Take these elephant and dinosaur toys from the dollar store and use them to make some fun photo holders to display on your desk, shelf or playroom. Add a dash of whimsy to any room. You’ll be surprised at the way these clever photo holders are constructed, so check out how easy it is to make this dinosaur photo frame craft!

Hi there! Katie here today from Punk Projects! I love using inexpensive items in my crafting. If it involves upcycling, I’m all for it! I took a trip to the Dollar Tree to get some inspiration for today’s post and I found these awesome plastic toys.

Supplies Needed:

Project estimate:

• Toy animals, $1
• Flat magnets, on hand or $1
• Super glue, on hand or $1
• Craft knife or box cutter, on hand

Total:  $1 and up

1. Decide on your animals. I loved the brontosaurus, and the elephant is for a friend.

2. Use a craft knife to cut through the animal. Most plastic animals have a seam where they were put together, cut on that seam and it will be easier. Just don’t cut yourself.

3. Once you have your animal cut in half, trace around him onto a magnet.

4. Cut out 2 magnets for each animal.

5. Go around the cut edge of your animal with super glue and glue your magnet to it.

6. Let it dry completely.

Once your magnets have been glued on and dried, slide a photo in between the animal piece and stand him back up! I love these little dinosaur photo frames!

What do you think? Would you make a dinosaur photo frame craft for yourself, or for a friend?

Pin the Dinosaur Photo Frame Craft:

I’m Katie, a lover of anything artsy. I doodle on everything I can get my hands on, however my favorite projects are scrapbooking, restyled/upcycled crafts and sewing. I write my blog, Punk Projects, where I post tutorials, inspiration and other fun things as well as designing custom shoes in my etsy shop.

You can also find me here on Facebook, Twitter and Pinterest.

The post Tutorial: Toy Animal Photo Holders appeared first on Dollar Store Crafts.

Metallics are super trendy these days, and our friend Tanner from A Little Craft In Your Day recently shared a couple of organizational projects that involve metallic paint.  These projects – painted wooden bowls and animal bookends – would be great for DIY dorm decor!  Look for the plastic animals at the dollar store, and check yard sales and thrift stores for wooden bowls on the cheap.  See how he made both projects in the YouTube video below, or visit his YouTube channel.

Project estimate:

• Wood bowls, on hand or $1 and up
• Masking tape, on hand or $1 and up
• Plastic animals, $1 and up
• Wood block, on hand or $1 and up
• Glue, on hand
• Paint, on hand or $1 and up

Total: $1 and up!

The post DIY Metallic Crafts for Organization appeared first on Dollar Store Crafts.

Jessica from Mad in Crafts recently entered this ingenious craft in So You Think You’re Crafty.  She didn’t take first place, but they are still a great idea, especially for a child’s room.  The process is remarkably simple, but the results are pretty dang cool if I do say so myself.  [how to make plastic animal bookends]

Project estimate:

• Plastic animals, $1
• Sharp scissors, on hand
• Glue, on hand
• 2 acrylic photo frames, $2

Total cost: $3 and up

For a more adult look, spray paint the animals and frames a metallic color.  My only addition would be to add some weight inside the plastic animals to help hold up our bigger, heavier adult books.  You could always go crazy with neon colored spray paint as well!

The post Make Plastic Animal Bookends appeared first on Dollar Store Crafts.