One of our favorite flip flop crafts is the flip flop wreath, and now that summer stuff is back on the shelves it’s the perfect time to make one!  Here is my version of the flip flop wreath, embellished with fake flowers and some other summery items.

Project estimate:

• 6 pairs Flip Flops, $6
• Bubbles, on hand or $1
• Flamingo sunglasses, $1
• Lei, bracelet, and other accessories, $1 and up
• Silk ivy, $1
• Silk flowers, $1
• Sea shells, on hand or $1
• Pinwheel, $1
• Foam core board, on hand or $1
• Hot glue, on hand
• Wire or ribbon, on hand

Total: $11 and up

Arrange your flip flops in a circle and establish what size to cut your foam core. A dinner plate was the perfect size for mine.

Cut 2 circles the same size and about 2″ wide and glue them together. Add a piece of ribbon or wire for your hanger. Tie it around the circles as shown.

Position the flip flops on to the circles and generously hot glue them down, one at a time. If you overlap the heels, like I did, glue the overlapping flip flop on the circle and the flip flop next to it. You will need to hold it down until the glue cools.

Glue the Ivy leaves so that they hide any pieces of the foam core.

Add the sun glasses, bottle of bubble (emptied) and the lei so that they form a triangle. Use hot glue and hold them in place until the hot glue cools.

Add the silk flowers. Place them on the flip flops and when you decide where they are going to go, hot glue them one at a time until they are all glued.

Add the sea shells, gluing them in the area shown in the image. Apply enough glue on the edges so that it runs down onto the flip flops before it cools.

Notes:
-Hold all the items down until the hot glue cools.
-Hot glue sticks melt at 248 degrees F. Unless your flip flop wreath gets extremely hot, it will be fine.

The post Tutorial: Flip Flop Wreath appeared first on Dollar Store Crafts.

Pool noodles are back on the shelf at Dollar Tree!  There are a lot of great ideas out there for using pool noodles in crafts, including these cute luminaries by Jill at Create Craft Love.  You can even float them in the pool!  How cool is that?  They’ll be great for creating mood lighting at your summer parties!  [how to make pool noodle luminaries]

Project estimate:

• Pool noodle, $1
• Battery operated tea lights, $1 and up
• Plastic wrap, on hand or $1 and up
• Hair elastics or rubber bands, on hand or $1 and up

Total:  $2 and up

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Spring in Atlanta is overwhelmingly beautiful and painfully short. We’re already seeing temperatures in the high 80s and even the 90s, and that calls for popsicles. These popsicles put the artificially flavored, store-bought versions to shame. And some of them even have booze in them! Happy summer, y’all.

1. Bubble Tea Pops – This recipe starts with homemade nut milks as the base for these super cool pops.

2. Pineapple Jalapeno – Sweet and spicy flavors are so refreshing when temperatures spike.

3. Watermelon Margarita Pops – Summer is margarita season, and what’s better than a frozen ‘rita? A margarita pop!

4. Celery Basil – This one might sound a little bit dicey, but it’s surprisingly refreshing!

5. Fresh Fruit and Herb Coconut Pops – These healthy popsicles with big pieces of fresh fruit and whole herbs are as beautiful as they are delish.

6. Vegan Fudgsicles – Oh nothing. Just a two-ingredient fudgsicle that’s totally dairy free!

7. Whiskey Sour – Fresh cherry and apple make this boozy pop sweet, sour, and refreshing.

8. Spa Pops – This cucumber and lemon combo is like a spa day on a stick.

9. Banana Pop – You can make these as healthy or unhealthy as you want, depending on the spreads and toppings you choose.

10. All Fruit – These four-ingredient popsicles feature the best of summer’s fruit bounty.

The post 10 Popsicles to Make this Weekend appeared first on Dollar Store Crafts.

Oh hello, summer! It’s been in the mid-90s here in Atlanta, and weather like that has me wishing that my stash of sun dresses was approximately three times larger than it is. These are the sun dress tutorials I’m eying to deck out my wardrobe for the dog days ahead.

1. Pintucked A-Line – Some a simple pintucked panel turns an A-line dress into a statement piece for your summer wardrobe.

2. Color Block V-Neck – I love the modern look of this bright, cheery sun dress!

3. No-Pattern Sun Dress – Talk about simple! This sweet, gathered-waist dress looks light and sweet.

4. Pillowcase Sun Dress – Two thrift store pillowcases are all that you need to make a super sweet sun dress.

5. Tank Dress – Turn an old tank top into a vintage style sun dress.

6. Ballet Dress – I love that you can style this versatile dress for different looks all year long!

7. Vintage Circle Dress – This style of dress is flattering on any figure, and you can download a free pattern to make your own.

8. Petal Sleeve – Normally I am not a fan of sleeves in the summer, but this petal sleeved sun dress looks breezy enough to be cool, even with sleeves on.

9. Striped Maxi Dress – I love that maxi dresses are still hip, because there’s something so comfortable about a long skirt.

10. Two-Toned Maxi Dress – This maxi dress looks comfy and light. My favorite qualities in a sun dress!

The post 10 Sun Dresses to Keep Your Crafty Cool all Summer appeared first on Dollar Store Crafts.

Have you ever made your own ice cream?  It turns out you don’t need a fancy machine to do it – you just need a couple of coffee cans!  Megan at Coffee Cups ans Crayons demonstrates how surprisingly quick, simple, and fun it is to use this method.  She also has a great post about how to make ice cream in a plastic bag!  Who knew there were so many thrifty ways to DIY a frosty summer treat?  [how to make coffee can ice cream]

Project estimate:

• Small coffee can, on hand
• Large coffee can, on hand
• Duct tape, on hand
• Ice, on hand
• Rock salt, on hand or about $5 and up
• Ice cream ingredients (see link above), on hand or $1 and up

Total:  Free and up!

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Head down to the basement and unpack those Christmas lights – they’re not just for Christmas anymore!  Elise from Grow Creative turned a string of lights into a bright, colorful addition to her summer decor by adding a little tissue paper!  She achieved this particular look by using a circle punch with a scalloped edge to create her flower; try using different punches or even cutting freehand to get a variety of different looks as well.  [how to make tissue paper flower lights]

Project estimate:

• LED Christmas lights, on hand or $1 and up
• Tissue paper, on hand or $1
• Punch or scissors, on hand
• Stapler, on hand

Total:  Free and up

The post Make Tissue Paper Flower Lights 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.

Spring is one of my favorite times to shop at Dollar Tree.  I’m always amazed at the outdoor items they offer!  I like to make my backyard inviting since my family tries to spend as much time as possible outdoors before the weather gets too hot.  When I saw these adorable battery operated lanterns, I knew I wanted them to add some fun decor (and light) to a trail in my yard.  Here’s how I made hanging outdoor lanterns for cheap!

Project estimate:

The post Tutorial: Decorated Hanging Lanterns appeared first on Dollar Store Crafts.

My kids are my life. I love hanging out with them and coming up with fun things to do together.  With it being summertime we are pretty much living outside from the time we get up until we are off to bed.  I noticed the kids were starting to get a little bored lately, so I had to come up with something quick to bring the fun back into our summer.  I had a bunch of poster board in my craft room which I had purchased on a recent Dollar Store trip and I decided to make an oversized memory game out of them.  It’s been an awesome way to help with my children’s memory skills as well as help my preschooler recognize his letters.

Project estimate:

• 10 sheets poster board, on hand or 2/$1 and up
• Pencil, on hand
• Sharpies, on hand

Total: Free and up

Measuring lengthwise, find the halfway point of each sheet – mark a line all the way down the center.

Cut each piece on the line to create two pieces.  This will give you 20 cards in total.

Once you have cut all the pieces write or draw a matching item on two of the cards.  I did the alphabet to help my preschool remember and recognize his letters.  When finish you will have 10 sets.

To play, mix the cards all up and lay face down.  Leave space around the cards so your children can walk around them.

Have your children take turns flipping over two cards at a time until they have a match.  If you get a match you get another turn, but if you don’t then it is the next player’s turn.  The game continues until all the matches are made.  Have each player count up their matches and the one with the most wins.

** Funny little side note about my silly 4-year-old:  We were playing this afternoon and a big wind gust came through our yard.  Two cards got flipped over.  We told our 4-year-old God was playing and it was his turn.  He giggled.  A little while later it happened again.  He yelled up to the sky and said….God you already had your turn!  How cute is that!

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Believe it or not, this summery wreath by Randi at Sowdering About is made using only one thing: jump ropes!  The bright and playful colors make it an inviting way to greet your guests, and I love how the ends of the rope hang as a giant tassel at the bottom.  And if you get bored with the look, or when the time comes to replace it with a fall wreath at the end of the season, you can easily disassemble it and use the jump ropes for other projects!  [how to make a jump rope wreath]

Project estimate:

• Jump ropes, $4

Total: $4

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