So, you found this great piece of wood that someone else was throwing away… What can you do with it? One fun option is to turn it into a sign, like this one from Donna of Funky Junk Interiors! This project is super simple, totally customizable, and looks like it came from a cute little boutique. Make one with your family name, an “eat” sign for the kitchen, personalized name plates for your kids’ bedroom doors… There are so many possibilities! [how to make a reclaimed wood and rope sign]

Project estimate:

• Reclaimed wood, free
• Rope, on hand or $1 and up
• Chalk, on hand or $1
• Hot glue, on hand

Total: Free and up!

The post Make a Reclaimed Wood and Rope Sign appeared first on Dollar Store Crafts.

Rustic altered art was my inspiration this month as I created two new tutorials for the Live.Craft.Love blog! I had so much fun making Altered Art Angels and a Rustic Country Tin Wreath. Both projects featured natural materials, rustic tin accents, and ribbon, as well as an inspirational fall color palette.

All the ribbon I used was from my favorite ribbon manufacturer: May Arts. Find more of my ribbon projects here!

Altered Art Angels – Project Materials:

• Abaca Angels.
• Assorted ribbon.
• Rustic tin maple leaves.
• Rustic metal stars (tin folk stars or assorted 3D mini stars).
• Rustic tin folk hearts.
• Steampunk charms (I used keys and hearts & bows).
• Paper flower embellishments.
• Mini crochet doily embellishments.
• Wooden craft sticks.
• Paper in a matching color scheme.
• Hot glue gun and glue sticks.
• Scissors.

Rustic Tin Fall Wreath — Project Materials

• Darice 12″ Wire Wreath Form
• Burlap Ribbon or Burlap Strips
• 9 Darice Rusted Candle Tins
• 1 package 1.5″ Darice Rusty Folk Hearts (3 hearts)
• 1 package 2″ Darice Rusted Tin Mini Stars (3 stars)
• 1 package Darice Rustic Tin Maple Leaves (3 leaves needed)
• 2+ Colors of Contrasting Cardstock
• Tinsel Stems (I used red and gold)
• Assorted Ribbon (I used crocheted lace ribbon and glitter-flocked velvet ribbon)
• Hot Glue Gun & Glue Sticks
• Scissors & Pencil
• 2″ Circle Punch (optional)

The post Rustic Altered Art Craft Ideas for Fall appeared first on Dollar Store Crafts.

During November, I like to spend the month thinking of all the things I’m grateful for. Did you know that studies have shown that keeping track of your gratitude can positively affect your health and quality of life? Here’s a pretty way to remind yourself of all the things you have to be grateful for: a Thankful Centerpiece with a rustic yet glam theme.  Read on for the tutorial!

Project Materials:

• Metal pail, $1
• Floral foam, $1
• 2 Packages of felt flower coasters, $2
• Bamboo skewers, $1
• Burlap, on hand or $1 worth
• Hot glue and glue gun, on hand

Total cost: $5

I’m participating in the 12 Months of Martha project, sponsored by Martha Stewart, so I wanted to add a Martha twist to my dollar store centerpiece. The burlap and natural skewers bring a rustic charm, while the Martha Stewart products add a touch of gold glam! I added several embellishments from Martha Stewart’s crafting collection:

• Gold leaf stickers, $5 – Find on Amazon
• Gold-framed label stickers, $5 – Find on Amazon
• Gilding sheets, about $10
• Spray adhesive or gold leaf sizing, on hand
• Clear acrylic sealer spray, $5
• Masking tape, on hand

Total: $25 for Martha Stewart supplies, see below for substitutions

Substitutions:

• Gold leaf stickers – paint dollar store faux leaves gold with acrylic paint or spray paint (cost, about $3)
• Gold leafing – substitute gold paint or spray paint (cost, $2 and up)
• Gold framed label stickers – substitute card stock, or labels from the dollar store (free and up)
• Or, skip the gold leafing and add your own additional embellishments (faux flowers, ribbon, more burlap, etc) – Free

Total savings: $15-20

Make a Rustic Glam Thanksgiving Centerpiece

Gold-Leafing the Metal Container:

I have wanted to try gold leafing for awhile now, and this was the perfect project to try it out on! If you want to bring the cost of this project way down, just skip the gold leafing step.

1. Gather your gold leafing supplies. You need a couple things: masking tape, gold leaf sizing (or spray adhesive), gold leaf sheets, a large soft paintbrush, and clear sealant.

2. Mask off the desired design with masking tape. I did a single peak chevron design.

3. Apply gold leaf sizing, spray glue, or rubber cement to your container. I didn’t have gold leaf sizing, so I used spray adhesive. The glue surface should be tacky but not wet when you apply the gold leaf.

4. To apply gold leaf, place the gold leaf sheet on top of the adhesive surface. Gently push leafing down with your hands, covering all of the glue surface. It’s okay if it’s bumpy at this point.

I used 2 sheets of gold leaf for this container.

5. Next, burnish the gold leaf with a large, soft paintbrush. “Burnish” just means rub the gold leaf into the glue until it’s flat.

6. Remove masking tape from your project. Burnish the remaining gold leaf. Spray with clear acrylic sealer to protect the gold leaf finish.

Note: Gold leaf is not supposed to look perfect, so don’t worry if there are some pits and distresses to the finish. It’s part of the charm.

Creating the Floral Arrangement:

1. Cover your floral foam with burlap (if necessary, trim floral foam to fit in container before you start). Insert foam into container.

2. Hot glue felt flower coasters to bamboo skewers. Glue gold leaves to skewers.

3. Insert skewers into floral foam to make a floral arrangement. Tip: vary the length of the skewers to add variety and height to the arrangement. You can trim the skewers with scissors.

4. Write what you’re thankful for onto the labels. (I used Martha Stewart markers). Stick labels onto skewers. Insert into arrangement.

Tip: Allow your family to add to the arrangement by writing down what they are thankful for onto labels!

5. Fill arrangement in with burlap picks. To make, cut burlap squares, then fold square in quarters. Glue bamboo skewer to center of folded square, and pinch until hot glue is dry.

All done!

See all my Martha Stewart projects!

The post Tutorial: Rustic Glam Thankful Centerpiece appeared first on Dollar Store Crafts.

When she found packages of cork strips at the dollar store, Angie from The Country Chic Cottage knew she’d scored something good.  With a little help from her kids, it took all of 20 minutes to turn that $1 worth of cork into a while pile of ornaments!  The rustic look is the perfect compliment for the kids’ decorative dots, and the speedy aspect of the project means you’ll be able to hold the attention of little ones all the way through.  [how to make cork Christmas ornaments]

Project estimate:

• Cork strips, $1
• Scissors, on hand
• Paint, on hand
• Paintbrush, on hand
• Twine, on hand or $1

Total:  $1 and up

The post Make Cork Christmas Ornaments appeared first on Dollar Store Crafts.

What do you do when you really want something you can’t find?  You fake it!  Rose from Projectville kept seeing photos of antlers being used to store jewelry, scarves, and hats, but she couldn’t find a set of real antlers anywhere.  By manipulating cardboard and wire into a base for papier mache, she whipped up fun faux set instead!  She gave hers a bright, wacky paint job, but you could also opt for a more traditional color scheme, which would yield a fairly realistic-looking rack.  [how to make a faux antler rack]

Project estimate:

• Cardboard, on hand
• Wire coat hanger, on hand
• Hot glue, on hand
• Papier mache, on hand
• Paint, on hand

Total:  Free

The post Make a Faux Antler Rack appeared first on Dollar Store Crafts.

With some recycled materials and fabric scraps (and a dollar store plate), you can make a charming and rustic Christmas tree this year! Over at A Little Tipsy, Michelle created a craft after my cheapskate little heart. I love the creativity of mounting the tree on an overturned plate, and using things from the recycling bin to make a fun little decoration. [how to make a burlap christmas tree]

Project Estimate:

• Burlap (or fabric) scraps, on hand
• Jute string, $1
• Small plate, $1
• Fabric stiffener, about $3
• Card stock, on hand
• Hot glue, on hand

Total: $5 and up

The post Make Easy Burlap Christmas Trees appeared first on Dollar Store Crafts.

I’m totally a sucker for chandeliers of all kinds.  In my dream house, there would be chandeliers in every room! Unfortunately my reality is low ceilings and ceiling fans, alas.  However this design, like my plastic stemware chandelier from a couple of weeks ago, can also hang out on the front porch!  Sibylle from fun.kyti.me found a roll of chicken wire at the dollar store and was inspired to create a rustic-chic chandy featuring tea light candles and nature-inspired details.  It’s so creative I can hardly stand it!  [how to make a chicken wire chandelier]

Project estimate:

• Chicken wire, $1 and up
• Wire clothes hanger, on  hand or $1
• Hanging tomato planter,  about $5
• Tea lights, on hand or $1
• Twig, free
• Moss, on hand or $1
• Bird, $1
• Chandelier crystals, about $5
• Pliers, on hand
• Glue gun, on hand

Total: about $11 and up

The post Make a Chicken Wire Chandelier appeared first on Dollar Store Crafts.

I find that I tend to craft in cycles.  You know, I’ll crochet for a while, then I’ll get really into card making, then I’ll be obsessed with recycled crafts, and eventually I’ll pick up crocheting again, and so on.  Lately I’ve found myself on a jewelry-and-accessories kick, and I’m thinking about making a few of these rustic spoon pendants by Dorian at Busily Spinning Momma.  I’m particularly fond of the rusty, aged effect that makes the pendant look like it came out of grandma’s jewelry box.  And they’ll be a great use for all of  that scrap paper I’ve been hoarding for all these years since I stopped scrapbooking.  (You guessed it… Another crafty cycle!)  [how to make a rustic spoon pendant]

Project estimate:

• Spoon, on hand or $1
• Hammer, on hand
• Pliers, on hand
• Scrapbook paper, on hand
• Mod Podge, on hand
• Sandpaper, on hand
• Acrylic paint, on hand or $1 and up

Total:  Free and up

The post Make a Rustic Spoon Pendant appeared first on Dollar Store Crafts.

Macey at Olivia Renn made a designer knockoff advent calendar for about 99% off the retail price. Yep! The inspiration calendar is $299, and I estimate Macey spent about $3 (or less) making this bucket and branch advent calendar. My favorite thing about this calendar is the fact that Macey made the buckets out of plastic cups!! You would never guess that by looking at them! Awesome idea! [find out how to make the bucket and branch advent calendar]

Project Estimate:

• Tree branches, on hand
• Spray paint, silver, on hand or about $3
• Craft acrylic paint, on hand or $.50
• Rope or twine, on hand or $1
• 25 buckets or cups, $1
• Hole punch, on hand

Total: $1 and up

The post Make a Bucket & Branch Advent Calendar 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!

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