Right about now, my kids are getting a little tired of being home, playing together, and the heat of the summer. Any time I can provide them with a new activity, it’s received well, and gives them (and me) some minutes of peace. Last week, we made this cute Airplane Mobile, and the 10 year-old and 8 year-old had a blast making it. It’s simple and fun, and the final result is an eye-catching decoration for your child’s bedroom. I posted the instructions over at Live.Craft.Love, so go check it out: [DIY Airplane Mobile]

The post Kids Craft: DIY Airplane Mobile appeared first on Dollar Store Crafts.

Got duct tape? That’s the main ingredient in this adorable rain cloud mobile! So grab a roll, along with some cardboard out of your recycling bin and a Sharpie, and watch Heather’s video to see how to make your own. Not into videos? Keep reading for written instructions!

Project estimate:

• Duct tape, on hand or $1 and up
• Cardboard, on hand
• Marker, on hand
• String, on hand
• Tape, on hand

Total:  Free and up!

Draw a cloud and raindrop shapes on a piece of cardboard.

Flip the cardboard over and cover the back side with duct tape.

Cut out the cloud and raindrop shapes following the lines you drew.

Draw a faces on the could and raindrops .

Connect the pieces by taping them together with string on the back side.

Hang it up and enjoy your handiwork!

The post Tutorial: Duct Tape Rain Cloud Mobile 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.

It’s time to get in the mood… for Dollar Store Crafting with Duck Brand® Tape! Lovey dovey, pink puffy hearts and chocolates kind of mood: VALENTINE’S DAY!! We have three clever Valentine’s Day craft ideas for you that use some Duck Brand® Tape Valentine's Day designs.

Our three dollar store Valentine's Day Duck Brand® Tape crafts are:

• 3D Valentine Heart Mobile
• Valentine Heart Candle
• Valentine Heart Placemat

Here are some of your Duck Brand® Tape Valentine's Day tape options:

You don't need much for these crafts – just a few rolls of Duck Brand® Tape and a couple supplies from the dollar store!

Project Materials:

• Duck Brand® Tape rolls, about $4.99 each – You need at least 2 colors of tape for these crafts
• Wax paper, $1 or on hand
• A plain white prayer candle, $1
• 3 pony beads, on hand
• String, on hand
• Scissors, on hand
• Hot glue gun and glue, on hand
• Heart templates, download for free here

Total: $11 and up – with lots of Duck Brand® Tape to spare for other Duck Tape crafts!

3D Valentine Heart Mobile Instructions

Make an eye-catching heart mobile with solid-colored tape, or add some extra pizzazz with Duck Brand® Tape in Valentine's Day patterns. Check out our clever technique for creating 3-dimensional hearts from Duck Tape.

Supplies:

• Duck Brand® Tape, 2-4 colors
• Wax paper
• 3 pony beads
• String or yarn
• Scissors
• Hole punch
• Heart templates, download for free here

1. Cover a piece of card stock with red Duck Tape, on both sides. Cut out a large heart.

2. Punch a hole in the top of the heart, and add string for hanging. Punch a hole in the bottom of the heart, and on the bottom sides of the heart as well. Put large heart aside.

3. To create the 3D heart strings:

• Cut a small heart out of Duck Tape. Place half of the heart over the edge of wax paper.
• Place a second small Duck Tape heart over the sticky side of the 1st heart.
• Place a third heart over the sticky side of the 2nd heart, then peel the wax paper off.
• Before sticking the last two sticky sides together, put a string through the middle of the 3D heart, as shown. Attach the last sticky sides together.
• Continue making 3D hearts this way, about 1" down the string from each other, until your heart strings are about 18" long.
• Tie a pony bead to the bottom of the strings to weigh them down.

Tie heart strings to the bottom of the large heart.

Valentine Heart Candle Instructions

All you need is an inexpensive glass prayer candle to create this quick and fun Duck Tape valentine candle craft.

Supplies:

• Duck Brand® Tape, 2-4 colors
• A piece of scrap paper
• A glue dot or a dab of hot glue
• Scissors
• Heart templates, download for free here

To Make:

1. Put a red strip of Duck Brand® Tape around the glass candle holder, about 1" from the bottom.
2. Add another red strip of tape around the candle, about 1" from the top.
3. Add a contrasting colored strip of tape between the red tape strips.
4. Cover a piece of card stock with a piece of tape on both sides, then cut out a 2" heart.
5. Attach heart to center tape strip with a glue dot or a dab of hot glue.

Valentine Heart Placemat Instructions

Tweens (or any crafters!) will enjoy making custom placemats for Valentine's Day, or any occasion with a couple rolls of Duck Tape. Bonus: Just wipe up any spills with a damp cloth, and these placemats are ready to use again and again.

Supplies:

• Duck Brand® Tape, 2-3 colors
• Wax paper
• Scissors
• Heart templates, download for free here
• Paper trimmer, optional

To Make:

1. Create a sheet of Duck Tape fabric about 18" wide by 12" tall. Trim edges to square. A paper trimmer might be helpful for that!

–Alternately, you can cover a sheet of paper cut to the size of a placemat with overlapping Duck Tape.–

How to create a Duck Tape sheet:

1. Lay a strip out with sticky side up. Lay another strip over it, sticky side facing sticky side, with long edges overlapping slightly (about 1/2").
2. Continue to lay additional strips until the sheet is the desired size.
3. To create a "good" edge, fold the last piece of tape over the edge.

2. Add a contrasting strip around the outside of the sheet.

3. Overlap white strips of tape onto a piece of wax paper, about 7" square. Cut out the 6.75" heart, using the heart template. (download for free here)

4. Overlap red strips of tape onto a piece of wax paper, about 6" square. Cut out the 5.5" heart, using the heart template. (download for free here)

5. Peel the wax paper from the back of the smaller heart, and place the smaller red heart onto the bigger white heart.

6. Then peel the wax paper from the large heart, and place it on the center of the placemat.

Duck Brand® is on Twitter @TheDuckBrand
Follow @TheDuckBrand for tons of creative inspiration!

The post Tutorial: 3 Duck Tape Valentine Crafts appeared first on Dollar Store Crafts.

Did you enjoy shark week as much as we did?  Sad it’s over?  Well, we have one more shark-y tutorial for you!  Jeanette from Paper Plate Shark Jaws and Off the Cuff Cooking joins us again today for a fun, Sharknado-inspired mobile.  Whip out your favorite pair of scissors and read on to find out how to make your own!

Project estimate:

• Paper plates, on hand or $1
• Chopsticks or skewers, on hand or $1
• Paper clips or string, on hand or $1
• Shark printables, free (see below)
• Tape, on hand
• Glue, on hand

Total:  Free and up!

Start by gluing three paper plates on top of each other, covering adequately so they adhere to each other completely.

While they are drying, you can begin cutting out all the sharks from the print-outs.  Leaving a little white space around each shark makes them easier to cut out, and at the very least leave a little white area near the top middle of each shark where you will punch through a small hole for a paper clip or thread to be strung.

When the paper plates have completely dried, make a one-inch cut perpendicular to the edge of the plate toward the center, and from that end-point, start cutting a spiral into the middle of the plate.  Each pass around the plate should be leaving a coiled strip that is about 1/2″ wide.

After you are done with the cutting, tape or glue the initial opening cut back together.  Next, tape or hot glue one bamboo chopstick across the middle top of the plate, and then repeat with the other chopstick, but do it from the underside of the top circle, so they make a cross.  You will use this to hang it from a string or hook later on.

Now, punch a hole in each shark-cut out near the top with a thumbtack, and then bend your paper clips into S-shapes.  Attach one paper clip to each shark.  Also punch 12 evenly spaced holes around the spiral-loop that you cut out from the paper plate.  Lastly, hook a shark onto each hole around the loop, and attach a string at the crossed bamboo sticks to hang it!

Naturally, there must be a disclaimer that this is only for decoration, and has small paper clips which are choking hazards for small children.  Take care not to hang it near youngsters.  (Or use embroidery floss or string instead of paper clips if you intend to hang this in a kids room.)

Click on the shark image below to enlarge, then right-click to save it to your computer for printing.

More shark crafts:
Follow Mrs. Greene’s board Shark Week! on Pinterest.

The post Tutorial: Sharknado Paper Plate Mobile 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.

Deca-what, himme-who?  We know it’s a mouthful, but we swear they’re real words!  Decahedron is the shape of the parts of the mobile, and himmeli is the style of folk art that this project emulates.  Not only does Aunt Peaches explain how to make this fun, geometric design, she also does a wonderful job of breaking down the vocabulary!  (It’s like two lessons in one!)  [how to make a decahedron himmeli mobile]

Project estimate:

• Straws, on hand or $1
• Wire or thread, on hand or $1

Total:  Free and up

The post Make a Decahedron Himmeli Mobile appeared first on Dollar Store Crafts.

We love a good crafty challenge.  Nothing gets the creative juices flowing quite like it!  Jane from Buzzmills is took part in a “Feather Your Nest” challenge recently, the parameters of which were that the project had to:  1) include recycled materials and 2) it was a stitch-along, so there had to be sewing involved.  Taking a literal twist on the bird-related theme, she dug into her pile of magazines (who doesn’t have a million of those laying around collecting dust?) and came up with a simple (and free!) mobile.  She drew her own bird template for this project, but you could also do an image search for bird clipart to print and cut out if you don’t feel so artistically inclined.  Or you could go for a different shape altogether!  [how to make a recycled paper bird mobile]

Project estimate:

• Magazines, on hand
• Template, free
• Sewing machine, on hand
• String, on hand
• Twig, on hand

Total:  Free!

The post Make a Recycled Paper Bird Mobile appeared first on Dollar Store Crafts.

Valentine’s Day is a low-key decorating holiday for our family, so I like to make homemade decorations with my three boys. It’s amazing how cheerful humble handmade hearts can be! Share the craft love with your children with a simple beading project that is perfect for small hands to work on. With a few common crafting materials, they make a beaded heart mobile that everyone will love! This is a cheerful gift for Grandma, or to hang up in the child’s bedroom window. If you don’t have all these materials on hand already, you can pick them up at the dollar store or for less than $5 at the craft store. As always, I encourage you to improvise so you can use whatever you already have on hand!

I found these wooden beads in small packages at the dollar store. Pony beads or homemade paper beads, duct tape beads, or recycled plastic bottle beads would work well.

Project Materials:

• 3 chenille stems (pipe cleaners), on hand or $1
• 18 medium-sized beads, on hand or $1
• 1/8″ ribbon or yarn, on hand or about $.50 at your local craft store
• pencil

Total: FREE and up

To Make:

1. Thread 4-6 beads on a chenille stem (or more if you like, and depending on your child’s age!).

2. Fold the chenille stem in half. Bring the two ends of the chenille stem together about 1″ from each end and twist together twice until stem is secured

3. Parents might need to help with this step: place your thumb on the folded part of the pipe cleaner and push down between your index and middle finger to form a heart shape (as shown in photo)

4. Curl the ends of chenille stems around a pencil to keep the sharp ends from sticking out

5. Make three hearts and tie together with 8″ pieces of ribbon or yarn to make a one-stranded mobile

6. Make multiple mobiles and hang together for a fun Valentine’s Day decoration

Tips:

• Great Garlands: Instead of stringing the hearts vertically as a mobile, try stringing them side to side to make a horizontal garland.
• Heart Ornaments: Tie a piece of ribbon on a single heart to make a pretty heart ornament. Attach it to your Valentine’s Day cards for a fun favor.
• Mini Hearts: To make small hearts, cut a chenille stem in half (use old scissors — never good scissors!) and follow steps 1-4.

The post Kids Craft Tutorial: Valentine Heart Mobile appeared first on Dollar Store Crafts.

Have you ever noticed the ghostly shape of broken eggshells?  Over at The Magic Onions, the entire family got involved in drawing silly, spooky faces on some eggshells rescued from their post-breakfast garbage.  Stringing them together turned them into a cute, no-cost mobile!  Now the only question is… how do you want your eggs?  [how to make an eggshell ghost mobile]

Project estimate:

• Eggshells, on hand
• Marker, on hand
• String, on hand

Total:  Free!

The post Make an Eggshell Ghost Mobile appeared first on Dollar Store Crafts.