Want to start art journaling, but don’t have a lot of money to invest? Over at eBay, I have written instructions for how to make an art journal out of a notebook (or book or coloring book) from the dollar store. The process is easy, and a lot cheaper than buying a brand new blank art journal. Find out how to make your own art journal here: [make an art journal for cheap]

A month ago, I took a class on art journaling on a whim (I just dropped into a store and signed up for their next class), and I have been having so much fun learning all about a new type of art. Art Journals can be anything you want them to be, but at their most basic, they are a journal that incorporates images and writing. I challenged myself to start a dollar store art journal, so I am documenting the process (along with my tips and journal prompts) over at eBay, so please come over and follow along!

Supplies:

• Coloring book, $1
• Masking tape, $1
• Gesso, $8 and up (buy online at a discount, or use your coupon at the local craft store)
• Scissors, on hand
• Paint brush, on hand

Total: $10

The post How to Make an Art Journal from a Dollar Store Notebook appeared first on Dollar Store Crafts.

We LOVE the subtle gorgeous look of this heart wall hanging, just in time for Valentine’s Day! Jesica at Classic in Gray used several different colors and textures of yarn and a simple knot-tying technique to create this look. You’ll be amazed at how little effort it takes to makes something with such a big impact! [how to make a heart wall hanging]

Project estimate:

• Dowels, on hand or about $3 and up
• Yarn, on hand or $3 and up

Total: Free and up!

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Did you ever make spin art as a kid?  It ‘s just the right amount of random and messy and bright that make it amazingly fun!  You can easily make your own spin art using one simple tool from the kitchen – a salad spinner!  Over at DIY Candy, Cheryl shared this easy method.  You’ll probably want to reserve the spinner strictly for craft purposes once you’ve used paint inside of it, but the good news is that so far this summer I have seen approximately 1,329 of these things at yard sales for cheap, and I often see them on the shelf at Goodwill.  [how to make DIY spin art]

Project estimate:

• Salad spinner, on hand or $1 and up
• Paper plates, on hand or $1
• Paint, on hand or $1 and up

Total:  Free and up!

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Maybe you brought back a collection of shells from a beach vacation.  Or maybe you bought a bag of them at the dollar store.  Either way, they are great for decor projects!  Want a unique way to display them?  Try making this easy picture frame!  You can fill it with your favorite photos, or you can add a fabric background and use them to display even more shells like a shadowbox.

Project estimate:

• Picture frame, on hand or $1 and up
• Assorted seashells, $1 and up
• Pebbles, on hand or $1
• Paint, on hand or $1 and up
• Hot glue, on hand
• Placemat or fabric for background (optional), on hand or $1 and up

Total:  $1 and up

Remove the glass and backing. Start gluing the shells onto the top of the picture frame. Use a generous amount of glue. I would glue a shell on one side and then the other, but you can design them any way you like. I used the pebbles for another shape.

Using a sponge paint brush, give the entire frame a generous coat of paint and let completely dry before adding additional coat(s). Hold the frame at different angles so that you cover every bit of visible surface with paint. By using a sponge paint brush, you can squeeze in and get every nook and cranny.

Replace the glass and backing to insert a photo or create your own “picture” out of a fabric background and more shells like I did.

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Liven up your windows for spring with a bright, cheerful suncatcher made from a glass plate!  It’s inspired by stained glass, but unlike actual stained glass this project doesn’t require any special tools or skills.

Project estimate:

• Glass plate, $1
• Assorted nail polish, on hand
• Double-sided tape, on hand or $1
• E6000 glue, on hand
• Hanger, on hand or $1
• Nail polish remover or rubbing alcohol, on hand
• Pattern, free (search “stained glass patterns” for thousands of them!)

Total:  $1 and up

Clean the face of the plate with nail polish remover or rubbing alcohol and let dry.

Using the double-sided tape, stick the pattern to the underside of the plate. Remember that you will be adding a hook so make sure your pattern covers that area.

Patterns vary but you will want to use the same technique. Outline your pattern and allow to dry.

Then fill in the outlined areas.  To avoid brush marks, apply excess nail polish. Load the brush and dab it in the center of your design, in this case, one of the wing sections. Take the brush and push the polish so that it meets the outline. Dab on more paint if needed.

Once you have filled in all the sections and they are dry, go over the outline again. If, when held to the light, you have areas that didn’t reach outline, it is easier to make the outline wider.

Clean the area where you’re putting the hanger with nail polish remover and let dry. Apply E6000 to the plate and place the hanger on top of it. Hold the hanger in place with something heavy any let dry overnight. (I used the tip of my wire cutters)

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A Celtic knot is a great addition not only to your St. Patrick’s Day decorating, but also to your year-round home decor!  The eye-catching, complex designs of Celtic knots are almost mesmerizing, but creating this knot art is a lot easier than you might think. 

Project estimate:

• Rope, $1 and up
• Foam core board, on hand or $1
• Paint, on hand or $1 and up
• Celtic knot printout, free
• Picture frame, on hand or $1 and up
• Scrapbook paper, on hand or about $0.25 and up
• Hot glue, on hand

Total:  $1 and up

Decide how big you want your finished craft to be. I chose 8″ x 10″. Cut your foam board and background paper to fit your frame.

Find a Celtic knot on the Internet that you like. To find the knots, Google “Celtic knots” and when they load, under “Tools” select “Size” and “Medium” and enter. I would start with something easy. I chose the Trinity knot with the circle which is actually in two separate pieces. Save the image to your computer and print it. You may have to adjust your settings to get the size correct for your frame.

In this case I used smaller rope and braided it for my design. I cut my rope into three lengths double the size of the knot and circle and taped the ends together to braid them. When you get to the end of the braid, tape the ropes together and trim them straight across. If you want to use a thicker rope, skip this step.

Put the printed knot on top of the foam board and center it. Tape it On the foam board. This is just to make the gluing process easier, they will not remain taped together.

I found it easiest to begin with the circle. Start the circle in a location that will be overlapped by another part of the knot. (See images C1 & C2) This will hide the ends.

In image C3 I have shown you where you will glue the rope to the paper. Where you don’t glue, another rope will go under it. Leave a little slack in your rope in these areas, as shown in image C4.

Continue gluing your circle as shown in image C3 until you come to the end if the circle. Tape and cut your braid so it doesn’t come apart (image C5) and glue it to the start of your circle. Your rope should look like image C6. If you have tape showing, don’t worry, we’re going to take care of that after we have all out rope glued together.

Now for the rest of the knot!  As with the circle, start the in a location that will be overlapped by a part of the circle. (See image T1) Glue the rope down along the arrows as seen in image T2. There is only one place in this step that you will be leaving a space for a rope to go under. It is marked in image T3.

When you reach the end, finish it like you did the circle. Tape, cut and glue the end next to the beginning of your rope.  At this point, glue any spots where the ropes overlap. Take a nap, you deserve one!

Carefully remove the knot from the paper. If you can see any glue as you are looking down on to your knot, carefully remove it with a sharp cutter, like an X-acto knife.

Remove any visible tape from the knot with with a sharp cutter, like an X-acto knife.

Paint the knot with 2 coats of your darker paint.  After the dark paint has dried, dry brush the knot with the lighter paint to add depth.

Put the background paper and foam board into the frame.  Center the knot in the frame and mark it in a few spots lightly with a pencil. Remove the knot, quickly glue it where it touched the paper and replace it in the frame.  Erase any pencil marks and display your Celtic Knot with pride!

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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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I love the way a new piece of wall art can change the feel of a whole room. These are some simple wall art ideas that you can make on the cheap without looking like they were made on the cheap. That can be our little secret.

1. Mixed Media Prints – Print out some nice line art, and use spray inks to add color and depth.

2. Embroidery Hoop Wall Art – Create graphic wall art with an embroidery art and fabric. No sewing required!

3. Junk Mail Wall Art – Junk mail plus paper punches turns out pretty graphic wall art.

4. Wall Flower – Use scrap or scrapbook paper to make a big, graphic piece of flower art.

5. String Art – Grab a scrap piece of plywood and turn it into super cute typographic wall art.

6. Supergraphics – Supergraphics are 70s-style oversized shapes in vibrant colors, and they’re often painted right on the wall. Check out this $13 supergraphic art!

7. Origami Art – Fold multi-colored origami paper into pretty 3D wall art.

8. Bubbles – Tissue paper is the perfect medium for creating delicate bubble wall art.

9. Graphic Circles – I love the vibrant colors and texture of this geometric wall art!

10. Wooden Star Sign – Are you good with power tools? This rustic Pottery Barn knock-off is sweet and minimalist.

The post 10 DIY Wall Art Ideas appeared first on Dollar Store Crafts.

As I’ve mentioned several times in other posts, I have been slowly putting together a “fantastical” garden area inspired by the Mad Hatter’s tea party in Alice in Wonderland.  My garden is made up of tea pot and tea cup creations, and I’m also filling it with whimsical DIY garden art.

I made a dragonfly out of a whisk, and my daughter liked it so much that she wanted to make some.  I went to the thrift store and bought all the whisks they had.  Since I had a nice collection, I wanted to make some other winged critters to go with my dragonfly, and that’s how the idea for this fun, whimsical butterfly came about.

Project estimate:

• Whisk, $1
• Spray Paint, on hand
• Large bead, on hand
• Wire, on hand

Total:  $1

Step one:  Bend the loops of the whisk to form the butterfly wings.  Start by creating the bottom two, shaping the wire with your hands to the desired form.  Then make the top two wings.

Step two:  Cut the remaining loop in half with wire cutters, and use pliers to loop them into antennae.

Step three:  Spray paint the butterfly.

Step four:   Thread a piece of wire through a bead and loop the wire around the two antennae.  The bead is now the butterfly’s head, and the excess wire can be made into a loop that you use to hang the butterfly.

I plan to make several colorful butterflies like this one and hang them from trees.  I think they will be a fun, unexpected addition to my garden.  If you prefer, they could also go on a stake or even be hung on a wall.  You could even hang chimes from them to create your own unique wind chime!  Have fun crafting and creating whatever your imagination dreams up.

The post Tutorial: Butterfly Garden Art from a Whisk 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

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