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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You can make this cute tea light Christmas ornament for as little as two dollars!

Our ever-so-crafty DSC Facebook community moderator, Terrie, is with us once again today to share how she made this cute tea light ornament – and it’s super easy! If you enjoy this project, make sure your join the community to see tons more great ideas like this one!

Project estimate:

• Gold glitter glue, on hand or $1
• Glass tea light holders, 2 for $1
• Glittery battery-operated tealights, 2 for $1
• Tinsel pipe cleaners, on hand or $1

Total:  $2 and up

Paint the glass tea light holder with the glitter glue. Use a thin coat and if you want more sparkle either add glitter or paint several more thin coats.

Glue the ends of the pipe cleaner to make the handle.

***IMPORTANT***  Glue the pipe cleaner to each side of the glass tea light holder. If you don’t, your holder will tip over.

Turn the candle on and hang from your Christmas tree… Enjoy!

The post Tutorial: Tea Light Christmas Ornament appeared first on Dollar Store Crafts.

Battery-operated tea light candles are a great alternative to the real thing, but they also allow you to use them in ways that you can’t with regular candles.  These sweet little snowmen by Shaunte at Craft Unleashed are a great example of a use for them that is totally outside the box!  You could even give them as gifts, working them into your gift wrapping for an extra special presentation.  And with the tea lights also coming in various different colors nowadays, you could also use this concept to create all kinds of fun little fridge creatures with light-up noses!  [how to make light-up snowman magnets]

Project estimate:

• Project estimate:
• LED tea lights, on hand or $1
• Miniature hat and scarf set, about $1
• Black beads or gems, on hand or $1 and up
• Glue, on hand
• Magnets, on hand or $1 and up

Total:  about $1 and up

The post Make Light-Up Snowman Magnets appeared first on Dollar Store Crafts.

I love fancy candles and candle holders, so much so that I could easily spend a small fortune amassing a collection.  But why spend a ton of cash when you can take the DIY route for so much cheaper?  Over at Crafts Unleashed, Angie whipped up some punched paper candle wraps that look fancy and expensive, but you can recreate them for as little as a dollar!  She used LED tea light candles tucked inside of wax sleeves that make them look like pillar candles; Dollar Tree sometimes carries battery-operated pillar candles that would also work great for this project.  [how to make punched paper candle wraps]

Project estimate:

• Paper, on hand
• Punches, on hand or $1 and up
• LED pillar candle (or LED tea light and wax candle sleeve), $1 and up
• Tape, on hand

Total:  $1 and up

The post Make Punched Paper Candle Wraps appeared first on Dollar Store Crafts.

Camilla from Family Chic (a consistent source of great ideas) invented these fabulous glowing orbs to use as mood lighting on the table. They are flameless, and therefore kid-friendly. Camilla writes:

If you’ve ever had a group of kids sitting around your dinner table – you know that candles are not a practical or safe option. However, I am a believer that children appreciate the same details that adults enjoy so I try to create interesting lighting options for the table that are child-friendly.

While they look extremely modern, these lights are cleverly made with common dollar store items. They would be fun for a fancy dinner, or a great Halloween decoration. Find out how to make them (and wow your family), at Family Chic. [how to make blob lights]

Project Estimate:

• Battery-operated tea lights, 2 for $1
• Balloons, on hand or $1

Total: $1 and up

The post Make Glowing Orb Lights appeared first on Dollar Store Crafts.

Nela from Cut, Nela, Cut added a photo of this amazing cut-paper tealight holder in the Dollar Store Crafts Flickr pool. Such intricate work, and so pretty! Nela’s work is all this impressive (or even more impressive), so check out her blog. You can make it out of cardstock, or how about using one of those take-out box containers to make a unique light? You could even use paper punches to simplify the paper-cutting process. (Sidenote: Check out Craftypod for an awesome article on getting tons of decorative patterns from just two craft punches. The technique probably won’t work for this particular project, but it’s so cool I wanted to share anyway.) [here’s a link to the tealight holder project]

Looks like you could use it as a shade for the Wine Glass Lamp.

If you want to save money and skip the take-out box, you can make the container yourself for an even cheaper project! Nela’s box used the free template from Stampin’ Mathilda that you can download here. This photo is of Stampin’ Mathilda’s original project, which is so pretty! I think this would make a great wedding table decoration, or other romantic party decoration. You can customize it pretty much any way you want, too, so I think it’s great inspiration for all kinds of adaptations.

Don’t forget to use a battery-operated tealight for these projects, since they’re paper! You don’t want a craftfail on your hands!

Project Estimate:

• Take-out box, $1 (or paper, on hand)
• Paper punch, on hand or $1
• Battery-operated tealights, 2 for $1

Total: $.50 and up

The post Make a Pretty Cut-Paper Lamp appeared first on Dollar Store Crafts.

I have always been in love with cocktail umbrellas (haven’t you?), and I recently found some at the dollar store! I snatched up a couple packages and decided it was time to make another dollar store lamp. This turned out so cute! It looks great even when it’s not lit up. I would love to try making a pendant lamp version as well, but I need to find a cheap pendant lamp kit first (I know they have them at IKEA, but I don’t get over there as much as I get to the dollar store!) I posted my tutorial for making the lamp over at Ohdeedoh. [how to make a cocktail umbrella lamp]

Supplies needed:

• Styrofoam disc, 6 for $1 ($.17)
• 2+ packages of cocktail umbrellas, $2 and up
• Small vase or glass, on hand or $1
• Battery-operated tealight or other light source, 2 for $1
• Knife, on hand

Total: $2.67

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