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.

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.

When it comes to handmade gifts, finding good crafts for boys can be tough.  There are a zillion cute little girl tutorials, but somehow the poor little boys get left out of the fun.  One sure-fire hit is always the classic toy car road, a place for the Matchbox collection to whiz back and forth.  Most kits of road sections, however, take up a lot of storage space.  (Not to mention that they hurt when you step on them!)  Jen from Lil Mop Top came up with a genius and green solution: she cut up an old pair of jeans, painted on some dotted yellow lines, and voila!  Endless hours of entertainment for practically no cost!  A few tabs of stick-on velcro help hold the roads firmly in place on the carpet; if you have hardwood floors, try gluing small pieces of textured shelf liner to the backs instead.  When it comes time to put everything away, the entire thing rolls up to store inside a salvaged jean pocket, and if any pieces are left laying bout, they are easy on the toes!  [how to make fabric roads for toy cars]

Project estimate:

• Old jeans, on hand
• Yellow paint, on hand or $1
• Velcro, on hand or $1

Total:  Free and up

The post Make Fabric Roads for Toy Cars appeared first on Dollar Store Crafts.

Every kid loves a pizza party.  How can you make pizza even more fun to eat?  Turn the box into a monster! Kim from Today Is My Someday dressed up a box for her son and his friends and it was a huge hit!  Using some basic supplies that she already had around the house, it took her just a few minutes to give her box monster a set of scary teeth, flared nostrils, and creepy orange eyes.  Will your guests dare to reach between the rows of teeth to snag a slice?  [how to make a pizza box monster]

Project estimate:

• Pizza box, on hand
• Paper, on hand
• Marker, on hand
• Pom poms or googly eyes, on hand or $1
• Corks, on hand

Total:  Free and up

The post Make a Pizza Box Monster appeared first on Dollar Store Crafts.

Make your basic dollar store beanie into a stylish brimmed cap in just five minutes. Delia at Delia Creates used a recycled yogurt lid and a few minutes of sewing to transform a $1 hat into a brand name-inspired brimmed hat for her son. You can find basic beanies (aka stocking caps, watch caps, ski caps) at the dollar store in the winter, and recycled plastic in your pantry just about any time of year. [how to make a brimmed beanie] [via]

Project Estimate:

• Stocking cap, $1
• Recycled yogurt lid, on hand
• Sewing machine & thread, on hand

Total: $1

The post Make a Brimmed Beanie in 5 Minutes for $1 appeared first on Dollar Store Crafts.

While Dollar Store Crafts is usually a pretty girly place, we have a few projects that the men on your list might enjoy:

Alien Abduction Lamp: $5

For $5, make a nifty alien abduction desk lamp perfect for the conspiracy theorist on your gift list.

Hardware Chess Set: $16 and up

This project is the most expensive one on the list, but oh so cool! Make a chess set out of nuts, bolts, screws, etc.

No-Sew Fold-Up Netbook Case: $4

This nifty fold-up case is practically a Transformer! Oh, it’s not? Well, it does transform a placemat into a netbook case with just a few folds and some strategically-placed Velcro.

Transform a Tie into a Gadget Case: FREE

Take an old tie and transform it into a handy carrying case for all those gadgets he’ll be getting for Christmas.

Stuffed Animal Headphones: $3

For the right guy, these would be awesome! Transform headphones into cute headphones with the addition of stuffed animals.

Cuddly Portable Speakers: $2

Or, if he doesn’t want to be seen with stuffed animals stuck to his head, but is cool with having one on his desk, how about disguising speakers with a stuffed animal.

None of these will work for you? Try these tried and true suggestions (most of them are food! Food is nearly always a win!):

• Duct Tape Wallet: I made these for the guys in my family about seven years ago, and my dad still uses his. I used instructions from here to make mine.
• Flavored Liquors: Like this Limoncello by Dot at Dabbled
• Any cookies, candy, etc.: When in doubt, dessert it out

What are your ideas for handmade gifts for men? Or perhaps you ARE a man and can give us some insight into something handmade that you’ve received or would like to receive! Help the girls out!

The post 9 Gifts to Make for Guys (Under $20) appeared first on Dollar Store Crafts.

Here’s a cool update on the French memo board idea! This version uses mini bungee cords to create the gridwork that keeps your keepsakes and notes up on a board. This is a great idea for a more masculine (or neutral) office space, or a dorm room or boy bedroom. I like the circuit-board look of the bungee cords! If your budget is really low, you can skip the board and use the bungees directly on your wall (maybe paint a square on the wall a different color for a faux board). Great idea by DIY Life [make a bungee cord memo board] [via]

Mini bungee cords can be found at your local dollar store. You can either build the board from scratch as in the tutorial, or buy a readymade bulletin board at a thrift store or office supply place. I’m substituting a few dollar store items in my estimate here instead of some of the suggestions in the tutorial.

Project Estimate:

• 12-14 bungee cords, $3
• Roll of kraft packaging paper, $1
• Curtain clips, $5 and up
• Lumber or bulletin board, $5 and up
• Assorted tools, on hand

Total: $14 and up

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Today’s project is inspired by the idea of “kitbashing,” where you take pieces from several model kits to create something new and unique.  My family first got into this concept on a recent trip to my brother J. Clark’s house, where we created some unique model spaceships out of items we went and found at a local thrift store.  That was only a few weeks ago, and we have already had two additional “building” sessions here at home since then!

For the Dollar Store Crafts version of “kitbashing,” you might pick up a few toys or household items at your local dollar store and combine them with thrifted items or things you no longer use at home.  The possibilities are quite literally endless, and you may be surprised how fun it is to look at everything you find in a new light — with spaceship-building in mind!  [see how it’s done!]

Project Materials:

• Junk!, mine totaled approximately $3
• screwdrivers (for disassembling junk)
• E6000 glue, $5 or on hand
• spray paint, $1

Total:  (for my ship) about $4

Caroline Sanchez (Care) has been sewing since her mom taught her the basics at around six years old.  She has always been driven to CREATE, even from a very young age.  She is mommy to two little boys and one baby girl, and almost every spare moment she has is spent in her sewing room or working on her blog, Obsessively Stitching.

The post Model Spaceships out of JUNK 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.

Disney from Ruffles and Stuff kindly made an adorable project for the boys in the crowd (as a mom of 3 sons, I am very excited!). She found a sweater vest at the dollar store (check your Dollar Trees for their random bins o’ sweaters right now), and transformed it into this adorable owl beanie and coordinating scarf. So cute, and super simple! Pretty sure my sons will want this when they see it! If you don’t have any sweaters at your dollar store, this is a natural project for an old sweater you already have in the back of your closet, or one you find at the thrift shop. [click here for tutorial]

Project Estimate:

• Sweater, $1 or on hand
• Felt, on hand

Total: $1

The post Recycled Sweater Owl Hat Cuteness appeared first on Dollar Store Crafts.