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

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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!

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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!

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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

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We always, no matter how crazy our day is, sit around the table for dinner.  This can be a bit difficult with young children.  Someone is always done before everyone else or dinner is taking a little longer than expected.  I came up with a way to make those wait times a little easier on my kiddos.  Using Dollar Store placemats I created chalk boards to keep my children occupied at the table.

Project estimate:

• Vinyl/plastic placemat, $1
• Chalk board paint, on hand or about $5 and up
• Foam paint brush, on hand
• Chalk, on hand

Total: $1.00 and up

This will be one of the easiest crafts you’ll ever make.  All you need to do is paint the placemat with chalk board paint.  It will take at least 2 coats.  For the best results, paint the first coat with brush strokes going on one direction (left-right or top-bottom), then apply the second coat with strokes in the opposite direction.  Let the paint dry fully.  After it is dry chalk over the entire area and wipe clean with dry cloth.  This will allow for the mat to be wiped off easily after you children draw on it.

I made a placemat above for the table.  It’s my sons birthday today and its a fun way to wish him a happy birthday.  May daughter thought it would be fun to make a sign for her horse Indie’s stall.  One of the ladies at our stables said it would make a wonderful mouse pad.  It’s very versatile and you can do many things with this fun, easy craft!

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Have you seen the line of Betty Crocker kitchen tools that Dollar Tree carries?  Every time I walk past my local store’s end cap display, the red and white colors catch my eye and pull me in.  I’ve bought a few of the items to use in my kitchen at home, but I knew that there had to be alternative, craftier uses for some of the items.  Before I even knew what I was going to do with it, I grabbed a small cutting board to play with.  After some serious brainstorming and evaluation of my on-hand supplies, I was struck with a great idea.  Why not turn it into a message center for in the kitchen?

Project estimate:

• Cutting board, $1
• Sandpaper, on hand or $1
• Magnetic paint (optional), about $15 and up
• Chalkboard paint, on hand or about $3 and up
• Sharpie, on hand or $1

Total:  $1 and up

Start with a plain cutting board.  There are quite a few things I like about the ones from Dollar Tree, including the bright color, the slight lip around the edge, and the hole in the handle that makes it easy to hang on the wall.  I worked on the back side of the cutting board so that the white logo on the board will face the wall.

Lightly sand the surface of the cutting board to make the paint stick better.  Be careful to only sand within the boundaries formed by the lip around the edge.

If you want your finished message board to also be magnetic, paint it with several layers of magnetic paint.  This was my first time using magnetic paint; it was a little bit thick and the finish came out slightly lumpy, but I have also seen magnetic paint in spray cans which would eliminate this problem.  Make sure you build up several coats of paint so that magnets will stick firmly to the surface.  If you are using brush-on paint, you can carefully follow the edges of the lip around the edge, eliminating the need for masking!

Paint over the area inside of the lip with a couple coats of chalkboard paint to give it a write-and-wipe surface.  When the paint is dry, be sure to rub it lightly with chalk and wipe off to condition the surface for writing.

To add some easy detail, use a Sharpie to add a dotted border all the way around the edges of the writing surface.

I decided to call my message board done at this point, but if you’re feeling too crafty to quit, there are a ton of things you could add to this project!  You could use bent forks to add a chalk holder at the bottom of the board, glue a strip of cork along an edge to add a bulletin board element, or keep decorating it with more embellishments.  Go ahead and make this project YOURS!

Disclosure: This post is sponsored by DollarTree.com. All opinions are 100% my own.

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In a moment of crafty curiosity, Amy from Mod Podge Rocks! wondered if you could paint a doily with chalkboard paint.  It turns out, you can!  Mounted in a picture frame, it makes an attractive and unique memo board.  Hang it wherever you might need a little reminder, or use it to insert a favorite sentiment or special message into your decor.  Since most picture frames come equipped with hardware for hanging on the wall as well as an easel for placing on a desk or other surface, you can display it just about anywhere!  [how to make a chalkboard doily message board]

Project estimate:

• Paper doily, on hand or $1
• Chalkboard paint, on hand or about $3 and up
• Fabric, on hand
• Mod Podge, on hand
• Picture frame, $1 and up

Total:  $1 and up

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[Collapsible Storage Boxes]

[A peek into Rhonda’s closet!]

I’m a big fan of these collapsible storage boxes.  They come in a nice variety of sizes, and when you don’t need them they fold down flat for easy storage.  There are a few different assortments available with various dimensions and patterns;  I have discovered that the large containers from the striped container set are a nice size for sliding into hanging sweater shelves (the kind that attach to your closet bar), turning them into drawers.  Ever wished there was an easy, cheap way to add drawers to your closet?  Wish no more!

[Bungee Cords]

[Bungee cord memo board by DIY Life]

My father is a huge proponent of the many uses of bungee cords.  Seriously, the man never leaves home without them.  And for good reason!  These stretchy little wonders come in handy all the time.  While there are a million uses for them, one of my favorites is making a bungee cord memo board.

[Wire Mesh Wastebaskets]

[Rhonda’s woven fabric wastebasket]

I’ve also seen a few crafty uses for wire mesh wastebaskets.  They have a classic look that is great on its own, or you can dress them up in a number of different ways.  A while back I used some fabric I had laying around to make one into a woven fabric wastebasket that I use to hold my crochet projects next to my chair!

[Glass Jars with Screw-Top Lids]

[Chalkboard labeled jars by Just the Bee’s Knees]

If you have a lot of little things to keep corralled together, these glass jars with screw-top lids are really nice.  (I have one full of jingle bells on my craft table!)  The fronts of the jars have a beveled design, making it super-easy to turn them into chalkboard labeled jars – no need to even spend time masking!

[Letter and Number Stickers]

[DIY closet dividers by Under the Sycamore Tree]

Need to label your freshly-organized stuff, but hate your handwriting?  Letter and number stickers to the rescue!  Whether you’re labeling a storage box to make it easy to tell what’s inside, or using them as part of other organization projects (like these DIY closet dividers from Under the Sycamore Tree), you’ll have perfectly uniform letters every time!

Disclosure: This post is sponsored by DollarTree.com.  All opinions 100% my own.

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You may have seen chalkboard paint labeled containers before, but this version has a nice twist for anyone who has the-easier-the-better taste in crafts.  Using glass jars from Dollar Tree with recessed squares on the faces, Sarah from Just the Bee’s Knees made her set of jars in record time by skipping a step: no masking!  The surface of the jar provides a barrier, allowing her to paint perfect squares without the need to tape or measure.  With organizing season in full swing, it’s the perfect time to make a set for yourself!  [how to make easy chalkboard paint labeled jars]

Project estimate:

• Chalkboard paint, about $4 and up
• Glass containers, $1 each

Total:  $5 and up

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Okay, is this brilliant or what?  It’s a pendant necklace that features a tiny chalkboard!  Cat from brideblu used chalkboard spray paint to turn a blank, beveled pendant into a completely customizable piece.  The spray-on chalkboard paint is usually a little cheaper than the brush-on kind, and it dries quicker.  Alternatively, of you want to put a permanent message on your pendant, you could use flat black spray paint instead of  chalkboard paint, then use white acrylic paint to paint your design.  Wouldn’t it be a perfect back-to-school gift for your favorite teacher?  [how to make a chalkboard pendant necklace]

Project estimate:

• Pendant blank, on hand or $1 and up
• Chalkboard paint, about $4 and up
• Chain, on hand or $1 and up
• Ribbon, on hand or $1
• Masking tape, on hand
• Newspaper, on hand

Total:  about $4 and up

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