What better way to preserve the memory of your beach vacation this summer than bringing a little piece of the beach home with you?  The beach is a treasure trove of tiny shells, rocks, and bits of glass; gather up some of these itty bitty pretties and use them to make your very own beach-in-a-bottle necklace.  (Not headed to the beach any time soon?  You can also buy small shells from the dollar store to fill your necklace!)

Project estimate:

• Small bottles with corks, $1
• Small seashells, on hand or $1
• Eye screw, on hand or $1
• Resin or clear nail polish, on hand or $1 and up
• Super glue (gel type), on hand or $1
• Ribbon or string, on hand or $1
• Sand or salt, on hand

Total: $1 and up

Make sure your bottle is completely clean.  Add the sand (or salt if you do not have clean sand on hand) and seashell(s).  Slowly add the resin or clear nail polish with your bottle sitting on a level surface.  Let your bottle sit in a warm, dust-free place to dry.  (This may take up to several days.) If you are using salt it may absorb some of the liquid, so you may need to add a little bit more after the first round dries.

Screw the eye hook in the top of the cork. Remove it carefully, put a drop or two of super glue in the hole it created and screw the eye hook back in place.

Put the cork back in the bottle and note where the cork touches the bottle.  Add a generous amount of super glue to that area of the cork and put it back in the bottle so that it fits snugly.

Put a ribbon through the eye hook and tie a knot at the hook, to cover it. Tie another knot at the end of the ribbons and slip it over your head to wear.

The post Tutorial: Seashell in a Bottle Necklace appeared first on Dollar Store Crafts.

Around our house we recycle as much as possible, but some things still find their way to the garbage can instead – for instance, only #1 and #2 plastics are accepted at the recycling center. Save some of that waste from the landfill by using clear plastic containers to create faux stained glass suncatchers! They are as easy to make as they are pretty to look at.

Project estimate:

• Nail polish, on hand or $1 and up
• Clear plastic packaging, on hand
• 4″ Brass ring, $1 and up
• Fishing line, on hand or $1 and up
• Pattern, free

Total:  $1 and up!

First you will need to find at print a pattern to use.  If you do a Google image search for “stained glass pattern” you will see thousands to choose from!

Clean the plastic and dry with a paper towel.

Using double stick tape, attach the pattern to the underside of the plastic. If your piece of plastic doesn’t lay completely flat, tape it to your work surface so that it does.

Patterns vary but you will want to use the same technique. Start by outlining your pattern and allow it to dry.

To avoid brush marks when filling solid areas, apply excess nail polish. Load the brush and dab it in the center of your design. Take the brush and push the polish so that it meets the outline. Dab on more paint if needed. (Note: I used clear nail polish on the clear areas.)

Once you have filled in all the sections and they are dry, go over the outline again. If, when held to the light, you have areas that didn’t reach the outline, it is easier to make the outline wider.

Once you are finished and the paint is dry, glue the brass ring to the plastic. I glued 1/2 of the ring and once it was secure, I lifted it away from the plastic and glued the rest. Using a sharp cutting tool, cut as close to the ring as possible. Using a pin, make two small holes at the top and close to the inside of the ring and add your fishing line to hang it.

The post Tutorial: Faux Stained Glass Suncatcher appeared first on Dollar Store Crafts.

I bet when you see a bag of plastic bugs at the dollar store, “pretty” isn’t one of the first words to come to mind.  That is, unless you are Heather!  She elevated a plastic bee with a sparkly makeover, turning it into a trendy necklace.  After you watch this video, you will want to figure out what other ways you can turn blingy bugs into fabulous jewelry!

Project estimate:

• Plastic bugs, $1
• Nail polish, on hand or $1
• Glitter, on hand or $1
• Mod Podge, on hand
• Jump rings, on hand
• Chain, on hand or $1 and up

Total:  $1 and up

Paint the bee with nail polish.

Sprinkle glitter over the nail polish.

Paint over the glitter with Mod Podge and let dry.

Punch holes in the wings with a small hole punch.

Attach the bee to a chain using jump rings.

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

Liven up your windows for spring with a bright, cheerful suncatcher made from a glass plate!  It’s inspired by stained glass, but unlike actual stained glass this project doesn’t require any special tools or skills.

Project estimate:

• Glass plate, $1
• Assorted nail polish, on hand
• Double-sided tape, on hand or $1
• E6000 glue, on hand
• Hanger, on hand or $1
• Nail polish remover or rubbing alcohol, on hand
• Pattern, free (search “stained glass patterns” for thousands of them!)

Total:  $1 and up

Clean the face of the plate with nail polish remover or rubbing alcohol and let dry.

Using the double-sided tape, stick the pattern to the underside of the plate. Remember that you will be adding a hook so make sure your pattern covers that area.

Patterns vary but you will want to use the same technique. Outline your pattern and allow to dry.

Then fill in the outlined areas.  To avoid brush marks, apply excess nail polish. Load the brush and dab it in the center of your design, in this case, one of the wing sections. Take the brush and push the polish so that it meets the outline. Dab on more paint if needed.

Once you have filled in all the sections and they are dry, go over the outline again. If, when held to the light, you have areas that didn’t reach outline, it is easier to make the outline wider.

Clean the area where you’re putting the hanger with nail polish remover and let dry. Apply E6000 to the plate and place the hanger on top of it. Hold the hanger in place with something heavy any let dry overnight. (I used the tip of my wire cutters)

The post Tutorial: Glass Plate Suncatcher 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.

Valentine’s Day is right around the corner- and if you’re anything like me, that means lots of cute themed nail designs to celebrate the season. These adorable minion themed nails are not only incredibly easy, but quite the conversation starter as well. If you’re looking for a simple Valentine’s Day design, check out these heart nails from last year. With a bit of creativity and patience, you too can achieve these cute nails!

Project estimate:

• Light pink polish, on hand or $1 and up
• Dark pink polish, on hand or $1 and up
• Silver polish, on hand or $1 and up
• White polish, on hand or $1 and up
• Black polish, on hand or $1 and up
• Topcoat, on hand or $1 and up
• Toothpick/brush for detail work, on hand
• Dotting tool (bobby pins work), on hand

Total:  Free and up!

1. Apply two coats of light pink polish. Let dry for 3-5 minutes.

2. Using a detail brush (or toothpick) and the dark pink polish, create rectangular shapes at the tip of the nail.

3. With the same dark pink, add diagonal lines extending from the corners to the edge of the nail.

4. Create a thin, black line near the base of your nail- try to make it as straight as possible, a brush works best.

5. To form the minion’s eyes, dip your dotting tool into a silver polish and create two even circles on the black line.

6. With white polish, form smaller circles within the silver circles- a bobby pin works well for this step.

7. To complete the eyes, add small black dots inside the white circles. For added character & personality, try to place the dots in different directions & different angles.

8. With a small brush or toothpick and the black polish, form a slightly curved line underneath the eyes to create the smile.

9. For a little extra fun- decorate the minion’s pants! I added polka dots, hearts, buttons, etc. to give it a little sass and it turned out super cute. Get creative with it and give your minions some personality.

10. Once you allow the design to dry for 5-10 minutes, finish it off with a topcoat to seal in your awesome work.

Megan blogs about makeup, nails, learning how to look great on a budget and keeping up with the latest styles at her site razberriez.com. She is the fingernail fashion contributor for Dollar Store Crafts.

The post Tutorial: Despicable Me Inspired Valentine Nails appeared first on Dollar Store Crafts.

The holiday season is here and you know what that means- fluffy white snow, glittery tinsel, and lots of hot cocoa! These adorable (& super easy) reindeer nails are the perfect way to get in the holiday spirit for for sure- not to mention how incredibly easy they are. With a few simple steps, some patience, and a bit of practice- you too can rock some fabulous reindeer nail art!

For more great nail art tutorials, visit me at Razberriez.com!

Project estimate:

• Red polish, on hand or $1 and up
• White polish, on hand or $1 and up
• Light brown polish, on hand or $1 and up
• Dark brown polish, on hand or $1 and up
• Black polish, on hand or $1 and up
• Red glitter (optional), on hand or $1
• Topcoat, on hand or $1 and up
• Toothpick and or striping brush for designs, on hand

Free and up!

Let’s get started!

Step 1: Apply two coats of your favorite white polish. Let dry for 5 minutes.

Step 2: Using a light brown polish, create half-circles on the tip of the nail. This will act as the reindeer’s head.

Step 3: Drop a small amount of the same light brown onto a piece of paper and place small “ears” on the sides of the head using a toothpick. Make sure they are evenly spaced.

Step 4: Using the same method, drop your dark brown polish onto a small piece of paper. Starting at the top of the head, draw one brown line straight up and one line angled. These are the beginnings of the “antlers“.

Step 5: Dip your toothpick into the brown polish again and this time add small dashes jutting out from the antlers.

Step 6: Time to give this reindeer some eyes! Using the white nail polish and add two even dots in the upper part of the head. *tip: bobby pins work great for creating dots/eyes!*

Step 7: Add smaller black dots inside of the white dots, to create pupils (this also adds character, depending on placement).

Step 8: Create a smaller half circle with red polish and top it off with glittery red! You now have Rudolph’s red-nose. Let this dry for 5-10 minutes to prevent smearing.

Step 9: Apply a coat of your favorite topcoat & your design is complete!

Megan blogs about makeup, nails, learning how to look great on a budget and keeping up with the latest styles at her site razberriez.com. She is the fingernail fashion contributor for Dollar Store Crafts.

The post Tutorial: Reindeer Nail Art appeared first on Dollar Store Crafts.

You’ve probably seen a marbled manicure before – they’re all over Pinterest – but did you know that you can also use the same technique to give a marbled finish to nearly anything? True story! I decided to try marbling some dollar store ornaments, with varying degrees of success. Watch the video below to see my attempts (bloopers included!), or keep scrolling to read more and see the project in photos.

Project estimate:

• Nail polish, on hand or $1 and up
• Christmas ornaments, $1 and up
• Container for water, on hand

Total: $1 and up!

The process itself is pretty straightforward: Fill a container with water, then drizzle a few colors of polish over the surface and use a toothpick or skewer to swirl the colors together. Then you dunk the item you’re marbling into the water and the nail polish adheres to the surface – when you remove the item from the water it should have a marbled pattern on it.

Make sure you remove any leftover polish from the surface of the water between each item you marble!

Sounds simple, right? Well, as I found out, there was definitely some trial-and-error involved to get it to come out just right! Make sure you watch the video to see all of my fails, and hopefully you can learn from my mistakes. After multiple tries I finally got results that, while not all perfect, were good enough to hang on the tree.

Have you ever tried mail polish marbling before? Share any tips you may have in the comments below!

The post Tutorial: Nail Polish Marbled Ornaments appeared first on Dollar Store Crafts.

I love nail art.  But – and this is a really big but – I am generally not patient, coordinated, and artistic enough to pull off a nail art manicure on my own.  I recently saw a really cute video tutorial for watermelon nails and, while fairly basic compared to many other nail art tutorials I’ve seen, it still felt like it was a little beyond my skill level.  Taking that idea as inspiration, I decided to simplify the design down to more of a nail-art-for-dummies level.  I even managed to use my extremely clumsy left hand to paint this design on my own right hand – if it’s easy enough for me to have left-handed success, anyone can do it, I promise!

Project estimate:

• Nail polish, on hand or $1 and up
• Toothpick, on hand
• Top coat, on hand or $1 and up

Total:  $1 and up

Colors I used:

• Pink – Essie, Off the Shoulder
• Green – LA Girl Color Pop, Peacock
• Black – Sally Hansen Complete Salon Manicure, Pat on the Black

Start by painting a base coat of color on your nails.  Paint your thumb and pinkie nails green, and paint the middle three nails pink.  Let your nails dry.

To add the seeds, make a drop of black nail polish on one of your pink nails.  Use the tip of a toothpick to “pull” one edge of the polish outward to a point, creating a seed-like shape.  Repeat on your other pink nails.  (I chose to leave an accent nail on one hand without a seed on it.)

After the seeds dry, apply a topcoat to seal them and make the design last longer.  I decided to give this matte topcoat a try and I love the effect it gives – try different topcoats for different finished looks!

I love how my nails turned out!

The post Summer Nail Art: Watermelon Manicure appeared first on Dollar Store Crafts.

Celebrate spring with an easy and inexpensive floral statement necklace inspired by one from Kate Spade that is no longer available.

This necklace can be made quickly made from silk flowers, fingernail polish and ribbon.

Project estimate:

• Silk flowers, $1 and up
• Needle and thread (or 6 small jump rings), on hand
• Mod Podge, on hand
• 6 small washers (optional), on hand
• Paint or nail polish, on hand
• Sealer spray (optional), on hand or about $2 and up
• Ribbon, on hand or $1
• Glue, on hand

Total: $1 and up

Sad silk flowers seem to be abundant and neglected in thrift stores so y0u can be earth-friendly and reuse them. Or you can pick up a bunch for only a dollar at Dollar Tree. Look for flowers with closely bunched petals like mums or ranunculus.

Remove the flowers from the stems.

Pick out a mix of small, medium and large flowers.  Optional: Try out some small washers on the back of the flowers to give the necklace some weight. Tip: Glue them on after you Mod Podge the flowers.

Position the flowers. Using needle and thread, sew the petals to each other where the flowers connect. Or make small holes in the petals and attach with jump rings.

Put the flowers in a disposable tray. (I used an old takeout container.) Liberally douse with Mod Podge. You can use a paintbrush to push Mod Podge between the petals of the flowers.

Allow to dry completely on wax paper or a Mod Podge non-stick mat.  Then glue on your washers if using.

If your flowers have color, paint first with white paint or fingernail polish and allow to dry. This will let your final color really pop. For my top coat, I used a mix of yellow and red stencil paint I had on hand that I mixed to become orange.

After the paint dries, you can spray your flowers with a sealer. I used a glossy sealer to give my flowers a lacquer look.

Cut two pieces of ribbon, burn the edges to prevent fraying and glue to each end of the necklace.

The post Tutorial: Floral Statement Necklace appeared first on Dollar Store Crafts.