When I saw these four packs of puzzles at Dollar Tree, I immediately thought of making my own photo puzzles.  My kids were so excited to see themselves on a puzzle!  This is a quick and easy project, and it would make a fun gift for mom on mother’s day!  I know I enjoy having play time with my kids, and puzzle time is a favorite family activity.

Project estimate:

• Puzzle, $1 for four
• Glue or decoupage medium, on hand
• Photo, on hand

Total:  $1 

To make your own custom photo puzzle:

Step one:  Cut your photo to fit the puzzle.  Flip the photo over and trace one puzzle piece at a time.

Step two:  Cut the photo into pieces.

Step three:  Use glue or decoupage medium to attach the picture to the corresponding puzzle piece.  I brushed a light layer onto the puzzle piece and then firmly pressed the photo on.

Place the pieces pieces back into the tray they came in, and it’s time to play!  As a fun alternative, you could put magnets on the back of each piece and stick them to your fridge.  Another idea is to use a greeting card image, put the pieces in an envelope, and make a unique puzzle birthday card or invitation.  Have fun crafting and creating!

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I recently purchased a wood burning tool and have been pleasantly surprised at how easy it is to use.  Basically, you hold it like a pen and just draw on a wood surface!  I practiced several times on scrap pieces of wood before making my own items to use.  Here’s a fun idea that would make a cute gift:  customized wood utensils!

Project estimate:

• Wood Utensils, $1
• Wood Burning Tool, on hand or about $10
• Stamps and ink (optional), on hand

Total:  $1 and up

To make your own personalized wood utensils:

Step one:  Choose a wood utensil with a wide handle.  I found this bamboo pair at Dollar Tree.  Plan your design.  I’m not much of an artist, so I prefer to stamp an image or word using a light colored stamp pad.  Then I can just trace it!

Step two:  Screw the desired tip on to the wood burning tool and plug it in.  When the tip is hot, hold the tool like a pen and trace over the letters.

If you’re familiar with my work, then you know I have a silly streak.  My husband helped me come up with these sayings, and I laugh every time I use these utensils.  A little humor makes dish washing more fun!

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This has to be the most customizable necklace in the world!  You can make it as long or as  short as you want, in any color scheme you want, and if you get bored with it you can do a little switching around to make it an entirely different piece!  It’s constructed in sections that are connected using key rings, making it easy to take it apart and reconfigure it  into a completely different necklace.  Wear it as a single strand  or make it long enough to wrap two or three times; make all of the sections in a similar color scheme, or go completely crazy and use different colored beads or wire for each section.  There are so many possibilities!

Project estimate:

• Chain, on hand or $1 and up
• Wire, on hand or $1 and  up
• Beads, on hand
• Jewelry pliers, on hand
• Key rings, on hand or $1 and up

Total:  Free and up

There are two different types of sections in this necklace.  The first set of sections consist of chains that were rescued from my costume jewelry collection.  Trim the chain to the desired length and attach a jump ring to each end of it.  Put a key ring on one end of each section.  The two sections on the right were made using longer sections of chain doubled over through the key ring with the loose ends held together by a jump ring.

The second set of sections were made using wire and beads.   I used random beads from my stash and some colored floral wire that  I recently picked up at Dollar Tree.

To make a section, you will need to  cut a length of wire; the amount of wire you need will depend on the size of the wire and the size and number of beads in each link.  You may need to experiment to find the proper length.  Mine were about 6 inches long to start with.   (Tip:  It’s better to cut the pieces a little long and trim off the excess than to cut them too short and have to start over!) Start by making a loop in the end of a piece of wire using round-nose jewelry pliers.  Twist the end of the wire around the bottom of the loop to close  it off.

Thread a bead onto the wire.

Twist off a loop on the other end of the wire to finish the link.

When starting the next link, remember to attach it to the first link before you twist off the first end loop, or else  you won’t be able to attach them together!

Once the loop is twisted into the end of the next link, add a bead and twist off a loop in the other end of the wire.  Continue until you’ve made the desired number of links.

Finish the section by adding a key ring to one end.

To assemble the necklace, attach the sections together end-to-end using the key rings.  Presto!   A whole bunch of necklaces all in one!

The post Make a Mix-and-Match Necklace appeared first on Dollar Store Crafts.

Super Secret Stashbuster Mich L. in LA strikes again with her tenth project! This is a great idea for those dollar store metal headbands (6 for $1!): create sliding ornaments for the headbands so you can change them out whenever you want. Mich L. shows you how to make the slidey thing so you can make as many as you want, for infinite variety in this very current trend in accessorizing! I said this at CROQ zine, but I’ll say it again: I think it’d be cool to make a bird’s nest headband as a sort of nod to the bad hair day. After I wrote that, I found a bird’s nest fascinator by Outi at Outsapop, so I guess I don’t have to actually make one since someone else already did it for me! [click here for the changeable headband tutorial]

Use any cool little doodad in your stash to make this awesome headband!

Project Estimate:

• Metal headbands, 6 for $1
• Recycled plastic, on hand
• Hole punch, on hand
• Hot glue, on hand
• Trinkets, on hand

Total: $.12 each

The post Make a Changeable Headband appeared first on Dollar Store Crafts.

Need big, fancy buttons for a project, but don’t want to pay high fashion prices for them? Hannah at knick knacks & ric rac made her own fancy buttons by combining two buttons of different sizes for a unique look.

Project Cost:

• Big Buttons: $1.25 for 2
• Small Buttons: $1.50 for 4

Total: $4 for 4 new fancy buttons, or $1 each

The post Designer Buttons, Dollar Store Price appeared first on Dollar Store Crafts.