No matter how small your budget, this is a diamond necklace you will be able to afford!  It was designed by Clemence of Oh the lovely things, who also made a printable template you can use to make your own diamond shape!  The shape is cut from scrap leather; if you you don’t have any bits of leather laying around, look for cheap leather items (or fake leather items!) at thrift stores.  You could also make them in many other shapes, or make them out of any suitable materials you happen to have laying around.  [how to make a geometric diamond necklace]

Project estimate:

• Scrap leather, on hand
• Paint, on hand or $1 and up
• Diamond printable, free
• Awl or nail, on hand
• Chain, on hand or $1 and up

Total:  Free and up

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I think it’s cool that Urban Outfitters sells DIY kits for making some of their jewelry items and other accessories.  But sometimes it’s hard to take them seriously.  For instance, I would have a hard time paying $14 for UO’s kit for a washer-and-ribbon necklace based on a 1941 design by artist Anni Albers.  After all, the kit is just a bag of washers and a length of ribbon!  Luckily for cheapskates like you and I, Jina from Tiny Sparkly Things sat down with a pile of washers and figured out how it was done.  She even drew up her own diagram showing how to thread the washers together.  Thanks, Jina!  [how to make a washer and ribbon necklace]

Project estimate:

• Washers, $1 and up
• Ribbon, on hand or $1 and up

Total:  $1 and up

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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.

Reader Jessica just started a new blog called mad in crafts (named after a quote in Hamlet – love it!), and to kick it off she wrote up a fabulous tutorial for making a Max (from Where the Wild Things Are) costume, and guess what, she used a ton of dollar store stuff to make it!! She cleverly hacked up a couple of dollar store teddy bears for faux fur (crown & tail), used a white dollar store fleece scarf for raw material (including Max’s famous pointy hood), and bought a pair of oversized thrift store jammies for the main part of the costume (turned inside out, so they’d show white – brilliant!). You have to check out her tutorial and all her cleverness in making this amazing costume! If you made it through this paragraph and all its parenthesis, then you deserve to [click over to Jessica’s blog for the full tutorial].

If you start gathering supplies today, you still have time to make one of these great costumes for your kiddos!

Project Estimate:

• Thrift store pajamas, $1 and up
• Fleece scarf, $1
• Teddy bears (brown & white), $2
• Stiff yellow felt, $.50
• Buttons, on hand or $1
• Sewing stuff, on hand

Total: $5.50 and up

p.s. If you’re loving the Where the Wild Things Are theme this year, check out last week’s post and Wild Thing craft round up

The post Make a Max Costume with Dollar Store Stuff appeared first on Dollar Store Crafts.

Have extra long-sleeved shirts that long to be remade for summer? Look no further than this innovative tutorial by luvinthemommyhood, appropriate for beginning sewers. Raid the nearest male friend or relative’s unwanted clothing, or check out the thrift store for a huge selection of shirts. Use a cute stash fabric scrap for a fun applique, and get sewing!

Project Estimate:

• Long-sleeved men’s shirt, on hand or thrifted
• Elastic or ribbon, on hand or $1
• 4 buttons, on hand or $1
• Scrap fabric, on hand

Total: FREE and up

The post Make Yoga Pants from Shirt Sleeves appeared first on Dollar Store Crafts.

Use thrifted silk ties wrapped around eggs to dye them with beautiful and stunning patterns! Project from Martha.

Project Materials:

• Raw eggs, on hand
• Silk ties, blouses, or boxers, on hand or thrifted
• Cheesecloth, old nylon stockings, or old cloth to cover silk-wrapped eggs, on hand or $1
• Yarn, string, or another method for closing the wrap around the eggs, on hand
• 3 Tablespoons of vinegar, on hand

Total cost: $1 and up

Finding the Ties:

I went to my local Goodwill Outlet (aka “The Bins” where stuff is sold by the pound) and scored ten silk ties (total cost: about $2). Be sure ties are 100% silk. You will usually find a tag near one end or the other of the tie that tells you if it is made of silk. If you can’t find a tag, silk ties have a soft and fine feel to them.

What to look for: bright, dark, and small-patterned ties work best! Larger-patterned ties are more abstract, but still pretty. Maroons tend to bleed throughout the entire batch (if you want to avoid this, keep all the maroons together in a separate pot). Lighter ties will make a lighter (or nearly invisible) pattern.

Cutting the Ties:

I started the first tie by ripping the whole thing apart by the seams, and quickly decided that I’d rather just cut a piece of tie off, rip it open, and wrap. Whatever you decide to do, you will want to open the tie up, remove any lining, tags, and interfacing, and just use the single piece of silk.

Wrapping the Egg:

Wrap the piece of silk GOOD SIDE toward the egg. If your silk has an image you want to imprint on the egg (as in the deer picture in the silk shown here), be sure the image is flush against the egg.

After the silk is wrapped around the egg, secure it by wrapping another layer of fabric around the egg. I used cheesecloth because I had it on hand, but it would be super easy to use old nylons or tights, or any old stash fabric or old (ruined) clothing you have. Secure with a piece of yarn, a rubber band, or each end with a twisty tie.

Boiling the Eggs:

When you are done wrapping your eggs (I used a big pot and put enough eggs in to cover the bottom of the pot in one layer), put water in your pot, enough to cover eggs. Add 3 Tablespoons of vinegar. Bring to a boil and then simmer for 20 minutes.

Drain the eggs, allow to cool, and unwrap! You can re-use the silk to make more eggs, if you like.

The post Dye Easter Eggs With Silk Ties appeared first on Dollar Store Crafts.

Maya*made got some coffee bean sacks from her local coffee roaster (for FREE! they have a ton of these and were glad to get rid of them. Score! Do the same at your local roaster!) and covered a garage saled bulletin board with it for some instant coffeehouse chic in her office.

Instructions at the maya*made blog.

Materials needed:
coffee sack (FREE)
bulletin board (they sell small ones or tiles at the dollar store)

Tools:
staple gun
scissors

Estimated cost: $3 or so

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