Fall is a great time for crafting with items from nature – why not work them into your Halloween crafts as well? Maria at Pastels & Macarons painted up some pine cones and turned them into these adorable spiders! This would be a great project to do in a classroom or with a scout troop. [how to make pine cone spiders]

Project estimate:

• Pine cones, free
• Paint, on hand or $1 and up
• Pipe cleaners, on hand or $1
• Pom poms, on hand or $1
• Googly eyes, on hand or $1
• Hot glue, on hand

Total: Free and up!

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Collecting rocks is a fun activity for all ages, but what do you do with those rocks after they’ve been gathered and brought home?  Use some of your larger rock finds to make these cute doll faces by Agnes at Hello Wonderful!  Use them as cute decorations or as paperweights, or work them into larger projects.  [how to make rock faces]

Project estimate:

• Rocks, on hand
• Yarn, on hand or $1 and up
• Felt, on hand or $1 and up
• Markers, on hand
• Hot glue, on hand
• Googly eyes (optional), on hand or $1

Total:  Free and up!

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The ol’ handprint turkey is a classic Thanksgiving craft, and lately we’ve been seeing some fun variations on it!  This one comes from Lia Griffith, who came up with a pinecone-and-felt turkey that is so incredibly cute!  You can work these into a Thanksgiving centerpiece or other vignette, or you could even attach slips of paper with names on them to turn these into fun place cards for Thanksgiving dinner!  [how to make pine cone turkeys]

Project estimate:

• Pine cones, on hand
• Felt, on hand or $1
• Googly eyes, on hand or $1
• Glue, on hand

Total:  Free and up!

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Give after school snacks or party treats a spooky twist with these quick and easy ghost pudding cups!  Kristi from I Should Be Mopping the Floor whipped these up by simply adding a fun ghost face to each cup.  You can use vanilla pudding for this project, or check out her post which includes a recipe for making white chocolate raspberry pudding instead – YUM!  [how to make ghost pudding cups]

Project estimate:

• Plastic cups, on hand or $1
• Marker, on hand
• Googly eyes, on hand or $1
• Glue, on hand
• Pudding, on hand or $1
• Whipped cream (optional), on hand or about $2

Total:  Free and up!

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If you’re throwing a Halloween party, chances are you’ve already got balloons and crepe paper streamers on your shopping list.  Make sure you grab some googly eyes too, because then you’ll be able to make these adorable mummy balloons from Haeley at Design Improvised.  Make sure you stop by her blog and check out her entire series of balloon decorating ideas – this mummy is just one character in a whole cast of Halloween balloon monsters, and they’re all just as cute and easy as this one!   [how to make mummy balloons]

Project estimate:

• Balloons, on hand or $1
• Googly eyes, on hand or $1
• Crepe paper streamers, on hand or $1
• Glue, on hand

Total:  Free and up!

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School is starting up again, and it’s always fun to give students a little handmade something to start the year off on the right foot.  Everyone, no matter whether they are in elementary school or college, needs lots of bookmarks.  Here’s a fun way to save your place in a book:  with a silly face bookmark! This project takes minutes to make, and you probably already have all the supplies you’ll need to make them.

Project estimate:

• Twine, on hand or $1and up
• Paper clips, on hand
• Glue, on hand
• Googly eyes, on hand or $1 and up

Total:  Free and up!

Step one:  Cut several pieces (between 6 and 8) of twine.  Make them about 5 inches long each.

Step two:  Join the twine strings, fold them in half, and loop the folded part through the paper clip.

Step three:  Push the loose ends of twine through the twine loop and pull tightly.  Trim the ends as needed to make them even.

Step four:  Glue eyes and/or other embellishments onto the twine to make a face.

These bookmarks would make cute teacher gifts, too.  Add one to a card with a note that says “I hope my kid doesn’t drive you crazy this year!”  I’m making several in different colors to help my kids with organization, too.  Hopefully these fun page markers will help them find what they need more easily.  This would make for a fun group activity, too.  Have fun crafting and creating some silly bookmarks for the new school year!

The post Tutorial: Funny Face Bookmarks for Back to School appeared first on Dollar Store Crafts.

Handprint and footprint art is not only fun, it also makes a unique memento with which to track your kids’ growth – and it makes great gifts for parents or grandparents!  Commemorate Shark Week this year with these clever footprint sharks by Stacey at Glued to My Crafts.  You could also use fabric paint for this project and use the idea to decorate t-shirts or tote bags!  [how to make footprint sharks]

Project estimate:

• Paper, on hand
• Paint, on hand
• Googly eyes, on hand or $1
• Glue, on hand
• Marker, on hand
• Baby wipes, on hand

Total:  Free and up

More shark crafts:
Follow Mrs. Greene’s board Shark Week! on Pinterest.

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So, all of the Easter stuff is half price at the stores right now, and you’ve been thinking about picking up some tidbits to use as cheap craft supplies.  What should you grab?  If you happen to spy a package of foam Easter eggs, like the ones that Sophie from Sophie’s World found, you can use them to make all kinds of adorable insects!  The possibilites for this project are limited only by your imagination.  Be sure to check out Sophie’s blog to see how she also used this idea to make a beautiful butterfly!  Can’t find eggs?  Small foam balls would also work well.  [how to make foam egg insects]

Project estimate:

• Foam eggs, $1
• Pipe cleaners, on hand or $1
• Glue, on hand
• Markers, on hand
• Googly eyes, on hand or $1

Total:  $1 and up

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Love the idea of a DIY stuffed animal but aren’t so sure about your sewing skills?  Here is one that anybody can handle making!  Jen at Kids’ CBC created this cute little slithery fella out of a sock, and it doesn’t require a single stitch. It’s a great way to use an odd sock whose mate has gone missing; or if you go out and buy a pair of socks for this project, you’ll be able to make a pair of matching snakes!  [how to make a no-sew sock snake]

Project estimate:

• Knee sock, on hand or $1
• Polyfill, on hand or about $3 and up
• Googly eyes, on hand or $1
• Felt, on hand
• Hot glue gun, on hand

Total:  Free and up!

The post Make a No-Sew Sock Snake appeared first on Dollar Store Crafts.

Halloween is tomorrow! (Eeep!  Are you ready?)  Luckily, you can whip up your very own guard monster to keep tricksters at bay in no time!  This wreath would also be a great decoration for a monster-themed party any time of the year.

Project estimate:

• Four feather boas, $4 and up
• Small wreath form, $1 and up
• Two ice cream cone dog toys, $2 and up
• Silver craft paint, on hand
• Googly eyes, on hand or $1 and up
• Spiked slap bracelet, $1
• Popsicle stick, on hand or $1 and up
• Hot glue gun and glue, on hand
• Paintbrushes, on hand

Total: $8 and up

Step 1: Wrap the Wreath form.

Secure the end of one of the boas to the wreath form with hot glue. Wrap it through the wreath form to cover it. Repeat using two additional boas to completely cover the wreath.

Once the wreath form is completely covered, use glue to secure one end of the fourth boa and wrap it around the outside circumference of the wreath, securing it every few inches with hot glue.

Step 2: Make the horns

Use your scissors to cut the cone portion from the ice cream cone dog toys.

Use silver craft paint to paint the cones. Set them aside to dry. If desired, you could add silver glitter to them as well!

Step 3: Finishing details

To create a base to hold the collar (slap bracelet) on the monster, break the popsicle stick roughly into thirds. Space the two rounded ends out the width of the spikes on the bracelet and attach to the wreath form with hot glue.

Allow the glue to set completely before wrapping the ends of the slap bracelet around the popsicle stick anchors.

Once the  horns are dry, secure them to the top of the wreath with hot glue.

Add the googly eyes and you’re ready to hang!

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