Project Materials:

• 3 skeins of embroidery floss, on hand or about $1
• Size 12 (US) crochet hook, on hand or about $1
• Chain or thread to string, on hand
• (optional) Jump rings and hardware, if you are using a chain, on hand

Total: FREE and upIf you are a beginning crocheter, I recommend making a couple granny squares with regular yarn and hooks just to get the hang of it. After you make a few, you will memorize the pattern, and it will be the perfect thing to crochet on auto-pilot (and a great way to use up your small leftover balls of yarn.

Crocheting with embroidery floss is a little bit challenging. One, it’s small, so it’s a bit harder to work with, and to get a comfortable hand position and work flow. The good news is that it doesn’t take too long to adjust to the reduced scale. Two, the six strands of floss aren’t twisted together like yarn, so the individual strands can get caught in your work a lot more. You can combat this by slightly twisting the floss with your index finger and thumb as you go. You can also pull out the offending stitches as you go and redo them, or pull the loops through your work to hide them.

Hook: My crochet hook was a steel hook, size 12 US (.70mm/size 5 UK). A hook a couple sizes larger would probably be fine!

Pattern:I just used a classic granny square pattern. I don’t need to re-write it for you! If you want to learn how to crochet a granny square, here is an excellent visual tutorial at The Purl Bee: [how to crochet a granny square]

Homemade Simple Gifts

I have always been a huge fan of handmade gifts. As a crafter, it’s only natural, right? I am lucky to be part of a family that also appreciates handmade gifts and makes it a practice to exchange gifts that aren’t store-bought. I know, I’m so spoiled!

While not all handmade gifts exchanged in our family are smash hits, they are all appreciated and they somehow seem more meaningful than something purchased in the $10 or less aisle of a big box store.

The best handmade gifts I’ve given or received have been: duct tape wallets (for the guys), hand-roasted coffee (yum!), quilts, and special items decorated by my three boys (always a win for the mommies, right?).

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Give your shoes a temporary kitty makeover! Heather used electrical tape to make adorable cat faces on the toes of a pair of plain flats to dress them up. This is a great way to add a little bit of fun to your outfit, while still leaving your favorite flats wearable for other occasions. When you’re done, simply peel off the tape and the shoes go back to their original state.

Project estimate:

• Shoes, on hand or $1 and up
• Electrical tape, on hand or $1

Total:  $1 and up

Apply strips of tape to cover the toes of the shoes. Cut little slits in the edge of tape to make it go on more smoothly over the curved surface.

Cut and apply two triangles for the ears.

Cut facial features out of colored tape and add them to the shoes.

Don’t forget to add pupils to the eyes!

Once the faces are complete, just add feet!

The post Tutorial: Kitty Face Shoes appeared first on Dollar Store Crafts.

Give new life to a pair of boring slippers with a fun and funky pinata makeover! Amy at Cozy Reverie used a pair of dollar store slippers and a little felt for a fun and funky touch for her Pinata Day outfit – but if you are a pinata lover, you don’t need a special occasion to wear them! They’re also great for wearing to pinata-themed parties, or even just around the house for fun! [how to make pinata slippers]

Project estimate:

• Slippers, on hand or $1 and up
• Felt, on hand or $1 and up
• Hot glue, on hand

Total: Free and up!

The post Make Pinata Slippers appeared first on Dollar Store Crafts.

I’ve been busy bringing color to the gray days of winter with my two projects for the Live.Craft.Love blog – DIY Wooden Geometric Wall Art and a Bungee Bling Necklace. Do you need to add some color to your days too? Go check these projects out!

DIY Wooden Geometric Wall Art

I love these wooden canvases – I have been using them for all kinds of fun art projects around my home, from making cute baby photo art, to letting my children paint on them for an instant gallery of kid art. For this project, I layered colored vellum onto the wooden canvas to create these colorful modern pieces of wall art.

Bungee Bling Necklace:

Bungee cord is a fun material to use in jewelry making, and these large hole Mix & Mingle beads just slip right on to create a perfectly easy jewelry project. This would be a fun one for teens to make!

The post 2 Colorful Craft Projects for Spring appeared first on Dollar Store Crafts.

I love to make jewelry, do you love it too? These Swarovski crystal heart and chain drop earrings are a simple project to make, and you can find all the supplies at my favorite jewelry supply site, Fire Mountain Gems. They’ve provided the free tutorial for how to make them (as well as a handy shopping list), so go check them out!

How to make: Earrings with Swarovski Crystal Beads and Drops

And here are some more cool products available at Fire Mountain Gems in time for your Valentine’s Day jewelry making:

Pendants, Drops and Focals	Charms	Beads
Findings	Faceted Gems	Cabochons and Cameos
Clasps	Chain	Cord and Ribbon

disclosure: affiliate links

The post Make Crystal Heart Earrings for Valentine’s Day appeared first on Dollar Store Crafts.

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.

If one of your resolutions this year was to use up the stuff in your craft stash, here is a great project for busting that fabric stash! Over at The Fashion Dummy, you will find instructions for making easy and adorable animal zipper pouches. It’s quickest to make these with a sewing machine, but if you don’t have one, it’s a small enough project that hand sewing is pretty easy. Change the shape of the ears and the facial features to create a whole zoo of fun pouches! [how to make animal zipper pouches]

Project estimate:

• Fabric, on hand or $1 and up
• Zipper, about $1 and up
• Fabric glue, on hand or about $2 and up
• Sewing machine or needle and thread, on hand
• Marker or fabric paint, on hand or $1 and up

Total: about $1 and up

The post Make Animal Zipper Pouches appeared first on Dollar Store Crafts.

Chic, easy, and inexpensive, this twig and yarn brooch from Journey into Creativity is definitely our kind of project! The tutorial is in Greek, but the pictures do a great job of demonstrating the project. The blog post is about brooches, but you could also adapt this project to make hair clips, necklaces, and more. You could even use the yarn-wrapped twig bundles to embellish decor projects like picture frames and jar candles! [how to make twig and yarn jewelry]

Project estimate:

• Twigs, on hand
• Yarn or string, on hand or $1 and up
• Glue, on hand
• Jewelry findings, on hand or $1 and up

Total: Free and up!

The post Make Twig and Yarn Jewelry appeared first on Dollar Store Crafts.

Um, it’s almost 2016? Yikes, that certainly snuck up on me quick! Luckily there is still plenty of time this week to make some cute and festive accessories for ringing in the new year, like these glittery headbands from Sarah Hearts. Whip up one for yourself, or go assembly-line-style and make up a whole batch for your entire crew! [how to make glittery New Year’s headbands]

Project estimate:

• Printable 2016 template, free
• Headbands, $1 and up
• Streamers, on hand or $1
• Paper, on hand
• Glue, on hand
• Glitter, on hand or $1

Total: $1 and up

The post Make Glittery New Years Headbands appeared first on Dollar Store Crafts.

Make fun key necklaces with old keys (or key charms), using nail polish that you already have on hand to create an enamel look. Add a chain or a ribbon to hang the keys from, and you have a quick and easy jewelry project. Find out how to make them at Live.Craft.Love: [diy key necklace]

Project Materials:

• Old keys or key charms
• Nail polish
• Ribbon or a necklace chain

The post Make Painted Key Necklaces with Nail Polish appeared first on Dollar Store Crafts.