Here’s a quick and easy handmade version of the classic children’s birthday party game, Pin the Tail on the Donkey. Instead of buying a disposable paper game at the store, why not make one that you can use for every birthday party? It’s cute, colorful, and your kids will love the tradition of playing the game at their parties over the years.

My mom asked me to bring Pin the Tail on the Donkey for my sister’s birthday party (she’s a grownup, but my two sons would be there and we were kind of doing an outdoor carnival theme for the party). The party was in six hours from the time I got the request, and my mom envisioned me making a paper version of the game. Well, I didn’t have any paper suitable for the project, and so I looked in my stash for other potential materials and whipped up a quick project. It took less than an hour.

I found a full piece of hot pink felt, a partial piece of dark brown felt, and some scraps of ivory and bright green felt. I also found this brown dotted fabric, ric rack, and buttons. I really wanted to use a placemat for the background, but I liked the brown dot fabric more than the one or two placemats I have in my dollar store crafting stash. To make this project SUPER quick, use a readymade placemat for the background fabric. It should take you about twenty minutes if you do that!

I used recycled disposable diaper tabs for the backs of the tails  (did you know diaper tabs are like space age Velcro material now? They are awesome crafting material, and work like the “sticky” side of Velcro.) Diaper tabs stick well on the felt used to make the game. Alternately, you can use the sticky side of real Velcro.

Project Estimate:

• 2 sheets of felt, plus scrap felt, about $.50 or on hand
• Ric rack, $.75 or on hand
• A placemat, $1 (I used stash fabric, mine was on hand)
• Buttons, on hand
• A googly eye, on hand
• Velcro, on hand
• Craft glue, on hand
• Sewing stuff, on hand

Total: For me, FREE

To Make:

I drew a simple “donkey” shape with chalk (from a dollar store chalkboard) on the brown felt. Okay, the donkey looks more like a Swedish Dala horse, but I think it’s cute. I cut out the donkey and sewed it to the hot pink felt and added the green saddle. I then glued on a googly eye because my three year-old asked me “but where’s his FACE??”

I sewed the ric rack around the edge of the pink felt square.

If you use a placemat: Sew the felt square to the placemat. Add ribbon or ric rack loops to the top of the placemat.

If you make your own background with stash fabric: Cut out two same-sized pieces of the background fabric and sew the felt donkey square to one of the squares.  Place the two background pieces right sides together, and sandwich two loops between them (if you do it right, the loops will be sticking down inside the fabric, and the raw edges will be sticking out the top, you’ll sew across them). Sew around the edges of the brown fabric, leaving a four-inch gap along one of the sides. Turn right-side out. Topstitch around the edge of the background fabric, taking care to turn the turning hole edges inside. You might want to “quilt” around the donkey just to be sure the background fabric lays flat when you play the game.

For the tails: I cut the diaper tabs into quarters, then sewed them along an edge of ivory-colored felt. I cut out eight tails, and sewed on a brown teardrop shape at the end of the tail. I glued on different-colored buttons at the top of each tail because I thought it was cute, and also because then people can keep track of which tail is theirs when they’re playing the game.

To Play the Game:

In the unlikely event that you’re unfamiliar with Pin the Tail on the Donkey, it’s a traditional birthday game (in the US – not sure about other countries!). The game is hung on the wall. The player is blindfolded and then given a tail. The player is spun around three times to get them a bit dizzy, and then pointed toward the game. They hang their tail on the donkey, trying to get it near the right spot. The player who is closest to getting the tail on the target is the winner.

I made this Pin the Tail on the Donkey game for Craft a Day September, Day 2.

The post Make a Quilted Pin the Tail on the Donkey Game appeared first on Dollar Store Crafts.

Hi Readers!

If you need a little crafty motivation in September, check out “Craft a Day in September” (or CADS), headed by Jody from TinkShui. Here’s here note:

I am Jody from www.tinkshui.co.uk, I was wondering if you’d like to take part in my version of MSCE (Make Something Cool Everyday) in April which I have called CADS or Craft a Day in September. I would be privileged if you’d take part, no strict rules of course, just be nice to see other peoples projects etc. Don’t have to do the whole lot aswell.

The blog post detailing this is at http://www.tinkshui.co.uk/craft-a-day-sept/ go take a look and either comment on there or email me back.

Jody
www.tinkshui.co.uk

So go ahead and get crafty in September, everyone!! I’ll do my best to join in (but I have a baby due early October, so I can’t promise anything – I’m being so crafty I’m making a person!)

The post Craft a Day in September appeared first on Dollar Store Crafts.

This is my last Star Wars post… for now! If you are hungry for more Star Wars crafts, be sure to visit the Star Wars Crafts community. I made some simple Star Wars finger puppets from craft felt (one of the best crafty bargains around – at about a quarter a sheet!).

You can make finger puppets in any shape or theme you want to. You can construct them from simple shapes, you can add googly eyes (or not), or button eyes. You can basically embellish them any way you want to. Great summer craft for kids!

Tips: If you have specific characters in mind (like these Star Wars guys), I recommend doing a quick sketch in your sketchbook so you know what pieces to cut out. I glued additional pieces to the backs of the heads to reinforce the puppets, since regular craft felt is not very stiff.

Project Estimate:

• 3 or more sheets of felt, about $1
• Craft glue (I used Aleene’s Quick Dry Tacky Glue), on hand
• (optional) Googly eyes, on hand or a huge pack for $1

Total: $1 and up

The post Make Star Wars Finger Puppets appeared first on Dollar Store Crafts.

Here’s Star Wars craft number three! I made a reusable grocery tote in the style of a Morsbag, with a little Jedi twist. I used Jedi robe colors to make the bag, and added a Yoda head applique cut from a scrap of a fleece dollar store blanket. [click here for Morsbag pattern and instructions as well as to learn MORE about this awesome reusable grocery bagging movement: did you know over ONE MILLION plastic bags are consumed per minute globally?]

This is a very simple sewing project that makes a sturdy bag suitable for carrying groceries, books, crafting supplies, or any odds and ends you desire! Adding the applique is a simple matter of cutting a piece out of felt, pinning it to a piece of fabric, and sewing around the edges. Since the applique is fleece, no finishing of the edges is required.

Project Estimate:

• Scrap from a fleece blanket, on hand or $1
• Scrap fabric, about half a yard, on hand
• Buttons, on hand

Total: FREE and up

This is probably my favorite of all the Star Wars crafts I made. I just love the whole effect of the bag. It’s totally simple, but it just works for me.

And while we’re talking about totes, I’ll just show you this other tote I made because I don’t want to devote a separate post to it. I used part of the vintage Star Wars sheet I found to make a reversible tote.

The tote reverses to plain blue, but who’d want to use that side, seriously? I decided to make it reversible to reinforce it since the sheet is old and well-worn.

The post Make a Reusable Grocery Tote – Yoda Style! appeared first on Dollar Store Crafts.

Ever have small pieces of fabric that aren’t big enough to make what you want, but you can’t bear to throw away? There are lots of projects that make use of scraps to make little things, but you can also use scraps to make larger things! How? By sewing scraps together patchwork-style to create a new, larger piece of fabric.

This is the second installment in my Star Wars crafts series! I recently made a few Star Wars-y items for a craft swap, and I was WISHING for a Star Wars sheet (in fact, I asked if they had any in stock at my favorite craft thrift store – yes, there is such a thing! If you’re ever in Portland, OR, you MUST visit Knittn Kitten), but I know that you never find something like that at thrift stores when you really NEED it. And then I was rummaging around in my garage and FOUND ONE!! I had one in my stash of scrap fabric dedicated to making Morsbags (reusable grocery bags). I had no idea it was in there, but I was so excited when it surfaced!

So, in order to squeeze every precious drop of Star Wars goodness from the sheet, I used a scrap of it that I had off-cut when making another project to make a scrappy bib. This is a very simple project that you can use up all your lovely scraps on! You can also use this technique to make nearly anything else you can think of!

The process is simple: sew scraps together in a sheet until you get a piece of fabric large enough to cut your pattern pieces out of.

Project Estimate:

• Scraps, on hand
• Small square of Velcro-type tape, on hand
• Sewing machine, thread, etc., on hand

Total: FREE

For the bib, I sewed two Jedi robe-colored fabric scraps together for the back, and a piece of the sheet and a brown scrap for the front.

Iron any seams on the patchwork sheet flat (doesn’t look like I ironed this seam very well!)

Place your pattern piece (in my case, I used a bib we had on hand) on top of the patchwork sheet and cut out. I left a half-inch seam allowance around mine.

Pin pieces right sides together and sew around, leaving a two-inch gap on one of the straight sides for turning.

Turn bib right-side out. Press edges (make sure open gap is folded under neatly like the rest of the edges), and topstitch around edges, sealing the open gap closed.

Add squares of Velcro-type hook and loop tape to top of bib.

You’re done! You’ve made a reversible scrappy bib, and it only took you about 20 minutes!

The post Make a Scrappy Bib: Tutorial appeared first on Dollar Store Crafts.

I recently took part in a Star Wars crafting swap on Craftster.org. While I was working on another project, I came up with this idea, using a green fleece blanket from the dollar store that I found in my arsenal of dollar store crafting supplies. The Yoda hat is a quick and easy project, and you can make three or four of them from one dollar store blanket, making them quite the bargain!

Project Estimate:

• Fleece blanket, $1
• Buttons, on hand
• Sewing machine, thread, etc., on hand

Total: $1

To Cut:

• For each “ear” – 2 long triangular pieces (4 pieces total)
• 2 half-oval shaped pieces about 10 inches wide
• 2 rectangular pieces about 10×3 inches

To Make:

1. Sew triangular pieces together, right sides together, then turn right-side out.
2. Lay one half-oval piece fleece side up.
3. Lay ear pieces on top of half-oval, facing in, with raw edges.
4. Lay other half-oval piece fleece side down on top of ear pieces.

5. Pin around curved edges, and sew around curved edges.
6. Turn right-side out.

7. Sew rectangular pieces together at short edges (make sure you lay them right sides together before you sew).
8. Slip top piece inside rectangular sewn pieces, make sure right sides are facing each other.
9. Pin rectangular pieces to the bottom of the top piece.

10. Sew around pinned area.
11. Hem bottom edge of hat.
12. Add button eyes.

My son is modeling the hat for us. It’s a bit big for a toddler. Adjust measurements if making hat for kiddos.

Stay tuned for my other Star Wars crafts! I have four more to share with you, and one more full tutorial!

The post Make a Yoda Hat: Tutorial appeared first on Dollar Store Crafts.

I made this passport organizer a couple months ago for a craftster swap. I made it out of a dollar store dish towel (possibly the cutest DS dishtowel I have ever seen) and some spare plain yellow fabric I had in my stash. It has pockets for a passport, important credit card-sized cards, a zip pocket for change and other loose stuff, and a sleeve for keeping money or boarding passes for planes.

Project Materials:

• Dish towel or other cute fabric, $1
• Lining fabric, on hand
• Zipper, $1 or on hand
• (Optional) Velcro-type tape, on hand or $1
• (Optional) Hair elastic and shank button, on hand

Total: $1 and up

I didn’t take step-by-step photos of how I made it, but I wrote down the steps for constructing it and drew out rough pattern pieces in my sketchbook before I made it. I also don’t have specific measurements for these pieces at this time.

I used 8.5 x 11 sheets of paper to draw and cut out the pattern pieces for each piece.

Pieces you need:

• Outside
• Inside lining – cut an inch or so wider than the outside to accommodate seam allowances for a zipper
• Left side flap – make sure it is more than wide enough to accommodate a passport pocket
• Passport pocket piece (on top of left side flap) – cut 1″ wider than passport to allow room for seam allowances
• Small goodie pocket piece (on top of passport pocket piece)
• Right side flap – narrow enough to allow cards to peek out from pocket
• Optional: Velcro flap (2 pieces) – I ended up just using a button and hair elastic loop closure

Pre-Assembly:

1. Measure and cut pattern pieces
2. Cut lining piece about 6″ from right side and sew zipper on
3. Sew seams on edges of flap pockets, passport pocket, and small pocket
4. Sew small pocket on passport pocket
5. Sew passport pocket on left side flap
6. Sew pockets onto lining (right sides facing out, as it would look if you were going to use it)
7. Sew credit card dividing lines on right side pocket, reinforcing seam at opening
8. (If you are using a velcro closure): Sew velcro flap, sew velcro to outside piece
9. (If you are using a button & elastic closure): Sew button to outside piece

To Assemble:

Sandwich everything together, right sides facing:

• Velcro flap facing outside velcro OR Elastic band facing button
• Lining with all pockets sewn to it
• Leave zipper open to allow for turning

Sew around the outside of the sandwich layers, taking special care to reinforce elastic loop.

Turn inside out.

Sew a line down center of organizer (next to zipper) if desired.

The post Make a Passport Organizer appeared first on Dollar Store Crafts.

I found this cute octagonal placemat at the dollar store and I immediately envisioned it as a pleated clutch. Then I found a dollar store purse with hoop handles so I picked it up to cannibalize for its hoops (maybe I’ll repurpose the cheapo fabric part too, but that’s another project). I’ve had the placemat in my dollar store crafting stash for a couple months and decided that yesterday was the day I would transform it into the clutch it had always wanted to be. Because the placemat has finished edges, there is only a minimal amount of sewing necessary, and adding the hoops attached with ribbon is really the only slightly tricky thing (but it’s really not). If you are a beginning seamster, this project is totally appropriate for you!

My placemat is a sort of brocade-looking thing, and the clipped corners really add to the purse-like quality (in my mind, at least). So, only a little tweaking necessary to take it from placemat to purse! I’m sure this technique would be great with a wide variety of placemats, though, so I can’t wait to see what you come up with. (If you make one, you totally have to let me know, okay??)

I love that I can spend a buck on a hoop-handled purse at the dollar store and not have to spend five or more dollars at the craft store for those hoop parts!

Project Materials:

• Placemat, $1
• Purse with hoop handles, $1
• Grosgrain ribbon, $1
• Sewing machine, thread, on hand
• Clear thread, optional, on hand
• Heavy duty needle, optional (but very good for sewing through thick material)

To Make:

Pleating:

1. Measure and mark equidistant points on the short edges of your placemat. I measured 3″ in from each end of mine and marked the points with pins. I then measured another half-inch or so in from those pins and marked them with a second set of pins. (For some reason I didn’t take photos of the second set of pins, or my camera ate them. I remember taking them, but mommy memory is so faulty, you know?)

   

2. Fold outside pins under inner pins into a pleat on each side. Remove marking pins and just pin the pleat.



3. Sew over the pleat, reinforcing at the point where fabric overlaps. I used clear thread in the top of my sewing machine so it wouldn’t show. I also used a heavy-duty needle in my machine (I have “leather” needles) because I was sewing thick fabric with multiple thicknesses, and I broke my regular needle
4. Remember to pleat both short ends of the placemat.

Adding handles:

1. For each side, measure three pieces of ribbon approximately 4″. You can use a match or lighter to seal the edges of the ribbon so they won’t unravel. This sounds a lot more intimidating than it is! Just barely touch the end near an open flame.

   

2. Line the three ribbons up near the pleat on the wrong side (the side that will become the inside) of your purse. This will be the inside of the pleat. (Observant readers will note my finished purse is shown with the “wrong side” pleat outward in the photo. That’s because I liked how the ribbon tabs looked on the wrong side more than they did on the right side. The extra red was just prettier that way. This purse will work turned either way.)



3. Fold the ribbon over the hoop and pin. I folded my raw edges under and pinned a 4x thickness of ribbon onto the fabric because I wanted extra reinforcement.Here’s a close-up of the folded-under edge of the ribbon.



4. Repeat handle attachment for second end of the placemat.



5. Sew ribbons to placemat. I sewed a box on the reinforced bit of ribbon just to make sure it was well attached. Excuse the black thread that was used for demonstrative purposes! You will want to match thread if possible (or use the clear thread).

Sewing the sides together:

Because the placemat already has finished edges, you can sew this together and not turn the whole thing inside-out when you’re done. Or you can turn it inside-out (as shown in final picture). It will work either way.

1. Fold placemat in half, matching handles up. Measure 1-1/2″ down from edge of purse and mark with a pin.

   

2. Measure 1-1/2″ from fold and mark with a second pin (more if you want a roomier purse). You will sew between the pins, reinforcing at each edge.



3. Take unsewn gap at fold and pinch into a T-formation and pin, as shown. Sew each side of T together to form gusset.

Your purse is done! Add embellishments if desired, like these ribbon rosettes.

Here’s a second placement of the rosettes.

To make ribbon rosettes:

1. Finish edges of ribbon with match or lighter.
2. Take a 6″ length of ribbon and sew a running stitch through one long end of the ribbon.
3. Curl into a rosette and sew ends together or coil into a more full rosette.
4. Attach a button to center of rosette if desired.
5. Sew onto purse or add pinbacks to rosettes to allow versatility of placement.

The post Make a Pleated Placemat Handbag With Tutorial appeared first on Dollar Store Crafts.

Craftcast posted a project that shows you how to use tissue paper (the kind you use to wrap stuff with) to dye fabric with. What a cool use for that dollar store staple!

Craftcast used some specialty supplies to make an arty fabric piece, but I  used tissue paper to dye a onesie. I have tie dyed before, and it’s a lot of fun, but it costs about $20 just to experiment a little with tie dye, plus it’s not the kind of activity you want to do with very small kids because of the toxicity of some of the necessary materials. Dyeing with tissue paper is a great way to get the look of tie dye with very basic materials you have on hand or can get at the dollar store.

This is a great project for young kids. My 2 year-old son helped me make the onesie. It would be fun to do this a day camp or as a scout activity. The only challenge is that it takes about a day to complete the dyeing/drying process, so it’s better for regular meeting-type groups. You could do it for a birthday party activity, but you’d probably just want to send the shirt home with parents with instructions for finishing it up.

I only had three fairly light colors of tissue paper at my house (yellow, orange, and lighter blue), but I think bolder colors would be quicker and have more impact. Also, I couldn’t find my spray bottle, so I used a dollar store squirt gun to spray water on my tissue! Basically, I like to use what I have on hand instead of buying new stuff for every project!

Project Estimate:

• Tissue Paper $1
• Light-colored Fabric or T-shirt – on hand
• Water – on hand
• Vinegar – on hand
• Rubber Gloves (or similar) – on hand
• Spray bottle/mister/recycled hairspray bottle – on hand, or $1

Total cost: $1 and up

For our version of the project, you will wet the t-shirt in the sink, wring out, and spread out on your work surface. Place colored tissue pieces on your fabric or t-shirt as desired. I cut mine in strips to make a kind of sun shape on the chest. You can probably use strips with pretty great effect to make very basic shapes – like letters. Moisten tissue with more water (spray bottle or squirt gun), and allow dye to leach into fabric. Honestly, the more tissue the better at this stage.

The orange tissue just made yellow

Remove tissue when desired color is reached and wet fabric with vinegar. Allow to completely dry. In my case, nothing happened (no dye transfer at first), so I just poured vinegar over the whole thing, tissue included. I removed tissue when the whole thing was dry – the next day.

Set dye by ironing damp garment with an iron, or by drying in the dryer. If your garment is completely dry, moisten it and then dry it in the dryer to set. I laundered my onesie and it came out looking like it does in the photo at the top. I didn’t detect any less color saturation after laundering!

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I’ll post more about the outcome of MSCE April later–I’m slammed today, but if everyone playing along could post the favorite project they did this month here as a comment, I’ll be doing a wrap up post, and I want to include your stuff. Also any comments about the experience you might have.

I had a great time! Hope you did too… and if you want to keep playing along for may, especially if you started late, go for it!

How to…. do something: How to make something cool everyday in April

If you did a wrap up post, like this great one from “How to… do something” leave a link to that as well!

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