Rubber Banded Basket

This impromptu basket by Sewing in the Suburbs is a quick and cute way to store pretty much any small items. You can sew your own fabric square to make one, or if you dollar store-it, use a placemat. Secure corners with rubber bands. Get the tutorial here.

Playroom Bin Labels

Jess from mad in crafts made these cute labels with stuff from her dollar store. Find out the technique she used here.

Hanging Baskets

Lorie at Be Different Act Normal strung three baskets together to make a hanging basket fixture in her bathroom. Great idea! Hanging baskets here. [via]

Ruffly Storage Bin

Dress up some of those basic plastic storage bins with a pretty fabric ruffle with Grammar of Life. Check out the simple process she used to make this pretty storage bin.

Additional Organizing Resources:

• Fabric Bins Roundup at How About Orange
• The Red Chair Blog urges us not to settle for “guaranteed ugly” – wow! This post is so true!!

The post Roundup: Organize With Bins appeared first on Dollar Store Crafts.

I think I’ve said this before: wreaths are possibly the most popular submission item to Dollar Store Crafts, year-round. As I made this wreath, I was reminded why they’re such a popular crafted item: because they’re fun, easy to make, and infinitely customizable. You can use your favorite materials (whether they’re clockwork gears, yarn, monster fur, or radishes), you can add basically anything to serve as an accent piece, and in just a few minutes’ time, you can have a fun and functional piece of decor that is as unique as you are.

Because wreaths are so popular and all of you are so creative, I’ve decided that we need to have a Wreath Contest (two ways to win)! Thanks for entering, but the drawing is now closed!

But first, the tutorial! I channeled my inner Ruffles & Stuff and Living with Lindsay and made a ruffle for this Burlap Ruffle Wreath!

Project Estimate:

• 15″ wreath, $1
• Burlap, on hand or about $1
• Wooden plaque, on hand or $1 and up
• Ribbon, on hand or $.50
• Sewing stuff (machine or needle & thread)
• Hot glue gun

Total: $1 and up

A word about the supplies:

• Wreath: The dollar store has faux greenery wreaths that are not terribly realistic, and not terribly full and lush. But let’s face it, you aren’t going to spend a buck and expect the greenery of the wreath to be the star of the show. No, the one dollar wreath is definitely a background player, which is a great canvas for your creativity!
• Burlap: So I’ve been reading all the good frugal decor blogs lately, and I have seen a lot of burlap! I was excited when I received this plaque from Jack at CarveIt.ca and the package was wrapped in burlap. I was able to recycle the burlap packaging into the materials for this wreath!
• Ribbon: I had it in my stash, and I’m sure you do too. If not, you can get it at your craft or big-box store for about $.50, or at your dollar store for $1.
• Plaque: Get a custom plaque from CarveIt.ca, or make your own from a dollar store plaque (I’ll leave you to figure out how to do that yourself!)
• Substitutions: You can use anything from your stash instead of my suggested materials.

To Make:

The Wreath:

Pull out the spokes of the wreath to extend it to its 15″ size.

Here’s the wreath at its fully-extended size. See what I meant about “not terribly lush”? Still, what a bargain for a buck!

Burlap Ruffle:

I cut strips from my burlap fabric (about 3″ wide). I sewed two of them together to make a longer piece.

Adjust your sewing machine straight stitch to the longest length and sew along one long edge of the burlap to gather into a ruffle. If that isn’t ruffly enough for you, you can manually pleat the ruffle as you sew it. If you don’t have a machine, use your needle and thread to sew a long basting stitch through the long edge of burlap and gather into a ruffle.

Burlap Bow:

I had a bit of burlap ruffle left over, so I gathered it into a circle to make a bow.

Pinch the circle in the middle.

Tie in the middle with a piece of ribbon.

Assemble the Wreath:

Hot glue the ruffle to the center of the wreath. Trim any excess burlap that covers the wreath too much.

Wrap the ribbon (or any other adornments) around the wreath.

Secure ends of the ribbon to the back of the wreath with a bit of hot glue.

Squeeze some hot glue on the back of the plaque and place on top of wreath. You might want to turn wreath over (as shown here) and add some extra glue. I did, because I felt like the hot glue was already starting to dry by the time I put the plaque on the wreath and I wanted to make sure it was secure. Since hot glue is pretty easy to remove, I am not worried about using it on the plaque. I’ll be able to remove it and remake it when I feel like it.

Place a long cut piece of burlap for ties, glue it, and then glue the bow on top of it. I put mine off of center, side-ponytail style! You’re done! That was easy, wasn’t it?

Wreath Contest

Thanks for entering, but the drawing is now closed! Click here for drawing results

See the pretty plaque in the center of my wreath? It was made by Jack at CarveIt.ca, and he has generously offered to provide a couple of custom plaques (8×8″, the same size as this one here) for my readers! You can design custom signs at his website or email him custom art and he makes awesome signs. Check out this amazing sign Cathe at Just Something I Made designed. Super sweet!

One custom plaque will be awarded at random to a commenter in this post.

• To enter, comment on this post and tell me what your favorite wreath would look like (or DOES look like), or a material you’d like to use on your next wreath, or any wreath-related opinions you have, or a link to a cool wreath you’ve come across while internetting it up.
• Contest ends Wednesday, December 9, 2009 at 8pm Pacific time.
• I will choose a winner by Random.org drawing and announce it on Thursday morning
• Winner receives an 8×8 plaque like the one shown here, with custom text.

The other custom plaque will be awarded to someone who MAKES a wreath.

• To enter, tell us about it over here in it in THIS post. Check that post for more details.

Jack has also offered my readers a discount on a custom version of this sign with your last name on it.

On the website, the sign shown here (8×8) costs $45 + shipping (painted and finished). Dollar Store Crafts readers’ price: as low as $25!

Offer Details:

• $35 + shipping painted and finished (A $45 value)
• or $25 + shipping unpainted unfinished (A $35 value)
• Shipping is around $10
• These prices are in Canadian dollars, so slightly less in US currency (Click here to find the conversion)
• Email Jack at jack@carveit.ca with the subject Dollar Store Crafts and the text you want on the sign and he’ll send you a preview and invoice

The post Burlap Ruffle Wreath & a Giveaway appeared first on Dollar Store Crafts.

Lindsay from Living With Lindsay is not only a genius, but she’s a frugal genius! Check out this pretty frilly wreath she made from humble dollar store items, including a dollar store romance novel. If you feel weird about ripping up a book, how about using one of those pesky local phone directories that always shows up at the most inopportune time on your doorstep (am I the only one that really, really hates those?) She walks you through the whole technique to get this amazing wreath over at her blog, so get clicking [how to make a ruffly book wreath]

Project Estimate:

• 10″ foam wreath, $1
• Paperback novel, on hand or $1
• Acrylic paint, on hand
• Glue gun, on hand
• Ribbon, on hand

Total: $1 and up

The post Make a Ruffly Wreath appeared first on Dollar Store Crafts.