Wedding season is almost upon us once again!  Are you or anyone you know preparing for the Big Day?  Wedding crafts are among the most popular category of dollar store crafts; when planning a wedding on a budget (and who isn’t these days?) even those who’ve never crafted a day in their lives pick up their glue guns and DIY as much as possible in the name of saving money.  We’ve rounded up some of our favorite wedding-related dollar store crafts.  Wondering what kinds of things you should look for at the dollar store for your wedding crafts?  All of these crafts involve items you can find at Dollar Tree.

[Tissue Paper]

[Balloons]

[Tissue Paper Balloon Lanterns by Kleas]

If you’re looking for an economical, DIY alternative to store-bought paper lanterns, try this easy idea incorporating balloons and tissue paper.  The resulting papier-mache-like lanterns can be customized easily by using tissue paper in your wedding colors.

[White Wedding Favor Boxes]

[Heart Favor Boxes by Shindig Parties To Go]

This project was originally made for Valentine’s Day, but it translates well to weddings!  Using colorful scrapbook paper, plain white favor boxes are transformed into festive heart favor boxes!  Replace the colors and embellishments however you see fit to make them match your wedding theme; the technique remains the same.

[All-Occasion Gift Wrap]

[Fruit Drop Candies]

[Extra Large Star Party Favors by The Cheese Thief]

These origami star favors are super economical; just a few rolls of wrapping paper is all you need to make enough for all of your guests!  Tuck hard candies or other treats inside as a special surprise for the recipients.

[Clear Cello Wrap]

[Cellophane Origami Star Garland by The Cheese Thief]

Once you’ve mastered folding origami stars, grab a roll of cello wrap and some string to make this crystal-like star garland.  Hang them alongside clear Christmas lights for a little bit of elegant sparkle!

[Silk Roses]

[Round Candle Holders]

[Rose Votive Candle Holders by Two Crafty Mules]

Don’t know what to do with all of those silk flowers in the craft department at Dollar Tree?  If you can find roses in the right colors for your wedding, make rose votive holders!  Look for glass candle holders that are rounded to make a nicely-shaped flower.

[Serving Trays]

[Taper Candle Holders]

[Colorful Tiered Trays by Joy’s Hope]

Tiered trays are one of the most popular varieties of dollar store craft.  This variation, assembled from serving trays and candlesticks, uses spray paint to add a pop of color.  (If you use paint that is not food-safe, make sure you do not place food items directly on the trays; use a barrier such as cocktail napkins or cupcake liners to keep your guests safe!)

[Crepe Paper Streamers]

[Crepe Paper Flower Corsages by Under the Table and Dreaming]

Let’s not forget one of the handmade goodies you will need for members of your wedding party and for distinguished guests: corsages!  While crepe paper streamers are a party decorating staple, fashioning them into frilly flowers is a twist you might not have considered!

What are your favorite wedding crafts using dollar store items?

Disclosure:  This post is sponsored by DollarTree.com.  All opinions are 100% my own.

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Do you have extra wrapping paper laying around?  I always end up with partial rolls left over after buying them to wrap one gift; a friend’s wedding, a coworker’s baby shower, or some other occasion comes and goes and my wrapping paper collection grows and grows.  Short of wrapping everything in sight, how do you use up some of that stash that’s lurking at the back of your closet?  Rena from The Cheese Thief used long, skinny strips of wrapping paper to fold origami stars that she filled with treats, making fun and super-duper cheap party favors.  Even if you have to go out and buy paper, you can make dozens of these in any theme for just a few bucks!  [how to make extra large star party favors]

Project estimate:

• Wrapping paper, on hand or $1
• Treats, $1 and up

Total:  $1 and up

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These are actually the exact same dress-shaped favor boxes that I used for my wedding.  However, the ones that The Crafting Rebel fancied up over at Crafting Rebellion are far more fabulous!  By adding some pretty scrapbook paper and a few embellishments, she transformed them from nondescript, wedding-specific favors into flashy treat holders worthy of any girly occasion.  I think my favorite part is the tiny wire hangers!  [how to give dollar store favor boxes a fancy makeover]

Project estimate:

• Wedding dress favor boxes, $1
• Paper, on hand
• Wire, on hand or $1
• Ribbon, on hand
• Embellishments, on hand
• Glue, on hand

Total:  $1 and up

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When paper artist Sandy Ang sent me an e-mail and I first saw the pictures of these paper shoes, I fell in love!  How much fun would it be to do these in your wedding colors and use them as favor boxes at your bridal shower, or even your reception?  Or they would be perfect for for girly birthday parties, or a bachelorette party, or a moms-night-out gathering.   Sandy used hers to give a gift!

Make Paper Shoe Favor Boxes

By Sandy Ang (angsandy.blogspot.com)

Beautiful shoes fascinate me. When I wanted to give a friend a brooch, I created this paper shoe as the ‘packaging’ . It is based off of Salvatore Ferragamo’s shoe patent. The sexiness of these mules is largely due to the shape of Ferragamo’s sole with that nipped-in, elongated ‘waist’. Their sense of realism is imparted through the right and left sided-ness of sole.

Project estimate:

• Paper, on hand
• Ribbon, on hand or $1
• Plastic sheet (such as the clear package from deli packages), on hand
• Label stickers, on hand or $1 and up
• Glue, on hand

Total: Free and up

1.  Print out this template in A4 size and cut out.  (Click image to enlarge).  Trace the template onto your paper. 

(Tip: to make a pair of shoes, trace one set of pattern pieces, then flip the template so that it is face-down and trace a second set.)

2.  Glue the tabs of the upper to the sole.

3.  Glue the sole piece without the heel to the bottom of the heeled sole piece.

4.  Glue the tabs on the final piece along the sides of the heel.

The shoe shape is complete but is spread out too long and the toe piece does not lie flat.

5.  Bring the heel and bottom of sole closer together, leaving only a 2 inch gap between them.  Cut a strip of clear, stiff plastic and glue it to both the bottom of the heel and bottom of the toe.

6.  Add some with some ribbon or other embellishments.  I pinned on the gift brooch, or you can tuck favors into the toes of the shoes.  If it’s a gift, add a sticker labeled with the recipient’s name.

(Tip:  To make sure small, loose items don’t fall out of the toes of the shoes, wrap them in tissue paper!)

And there you have your pair of paper shoes!

Sandy Ang is an artist and paper crafter from sunny little Singapore.  She loves making cards, art projects, and paper construction items.  If you enjoyed this project, hop on over to her blog for more of her work and tutorials!

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No party is complete without favors.  If you’re throwing a bash for St. Patrick’s Day, check out these sweet little leprechaun hat favor boxes.  They were designed by Jeromina of Paper, Plate, and Plane and posted on Canadian Living. Always one with an eye for innovative use of materials, she used something you’ve likely never considered as a craft supply to create adorable green derby hats that are perfect for stuffing full of gold coins or other goodies.  [how to make leprechaun hat favor boxes][check out Jeromina’s blog]

Project estimate:

• Round plastic disposable food containers, $1 and up
• Green paint, on hand or $1 and up
• Black ribbon, on hand or $1 and up
• Double-sided tape, on hand
• Paper, on hand

Total:  $1 and up

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Whether you are planning Christmas dinner for your immediate family or you’re entertaining a party of 100,  favor boxes of candy or small gifts are a fun addition to your place settings.  Continuing with our series of post about printables, we bring you a snowflake favor box.  Just print, cut out, fold along the lines, and apply a small amount of adhesive to the tabs.  It is designed with an interlocking bottom that gives it enough strength and stability to hold heavier items. [click here to download the snowflake box template]

Project Materials:

• 1 sheet of card stock, on hand
• Printer, on hand
• Scissors or craft knife, on hand
• Cutting mat or kitchen cutting board, on hand
• Craft glue, on hand
• Free printable snowflake box template, on hand

Total: FREE

The snowflake box printable is in black and white and intended to be printed on colored cardstock.  This was done with cost in mind; color ink gets more and more expensive every time I go out to buy a replacement cartridge!  Cheapster sidenote: be sure to switch your printer to “black ink only” when you print it to conserve your color ink.

You could also print the template out on white cardstock and color in the snowflakes with colored pencil, markers, or watercolor paints.  Add sparkle to your favor boxes by gluing glitter or gemstones (or both!)  to the snowflakes.

What can you put in these boxes?  Here are some ideas:

• Candy
• Small Christmas ornaments
• Votive or tealight candles
• Jewelry
• Lip balm
• Small toys

To Make:

Print template on cardstock, and cut out using a craft knife and cutting surface (self-healing cutting mat or regular kitchen cutting board). Alternately, use scissors to cut along the outer line.

Fold according to lines.

Glue tab to side of box, and fold bottom tabs. Fold square tabs first, then insert triangular tabs.

You could also use the cut-out template as… a template. Trace it onto recycled cardboard (like cereal boxes) to make nifty recycled gift boxes.

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Make a Pyramid Box Tree by Sheri Stevenson, ChildMadeTutorials.com

For many years now, (I think 13?) I’ve been working with my church to put together our annual Family Christmas Workshop. This is a make-n-take outreach event in which we provide the prepared materials for 300-500 each of 28-30 different crafts. Kids of all ages come and spend 3 hours making crafts of their choice and working at their own pace (though that’s usually warp speed because they want to do as many as possible.) It’s a blast! And they leave with a boxful of treasures! The dollar stores have been an invaluable asset for this event, my favorite store being Dollar Tree. As long as you can think outside the box, there are treasures galore! And for us, with a budget of less than 75 cents per craft, it’s essential!

Dollar Tree carries packages of pyramid favor boxes, though they’re easier to find in the spring. It comes in a package of 5 for $1, mixed gold and silver. We were going to make a Christmas snack, but decided the box was too pretty to use for food packaging that would be thrown away afterwards. So we made it into a Christmas tree instead…

Project Materials:

• 1 pyramid favor box (package of 5 for $1)
• 18″ narrow ribbon ($1 for a roll of 3 yards)
• 1 gold star for the top of the tree (or tie a bow with the extra ribbon) on hand
• 18″ string bead garland or light garland ($1)
• 18″ fancy yarn ($1 per skein)
• 1 clothespin (on hand)
• gold paint (optional)
• glue

Total: $4 for 5, and the price gets cheaper the more you make.

Prepare your supplies. If you’d like, use the gold paint for the star and the clothespin.

Begin by sealing the top (bottom) of the favor box.

Glue the bead garland to the bottom corner of the box. Begin winding the garland around the box.

Wrap the garland around the tree to the top, spot gluing as needed.

Repeat the process with the ribbon, going in the alternate direction.

Repeat again with the piece of yarn.

Add the star to the top of the tree, at an angle to the box.

Glue the clothespin to the bottom. That’s it! Now it’s ready to clip onto the tree.

I think one of my favorite areas in the store is the wedding section. Ironically, I’ve never purchased anything from there for an actual wedding. I thought I’d share a few examples of things we’ve done the past couple of years using items you can find amongst the wedding supplies.

Next year, we have plans to do an angel with the same favor box ….

Another favorite for the last several years is the little white pails. They come in a package of 3 for $1. This year we did a snowman hot tub, with snowmen made from glove fingers…

In previous years, we’ve also done a snowman treat pail…

… and a doggie treat pail, complete with dog biscuits (or you could use Scooby snack graham cookies too)…

They also carried some fabric favor bags that were very lovely with jewel trim on the bottom, in a package of 4 for $1. Stuffed with a little gift packaging shreds, these ultimately became a sachet angel ornament…

The little folded gift bags seem to have endless uses for us, especially at a package of 12 for $1! We’ve made them into little gift bags to hold the earring craft they made…

This year, we decorated them up and made a “real” doggie bag, complete with yummy dog treats…

But really, the seem to be an endless blank canvas…

These ideas listed come from just one small area of the store. But when we’re preparing for our event, there isn’t an area of the store that we don’t check for possibilities. The chip clips are another of my favorite at 3 for $1. But there’s also socks and gloves and doilies and clothes pins and … well, a whole store of potential.

I hope you try a few of these yourself. You can find the material lists and instructions at childmade.com or at my blog.

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