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.

My iPhone is one of my most important possessions – it goes everywhere with me and serves so many different purposes that it’s indispensable! But you know what would make it even handier? A tripod! Shannon from eat.sleep.MAKE. made one for herself using the back half of a plastic dinosaur and I could not be more delighted with her design. Not only is it functional and inexpensive, it’s also freakin’ hilarious! [how to make a dinosaur phone tripod]

Project estimate:

• Plastic dinosaur, on hand
• Caulk, about $5 and up
• Suction cup, on hand or $1

Total: about $5 and up

The post Make a Dinosaur Phone Tripod appeared first on Dollar Store Crafts.

If the neighbors had any doubt that we are the strangest people on the block, I think that my latest project just might confirm our status as the neighborhood weirdos.  Lots of folks around here have plastic flamingos on their lawn – one guy even has a collection of them that he rearranges into different configurations every few days – but nobody else in town has a zebra flamingo.  (Zemingo?  Flebra?)  Want to add a little weird to your yard as well?  Read on…

Project estimate:

• Plastic flamingo, $1 and up
• Spray primer, on hand or $1 and up
• Black paint, on hand or $1 and up

Total:  $1 and up

I was so excited to see plastic lawn flamingos at Dollar Tree that I had to resist snatching up a whole armload of them.  Instead, I grabbed a pair.  If you can’t find them at your local store, check for them on the Dollar Tree website; while seasonal items come and go from their inventory, when I looked I found them available with a minimum order quantity of four!

I knew that I wanted to give my flamingos a complete makeover, so the first thing I did was give them a few coats of white spray primer.  Be patient and use lots of light coats to get good coverage in all of the cracks created by the feathers without making the paint look drippy.

Before you start painting the zebra stripes, look at some photos of real zebras to get an idea of what they should look like.  I kept a photo of a zebra up on my computer screen as I was working so I always had something to refer to.  This picture is from Wikimedia Commons; if you want to see more pictures of zebras from different angles, try a Google image search.  A little research goes a long way!

The great thing about painting zebra stripes is that, due to their unique-like-a-fingerprint nature, they are actually very forgiving.  I had five or six “oops” moments while painting this one and you can’t even tell!

I still have one more flamingo left to paint, but I am debating what to do with it.  Should I paint it with zebra stripes as well, or should I try painting one with giraffe spots?  (Wouldn’t that be funny??)  What’s your vote?

The post Tutorial: Zebra Stripe Lawn Flamingo appeared first on Dollar Store Crafts.

With two holidays on the calendar this month, make sure you don’t forget about one of my favorites that is also coming up soon:  April Fool’s Day!  You might remember our fake glass of spilled milk project from a couple of years ago; if you liked that idea, you will also enjoy this one from Plain Graces!  Imagine the look on mom’s face when she discovers what appears to be melted ice cream all over her brand new couch, or how dad will react when he finds this laying on the back seat of his beloved car!  Bwahahahaha!  [how to make an April Fool’s Day fake ice cream spill]

Project estimate:

• Ice cream cones, on hand or $1
• White glue, on hand
• Paint, on hand
• Sprinkles, on hand
• Plastic wrap, on hand

Total:  Free and up

The post Make an April Fool’s Day Fake Ice Cream Spill appeared first on Dollar Store Crafts.

These hair sticks actually caught my attention because I have a whole bunch of plastic eyeballs laying around, left from last year’s glowing mad scientist jars.  Shala from Don’t Eat the Paste made them out of what look to be the exact same eyeballs that have been staring at me from a bowl on my computer desk, waiting to be turned into something new.  Make them even fancier by spray painting the chopsticks before attaching the eyeballs to the ends.  Be sure to check out Shala’s tips for drilling the holes, and always remember to think about safety when it comes time to use power tools!  [how to make eyeball hair sticks]

Project estimate:

• Plastic eyeballs, $1
• Chopsticks, on hand or $1
• Clay, on hand or  $1
• Drill, on hand
• Glue, on hand

Total:  $1 and up

The post Make Eyeball Hair Sticks appeared first on Dollar Store Crafts.

My Halloween aesthetic isn’t for everyone.  I like things that are scary and strange, things that a lot of “normal” folks might not appreciate.  I have a feeling that my adoration for this junk-o-lantern from Small Hands Big Art might fall into that love-it-or-loathe-it category.  It kind of reminds me of the styling of the robots in the movie “Robots.”  This is a great way to use up some of those random odds and ends that you’ve been saving because you knew that someday they would come in handy.  Connoisseurs of the junk drawer, someday has arrived!  [how to make a junk-o-lantern]

Project estimate:

• Pumpkin, on hand or about $3 and up
• Random junk, on hand
• Glue, on hand

Total:  Free and up

Looking for more pumpkin crafts?

The post Make a Junk-O-Lantern appeared first on Dollar Store Crafts.