Give spooky a sophisticated twist with this skeleton hand wreath!  Vanessa from Tried & True gave the plastic hands a visual upgrade with the help of some metallic sliver spray paint.  It’s amazing what a big difference you can make with a little paint!  We also love that the center of her wreath is a chalkboard, allowing you to customize and change the sentiment on a whim.  [how to make a skeleton hand Halloween wreath]

Project estimate:

• Plastic skeleton hands, $9
• Spray paint, on hand or $1 and up
• Chalkboard circle (or wood circle + chalkboard paint), $1 and up
• Glue, on hand
• Chalk marker, on hand or $1 and up

Total:  $10 and up

The post Make a Skeleton Hand Halloween Wreath appeared first on Dollar Store Crafts.

Dollar Tree is a great source for plain ol’ school and office supplies, but what if you are looking for supplies with a little more personality?  Well, you can always give those plain supplies a makeover!  Over at I Heart Naptime, Courtney gave some dollar store clipboards a school-themed makeover using vinyl and her Silhouette.  If you don’t have a vinyl cutting machine, you can also get the same look with a stencil or by painting the design freehand.  And as a bonus, the back side of each clipboard is actually a chalkboard!  [how to make a back-to-school clipboard]

Project estimate:

• Clipboard, $1
• Vinyl, on hand or about $3 and up
• Chalkboard paint, on hand or about $3 and up

Total:  $1 and up

The post Make a Back-to-School Clipboard appeared first on Dollar Store Crafts.

Dollhouses are great fun, but a traditional dollhouse can be expensive and take up a lot of room.  Short of cash and storage space?  Make a collapsible dollhouse out of foam core board!  We’ve seen similar ideas before, but in this twist from Jessica at Mad In Crafts, you can write on the walls of this dollhouse with chalk!  That means you can redecorate as often as you like, and that you don’t need to amass a whole house full of tiny furniture in the process.  The project uses foam core board that comes with a chalkboard surface; if you can’t find the chalk foam board, you can also coat regular foam board with chalkboard paint.  [how to make a chalk foam board doll house]

Project estimate:

• Chalk foam board (or foam core board and chalkboard paint), on hand or $1 and up
• Chalk or chalk markers, on hand or $1 and up

Total:  Free and up!

The post Make Chalk Foam Board Dollhouse appeared first on Dollar Store Crafts.

Need to make lots of cute Valentine treat bags? Then you are probably also looking for an idea that is quick and easy – and this project fits the bill! This basic idea is easy to adapt to use whatever stickers, embellishments, and treats you happen to have on hand. You can even use different size bags, so you can wrap up all kinds of fun gifts in this manner! This is especially quick and easy if you create them assembly-line-style.

Project estimate:

• Brown paper bags, on hand or $1
• Chalkboard stickers, $1
• Stencil and paint, on hand or $1 and up
• Raffia ribbon, $1
• Candy or other treats, $1 and up

Total:  $3 and up

Start by stenciling a Valentine’s Day related sentiment onto the chalkboard heart stickers.  I chose an “XO” stencil, but you can use anything that suits your fancy!  Use white chalky finish paint that dries ultra matte for a chalk-like effect.

When the paint is dry, apply the sticker to a paper bag.  Place the sticker low on the bag to allow plenty of space to fold over the top of the bag.

Fill the bag with treats.  I used lip-shaped chocolate candies to go with the “XO” theme.

Fold over the top of the bag to close, and punch two holes at the top, punching through both layers of the folded bag.

Cut a piece of raffia ribbon and thread it through the holes and tie with a square knot.  Trim the ends of the raffia if needed, then unfold the ends to give the raffia more volume.

The post Tutorial: Easy Faux Chalk Valentine Treat Bags appeared first on Dollar Store Crafts.

Watch the video to see how I put this holiday sign together from dollar store supplies – or keep reading for the written directions.

The other day I found some little chalkboards at Dollar Tree, and I knew that they had great potential for making some kind of signs. I dug into my stash, found some embellishments to dress it up, and turned it into a simple sign for the holidays! You could use this same technique to make signs for all kinds of other occasions.

Project estimate:

• Chalkboard, $1
• Stencil, on hand or $1 and up
• Paint, on hand
• Ribbon, on hand
• Chipboard letters, $1.50 and up
• Snowflake rhinestones, about $2
• Glue, on hand

Total:  about $4.50 and up

Position the stencil on the chalkboard and apply paint with a foam sponge or pouncer.

Remove the stencil to reveal the design.

Once the paint is dry, lay out your embellishments on the surface of the chalkboard and figure out where you want everything to go.

Once you’re satisfied with the placement, glue all of the elements down.  Let the glue dry and it is ready to display!

The post Tutorial: Simple Holiday Sign appeared first on Dollar Store Crafts.

Project Materials:

• 2 clipboards, $2
• Bulletin board, $1
• 2 wire office supply cups, $2
• Wire sorting tray, $1
• 4 zip ties, $1 for a package
• 2 baskets, $2
• Metal adhesive hooks, $2
• Scotch Chalkboard Tape, $6
• Scotch Dry Erase Tape, $6
• Scotch® Duct Tape in Dottie, $3.50
• Scissors
• Drill

Total Cost: $26.50

Note: I got all the surfaces at the dollar store, but the Scotch Chalkboard Tape, Scotch Dry Erase Tape, and the Scotch® Duct Tape can be purchased online or at other retailers.

With Scotch Chalkboard Tape and Dry Erase Tape, you can create a chalkboard or dry erase surface on anything flat and smooth. I added the tape to clipboards to make a stylish and functional kitchen chalkboard and white board. I also added Chalkboard tape to the plastic baskets to make easy labels.

Part 1: Make Clipboard Chalkboard and Dry Erase Boards

1. Cut five strips of Scotch Chalkboard Tape the height of the clipboard, from the clip to the bottom of the board.

2. Lay Scotch Chalkboard Tape strips on board one by one, slightly overlapping the edges of tape as you go.

3. Cut small pieces of Scotch® Duct Tape to lay next to the clip on the clipboard. For my wire clip-style clipboard, I lifted the clip and laid a piece of tape (cut in half lengthwise) under where the clip would go.

4. Lay pieces of Scotch® Duct Tape along the edges of the clipboard, and fold over the back of the clipboard to create a finished edge.

5. For corners, cut a notch out of the corner as shown, to make it super simple and clean to fold the corners over.

Repeat process for Scotch Dry Erase Tape clipboard.

Next, add the supply cup to the board, to provide a convenient place to keep writing utensils.

1. Drill two holes through the clipboard on the lower edge to create a place to thread zip ties through.

Note: Be sure to follow proper safety procedures when using a drill. Also, if you are afraid of using a drill, don’t be – it’s almost as easy as using a stapler!

2. If your zip tie is wider than the cup’s mesh like mine, you might need to also poke matching holes through the mesh on the cup.

3. Thread a zip tie through the top hole on the back of the clipboard, then through the top hole of the cup, then back into the bottom hole of the cup, and back through the bottom hole on the clipboard. Zip the tie closed.

Part 2: Bulletin Board Key Holder

1. Add a stripe of Scotch® Duct Tape to the bulletin board to make it coordinate with the other pieces.

2. Next, drill two holes in either end of the clipboard to attach the office supply organizer tray.

3. Attach tray with zip ties like you did for the office supply cups in the previous project.

4. Add adhesive metal hooks to the front of the tray.

Part 3: Label the Baskets

This part is easy! Just cut Scotch Chalkboard Tape, peel the backing, stick on the surfaces and smooth.

Thanks to Scotch® Duct Tape for sponsoring this project, and for providing this very fun Chalkboard Tape and Dry Erase tape to play with. Scotch® Duct Tape recently launched their Instagram account — Please follow them @ScotchDuctTape on Instagram, Scotch® Duct Tape Pinterest Boards, Scotch® Duct Tape Facebook, and Scotch® Duct Tape (@ScotchDuctTape) on Twitter Tweet your projects to them with the hashtag #ScotchDuctTape!

The post Tutorial: Cute Kitchen Command Station with Scotch® Duct Tapes appeared first on Dollar Store Crafts.

It’s getting down to the end of summer – but it’s still not too late for some back yard summer fun!  And what’s more fun than a classic game, like Yahtzee?  Emily at Nap Time Creations made a super-sized version of the game out of a 4×4 post cut into squares.  (This would be a great use for post scraps left over after building a deck!)  And of course, you could also use these super-sized game pieces to play any of your other favorite dice games as well.  [how to make a yard Yahtzee game]

Project estimate:

• 4×4 post, on hand or about $7 and up
• Black Sharpie, on hand
• Dry erase board or chalkboard, on hand or $1 and up
• Bucket, on hand or $1

Total:  Free and up!

The post Make a Yard Yahtzee Game appeared first on Dollar Store Crafts.

Who doesn’t love a chalkboard?  You can frame it, hang it, use it as a photo prop, create wall decor, make a sign…the options go on and on!  I decided to use four large crayon pencil banks from Dollar Tree to make a fun chalkboard for my kid’s art center.  It makes a fun piece of wall art, and doubles as a place for them to doodle.

Project estimate:

• Crayon Banks (4), $4
• Frame, $1
• Chalkboard, $1
• Paint, on hand
• Glue gun, on hand

Total:  $6

Step one:  Remove the stickers from the banks and paint them.  To create an ombre effect, I painted the first bank Turquoise Blue and the last one white.  For the second crayon, I mixed 3 parts blue with 1 part white.  The third bank was 1 part blue mixed with 3 parts white paint.  To keep the paint from peeling off, seal it with a spray on sealant finish after they are dry.

Step two:  Paint the frame.  I mixed one part blue with one part white to maintain the ombre effect I wanted.

Step three:  Hot glue the 4 crayons together.  Glue the chalkboard to the frame, and glue that onto the banks.

You can hot glue ribbon to the back to hang your chalkboard.  Since school is almost out, I decided to use mine as a photo prop for now.  This would be a cute way to record first and last day of school memories.  You could also make a few of these as gifts for teachers.  They’d be really cute hanging out side a teacher’s room with the name and grade written on it.  How would you use your colorful crayon chalkboard?

The post Make a Colorful Crayon Shaped Chalkboard appeared first on Dollar Store Crafts.

Are you feeling the last minute Mother’s Day crunch? Luckily this project is quick and easy. Plus mom can reuse the vase for lots of different occasions once hers has passed. Ashley from Simply Designing teaches us how to maximize the chalkboard everything trend to make this cute vase for mom. [how to make a chalkboard mother’s day vase]

Project estimate:

• Glass vase, on hand or $1 and up
• Painters tape, on hand
• Chalkboard paint, on hand or $5 and up
• Foam brush, on hand

Project total: Free and up!

The post Make a Mother’s Day Chalkboard Vase appeared first on Dollar Store Crafts.

I love fancy flower pots. I’ve even been known to acquire new houseplants just as an excuse to buy particularly nice pots that catch my eye. But, and this is a big but, the cost of a pretty planter is often more than I am willing to pay. Why spend a wad of cash when you can DIY ’em for so much cheaper? We’ve seen chalkboard painted flower pots before, but Vanessa from Tried & True stepped these up a notch on the wow-factor scale by adding some cute stenciled designs! [how to make stenciled chalkboard flower pots]

Project estimate:

• Flower pot, $1 and up
• Paint, on hand or $1 and up
• Chalkboard paint, about $5
• Stencils, on hand or $1 and up

Total: $6 and up

The post Make Stenciled Chalkboard Flower Pots appeared first on Dollar Store Crafts.