Want to up your jewelry-making game? This bead-wrapped wire heart pendant from Lisa Yang is a great project for those who have a little experience working with wire and want to learn a fun new technique. Once you master the beading technique, you can use this to give a fancy edge to all kinds of crafty projects! [how to make a bead-wrapped wire heart pendant]

Project estimate:

• Wire, on hand or $1 and up
• Beads, on hand or $1 and up

Total: Free and up!

The post Make a Bead-Wrapped Wire Heart Pendant appeared first on Dollar Store Crafts.

I’m pretty sure that just about every crafter on the planet has an abundance of buttons – I know that personally I have thousands of them, enough to constitute several lifetime supplies for most folks.  as such, I’m always on the lookout for cute and clever button crafts.  I really love these simple pensant necklaces by Shellie at Craftbits!  It’s a great way to dress up a plain button, or to showcase a unique button in a special way!  [how to make wire wrapped button pendants]

Project estimate:

• Buttons, on hand or $1 and up
• Wire, on hand or $1 and up
• Chain or cord, on hand or $1 and up

Total:  Free and up!

The post Make Wire Wrapped Button Pendants appeared first on Dollar Store Crafts.

Is there a place that is close to your heart?  Perhaps you have fond memories of special times in a certain city, or maybe you need a going away present for someone who is spreading their wings and leaving their hometown.  There are lots of great reasons why you might want to make this beautiful map pendant by Adrianne at Happy Hour Projects!  Similarly, you could use dictionary pages to make pendants highlighting words of significance to you.  There are so many possibilities for a wonderfully custom piece of jewelry!  [how to make a map necklace]

Project estimate:

• Map, free and up
• Jewelry bezel with cabochon, about $2 and up
• Chain, on hand or $1 and up
• Mod Podge, on hand

Total:  about $2 and up

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

Recycle bottle caps into “enameled” charms or pendants! All it takes is a bottle cap, some nail polish, and some small embellishments. Glue a jump ring to the back of the bottle cap to make a place to hang it, or mount it on a ring blank, or use them however you wish!

Project estimate:

• Bottle caps, on hand
• Nail polish, on hand or $1 and up
• Embellishments, on hand or $1 and up*
• Jump rings, on hand or $1 and up
• Glue, on hand

Total:  Free and up!

*The metal rose embellishments in this video are an item I received from Bobcat in a Box.

The post Tutorial: Enameled Bottle Cap Charms appeared first on Dollar Store Crafts.

I’ve been a Duck Tape fan for a long time, so I’ve always loved their selections, but some of their new products are really taking things to a whole ‘nother level!  My favorite of the newest additions to their line is definitely their glitter tape.

That’s right, rolls of glittery goodness.  Glitter that doesn’t shed, and that you can add quickly and easily to anything that you can tape.  Are you sold on this idea yet?  If not, you certainly will be by the time you’ve seen this fabulous jewelry project!  Watch the video to see how to make your own glitter tape necklace, or keep scrolling for written directions.

Project estimate:

• Glitter Duck Tape, about $6 and up
• Memory tile game, $1
• Sharpie, on hand or $1
• Glue, on hand
• Mod Podge Dimensional Magic, about $3
• Jewelry findings, on hand or $1 and up
• Chain, on hand or $1 and up

Total: about $9 and up

Start by punching out a pair of the memory game tiles.  Carefully use a Sharpie to make the outside edges of each tile black; also color a little bit around the edges on the printed side of the tile, so that when you eventually sandwich the two parts together you will not have any glimpses of that surface noticeably showing.  Be careful not to get any marker on the back (blank) side of each tile.

Apply a piece of glitter tape to the blank side of each tile.  Use scissors or a craft knife to trim away the excess.

Add a thin strip of glitter tape in another color diagonally across one of the tiles.  Embellish further with a strip of lace tape.  Again, trim the excess from around the edges.

Glue the two tiles together with the taped sides facing out.  If desired, you can sandwich thin items like the string of a tassel or small jewelry findings in between the tiles.

Apply a dime-sized amount of Mod Podge Dimensional Magic to the front of the pendant and allow to dry.  Flip the pendant over and repeat on the other side.  Also brush some around the outside edges.  This will seal all of the tape together, as well as give the pendant extra sheen.

Add other embellishments as desired.  Then add a bail to the pendant (if you have not already added a way to hang it) and attach it to a chain.  Your necklace is complete and ready to wear – and to make a big, sparkly statement!

The post Tutorial: Glitter Tape Necklace appeared first on Dollar Store Crafts.

I hope you’ve enjoyed my series on how to make jewelry from a single $1 box of hardware.  Once I started playing with the hardware pieces, it was really fun to come up with different ways to transform them into jewelry.   I hope I’ve inspired you to look at items in a different way and to find beauty in unexpected places!  That’s one of the charms of budget crafting for me:  taking something ordinary and transforming it to something special.

All the pieces I used to make my pendants came from this single box that I found in the toy section at Dollar Tree.  I added color and chains to complete the pieces.  Here’s a reminder of the other two jewelry pieces I made.  You can find the bracelet tutorial here and the flag pendant tutorial here.  My last two pieces are simple but chic, and I turned them into necklaces.  Here’s how:

Project Estimate:

• Toy kit, $1
• Jewelry glue or super  glue, on hand or $1
• Chain, on hand
• (Optional) Alcohol ink, $2 and up

Total:  $1 and up

Step one:  Choose the pieces you want to work with, and arrange them as desired.  I made a simple “v” shape and a piece that was inspired by butterflies.  Use the jewelry glue to adhere them together and let them dry.

Step two:  I repurposed a broken necklace to add chain to either end of the pendant.  I attached the links to the holes that were already in the hardware.

Step three (optional):  If you want to add color to your piece, use alcohol inks to color the metal.

Two more fun jewelry pieces to rock this summer!  Head to your tool box and grab some hardware pieces.  Who knows what funky, cool fashion jewelry you’ll come up with.

The post Make Jewelry From Hardware: Part 3 appeared first on Dollar Store Crafts.

I’ve been on a bit of a jewelry making kick.  The thing I love about making my own jewelry and accessories is that it’s a fun way to update my wardrobe without buying new clothes.  A new necklace or pin seems to bring new life to an old outfit.

In this post I showed how to use Dimensional Magic and glitter to transform glass pieces.  Now I’m going to show you how to make your own bezels out of jewelry wire, which you can fill with the glitter mixture I showed you before.   I have seen this wire in the crafts section at Dollar Tree, and you can find floral wire there, too, if you want something wider.  In addition to pendants, you can use this idea to make embellishments for cards and scrapbooking, magnets, or hair pins.

Project estimate:

• Jewelry Wire, on hand or $1 and up
• Glitter, on hand
• Dimensional Magic, about $3 and up
• Packaging Tape, on hand

Total:  about $3 and up

Step one:  Keeping the wire on the spool, coil the wire to make a ring to hang the pendant from.

Step two:  Begin wrapping the wire around a round object, like a dowel rod.  Wrap it to make 5-8 circles.

Step three:  Leave a 12 inch “tail” and cut the wire off the spool.   Use the excess wire to begin wrapping the circle.  When you complete the circle, cut off the excess wire and tuck in the end.

Step four:  Press the wire firmly onto a piece of masking tape.  Fill with a very small amount of Dimensional Magic.  Some of it may seep through the bottom; we will trim this off later.  Set aside to dry for at least an hour.

Step five:  Mix Dimensional Magic with glitter.  Fill your wire wrapped bezel with the glitter mixture.

When it is dry, simply peel the packaging tape off the back carefully.  Trim any excess off, and rock your new pendant!

My daughter and I had fun making lots of different shapes and items.  Since she is too young to use the wire, I let her fill jewelry blanks with the DM/glitter mixture to make sparkly jewelry.

Once you get the hang of wrapping wire, you can make lots of different shapes.  I think it would be cute to make one in the shape of your home state or country.  Another variation would be to tint the Dimensional Magic with ink instead of using glitter to create a different look.  Dimensional Magic is not water proof, and it is still pliable, so if you want to make something more durable you should use resin instead.  This is a fun, quick craft if you use Dimensional Magic, and it’s safe to make with kids.  Enjoy!

The post Tutorial: DIY Wrapped Wire Charms appeared first on Dollar Store Crafts.

Memorial Day weekend has arrived, and around here that means it’s time to plant the garden!  Do you buy live plants or start your own from seeds?  If you answered from seeds, then my next question is, what do you do with your empty seed packets?  Amy from Mod Podge Rocks! didn’t want to throw hers away because the pictures on them were so pretty, so instead she found a way to recycle them into necklaces!  Has there ever been a craftier excuse to raid the dollar store seed selection?  Methinks not!  [how to make a seed packet necklace]

Project estimate:

• Seed packets, on hand or 4 for $1
• Wooden pendant base, on hand or $1
• Jump ring, on hand
• Cord or chain, on hand or $1
• Paint, on hand or $1 and up
• Mod Podge, on hand
• Dimensional magic, about $5

Total: about $5 and up

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

I was scrolling through my feed reader the other day when I stopped on a post that literally made me giggle.  How fun and funky are these necklaces?  Would you believe that they are made from parakeet mirrors?  True story!  Mich L. in L.A. has done it again, turning another mundane and unexpected item into truly fabulous jewelry.  (Don’t like the bold, bright colors of the plastic mirror frames?  A blast of spray paint might make them more your style!)  [how to make parakeet mirror pendant necklaces]

Project estimate:

• Parakeet mirror, $1 and up
• Paper, on hand
• Mod Podge, on hand
• Chain, on hand or $1 and up
• Beads, on hand or $1 and up
• Jewelry findings, on hand or $1 and up

Total:  $1 and up

The post Make Parakeet Mirror Pendant Necklaces appeared first on Dollar Store Crafts.

This project is a family favorite. My kids *love* to “crack” glass stones with me. They don’t even make anything with them most of the time, they just enjoy watching the glass crack and then admiring their handiwork. I like to paint the stones, glitter them, set them in bezels, make magnets, and all kinds of other things. But let me back up a bit and first show you how to “crack” glass!

Project estimate:

• Glass stones (purchased in the floral department), $1
• Water & ice, on hand
• Bowl, on hand

Total: $1

Step one: Preheat your oven to 425 degrees. Arrange your glass stones in a baking dish.

Step two: Bake the stones for 20 minutes.

Step three: Prepare a plastic bowl with ice and add water.

Step four: When you remove the stones from the oven, pour them IMMEDIATELY into the ice water. They will crack instantly.

Your stones are now ready to work with. The cool thing with this project is that the stones have cracks on the INSIDE but the outside is perfectly smooth. There are no sharp fragments or anything that will cut you. Occasionally, a stone may crack too deeply and break in half, so make several at a time.

What to do with your beautiful “gemstones”? One idea is to just set it on a bail to make a pretty, diamond-like pendant. Another is to wrap it with wire like I did in this tutorial. Let me know if you’d like to see more ideas with these stones, and I’ll post them next week!

The post Tutorial: Cracked Glass Stones for Crafting appeared first on Dollar Store Crafts.