Take a few pretty focal pendants made of stone, and turn them into a pretty statement necklace. This Statement Stone Necklace takes less than an hour to make, and uses three pretty focal pendants that cost just $1 — for all THREE (from my sponsor, Fire Mountain Gems — affiliate links included in this post). I braided three chains to make a sturdy chain for these eye-catching stones.

I recently got a few goodies from the Fire Mountain Gems $1 sale, and they challenged me to make something with the things they sent me. I was immediately inspired by the group of three focal stones, and I thought they might even look good if grouped together in a single necklace.

Since you can’t often find jewelry-making supplies at the dollar store, I heartily recommend checking out Fire Mountain Gems for their $1 sale, which goes until April 11.

Project Materials:

• 3 Stone Focal Pendants, $1
• 3 18″ chains, $1 each
• Large jump rings, $1 or on hand
• Eye pins, $1 or on hand
• Pliers (Needle nose, chain nose, or round nose will work), on hand
• Lobster clasp, $1 or on hand

Total cost: $4 and up

Step 1: If your chains have clasps on them already, remove them. In my case, my three chains were 18″ unfinished chains. Instead of using an additional lobster clasp, you can reuse the clasp from one of your chains, if you like.

Put the three chains on a jump ring, and then put the lobster clasp onto the jump ring. Close the jump ring.

Step 2: Clip the lobster clasp onto something (like a safety pin on your jeans!!), and then braid the three chains together.

Step 3: Put the three ends of the braided chain through a small jump ring, then add a large jump ring to use with the lobster clasp.

The braided chain makes a sturdy backdrop for the three large focal beads!

Step 4: Insert long eye pins into the holes of each focal bead, and wrap the end of the eye pin around the top, wire-wrapping style. Alternately, use an ice pick bail to mount the focal beads.

Attach each prepared focal bead to the braided chain using a jump ring.

You’re done! You can also add as many additional embellishments as you like. Get creative – there are so many fun beads to buy at the $1 sale!

Disclosure: Affiliate links, and product was provided for free from our sponsor, Fire Mountain Gems.

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Leather feathers – as fun to say as they are to wear!  We love these chic, dangly earrings from Gina Michele.  It’s a great way to use up scraps of leather left over from other projects; if you don’t happen to have any leather on hand, old leather garments from thrift stores are also a great source of materials for this project.  If you like the leather feather look, you could also use this technique to make a necklace, or even to embellish items for your decor!  [how to make leather feather earrings]

Project estimate:

• Leather, on hand or $1 and up
• Chain, on hand or $1
• Jewelry findings, on hand or $1

Total:  Free and up!

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I’m pretty sure that just about every crafter on the planet has an abundance of buttons – I know that personally I have thousands of them, enough to constitute several lifetime supplies for most folks.  as such, I’m always on the lookout for cute and clever button crafts.  I really love these simple pensant necklaces by Shellie at Craftbits!  It’s a great way to dress up a plain button, or to showcase a unique button in a special way!  [how to make wire wrapped button pendants]

Project estimate:

• Buttons, on hand or $1 and up
• Wire, on hand or $1 and up
• Chain or cord, on hand or $1 and up

Total:  Free and up!

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I bet when you see a bag of plastic bugs at the dollar store, “pretty” isn’t one of the first words to come to mind.  That is, unless you are Heather!  She elevated a plastic bee with a sparkly makeover, turning it into a trendy necklace.  After you watch this video, you will want to figure out what other ways you can turn blingy bugs into fabulous jewelry!

Project estimate:

• Plastic bugs, $1
• Nail polish, on hand or $1
• Glitter, on hand or $1
• Mod Podge, on hand
• Jump rings, on hand
• Chain, on hand or $1 and up

Total:  $1 and up

Paint the bee with nail polish.

Sprinkle glitter over the nail polish.

Paint over the glitter with Mod Podge and let dry.

Punch holes in the wings with a small hole punch.

Attach the bee to a chain using jump rings.

The post Tutorial: Glitter Bee Necklace appeared first on Dollar Store Crafts.

With the seasons changing, it’s last call for summery garden wares before they are gone off of the shelves for the year.  And you’ll definitely want to try to get your hands on a couple of things once you see this fabulous jewelry tutorial from Michelle at Mich L. in L.A.  With just a few dollars worth of supplies she created this fun and funky faux wrought iron necklace – you’ve absolutely gotta check this one out!  [how to make a faux wrought iron necklace]

Project estimate:

• Plastic edging fence, $1
• Plant hanger chain, $1
• Jewelry findings, on hand or $1 and up
• Tassels, $1 and up

Total:  $3 and up

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I've been wanting to make a rain chain for a while now, ever since I learned what they were (a decorative alternative to a downspout). So when the folks at Dollar General put out their spring merchandise this year, I starting mulling over what would be the best way to go about it. I'd seen some rain chains made using little metal buckets that I really liked, so I decided to use them as inspiration for my design. But instead of using metal buckets, I chose some brightly-colored plastic cups to give my rain chain lots of personality!

Project estimate:

• Flower pot chains, $6 (4 @ $1.50 each)
• Large plastic cups, $5
• Locking pliers, on hand
• Nail, on hand
• Candle, on hand
• Dremel tool or drill, on hand

Total: about $11

My design uses 5 "links" that are each about 18" long; the amount of materials you need may vary based on how long you need your rain chain to be.

I always love Dollar General's selection of garden stuff. Every year I find so may great treasures there!

Shopping with a rain chain in mind, one item that caught my eye was a selection of flower pot chains. Each package contains three 18" lengths of chain and 4 S-hooks, which come in several different colors.

I also browsed the plastic cups. I love the color scheme they have going on with their plastic picnicware this year, and I ended up with 5 large cups that cost $1 each; three blue and two bright green.

To assemble the chain portion of each "link" you will need two lengths of chain. First, slip an S-hook into the end of one length of chain.

Next, find the center point of the second length of chain. Slip the S-hook through the center point of the chain to make two equal-length sections. (Note that you may have to put the S-hook through one link each from two adjoining bits of chain to get to the exact center.) Pinch the S-hook closed with pliers to secure the chain. We will call this Hook A. Also add an S-hook to the end of each of the shorter sections of chain and pinch closed. We will call these Hook B and Hook C. Repeat for as many "links" as you will have in your rain chain and set aside.

In order to connect the cups into a chain, you will need to make a few holes. First, use a Dremel tool or a drill to make a hole in the bottom of each cup. These holes should be large enough for the chain to slide through with a little bit of space to spare.

You will also need to make two holes near the rim of each cup, directly across from each other. The tops of my cups were a little flimsy to drill, so I made them using a hot nail. (Do this in a well-ventilated area or outdoors to avoid breathing the plastic fumes!)

Hold a nail in a pair of locking pliers (locking pliers are important because you really don't want to drop that hot nail!) and hold the tip over a lit candle. When the nail is hot, carefully press it through the cup at the point where you want the hole to go. If you don't feel comfortable eyeballing the placement of the holes, you may want to mark the places where you want to make them with a marker first.

To assemble, slip Hook B and Hook C into the two holes near the rim of a cup and pinch the hooks shut. Feed the longer section of chain through the hole in the bottom of the cup. To attach the next link, connect Hook A from another link to the end of the chain sticking out of the bottom of the previous cup. Repeat until all of the links are connected! If needed, you can also add an extra segment of chain to the very bottom of the rain chain to direct the water all the way to the ground. Hang the rain chain in place of a downspout. (I know, you're probably thinking, Rhonda, your house doesn't have gutters! Yeah, I know… A very rough winter led to them being ripped down by ice and we have yet to rehang them, so for now my rain chain is just for looks, but eventually it will actually be functional!)

What do you think? Does your house need a rain chain this year?

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They toy aisle at the dollar store is always a treasure trove of fun little trinkets and tidbits.  Aki at A Nest for All Seasons happened across some adorable little turtles and, being somewhat of a turtle fanatic, decided that they would make nifty jewelry.  Her spray-paint-and-nail-polish makeover takes them from cheap plastic playthings to sophisticated pendants in a few simple steps.  It’s amazing what a transformation a little bit of painting can make!  [how to make plastic toy necklaces]

Project estimate:

• Plastic toys, $1
• Drill, on hand
• Spray paint, on hand or $1 and up
• Nail polish, on hand or $1 and up
• Jump rings, on hand
• Chain, on hand or $1 and up

Total:  $1 and up

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It seems like every seasonal change comes with its own themed table scatter. Sparkly gems, sequins or felt in seasonal shapes appear in dollar stores everywhere.  Looking beyond their intended purpose, Aki from A Nest for All Seasons transformed some leaf gems into stunning jewelry with just the right amount of shine. [how to make table scatter jewelry]

Project estimate:

• Table scatter, $1
• Dremel or rotary file, on hand
• Drill and 3/32″ bit, on hand
• Jump rings, on hand
• Chains, on hand
• Pliers, on hand

Total: $1 and up

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I was scrolling through my feed reader the other day when I stopped on a post that literally made me giggle.  How fun and funky are these necklaces?  Would you believe that they are made from parakeet mirrors?  True story!  Mich L. in L.A. has done it again, turning another mundane and unexpected item into truly fabulous jewelry.  (Don’t like the bold, bright colors of the plastic mirror frames?  A blast of spray paint might make them more your style!)  [how to make parakeet mirror pendant necklaces]

Project estimate:

• Parakeet mirror, $1 and up
• Paper, on hand
• Mod Podge, on hand
• Chain, on hand or $1 and up
• Beads, on hand or $1 and up
• Jewelry findings, on hand or $1 and up

Total:  $1 and up

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Make an easy chunky chain necklace using items from your craft stash. This necklace was inspired by one seen in a street fashion photo from New York Fashion Week that appeared on NYMag.com. I already had some black chunky resin chain on hand but it seemed to lack something. The simple gold ring makes the necklace.

Project estimate:

• Black resin chain, about $2 and up
• Gold O ring, on hand or $2 and up
• Ribbon, on hand or $1
• Optional: gold paint or nail polish (on hand); chain connectors (on hand or $8 and up)

Total: about $2 and up

Black plastic link chain can be purchased from a hardware store or pet toy supplier for less than $1 a foot or a style of chain that lays flat is available from jewelry suppliers.

The gold ring can be duplicated using an O ring, which can be purchased for a few dollars from retailers who sell purse hardware. However, a less expensive option that requires no shipping is to take an O ring from a beat-up old purse. (Tip: Never throw out a damaged purse without stripping the hardware.) Here is the smaller O ring I used.

And a larger but slimmer one.

You can brighten up the metal with a gold spray paint intended for metal like Krylon or Rust-Oleum. Or, if you’re not in a position to be spray painting, then try my new favorite DIY product – nail polish.

Divide your chain into two even sections to the length you like. Then simply snap the ring on to the end of both pieces.

You can finish the ends with two pieces of dollar store ribbon or use chain. I used a Styled by Tori Spelling necklace top and connectors that I already had on hand.

I have ended up wearing this super simple necklace more than some fancy ones I’ve spent hours working on.

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