Do you know a little dinosaur lover?  They will love this fun art project from Kate at The Craft Train!  She has a great set of free printables available to turn a pile of paper plates into a herd of dinos.  These are decorated using glitter, but if you don’t have any of that around (or don’t want to deal with the sparkly mess that ensues), you could also paint the plates instead.  Rawr!  [how to make paper plate dinosaurs]

Project estimate:

• Paper plates, on hand or $1
• Paint and/or glue and glitter, on hand or $1 and up
• Stapler, on hand
• Dinosaur parts printables, free

Total:  Free and up!

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There is no shortage of dinosaur love happening at Dollar Store Crafts! From the dreaded T-Rex to the adorable baby triceratops, we’ve got lots of great dino crafts to help your kids (or your own inner kid!) get in touch with your paleontological side.

[Dinosaur Surprise Shirt by Morena on Dollar Store Crafts]

[Dinosaur Phone Tripod by Eat.Sleep.Make]

[Animal (and Dinosaur) Handle Party Cups from Morena on Dollar Store Crafts]

[Dinosaur Serving Dish from Three Little Monkeys Studio]

[Make Your Own Recycled Dinosaurs from Craft, Interrupted]

[Dinosaur Corn Cob Holders from resident man crafter, Mikeasaurus on Instructables]

[Dinosaur Playdough Storage Jars by Lolly Jane]

[Finger Painted Dinosaur Toys from Parents.com]

[Dinosaur Footprint Fossils from I Can Teach My Child]

[Dinosaur Magnets from C.R.A.F.T.]

[Glittered Dinosaur Ornaments by Carissa on Dollar Store Crafts]

[Dinosaur Feet from Recycled Materials on Activity Village]

[Dinosaur Bulletin Board from Oh That Ashley]

[DIY Wearable Dinosaur Tails from Running with Scissors]

[Dinosaur Finger Puppet by Heather on Dollar Store Crafts]

[Hatchable Dinosaur Eggs with Coffee Clay from Play Create Explore]

The post Rawr! 16 Dinosaur Crafts to Get You in Touch with Your Inner Paleontologist appeared first on Dollar Store Crafts.

My iPhone is one of my most important possessions – it goes everywhere with me and serves so many different purposes that it’s indispensable! But you know what would make it even handier? A tripod! Shannon from eat.sleep.MAKE. made one for herself using the back half of a plastic dinosaur and I could not be more delighted with her design. Not only is it functional and inexpensive, it’s also freakin’ hilarious! [how to make a dinosaur phone tripod]

Project estimate:

• Plastic dinosaur, on hand
• Caulk, about $5 and up
• Suction cup, on hand or $1

Total: about $5 and up

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Around here we like to play with our food – funky kitchen-related crafts are among our favorites!  This roaringly awesome dino serving plate from Gretchen at Three Little Monkeys Studio would be a great addition to the spread at a dinosaur themed party, or any time that you want to add a little more excitement to a snack or meal.  What other toys could you incorporate into a serving plate like this?  [how to make a dinosaur serving dish]

Project estimate:

•  Toy dinosaur, $1
• Plate, on hand or $1
• Glue, on hand
• Paint, on hand or $1 and up

Total:  $1 and up

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Playdough can be a messy thing. In addition to making a mess while playing, you also have to deal with the question of where to store it. Plastic bags rip and tear, plastic containers crack. Glass baby food jars are a good size but oh-so-boring. Boring, that is, until Kristi from Lolly Jane got her hands on some and transformed them into adorable color-coded kid storage. Of course you could store any number of things in these jars, but I especially love the color coded playdough [how to make dinosaur storage jars]

Project estimate:

• Empty glass jars, on hand
• Dinosaurs, $1
• Mod Podge, on hand
• Acyrillic paint, on hand
• Paint brush, on hand

Total: $1 and up

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I’m not sure what triggered it, but a few days after my son received some small dinosaurs at a birthday party I knew I wanted to douse them in glitter. I casually brought it up one day while he was playing with them. To my surprise, he enthusiastically said “Yes!” after I asked if he wanted to go have craft time with Mommy to make his dinosaurs sparkly.

A few days later, I felt guilty for glittering his dinos so bought him a new bag at the dollar store. When I gave it to him, his eyes lit up and he exclaimed, “Now we can go put glitter on them!” I guess I’m not such a horrible mom after all! I let him help me match the dinosaurs to the color of glitter he thought we should use and made him a set of sparkly dino ornaments that he loves.

Project estimate:

• Small dinosaurs, bag of 8 for $1
• Small eye hooks, bag of 8 for about $1
• White glue, on hand
• Glitter, on hand or $1 and up
• Ribbon or ornament hangers, on hand or $1

Total: $2 and up

The fine glitter (in the stack on the left) came from the $1 section of Michaels. The four bottles of chunky glitter on the right came as a set at Dollar Tree. Dollar Tree and Michaels also carry “glitter samplers” which are multiple small bags of glitter on a card for about $1. The glitter samplers are a great way to acquire several colors of glitter at once without having to buy full size jars.

Step 1: Screw eye hooks into the backs of the dinosaurs. Trust me – it’s easier to do this before glittering. The hook will provide a convenient handle to hold while working with the glue and glitter. You also will not have to risk knocking glitter off to add the hook if you do it later.

Step 2: Paint dinosaurs with watered down glue. Be sure to get all their nooks and crannies like between their legs and on their bellies.

Step 3: Douse in Glitter. Hold the dinosaur over a piece of scrap paper and liberally sprinkle with glitter. Shake off any excess and return to jar.

Step 4: Add hangers. Once they’ve dried, thread ribbon or ornament hangers through the eye hooks in order to hang them your tree!

Don’t you love them? Sparkly dinosaurs make me ridiculously giddy. For comparison, the dinos on the left were made with fine glitter, the ones on the right used coarse. I personally prefer the look of the fine glitter but my son likes the chunky glitter ones best. Choose a glitter style that suits your taste.

The post Tutorial: Make Glittered Dinosaur Ornaments appeared first on Dollar Store Crafts.

I’ve been loving the handmade costume guest post series at The Train to Crazy!  There has been a great variety of ideas, including these soft tails by Jessica from Running with Scissors.  With their rows of reptilian spikes they are perfect for either a dinosaur costume  or a dragon costume.  If you have a little guy (or gal) who is really into dinos (doesn’t everyone know at least one who is?), this is also a fun accessory for year-round dress up.  [how to make a dinosaur/dragon tail]

Project estimate:

• Fabric, on hand or $1 and up
• Velcro, on hand or $1
• Polyfill, on hand or about $3 and up

Total:  Free and up

The post Make a Dinosaur or Dragon Tail appeared first on Dollar Store Crafts.

Tic-Tac-Toe to Go: $2

Nikki at Salty Pineapple made this to-go version of tic-tac-toe. You can use plastic figurines found at the dollar store (Cowboys vs. Indians? Army men vs. Dinosaurs?) and take this game with you for instant fun on the go. Click here for The Salty Pineapple’s Tutorial.

Counting Game: $1

Reader Ann at Two Red Heads and a Boy-le made this cool counting game out of a dollar store shadow box. So cool! Get the details here.

Tic-Tac-Toe: $1

The same shadow box becomes a Tic-Tac-Toe game, by Katrina at Sevin Family.

Rubber Band Gun: $.25-ish

Nikki at Salty Pineapple made these fun rubber band guns for a game at her son’s birthday party. Details here.

Airplane Runway: $1 or less

Noelle from Reynolds R Us made this cute little play runway for her son (all with just her glue gun! no sewing!). I think it would be fun to make one out of a dollar store placemat and scrap fabric. Get the info here.

The post Roundup: Games and Toys to Make appeared first on Dollar Store Crafts.

Does anyone else have a bag or two of dollar store pipecleaners on hand just in case? I love pipecleaners. They’re so versatile, cheap, and they come in tons of colors. They’re great for open-ended kid activities because they allow kids to be creative.

This free-standing dino wasn’t very stable

My three year-old son is just starting to discover dinosaurs (his favorite: the T-Rex. How do boys learn this stuff? Is it just part of their DNA?), so we decided to make dinosaur toys out of pipecleaners, inspired by a Family Fun magazine activity. The Family Fun version is a brontosaurus (brachiosaurus?)-type dino with legs, and a long neck and tail. When we tried to make a dinosaur using their instructions, it wasn’t very stable, so I thought I would reinterpret the activity into my favorite type of toy: a finger puppet! [check my blog over at Make & Takes today for the companion red T-Rex instructions]

This is a great make-anytime activity that you can do with minimal preparation. Pull this one out next time your kid says she’s bored, or on a rainy day.

Project Estimate:

• Pipecleaners, $1 or on hand
• Googly eyes, on hand
• Pen, on hand
• Glue, optional

Total cost: Free and up

Time Needed: 15 minutes

Ages: 3 and up. Your 3 year-old will need help, but will probably really enjoy the end result! She’ll like to coil pipecleaners around a pen, so be sure to let her do it along with you as you make one. Also, pipecleaners are easy to bend, so these toys won’t last for long with younger kids, but it’s still a fun activity.

To Make:

• Connect three pipecleaners end-to-end, and wrap around your finger to create the body.

• Connect two pipecleaners end-to-end, and wrap half around a pen or pencil, overlapping the pipecleaner onto itself to create the head, and then coil the rest around to form the neck.

• Attach neck to body, by bending pipecleaner, or using glue if desired.

• Coil one pipecleaner around pen or pencil to form tail, leaving about an inch straight for attaching to body.

• For arms, bend one pipecleaner into a V-shape, and coil each half around pen. Attach to body.
• If desired, create legs in a similar way and attach to body (we didn’t make legs).
• Attach googly eyes with glue. I used “quick dry” craft glue, and honestly, it didn’t work that well with the pipecleaner fuzz. You might be better off with hot glue (although, this is a job for you, not your kids. I know you already know that.)

The post Make Pipecleaner Dinosaur Finger Puppets appeared first on Dollar Store Crafts.

Grade schoolers will flip over this dino-themed bulletin board with dinosaur push pins. This would be a great gift for one of the many inevitable birthday parties your little Ezra will be invited to throughout the year. Substitute any cute little toys or erasers you find at the DS. Project: ohthatashley

Project Estimate:

• Picture frame: $1
• Cork board tiles/bulletin board: $1-2
• Push pins: $1
• Dino toys: $1
• Magazine clippings, cool paper for frame (on hand)
• Hot glue for push pins (on hand)
• Mod Podge, Elmer’s, etc. for sealing decoupage on frame, on hand

Total cost: $4-5

Not bad for a birthday gift!

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