It’s been awhile since we had a reader question! Let’s put our heads together to help Miriam, who posted over in the Dollar Store Crafts community asking about dollar store ideas for toddler room decor:

Hello i am trying to make over my toddler room (he is 2). I am looking for something very inexpensive… dollar store room makeover? He loves balloons, and bubbles… I like vintage things and want a look that doesn’t look too babyish. Any ideas or pics will be very appreciated. Thanks!

My Quick Pick:

Sounds like you definitely need to find ROUND things to put into the room! Look for lanterns, balls, or other spheres that you can repeat around the room to evoke balloons and bubbles.

Here is a cheap and easy craft projects that will add some vintage flair (and stay within the round theme):

• Make a String Lamp (see photo at top): you just need to buy a punch balloon, string, and some white glue to make this cool light fixture.

Okay, Dollar Store Designers, it’s your turn. Things you need to work with are: balloons and bubbles, with a vintage inspiration and something that will grow with him and not look too young. What are your ideas?

The post Question: Dollar Store Toddler Room Decor? appeared first on Dollar Store Crafts.

Inspired by the Broken Crayon Monogram, Emilee at Momma Made It created this cute craft from crayons. She cut the crayon bits smaller and wrote out her kids’ names in crayon to make  personalized wall art. I love the colors she chose, and the best thing about this project is that you can choose your own colors and name to make it 100% original. [how to make a crayon name craft]

Project Estimate:

• Box of crayons or 2, $1 each
• Recycled cardboard, on hand
• Glue, on hand
• Paint and/or scrapbook paper, on hand

Total: $1 and up

The post Crayon Name Craft appeared first on Dollar Store Crafts.

I’ve seen just about everything done with placemats, but I’ve never seen this! Sarah at StepThruCrazy made a pendant lampshade from three vinyl placemats. Wow! She even wrote a tutorial so we could all make one for ourselves. The dollar store is a fabulous resource for placemats, so check for them next time you go. [how to make a hanging placemat pendant lamp]

Project Estimate:

• 3 vinyl placemats, $3
• Hot glue gun & sticks, on hand
• String/strong twing, on hand

Total: $3 and up (add a pendant lamp kit from IKEA for about $3)

p.s. Help me print CROQ zine – pledge $5 and reserve your copy of this craft magazine! We have already raised over $1000.

The post Make a Pendant Lamp out of Placemats appeared first on Dollar Store Crafts.

I think you will be interested in the site because I know you love great ideas, good design, and making your house a home, all on a budget. If you can dollar store craft, then you can build Knock Off Wood style! One of the things I like most about the site is that Ana White, the author of the blog, demystifies the process of building and is really encouraging toward beginners. Even if you have never picked up a hammer or power tool in your life, you will feel like you can do it after reading a few of the blog posts and reader testimonials.

Ana let me ask her a couple questions to share with you. I’ll share the interview on the next page, but first let me tell you about my storage bed and the very cheap (but cute) storage containers I made to go in it.

The Bed: Here’s the bed. It’s a king-sized storage bed that I painted dark brown. (Sidenote: you will notice that it’s REALLY tall because we use the boxspring as well as the mattress. I am so thankful for the lip on the end of the bed so I can get on the bed!! Otherwise, I’d also have to build a staircase too!). It’s been several months since we built it, so I don’t really have any major details to share because I have mommy brain and I can’t remember them. I believe we spent about $150, including paint and a countersink and drill bits. It took about 3-4 hours to build (not including about 2 hours in the home improvement store to get the lumber cut!) and several coats of paint. I think I should take a page out of some of other other builders’ books and go ahead and distress it in advance since I have 3 small kids!

Storage: I was stumped about how to put storage under the bed without spending as much as we spent on the bed. Large baskets were about $20 apiece at the cheapest, and the bed has space for 12 baskets. Hmm, 12 x $20 = too much. So, I hit upon a great idea. I bought a pack of 10 bankers boxes at Costco for less than $15, as well a can of paint.

I like the banker’s boxes because they are cheap, sturdy, easy to replace if necessary, easy to paint (and repaint, if you change color schemes), and streamlined looking. A painted banker’s box would also be easy to embellish. You could Mod Podge pretty paper to them, add fabric, ribbon, flowers, or whatever, according to your style. Oh, and they provide a ton of storage!

Project Estimate:

• Banker’s boxes, about $1.50 each
• Can of latex house paint, about $11, or on hand (leftover paint is great for this project)
• Primer, if you have some

Total: $1.50 and up per box

To Make:

Prime the banker’s boxes. This is optional, but recommended. You want to cover over any words or logos on the boxes so they don’t show through the paint.

Paint the boxes with latex paint in your chosen color. Give it a second or third coat, if necessary.

I assembled the boxes before I painted them, but after I did it, it occurred to me that it would be a lot quicker and easier to paint the boxes while they’re still flat.

Side project: if you want to make a “headboard” like mine, put three nails in the wall, tie dollar store jute string to them for a virtual headboard, and hang photos from the jute string with clothespins! Total cost: about $2 if you don’t already have everything on hand.

Now, on to the interview with Ana.

See Page 2 for interview –>

The post $2 Storage and Knock-Off Wood Interview appeared first on Dollar Store Crafts.

Have you been loving the look of the mirrored furniture in all the design collections this year? Audra from Simpsonized Crafts wanted a mirrored nightstand, but she didn’t want to pay $600, so she remade her existing nightstand. She added mirrored tiles (you can find them in the candle section at the dollar store, although you might get a better price at a home-improvement store) and for $20 had a new nightstand. [find out how she made a mirrored nightstand here]

Project Estimate:

• Your old nightstand, on hand
• Mirrored tiles, $20
• Assorted tools, on hand

Total: $20

The post Make a Mirrored Nightstand for $20 appeared first on Dollar Store Crafts.

Dear Heather,

[inspiration room: green with blue, yellow, green decor from PBTeen]

Some simple, inexpensive projects for decorating your side of the room would be:

• No-Sew Bandanna Pillow Covers: buy bandannas in colors you like and tie two of them together at the corners over a throw pillow – quick and easy (and easy to change whenever you want). Or here are instructions for a no-sew pillow roll.
• Scrapbook Paper Mosaic Wall Decor: get scrapbook paper, tape it on the wall
• Take-out Box Lamp: you need a string of twinkle lights and three plastic takeout boxes

I just know you readers will have lots of good ideas! Feel free to add your ideas and links to projects and inspiration in the comments!

The post Reader Question: Gender-Neutral Bedroom Decor appeared first on Dollar Store Crafts.

Here’s a simple and fun idea for making a custom monogram plaque that you can customize in infinite ways to go with your personal taste and decor. Rhoda at Southern Hospitality made these, inspired by a project she saw at Joys of Home (a blog that often has great dollar store decor ideas, by the way!). Choose your favorite scrapbook paper, paint color, and initial, and get creating. You can find wooden initials and plaques at the dollar store, or check the unfinished wood section of your local craft store for a wider selection. Oh, and this will probably only take fifteen minutes or less, and no special skills are needed. Wouldn’t it be a fun slumber party activity, or a great gift for a housewarming? [click here for Monogram Plaque Project] [inspired by] [via]

Project Estimate:

• Wooden plaque, $1
• Wooden letter, $1
• Scrapbook paper, on hand or $.50
• Paint (spray or acrylic), on hand
• Sandpaper, on hand
• Glue, on hand

Total: $2 and up

The post Make a Quick Monogram Plaque appeared first on Dollar Store Crafts.

I’ve always been a fan of little decorative mirrors, and now Crafty Nest shows us how to create our own custom decorative mirrors using pretty plates. You can customize this project to fit your decor, whether you lean more toward stark modern or shabby chic. The look all depends on the plate and the shape of mirror you choose! The dollar store always has a lot of plate choices, but you might find more interesting plates at the thrift store. You can also spray paint any plates you find if you want to bring in a pop of color on your wall. [click here for project instructions] [via]

Project Estimate:

• Plate, $1
• 4″ mirror, about $2
• E-6000 glue, on hand
• Plate display hanger, $1

Total: $4

The post Transform Plates into Decorative Mirrors appeared first on Dollar Store Crafts.

The post Make a Mosaic Headboard appeared first on Dollar Store Crafts.

Craftster user nikimac made a clever and colorful mobile with craft foam pinwheels. This would be really fun for a kid’s room or as decorations for a birthday party (can you imagine a WHOLE BUNCH of these hanging from the ceiling, kind of like an anthropologie display?). Pinwheels are simple to make and whimsical, and this shouldn’t take you too long, so what are you waiting for? [see original project posted here]

I like the craft foam idea a lot, but what if you made a load of these with pretty scrapbooking paper? Or better yet, that double-sided scrapbooking paper? That would be sooo cool!

I got some more dirt on how to make them from Niki:

I used craft foam (although you could use any tough paper too) and cut it into square shapes.  I folded along the diagonals (corner to corner), and trimmed halfway down the folds toward the center.  I brought the corners to the middle as shown and secured with a straight pin.  I trimmed off the pointy part with some wirecutters and bent the remainder into an eye (leaving a little slack so that they would spin easily).  Then I tied heavy thread to each pinwheel, and tied the other end onto the ends of one of two sticks (I used these ones that my Dollar Store has for decorating floral arrangements – they have curliques at the top that I cut off before).  The last pinwheel I tied to the middle of both sticks and added another little thread to hang the whole thing.  I just had to scoot the ties around on the sticks for it to hang balanced, then I added some glitter for sparkles too (I’m not sure I like where I added it – in retrospect I probably would have taken more time and brushed the edges of each pinwheel in glitter).

Project Estimate:

• Craft Foam, $1
• Bamboo skewers, $1 or on hand
• Thread, on hand
• Glitter, on hand

Total: $1

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