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.

Have you ever lost a pin, and then later found it…  with your foot?  I had that happen once, and I am pretty sure everyone in the neighborhood heard my scream of agony.  Avoid that terrible situation with this clever idea from Maggie at Smashed Peas and Carrots!  She found some adorable little owl dishes that she turned into magnetic pin holders.  Aren’t they just too sweet?  You can do this project with just about any pretty little dish you happen to come across.  (It’s a great reason to buy some of those cute odds and ends on the housewares rack at the thrift shop!)  [how to make a magnetic pin dish]

Project estimate:

• Small dish, on hand or $1 and up
• Magnets, $1 and up
• Glue, on hand

Total: $1 and up

The post Make a Magnetic Pin Dish appeared first on Dollar Store Crafts.

Cone trees are certainly on trend this year. They are so easy to make that even entry level crafters can get in on the trendy action. Kristi from Lolly Jane made these adorable trees using felt hearts and gave them some extra height by adding them to some candlestick pedestals.

[how to make felt heart cone trees]

Project estimate

• Styrofoam cone, $1 and up
• Felt sheets, $1 for 3
• Dressmaker pins, on hand
• Glitter heart picks, $1
• Candlestick, $1
• Paint, on hand

Total: $4 and up

The post Make Felt Heart Cone Trees appeared first on Dollar Store Crafts.

Not only are plain straight pins a bit dull, they can be difficult to find.  Have you ever dropped one on a carpeted floor?  Or worse yet, have you ever found that lost pin with your bare feet?  Ouch!  Adding bead embellishments to your pins not only makes them prettier, it makes them far easier to locate if they should try to escape.  And they’re easier to grab, making your next sewing project go by that much more quickly.  Kris at How Did You Make This? made these pretty pins and provides a simple DIY so you can create your own as well.  If you’re not into sewing yourself, they would also make a thoughtful gift for a seamster friend!  [how to make glass head sewing pins]

Project estimate:

• Straight pins, on hand or $1
• Small beads, on hand or $1 and up
• Glue, on hand

Total:  Free and up

The post Make Glass Head Sewing Pins appeared first on Dollar Store Crafts.

We love a tongue-in-cheek sense of humor.  And of course we love Pinterest.  So when Onel from Onelmon showed us her Pinterest logo pin cushion, we were smitten!  Make one for yourself and you will be the envy of all your social-media-loving seamster friends, or make a few and gift them to your favorite stitchaholics!  [how to make a Pinterest pin cushion]

Project estimate:

• Felt, on hand or $1
• Polyfill or other stuffing, on hand or $1 and up
• Needle and thread, on hand

Total:  Free and up

The post Make a Pinterest Pin Cushion appeared first on Dollar Store Crafts.

It’s one thing to sew a garment from a store-bought pattern; creating one from a pattern you made yourself is taking things to a whole ‘nother level!  This pattern-making method demonstrated by Ali at The Wardrobe, Reimagined, called the rub-off method, uses an existing garment as a guide.  There are a few situations in which I think this would be the perfect way to make a pattern, including replicating a beloved garment that is wearing out, making a duplicate of a shirt in a color or pattern in which it was not commercially available, and making a similar item with minor adjustments to make it better fit your body.  [how to replicate a garment with a DIY pattern]

Project estimate:

• Existing garment, on hand
• Kraft paper, on hand or $1
• Pins, on hand

Total:  Free or $1

The post Replicate a Garment with a DIY Pattern appeared first on Dollar Store Crafts.

Let’s face it, button pins make everything more awesome. I’ve seen street vendors and trendy hipster stores sell custom pins for a few dollars each. I figured I could make my own easily enough and would make great gifts for friends, the best part is that I can customize each button so it’s personal to each recipient.

This project uses old bottle caps as the base for each pin, clear casting resin to hold the image in place and a regular safety pin to affix it to your clothes. This inexpensive and fun project is sure to delight everyone. Did I mention it’s customizable? It bears repeating because it’s just so amazing!

Project estimate:

• Bottle caps, free
• Resin, on hand or about $10 and up
• Safety pins, on hand or $1
• Disposable cups, on hand
• Stir sticks or popsicle sticks, on hand
• Soldering iron and solder, on hand or about $10 and up
• Sandpaper, on hand
• Scissors, on hand
• Computer and printer, on hand

Total: Free and up

I brainstormed image ideas that I thought would be easily understood at a quick glance. I scoured the internet for images and dumped them into an imaging editing software (GIMP is great free image editing tool).

In your image editing software set up a new work space with the same dimensions as standard printer paper, A4 [8.5″x11″]. The inside diameter of the bottle caps were measured at about 25mm [1″]. In the image editing software I set up a simple grid template of circles with the same diameter as my bottle caps. Accounting for printing margins I got about 8 circles across and 11 deep.

Each image I found from the internet was copied onto the circle template. I’ve provided the sheet I used, feel free to use it as-is or as a template for your own images.

When your template is full of images print in colour and then cut out each circle. After cutting place one circular image cut-out in each bottle cap.

I got my caps from a local bar, I asked nicely and they set aside the caps for me. After a busy weekend I had more bottle caps than I knew what to do with!

Since I got my bottle caps from a bar, they reeked of beer and regret. So, I tossed all the dirty bottle caps into a large bowl with warm, soapy water and let soak overnight. In the morning I cleaned and rinsed the caps, then left them on a towel to dry. After, I sorted out the really bend or damaged caps, and tried to re-bend all the misshapen ones.

Following the directions from the package of EasyCast, I warmed the resin and hardener bottles in warm water for a few minutes. Then I poured equal amount into separate disposable cups (exact measurements are important, do not ‘eyeball’). When equal portions have been measured out, combine into one cup and stir for 2 minutes. Ensure sides, bottom and stir stick itself have been incorporated into the mixing, resin mixture must be homogeneous.

After mixing pour contents into a new clean disposable cup and mixed for another 2 minutes with a new stir stick. After secondary mixing the resin is ready to be poured. Use resin immediately, as the chemical reaction has begun once mixed and will begin to harden.

The resin was carefully poured into each bottle cap, filling only about halfway. I used about half of the resin and hardener for my 80 caps (each bottle is 4oz [120ml] and I used 2oz [60ml]). After pouring I went back with a new stir stick and poked down any images that had floated to the top or were otherwise misaligned. Allow resin to cure overnight.

After the resin has cured it’s time to attach our pins. The reason this is done after the resin has been cast is that we needed the bottle caps to lie flat when casting to ensure a level surface for each pin button.

All bottle caps have a logo or image on the top, to ensure good contact for our solder each cap needs to be sanded to remove this logo, allowing the solder to have good contact. No need to sand the entire top of the cap, just a strip where the safety pin will be. Leaving some of the logo or image adds a neat bit of flair to an otherwise boring pin back.

Using fine sandpaper (100grit) or a rotary tool, sand away a strip on the back of each pin to reveal bare metal, then solder on a safety pin to the back. Repeat for each pin.
Step 6Pin to stuff

All that’s left is to pin your new buttons to your favourite jacket, bag or whatever else you wear!
So, what are you going to pin your bottle cap buttons to?

The post Man Crafts: bottle cap pins appeared first on Dollar Store Crafts.

Even the most basic, everyday, taken-for-granted tools and supplies can benefit from a little dressing up.  Just ask Kimahn from Scissors, Paper, Wok, who gave some plain ol’ straight pins a glamorous makeover.  Her secret?  Shrink plastic!  (If you don’t have any commercially purchased shrink plastic on hand, look for #6 plastic, which is the same thing!)  These would be a great gift for your favorite seamster, and the technique would also work well for dressing up jewelry head pins!  [how to make custom pin heads]

Project estimate:

• Straight pins, on hand or $1
• Shrink plastic, on hand or about $5 and up
• Sponge, on hand
• Heat gun or oven, on hand

Total:  Free and up

The post Make Custom Pin Heads appeared first on Dollar Store Crafts.

Have you seen the rose-shaped soaps at Dollar Tree?  They look so pretty and smell so good that it’s easy to see why Desirée of The 36th Avenue was drawn to them.  In need of powder room accessories, she came up with a great crafty idea.  By taking the flowers apart and strategically pinning them to a foam ball (also found at Dollar Tree) she ended up with a pretty kissing ball or pomander type of decoration.  To display this piece, you could mount it on top of a glass candlestick, or if you prefer to hang it you can pin a length of ribbon into it.  (You may also wish to add a touch of glue to the ribbon, just in case!)  [how to make a soap flower ball]

Project estimate:

• Rose soap petals, $1
• Styrofoam ball, on hand or $1
• Pins, on hand or $1

Total:  $1 and up

The post Make a Soap Flower Ball appeared first on Dollar Store Crafts.

You probably wouldn’t think to look in your sewing kit for all the makings of a jewelry project; I know I wouldn’t.  Lucky for us, Laura from The Wind and The Sail did think of it!  The resulting necklace is a squeal-worthy miniature flower pot made from a thimble and some sewing pins with colored heads.  It’s a perfect project for spring and with Mother’s Day on the horizon it’s something to seriously consider putting on your to-do list.  The directions do call for drilling a small hole in the thimble;  if you don’t have a drill or you’re uncomfortable with power tools, you could glue a hasp to the back of the thimble instead.  [how to make a thimble necklace]

Project estimate:

• Thimble, on hand
• Straight pins with colored heads, on hand or $1 and up
• Thread, on hand
• Hot glue, on hand
• Drill, on hand
• Jump ring, on hand
• Chain, string, or ribbon, on hand

Total:  Free and up

The post Make a Thimble Necklace appeared first on Dollar Store Crafts.