Mardi Gras is coming up in a few days!  We love a good Fat Tuesday celebration, and our favorite part (of course) is the beads.  We’ve seen lots of amazing Mardi Gras bead crafts over the years, and many of them come from our creative pal Aunt Peaches.  If we had a who-loves-Mardi-Gras-beads-more contest, she’d probably win.  Last year she used some of her bead stash to create this super-festive wreath for the occasion.  Hers starts out using a bright and tinsel-y Valentine’s Day wreath as a base, though you could get creative and use just about any round shape for holding your beads!  [how to make a Mardi Gras bead wreath]

Project estimate:

• Wreath form, on hand or $1 and up
• Mardi Gras beads, on hand or $1 and up
• Pipe cleaners, on hand or $1

Total:  Free and up!

The post Make a Mardi Gras Bead Wreath appeared first on Dollar Store Crafts.

If you love whimsical decor, there is no room in the house that is more fun to decorate than a baby nursery!  After all, who wouldn’t want their infant to be surrounded by a magical dreamland?  Create an ethereal, nature-inspired look with these DIY hanging cloud decorations from Amy at A Nest for All Seasons.  The great thing about this project is its resourcefulness, using whatever you have on hand to create the frame for the clouds; Amy used an old lamp shade and a basket for hers.  She gives some other great suggestions and tips for using repurposed and recycled materials in her post, so make sure you stop by her blog!  [how to make DIY hanging clouds]

Project estimate:

• Lampshade or basket, on hand or $1 and up
• Styrofoam pieces, on hand or $1 and up
• White sheet, on hand
• Batting and/or polyfill, on hand or about $3
• Spray adhesive, on hand or about $3 and up

Total:  Free and up!

The post Make DIY Cloud Decor appeared first on Dollar Store Crafts.

From Mother’s Day to baby showers, spring time seems to be full of parties and celebrations. This Anthropolgie-inspired garland from Chickabug is perfect for all kinds of festivities. I love that it does double duty as both a decoration and a gift. Make this for mom on mother’s day and fill it with handwritten love notes from kids. Or set it up at a baby shower and let guests write advice for the mom-to-be and clip it on. [how to make a clothespin backdrop]

Project estimate:

• 200 wooden clothespins, $7 and up
• Paint in yellow and grey, on hand or $4 and up
• Clothesline, $1 and up
• Cork board, on hand
• Push pins, on hand
• Scissors, on hand

Total: $8 and up

The post Make an Anthro-Inspired Clothespin Backdrop appeared first on Dollar Store Crafts.

I’ll admit it:  The only times I have ever bought rolls of tulle, it’s been for wedding decorations.  I know it has a zillion more uses, but somehow in my mind it had been pigeonholed into that singular, stereotypical application.  Then along came the ladies from eighteen25 with an idea that is great for any festive occasion!   Using a simple pom pom making technique, they fashioned the meshy fabric into a string of fluffy little balls that will look equally great on their own as mixed in with streamers or other types of garland.  Holidays, birthdays, baby showers…  I’ll never look at tulle in such a limited way again!  [how to make a tulle pom pom garland]

Project estimate:

• Tulle, $1
• String, on hand or $1
• Cardboard, on hand

Total:  $1 and up

The post Make a Tulle Pom Pom Garland appeared first on Dollar Store Crafts.

I love coming up with uses for the holiday “table scatter” that Dollar Tree sells for every season. Usually the table scatter they sell is made from craft foam covered in glitter, but I recently found some that is small, transparent plastic hearts. I immediately thought that they would look nice with the sun shining through them. So I turned them into a cute little mobile to hang in a window! I thought about going out and buying a few supplies for this project, but then decided instead to be resourceful and hunt down items I already had around the house to finish the assembly. I’m glad I did, because I think I like the improvised version even better than the original design that I had in my head!

Project estimate:

• Valentine table scatter, $1
• Fishing line, on hand or $1 and up
• Glue, on hand
• Small canning jar ring, on hand
• Yarn, on hand or $1 and up

Total: $1 and up

Cut the fishing line into segments about a foot long. (I used 6 strands total to make my mobile.) Place a dab of glue on the back of a heart (hot glue works great!) and carefully place the fishing line onto the heart. Continue adding hearts until you’ve filled about 8 inches of the string, leaving a few extra inches at the top of the string for tying off. I made three strands with 4 heart and three strands with 5 hearts.

When the glue is dry/cool, tie the strands to the canning jar ring. I alternated between 4-heart and 5-heart strands all the way around. To keep them spaced evenly, add a dab of glue to each tied-off strand around the top of the canning jar ring.

Wrap the canning jar ring with yarn to give it a more finished look. I used some Vanna’s Glamour yarn with a metallic thread running through it because I like the little bit of sparkle. To make a hanger, I braided some more yarn to make a thicker strand and glued the ends into the yarn wrapping to secure them.

The post Tutorial: Valentine’s Day Mini Mobile appeared first on Dollar Store Crafts.

Origami was one of my first crafty loves as a child.  My family hosted some Japanese students who were on a summer cultural exchange program, and one of the girls gave me a big package of pretty papers and showed me how to fold them into various simple shapes.  Ever since then, folded paper has occupied a very special place in my crafty heart.  Heidi from Hand Occupied enjoys origami too, as she demonstrates with this patriotic star tutorial.  Make a single star to hang on your front door to welcome guests, or make a whole bunch and string them into a festive garland!  [how to make patriotic origami stars]

Project estimate:

• Paper, on hand or $1
• Scotch tape, on hand
• Needle and thread, on hand

Total:  Free and up

The post Make Patriotic Origami Stars appeared first on Dollar Store Crafts.

Make a Christmas wreath for your front door for next to nothing. Instructables member jackierusted shows you how to use stuff you probably have around your house already to make a colourful and festive wreath.  Wadded newspaper is taped to the circular-bent coat hangar and taped in place, then painted and layered with embellished of leaf shapes and colourful cut outs. Not bad for almost zero dollars.  [how to make a Christmas wreath for zero dollars]

Project estimate:

• Cardboard, on hand
• Wire coat hanger, on hand
• Newspaper, on hand
• Scotch Tape, on hand
• Hot glue, on hand
• Green (or whatever color) spray paint, on hand or $1 and up
• Assorted acrylic paints, on hand
• Craft wire, on hand

Total:  Free and up

The post Make a Christmas Wreath for Zero Dollars appeared first on Dollar Store Crafts.

When it comes to Halloween decorations, spooky and elegant don’t have to be mutually exclusive.  Take, for example, this creepy-in-an-upscale-way chandelier featuring a circle of nesting crows.  Lyssa from Lyssa Beth used a chandy she picked up as a yard sale freebie, but I see these things at thrift stores all the time.  (Just 2 days ago I saw a bigger, more elaborate version at Goodwill for $6, its icky, brassy finish just begging for some paint!)  If you want yours to be even creepier, give it the effect of having come from an old, haunted house by draping fake cobwebs through parts of the chandelier as well.  [how to make a crow’s nest chandelier]

Project estimate:

• Old candlestick-style chandy, about $5 and up
• Spray paint, on hand or $1 and up
• Craft foam, on hand or $5
• Spanish moss, on hand or $1
• Book pages, on hand
• Fake crows, $5
• Hot glue, on hand

Total:  about $10 and up

The post Make a Crow’s Nest Chandelier appeared first on Dollar Store Crafts.

Ah, candy corn.  Some people love it, others loathe it.  Whether or not you enjoy eating the candy, there is one thing I think we can all agree on: it looks pretty darn cool!  If you want to work a little bit of candy corn into your holiday decor, Instructables user logannebell came up with the idea of making starburst-like decorative balls featuring the waxy, sugary treats.  Put a few of them in a large glass vessel for a playful take on the sophisticated decor ball look, or add string or ribbon to turn them into ornaments.  [how to make a decorative candy corn ball]

Project estimate:

• Foam ball, on hand or $1
• Candy corn, on hand or $1
• Hot glue, on hand

Total:  Free and up

The post Make a Decorative Candy Corn Ball appeared first on Dollar Store Crafts.

My husband rarely lets me walk past the paint section of the store.  See, even if I have no projects in mind and no reason to be paint shopping, I am totally hooked on paint chips.  Some of the colors just speak to me, and I have to grab that little swatch and bring it home.  …Hence the giant stack of paint chips I have accumulated in my desk drawer!  At Kirtsy I found a tutorial for this wonderfully whimsical mobile made using them.  If you don’t have a little one to make it for, I think the idea could be adapted to make a fun capiz-like shade for a hanging light fixture as well! [how to make a paint chip mobile]

Project estimate:

• Embroidery hoop, on hand or about $2
• Paint chips, on hand or free
• Circle punch, on hand
• Sewing machine, on hand
• String, on hand

Total:  Free and up

The post Make a Paint Chip Mobile appeared first on Dollar Store Crafts.