The dollar store is one of my favorite places to pick up inexpensive seasonal crafting items.  A perennial favorite across all seasons is their glitter table scatter. Over on Creative Green Living, I show you how to take some wired burlap ribbon and combine it with Valentine table scatter to make a cute bunting perfect for a mantle, door, or mirror.  [how to make an easy burlap and glitter valentine heart banner]

Project estimate:

• burlap ribbon, $1
• Glitter heart table scatter, $1 and up
• Scissors, on hand
• Jute twine, on hand or $1 and up
• Hot glue gun & glue, on hand

Total: $3 and up

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Galvanized metal has seen a resurgence in popularity in recent years as farmhouse and shabby chic design styles come back into fashion.  Love the look but don’t want to fork over the cash for some of the fancy galvanized pieces you see at places like West Elm or Pottery Barn?  If you shop the fancy catalogs, galvanized serving pieces can cost $30 or more.  Maysem at Ode to Inspiration took matters into her own hands, transforming shiny “silver” objects from the dollar store into a cake stand with a faux galvanized finish.  Displayed alongside actual galvanized pieces, you’d be hard-pressed to spot the impostor!  [how to make a faux galvanized cake stand]

Project estimate:

• Metal tray, $1
• Metal bucket, $1
• Paints, on hand or $1 and up
• Glue, on hand
• Jute twine, on hand or $1

Total:  $2 and up

The post Make a Faux Galvanized Cake Stand appeared first on Dollar Store Crafts.

I love to craft with burlap.  It’s so plain and simple yet versatile, like a good pair of jeans.  You can dress it up or tone it down by pairing it with different craft supplies.  With this project, I used colorful red burlap and added a little bling to make a pretty centerpiece for the holidays.

Project estimate:

• Burlap, about $2
• Pail, $1
• Syrofoam ball, on  hand or $1
• Rhinestones, on hand or $1

Total:  about $3 and up

Step one:  Cut the burlap into three inch squares.

Step two:  Fold the burlap square in half twice.  Hold the folded corner and trim the edges off.  For more detailed cutting instructions, see this post.

Step three:  Wrap the styrofoam ball with burlap and place it in the pail.

Step four:  Layer two flowers together, and pin them onto the styrofoam ball.

Step five:  Glue a rhinestone to the center of each flower.

I embellished my pail a bit by adding a mini Santa ornament to the front of it.  I love this red burlap, and the color is what inspired me to make poinsettias.  If you want to make this centerpiece for Thanksgiving, you could use natural burlap instead, like I did with the centerpiece pictured below.  This is such a quick, inexpensive project that you could easily make them in lots of colors, and just swap out the burlap flowers as the seasons change!

The post Tutorial: Burlap Flower Centerpiece appeared first on Dollar Store Crafts.

Silk flowers and leaves can be hard to use in a classy way. Nothing says “tacky” quite as loudly as obviously fake flowers pretending to look real. As Melissa from The Happier Homemaker discovered, paint is a great way to give faux flowers a classy makeover. Naturally inspired elements with a little bling are always a win! [how to make a gold gilded leaf garland]

Project estimate:

• Silk leaves, $1 and up
• Jute twine, on hand or $1 and up
• Hot glue, on hand
• Gold paint, $1 and up

Total: $2 and up

The post Make a Gold Gilded Leaf Garland appeared first on Dollar Store Crafts.

Here’s a snazzy dollar store craft we can all get behind: make large scale string art with some strategically-placed thumbtacks (or nails) and a skein of yarn. Large impact for little or no money! The sunny mural in the photo looks like it makes a great focal point for this nursery, and I bet if you used a darker yarn color, it would be even more dramatic. Project found at Prudent Baby. [find out how to make a string art mural]

You could also use jute string for a more rustic look (I know a lot of you love the jute!). You can configure your pins in nearly any shape, so think past the sun shape (which is cool, granted, but it might not be your thing.) How about a large monogram?

Project Estimate:

• Thumbtacks or nails, on hand or $1
• Yarn, on hand or $1

Total: FREE and up

The post Make a String Art Mural appeared first on Dollar Store Crafts.

The dollar store hanging basket light fixture strikes again! I made this on the same day I made the beaded chandelier, but this project went in a totally different direction. I used jute string to wrap a dollar store basket and make a rustic lampshade. The aha moment occurred when I saw the Bimini Pendant Lamp for $398 at Anthropologie. I had jute on hand, I had a dollar store hanging basket in almost exactly the shape of the Bimini lamp, so I hunkered down and tried it, having no previous experience with basket-weaving or hemp/jute tying.

Project Estimate:

• Hanging basket, $1
• Jute twine, $1
• Embellishments (like buttons), on hand
• Crochet hook (helpful!), on hand
• Hot glue and glue gun, optional

Total: $2

Here’s the inspiration lamp. It looks like they used thicker strands of jute, so if you are patient, you could twist or crochet some jute together to make it more substantial before you start wrapping your basket.

Here’s what a dollar store hanging basket looks like when you reposition the chains to the bottom of the basket and hang it upside-down. Pretty good silhouette, eh?

To Make:

1. Wrap jute around base. I macramed (badly), but it would be a lot simpler, and neater looking if you crocheted around the wire. I couldn’t find my crochet hook, so I did it by hand. If you want to simply wrap it, I suggest wrapping a small ball of jute first, and then working with that, as it will be easier to pass around and around your wire frame. You probably want to secure it with a little hot glue just to keep it from sliding around on the wire.

Here’s a closer view of the bad macrame and the wrapping action.

2. Tie jute to one of the side spokes, and then begin to weave in and out of all the spokes. On the “under” spokes, I wrapped the jute around the spokes to keep the jute right up against the wire. You could also save yourself some heartache by just wrapping the jute around the outside of the basket. Again, you’ll probably want to use some hot glue to anchor the jute and keep it from slipping. It might even work if you just put hot glue on the outside of the spokes and let it dry. It might provide a little grip for the string.

I kinda like the look of the wrapping, though, so I’m not sorry I did it my way.

Jute-Wrapping Tip: Cut lengths of jute (about 8-10 feet long) to work with, because it’s too cumbersome to work with the entire ball of thread at once. I wanted to go rustic, so I just attached the ends together with a simple knot and let the knots show wherever they happened to.

3. If you are unable or unwilling to make the weaving work on the top part where the spokes get narrower, improvise. I did a looping thing (kinda like crochet with really long stitches). I wanted to vary the wrap style a bit at the top just for visual interest.

4. Macrame, crochet, or wrap around any other exposed wire.

5. Embellish, if desired. Since I was just playing when I made this, I added buttons in white and pink. I threaded light gauge wire through the button holes and twisted the buttons onto the jute.

Alternate Idea: This method would also work if you just wanted to dress up your hanging basket and use it for a, well, hanging basket. Check out what Ali did at Found it in the “Ali” — a Better Homes & Gardens-inspired basket.

p.s. I really enjoyed getting your honest feedback on the Copper Kitchen Wreath, so feel free to weigh in with your thoughts about this!

The post Make a Jute-Wrapped Lampshade appeared first on Dollar Store Crafts.

Tiff took an old (and unattractive) holiday wreath and updated it to make a welcoming wreath for her door.

Jute-Covered Vase by Lorchick @ ON{thelaundry}LINE: $2

Update a plain (or ugly) vase with some hot glue and wrapped jute twine.

Embellished Towels by Amy Gabriel: FREE

I got an email tip from reader Amy. She made curtains for her kitchen and added scrap fabric from the project to some kitchen towels, to coordinate with the curtains. Here’s her note:

If you make your own kitchen curtains, use a scrap of fabric to make custom kitchen towels!  Cut a strip of fabric twice as wide as the flat part of the towel.  Fold the edges under and sew onto a colorful towel that coordinates with your kitchen colors!  I got my towels at Big Lots- $3 for a set of two, and the fabric was leftover from sewing the curtains, so it was free, or “on hand”.

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