I was already a washi tape addict, and then it started turning up at Dollar Tree.  Oooooooh boy!  How can I turn down cute tapes for $1 a roll?  And so it is that I find myself with a growing collection of washi, enough that it probably constitutes 2 or 3 lifetime supplies.  So, what can you do with a massive washi tape collection?  Over at Washi Tape Crafts, Melanie shares how she took some cute patterns from her washi stash and transformed them into sweet little stickers.  So cute!  [how to make washi tape stickers]

Project estimate:

• Washi tape, on hand or $1 and up
• Wax paper, on hand
• Paper punches, on hand or $1 and up

Total:  Free and up!

The post Make Washi Tape Stickers appeared first on Dollar Store Crafts.

Are you a scrap saver?  I love to keep any usable bits of leftover materials, but there is a fine line between saving things for future projects and becoming a hoarder.  (I have tried to explain the difference to my husband, but I don’t think he is convinced.)  When it came time for Carolyn at Homework to let go of some catalogs from scrapbook paper companies, she couldn’t bear to just throw them in the trash because the pages were covered with beautiful patterns.  Her solution was to punch out all of the best parts of the catalog pages and turn them into some cute, decorative bowls!  (See, now aren’t you glad you saved all of those pretty paper scraps?)  [how to make a paper mache confetti bowl]

Project estimate:

• Paper, on hand
• Circle punch, on hand or $1 and up
• Bowl or vase to use as form, on hand
• Paper mache paste, on hand
• Mod Podge, on hand

Total:  Free and up

The post Make a Paper Mache Confetti Bowl appeared first on Dollar Store Crafts.

Now that the holiday season has passed, but it’s still a little early to start decorating for spring holidays, how do you decorate in the meantime?  I love decorating with snowflake-themed items to transition between holidays this time of year.  So when I heard about the Let It Snow! blog party, I knew I had to join up!  (Scroll to the bottom of this post for tons of great snowflake-related craft projects!)  My front door was looking a little bare, so I decided to dress it up a little.  I had everything for this project on hand, so all it cost me was less than an hour of my time!

Project estimate:

• Large snowflake punch, on hand or about $15
• Security envelopes, on hand
• Fishing line or thread, on hand
• Tacky glue, on hand

Total:  Free and up

I always save security envelopes from bills and junk mail because the patterns inside the envelopes are so much fun!  For this project, I grabbed three envelopes each printed with a different black and white pattern.

Punch snowflakes out of the envelopes with a paper punch.  I used a large snowflake punch and got between 10 and 12 snowflakes out of each envelope.

Use Tacky Glue to attach the snowflakes to a length of fishing line or thread.  This will give the snowflakes the illusion that they are floating in the air!  If you are hanging the garland on a window divided by panes, you may find it easier to get the spacing of the snowflakes even between the panes by hanging the fishing line first and then gluing the snowflakes up.

Hang the garland in front of the window with a little bit of tape.  To complete my door, I used six strands of snowflakes, each running top-to-bottom across the window.  I am very, very happy with the results, especially considering that the snowflakes came from paper that would have otherwise gone straight to the recycling bin!

Longing for more snowflake craft action? You’re in luck!

Check out this great list of snow-related crafts:

The post Tutorial: Recycled Snowflake Window Garland appeared first on Dollar Store Crafts.

You may have seen us mention this mail organizer by Henrie at Simply Belle when we recently announced it as the winner of our most recent craft challenge.  We loved it so much that we decided it needed a proper featuring!  Not only is it beautiful, it is also incredibly practical.  (I don’t know about you, but mail is a challenge for me sometimes.  I set papers and envelopes down on the dining room table for just a moment and – whoosh – they disappear into a black hole!)  She cleverly repurposed magnetic locker caddies from the school supply section, taking them from teenybopper to tasteful with just a few easy steps.  [how to make a shabby chic mail organizer]

Project estimate:

• Board, on hand or about $3 and up
• Magnetic caddies, $3
• Paper, on hand
• Paper punch, on hand
• Spray paint, on hand or $1 and up
• Craft paint, on hand or $1 and up
• Glue, on hand

Total:  $3 and up

The post Make a Shabby Chic Mail Organizer appeared first on Dollar Store Crafts.

A while back, we shared a tutorial for making shrinky dink buttons.  The gorgeous designs even came with a template so you could duplicate them.  Inspired, Haley from The Zen of Making decided to experiment with making buttons in different shapes and using different finishes of shrink plastic.  She came up with a genius method for making button templates, as well as a list of tips and tricks that she learned along the way.  If you are button-obsessed, you won’t want to miss this post!  [how to make your own custom buttons]

Project estimate:

• Paper punch or die cutter, on hand
• Shrink plastic, about $5 and up
• Permanent markers, on hand
• Hole punch, on hand

Total: $5 and up

The post Make Your Own Custom Buttons appeared first on Dollar Store Crafts.

How are you celebrating New Year’s Eve this year?  If you’re having a party (and you don’t mind the extra vacuuming), you might want to hand out these cute countdown confetti favors by Carolyn at Carolyn’s Homework.  (Isn’t it convenient that matches come in packs of 10?)  If you’re a paper crafter and you made your own cards and gift tags this holiday season, you probably have plenty of confetti left as a by-product; if not, it’s a great mindless project for watching television.  Or you can put the kids to work!  [how to make New Year’s countdown confetti favors]

Project estimate:

• Matchboxes, $1
• Paper, on hand
• Twine or string, on hand
• Paper punch, on hand

Total:  $1

The post Make New Year’s Countdown Confetti Favors appeared first on Dollar Store Crafts.

A recent oh-so-scientific study on our Facebook fan page revealed that many of you are harboring stacks and stacks of paper.  Use up some of that paper stash with these fabulous and deceptively simple flowers designed by Lisa Storms and posted at Fiskars.  I love paper punches, especially corner punches, but never would have thought to use them in this way!  She used her flowers to embellish a festive spring wreath, but you could also display them as a bouquet or put them on gifts in place of bows.  [how to make punched paper flowers]

Project estimate:

• Paper, on hand
• Corner punch or scalloped square punch, on hand
• Brads, on hand or $1 and up

Total:  Free and up

The post Make Punched Paper Flowers 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.