We love map crafts! Claire at Pillar Box Blue used some old maps to make these adorable Valentine’s Day treat holders! If you don’t want to cut up actual maps, look around online for printable vintage maps (there are some mentioned in Claire’s post). You can even personalize these by using maps with a city or area that has sentimantal value to the recipient! [how to make map heart treat bags]

Project estimate:

• Maps, on hand or free and up
• Sewing machine or needle and thread, on hand
• Small tags, on hand or $1 and up
• String, on hand or $1 and up
• Candy, $1 and up

Total: $1 and up!

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Could your desk use a little help in the organization department? Make yourself a set of organizers using an assortment of items from the recycling bin! I covered mine with free maps I got while on vacation.You can use newspaper, magazine/book pages, scrapbook paper, wallpaper, music sheets, wrapping paper, or anything else you want to decorate yours!

Project estimate:

• Assorted empty boxes and cans, on hand
• Maps, free and up
• Hot glue, on hand
• Black marker, on hand
• Mod Podge, on hand or $1 and up
• Poster board, on hand or $1
• Packing tape, on hand or $1

Total:  Free and up!

Collect the boxes and cans and make sure they are clean and dry.  Prepare the boxes and cans.

Cereal box magazine holder:

• Mark one side of the box and cut it out.
• Use the piece you cut out as a template for the other side.
• Tape the side pieces that were cut off back to the sides of the box to make it stronger.
• If desired, cover the outside of the box with tape to reinforce it further.

Vegetable can pencil holder:

• Cut a piece of poster board to fit around the outside of the can. (This will cover the ridges of the can)
• Tape the poster board to the can and cover the seam with tape.

Sweetener box (or other small box) business card holder:

• Cut into the shape you want to hold business cards.
• If desired, cover the outside of the box with tape to reinforce.

Apply a coat of the Mod Podge onto the surfaces you want to cover with maps. Apply the paper and press it down using a sponge brush.  Carefully work out as many air bubbles and wrinkles as possible.

Once the paper has dried brush on a coat of Mod Podge over the top. Let dry. Depending on the finish you want, you can do this several more times. Each application makes the boxes stronger.

On the bottoms of cans, fold over the excess in small sections, much like gathering fabric, and use Mod Podge to hold them down.

Measure and cut a piece of black poster board to line the inside and bottoms of the boxes and cans. You can use the cans to trace circles for covering the bottoms. Apply hot glue to hold the poster board in place.

The post Tutorial: Map Desk Set appeared first on Dollar Store Crafts.

Every year or two, my husband and I like to replace our road maps with new ones. It’s always nice to have up-to-date maps, but then we are left with the conundrum of what to do with the old ones. They’re too interesting to throw away but no longer serve a practical purpose for us so keeping them seems kind of silly – unless they are to be given new life in a craft project! Amanda at Crafts by Amanda used some old maps to dress up wooden bird houses, and they turned out absolutely adorable. What else would you decorate with outdated or unused maps? [how to make road map birdhouses]

Project estimate:

• Bird house, $1 and up
• Maps, on hand
• Paint, on hand or $1 and up
• Mod Podge, on hand

Total: $1 and up

The post Make Road Map Bird Houses appeared first on Dollar Store Crafts.

I love pretty notebooks.  I always have.  There was a period in my tween years where I collected blank books and fancy notebooks, amassing dozens of them in which I never scrawled a single word because they were just too pretty to mar.  (Are you really that surprised to learn I was somewhat of a strange child?)  I still have a weakness for pretty notebooks, though these days I am more likely to go for the handmade variety like this woven map notebook by Ruby at Ruby Murray’s Musings.  These would make great graduation gifts for any college-bound students you know – and mom would probably like one for Mother’s Day too!  [how to make a woven map notebook]

Project estimate:

• Map(s), on hand or free and up
• Composition book, $1
• Scotch tape, on hand
• Double-stick tape, on hand or $1

Total:  $1 and up

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