So, you are wandering around a yard sale or thrift store, or past a clearance shelf at a box store, and you see a beautiful throw pillow.  And it’s CHEAP.  Cheaper than what you’d pay for that beautiful fabric it’s made of if you were to head to the craft store to buy it.  But it doesn’t really match your decor.  Or maybe you just don’t need yet another throw pillow (goodness knows that is my husband’s answer).  Next time this happens, don’t walk away – instead, buy it and turn it into a cute tote bag like this one from Amber at Damask Love.  Brilliant!  [how to make a throw pillow tote bag]

Project estimate:

• Throw pillow, $1 and up
• Rope, on hand or $1 and up
• Embroidery floss, on hand or $1 and up
• Large eyelets or grommets, about $3 and up
• Fabric glue, on hand or $1 and up
• Hot glue, on hand

Total: about $4 and up

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If you take off your rings to put on lotion, take a shower, or do the dishes, where do you put them?  A ring holder is a great way to make sure your rings don’t get misplaced during these times.  The ever-so-resourceful Mich L in L.A. whipped up these fancy ring holders using some mismatched drawer knobs she had in her stash paired with those rubber chair tips that are usually used to avoid scratching the floor.  If you’ve recently replaced old drawer hardware in your house, this is a great way to get new life out of the old knobs!  [how to make an upcycled drawer knob ring holder]

Project estimate:

• Drawer knob, on hand or $1 and up
• Rubber chair tips, $1 and up
• Wire, on hand or $1
• Beads, on hand or $1 and up

Total:  $1 and up

The post Make an Upcycled Drawer Knob Ring Holder appeared first on Dollar Store Crafts.

Green and recycled crafts are kind of my specialty. Any time you can turn a can destined for the recycling bin a into a cute and useful item for your home is a win all around! Maiko from Maiko Nagao makes it easy: she even provides you with a free printable to help make your cans cute for free! [how to make tin can desk organizers]

Project estimate:

• Empty can, on hand
• Free printable from Maiko Nagao, free
• Scissors, on hand
• Tape, on hand

Total: Free!

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I started wearing glasses in the fourth grade.  Over two decades later, I’ve gone through a lot of pairs of specs, whether it be from my prescription changing or from mangling them by walking into walls and such.  (My dad jokes that they should have named me Grace!)  Any pairs that were id decent shape I donated to a local group who uses the frames to provide glasses to the needy, but it never occurred to me to save the lenses for crafty purposes!  Agy at Green Issues used them in a way that made my jaw drop by wrapping them in wire and turning them into stylish pendants!  If you don’t have any old pairs laying around to dissect, check the dollar store for a pair of cheap reading glasses!  [how to make a glasses lens pendant]

Project estimate:

• Glasses, on hand or $1
• Wire, on hand or $1
• Jump rings, on hand
• Chain, on hand or $1

Total:  Free and up

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Happy Cinco de Mayo!  If you find yourself hosting party guests today, here is a fun favor idea that they will love!  Meg at Mega Crafty found an innovative way to make a miniature piñata – using plastic eggs left over from Easter!  They make piñatas just the perfect size for an individual serving of candy, and they are quicker to make than using more traditional  methods so you can whip out enough for all of your guests in a pretty short time.  You could even personalize them so that they double as placecards!  [how to make recycled Easter egg mini piñatas]

Project estimate:

• Plastic Easter eggs, on hand or $1
• Paper, on hand
• Glue, on hand
• Candy, on hand or $1 and up

Total:  Free and up

The post Recycle Easter Eggs into Mini Piñatas appeared first on Dollar Store Crafts.

Earth Day is tomorrow!  Are you planning any recycled craft projects to celebrate?  This green project by Nicole at Shabby Beach Nest uses a couple of upcycled elements: an empty bottle and plastic spoons.  She fashioned the bright spoons into a flower to draw in the hummingbirds; would you have known they were spoons?  The project requires just one specialty item, a hummingbird feeder tube that she purchased online.  The rest of the materials you can round up in a snap!  [how to make a recycled bottle and plastic spoon hummingbird feeder]

Project estimate:

• Empty bottle, on hand
• Colorful plastic spoons, $1
• Hummingbird feeder tube, about $4
• Glue, on hand
• Candle, on hand
• Chain, on hand or $1 and up

Total:  about $4 and up

The post Make a Recycled Bottle and Plastic Spoon Hummingbird Feeder appeared first on Dollar Store Crafts.

If you’ve ever checked out the forks at the dollar store, you’ve probably noticed that they generally aren’t the sturdiest cutlery in the world.  But if you’re looking for a project that requires bending a fork, they are absolutely perfect!  Stacie from Stars for Streetlights made a great video tutorial showing how to coax and bend a utensil into a unique accessory.  They would be awesome gifts for the fashionistas in your life!  [how to make a fork bracelet]

Project estimate:

• Forks, $1
• Pliers, on hand
• Heavy fabric, on hand

Total:  $1

The post Make a Fork Bracelet appeared first on Dollar Store Crafts.

I found this vintage hardcover book with a bear attacking frontiersman, perfect for my netbookbook. This tidy cover can cleverly conceal your netbook to look like any other book in your library, here’s a short video showing the cover in action:

I know you want a sweet vintage cover just like this one, follow along and make your own!

tools + materials

• hobby knife
• epoxy
• needle + thread
• hard cover book [thrift store ~ $2.00]
• long zipper (like from an old jacket or zip-up file folder) [$1.00]
• netbook computer (on hand)

total: $3.00

First, find an old hardcover book that will not be missed. You can usually find old books that are being discarded at your local library or school. I found this old hardcover book at a thrift store for about $2.00.

Make sure the book you chose is slightly larger than your netbook in all dimensions (width, depth and height). My netbook measures 260mm(w)x184mm(d)x30mm(h) [10.25″x7.25″x1.25″], the pictures show how much room I had left around the netbook when comparing it to the hardcover book. You want a snug fit, so try and find a book that closely matches your netbook.

I found a zip-up file folder which was much larger than my netbook and hardcover book at the Dollar Store. If you can’t find a medium length zipper like this you can always use the zipper from an old jacket.
Rip seams and remove zipper from the donor item.
Your zipper chain may have an unobstructed end once it’s removed from whatever it was in. It’s important to terminate the exposed zipper ends before doing any more work otherwise the slider may zip off the exposed end, once it slides off the chain it’s almost impossible to get it back on again.

To terminate your zipper ends simple fold the end 25mm [1″] of the zipper edges (called the zipper tape) back onto itself and sew a few stitches to hold it in place, repeat on other side of tape so both sides have been terminated.

Most laptops have feet on the bottom to raise the underside from whatever surface it will be resting on, this gap allows for increaded air circulation around vent openings and helps keep your laptop from overheating while in use. In addition to this gap for air circulation my laptop model also has the battery compartment protruding out along the entire lower back edge.

To accommodate for the vent openings and protruding battery compartment I cut through the backside of the book is select areas. This allows the book to be tightly shut, without buckling around any protrusions and allows the laptop to stay cool even though it’s almost completely covered.

Place your laptop on the book (minding the orientation), mark the openings with a pencil and then cut out with a sharp hobby knife.

After all the openings have been made it’s time to install the zipper. The easiest way I found was to glue down each edge and leaving the corners until last.

Glue one side at a time and allow the glue to cure between sides.
With the zipper closed, start by gluing down one end of the zipper to the inside edge of the book spine. The, progressively work around each side of the book and terminate the extra zipper length at the end inside the book spine. The extra length can be trimmed later. Allow the glue to cure.
Unzip the zipper and repeat the gluing process for the other side of the book.
Let epoxy glue cure overnight.

Once the epoxy has set it’s time to deal with the inside corners. Create a pleat on each corner and apply epoxy, you may need to rest a weight on the corners to ensure they cure lying flat. I used a plastic grocery bag as a barrier between the wet epoxy and the weight I used, removing the plastic after about an hour allowing the glue to set without bonding to the plastic barrier.
Repeat for all corners on both sides.

Scraps of fabric from the zip-up binder were used to create screen lifters inside the book. These lifters will allow the laptop screen to be opened when the book is opened, allowing ease of accessibility in one motion instead of two. Scraps were dry fitted around top edge of laptop screen and checked to ensure operation both when the screen was open and closed. Epoxy glue was applied to straps and all glue was allowed to cure overnight.

Trim excess zipper if required.

Your netbookbook should now be ready to bring out to the coffee shop, or hide in your bookcase somewhere (if you’re so inclined). My book has a battle scene between a fearsome bear and a brave frontiersman, I’m sure this shows everyone at the coffee shop that I’ve obviously tangled with bears before and am not someone to be messed with.

Have fun!

The post Man Crafts: netbook book cover appeared first on Dollar Store Crafts.

DSC Readers help! I have a million little baby washcloths from my kids, who have outgrown them. I hate to throw them out. What can I do with them?? I thought of beanbags but that’s boring. I want something cute! Ideas?? Thanks!!

My quick baby washcloth craft ideas:

Washcloth Duckies at Martha Stewart: these are made from baby washcloths and stuffed with sponges to make them bath-friendly toys.

Washcloth Bibs at Gracious Rain: These are made from baby washcloths and recycled t-shirts.

Washcloth puppets at Martha: another great idea from Martha’s clever crafts team.

So readers, what can you come up with? What can you make with baby washcloths?

The post Question: What to do with Baby Washcloths? appeared first on Dollar Store Crafts.

Ideally, I would have a completely different set of accessories to go with every outfit.  I’m not one of those people who can’t wear the same thing twice (heck, sometimes I’ll even wear the same thing twice in a week), but I like having lots and lots of options!   If your wardrobe is in need of an accessory infusion, there are lots of ways you can create something chic for next to nothing.  Over at Everyday Mom Ideas, Jennifer from The Wayman Family Nest shares three fabulous pieces of jewelry out of some random odds and ends that you probably already have laying around already; if not, you can round up the goods for just a few bucks.  One of her creations is this great neck tie bib necklace, made using a tie she stole (er, I mean “borrowed”) from her hubby.  It’s a nice twist on the menswear-for-women look, and its shape makes me think of a windy day!  [how to make a recycled tie bib necklace]

Project estimate:

• Neck tie, on hand or $1 and up
• Straight pins, on hand
• Needle and thread, on hand
• Button, on hand

Total:  Free and up

The post Make a Recycled Tie Bib Necklace appeared first on Dollar Store Crafts.