts.

Need some inspiration for inexpensive yet very nice and thoughtful Valentine’s Day gifts?  Our pal Tanner from A Little Craft In Your Day demonstrates two fun ideas in this video!  First he makes a project that has been very popular in our DSC Facebook group, a gumball machine made out of a flower pot and a glass bowl, followed by a heart candy collage.  Watch the video below, or read Tanner’s blog post for more details.

Project estimate (flower pot gumball machine):

• Flower pot, $1 and up
• Round glass bowl, on hand or $1 and up
• Knob or large bead, on hand or $1 and up
• Paint, on hand
• Glue, on hand or $1 and up
• Candy, $1 and up

Total:  $2 and up

Project estimate (heart candy collage):

• Paper, on hand
• Frame, on hand or $1 and up
• Candy, $1 and up
• Glue, on hand or $1 and up

Total:  $1 and up

The post Make Inexpensive Valentine Gifts appeared first on Dollar Store Crafts.

Crafty Shark Week to you! Yesterday I sat down and got dollar store crafty with just a few bucks worth of supplies. This Shark Bite Picture Frame will set you back about ten cents! Maybe less, depending on your stash. It’s easy, quick, and cute. Ready to find out how to make it?

Materials Needed:

• A piece of blue craft foam or card stock, on hand or $.10 (10 sheets per pack at the dollar store)
• A piece of recycled white cardboard or card stock, on hand
• A piece of twine or ribbon, on hand
• Scissors, marker, and hot glue, on hand

Total: FREE and up

I already had all this stuff on hand, so it was a freebie for me. If you don’t have some of these supplies, just get creative and substitute. You can paint a piece of cardboard blue or white if needed!

1. Trace a rounded triangle shape on the blue craft foam sheet. I freehanded it. Draw a smaller rounded triangle inside the larger one.

2. Cut out inside triangle.

3. Trace shape onto white cardboard or card stock. I traced mine onto the printed side of the white cardboard so when I turned it over, the plain white side would be the side that showed on the frame. Add jagged teeth inside the small circle.

4. Cut out the traced shape on the white cardboard. Cut the outside first, then cut inside the small triangle, leaving the teeth for last. It’s easier to cut the teeth out when there’s a bigger hole already and you can just cut each tooth out one by one (instead of trying to zig-zag cut continuously).

5. Glue blue foam to white cardboard background. Draw nostril holes on the shark!

6. Turn the whole thing over and glue a loop onto the back of the frame for hanging. I glued an extra piece of ribbon over the loop just to secure it.

7. Put a photo in the hole (I taped mine with masking tape so I could remove it later if needed).

Are you on Vine? Here’s my 6 second tutorial for the Shark Bite Picture Frame. Follow me on Vine!

The post Tutorial: Shark Bite Picture Frame appeared first on Dollar Store Crafts.

Are you a paper saver?  Do you keep scraps left over from other projects, junk mail, and old magazines?  Here is a great idea for using up some of that stash!  Instructables user Doodlecraft (aka Natalie) rolled up her scrap paper and used it to decorate this fabulous picture frame.  It’s a simple process but it is a little time consuming, so this would be a great project to work on during a movie marathon – entertainment will help to break up the tedium!  If you don’t have the time or inclination to roll up enough paper medallions to cover an entire frame, you could also use this idea to decorate smaller items, like a little trinket box.  The idea would also translate well to jewelry!  [how to make rolled paper picture frames]

Project estimate:

• Frame, on hand or $1 and up
• Paint for frame (optional), on hand or $1 and up
• Paper, on hand
• Double-sided tape or tape runner, on hand or $1 and up
• Hot glue, on hand

Total:  Free and up!

The post Make Rolled Paper Picture Frames appeared first on Dollar Store Crafts.

Have you noticed that Dollar Tree carries carnival tickets in their party supplies section?  There are all kinds of crafty things you can do with those tickets – like this American flag art by Leanne at Organize & Decorate Everything!  Not only is this a great piece on its own, you could also use this idea as a basis for making signage, greeting cards, scrapbook pages, and more.  You could even use large paper and laminate the finished flags to make placemats!  [how to make carnival ticket American flag art]

Project estimate:

• Carnival tickets, $3 and up
• Paper, on hand or $1
• Double sided tape, on hand or $1 and up
• Frame, on hand or $1 and up

Total:  $3 and up

The post Make Carnival Ticket American Flag Art appeared first on Dollar Store Crafts.

When I saw these sweet unfinished wood hearts in the Valentine section at Michael’s, I bought them without knowing what I’d do with them.  I really don’t need anymore frames, but I could use a lot of help getting organized.  That’s when I decided to turn it into an earring holder.  Instead of the usual chicken wire, I opted to use plastic canvas, which can be painted and won’t prick your fingers like wire does!

Project estimate:

• Heart Frame, $1.79
• Paint, on hand
• Dimensional Magic, on hand or about $3
• Plastic Canvas, on hand or $.50
• Glue, on hand

Total:  $1.79 and up

Step one:  Paint the wood heart frame.

Step two:  Cut the plastic canvas to fit the frame and spray paint it.

Step three:  Apply Dimensional Magic to the heart frame.

Step four:  When everything is dry, glue the plastic canvas onto the back of the frame.

You could add pegs or hooks to the frame to be able to hang jewelry if you want to.  I’m happy to finally have a dedicated space to hold my earrings, like the steampunk pair I showed you how to make.  You could also try these amazing hot glue drop earrings or these perler bead earrings, and build a collection to store on your new organizer!

The post Tutorial: DIY Jewelry Organizer with Plastic Canvas appeared first on Dollar Store Crafts.

Foam core board is one of those supplies that I always have around but I rarely use for actual crafty applications. Back in my school days I used it as a backing to present science fair projects and other such things; nowadays I mainly use it as a photographic backdrop. But Mandy at Sugar Bee Crafts took foam core to an amazing new place when she created these picture frames. That’s right, they are made out of plain ol’ foam core! Aren’t they stunning? Depending on the size you make your frames you can get 2 or 3 of these out of a single sheet of foam core, making them not only cute but also extremely economical! [how to make foam core board picture frames]

Project estimate:

• Foam core board, $1
• Glue, on hand
• Paint, on hand

Total: $1 and up

The post Make Foam Core Board Picture Frames appeared first on Dollar Store Crafts.

The holidays can be stressful, especially if your budget is tight or you like to make everything yourself.  There just aren’t enough hours and dollars to get everything done, it seems.  Hopefully I can help alleviate some of your stress with these easy ideas for the holidays.

You may have noticed already, but my “go to” idea for easy gift giving is to thrift, glue, and spray paint!  It’s amazing how different (and more expensive) a few items can look when rearranged and painted to look cohesive.  For this project, I used a combination of Goodwill and recycled items, but you could easily find these items at the dollar store as well.

Project estimate:

• Ornaments, $1 and up
• Frame, $1
• Tin, $1
• Glass container, on hand
• Glue, on hand
• Spray paint, on hand or $3 and up

Total:  $3 and up

For the frame:  Remove the glass and backing from the frame.  Use E-6000 glue to adhere snowflake ornaments to a frame.  Spray paint the entire project.  I used Krylon’s metallic finish paint in silver.  Reinsert the glass and backing.  Insert a picture or use stickers to spell a message, like I did.

For the gift tin:  Glue an ornament to the lid of the tin.  The base of the tin had silver dots on it, so I simply painted the top silver so it coordinated with the bottom of the tin.

For the candle holder:  Glue the angel ornament to the front of a cleaned glass jar.  Spray paint the exterior of the jar.  Embellish the jar as desired with ribbon and bell ornaments.  Insert a candle.

Since I used one color, it was quick and easy to make all of these gifts.  I glued them all at one time, and painted them all together.  Since they coordinate, instead of gifting them you could use them to decorate for a holiday party, or to add some cheer to your workspace.  Have fun crafting and creating!

The post Tutorial: Easy Holiday Gift Craft Ideas appeared first on Dollar Store Crafts.

I recently made some votive candles using items from Dollar Tree.  My sons liked my rocky votive so much that I thought I’d try to make a frame to go with the candle.  I really like the end result.  It’s rugged and perfect for an outdoor patio or a man cave.  Plus, it’s really easy and inexpensive to make, so you could easily make several for all the nature lovers in your life.

Project estimate:

• Frame, $1
• Paint, on hand
• Polished rocks, $1
• Super glue, on hand

Total:  $2

Step one:  Remove the glass and back from the frame.  Paint your frame a color that is similar to the stones.  If you buy a dark frame you can skip this step!

Step two:  Use super glue to adhere the stones to the frame.  I started with the outer edge so I could have a straight line, then I worked towards the center.

Step three:  Reassemble the frame and add a favorite photo.  If you’re punny like me, you can print out a favorite saying or quote instead.

I used a bag of polished rocks that I purchased at Dollar Tree, but you could make this frame even more personal by adding rocks that were collected on a hike or while on vacation.  You could also use stones that are all the same color to create a different look.   Have fun crafting a creating a one of a kind frame!

The post Tutorial: Rock Accented Home Decor appeared first on Dollar Store Crafts.

It’s that time of year again.  If you haven’t already, you’ll soon be taking those traditional first-day-of-school pictures of your kids.  Want a cute way to display them?  Michelle at A Little Tipsy used pencils to give a basic frame a simple, scholarly makeover.  This would also make a great way to display school or class photos, or to give as a teacher gift!  [how to make a pencil picture frame]

Project estimate:

• Picture frame, on hand or $1
• Pencils, $1
• Embellishments (optional), on hand or $1 and up
• Glue, on hand

Total:  $1 and up

The post Make a Pencil Picture Frame appeared first on Dollar Store Crafts.