When it comes time to throw a party on a budget, decorations don’t get much cheaper than these fabulous recycled newspaper pom poms!  At DIY Candy, Jacy shows how to turn a stack of old news into new baubles with just a little bit of folding and cutting.  In addition to making great decorations on their own, you could make a garland out of them, use them to embellish your gift wrapping, or even as decorations on a Christmas tree!  [how to make newspaper pom poms]

Project estimate:

• Newspaper, on hand
• String, on hand

Total:  Free!

The post Make Newspaper Pom Poms appeared first on Dollar Store Crafts.

The other day I wandered around Dollar Tree on a mission to find Halloween crafting materials.  The trip ended with me walking around the entire store and tossing every orange item I could find into my cart.  Among those items was an orange “bar mop” towel, all soft and fuzzy and microfiber-y.  When the idea struck to stencil it with a Jack-o-lantern face I knew it would be cute, but it turned out even better than I expected!  Over at Mrs. Greene I shared the instructions for this project – you won’t believe how quick and easy these are to make!  [how to make a stenciled Halloween towel]

Project estimate:

• Orange towel, $1 and up
• Recycled cardboard, on hand
• Spray adhesive, on hand or about $5 and up
• Masking tape, on hand or $1 and up
• Newspaper, on hand
• Spray paint, on hand or $1 and up

Total:  $1 and up

The post Make a Stenciled Halloween Towel appeared first on Dollar Store Crafts.

Keeping kids who are cooped up indoors entertained is a perennial parenting challenge. Luckily you only need to look as far as your recycling bin for hours of entertainment! Heather wrote a great post on Home Made Simple teaching us how to make a drum, rain stick, tambourine and more from items you already have on hand! [how to make DIY Musical Instruments]

Project estimate (for drum):

• Large can, on hand
• Newspaper, on hand
• Craft paint, on hand
• Paintbrush, on hand
• Scissors, on hand
• Craft felt, on hand
• Rubber bands, on hand
• Pencils, on hand

Total: Free!

The post Make Recycling Bin Musical Instruments appeared first on Dollar Store Crafts.

So you want a pinata at your party, but you don’t want it in the shape of a donkey or a dinosaur or a car.  But you don’t want just a plain ol’ geometric shape either.  How about a fun, funky pinata made using party hats?  At Oh Happy Day, Jenny shows how to make this unique idea for your own party.  It’s easy to customize to any party’s theme or color scheme, from birthday parties to family picnics and even weddings!  (If you can’t find just the right ones, you can customize party hats to get the look you want!)  [make a party hat pinata]

Project estimate:

• Balloons, on hand or $1
• White glue, on hand or $1
• Newspaper, on hand
• Party hats, $1
• Tissue paper, on hand or $1
• Hot glue, on hand
• Double stick tape, on hand

Total:  $1 and up

The post Make a Party Hat Pinata appeared first on Dollar Store Crafts.

One of my favorite things about working on my dollhouse projects is finding ways to replicate mundane, everyday things in a tiny scale.  And what is more everyday than the newspaper? Keep your dollhouse residents up-to-date on local and world events by fashioning your own itty-bitty periodicals.  If you have a printer and some Mod Podge, you have everything you need to make this project, and it’s so very easy!

Project estimate:

• Newspaper image, free
• Paper, on hand
• Mod Podge, on hand

Total:  Free!

First you need to find a picture of the front page of a newspaper.  I found mine via a Google image search; try searching for the name of the paper you want plus the words “front page,” such as “USA Today front page” or “New York Times front page.”  Save the image file to your computer and resize it to be 1 1/2 inches wide, then print it out.  Make sure you print it far enough into the page so that there is at least a 1 1/2 inch margin to the left of the image.

When you cut out the image, cut a the paper twice as wide as the picture (3 inches) so that there is a blank space to the left of the image.  Fold the paper in half and crease well.

Cut a second piece of paper the same size as the piece with the newspaper image.  Crease this piece of paper as well.  You will use this piece as interior pages for the paper, giving it a little more bulk and making it look more realistic.

Slip the blank piece of paper inside the printed piece, then fold both in half together and crease.  It should be starting to look like a newspaper!  You can leave it folded like this, or you can fold it in half again before you seal it.

Seal the paper with Mod Podge.  Pinch the newspaper shut so that all of the pages lay flat, then brush a coat of Mod Podge around the edges to hold everything in place.  Continue to add coats of Mod Podge over the entire newspaper until you are satisfied with the coverage.  (I usually Mod Podge my paper miniatures until then sound like they are made of plastic if you drop them on the table!)

Once the Mod Podge cures completely, you may want to seal it with some clear acrylic spray to prevent it from becoming tacky in high humidity.  The dolls will never be out-of-the-loop again!

The post Make a Miniature Dollhouse Newspaper appeared first on Dollar Store Crafts.

The decorations are hung, the dinner menu is finalized, and gifts have all been bought.  Now all that’s left to do is wrap them up and tuck them under the tree.  You reach into the depths of your wrapping paper supply, and you pull out wedding paper, baby shower paper, over-the-hill paper….  Oh no, you’re out of Christmas wrapping paper!  There are four options at this point:  1) Brave going to the store in the last few days before Christmas and risk life and limb (not to mention spending an hour in line) to make it through the checkouts; 2) Go with the Bert and Ernie birthday paper and hope no one notices; 3) Panic; or 4) Improvise!  Jessica from How About Orange dug some newspaper out of her recycling bin and fashioned it into some simple, sturdy gift bags.  I don’t know about you, but I would be diving straight into the Sunday comic pages for this project!  [how to make recycled newspaper gift bags]

Project estimate:

• Newspaper, on hand
• Cardstock or chipboard, on hand or $1
• Glue, on hand
• Hole punch, on hand
• String or ribbon, on hand

Total:  Free and up

The post Make Recycled Newspaper Gift Bags appeared first on Dollar Store Crafts.

The first big news of the week came on Wednesday, with the discovery that my pom pom tree project was published in the September 2011 issue of Disney FamilyFun Magazine, and…  (Here’s the best part)…  It was featured on the front cover!  I don’t know who is more proud, me or my mother!  It’s so thrilling to see my little trees all over the cover of a major publication!  *pats self on back*

Then, on Thursday, Heather and Dollar Store Crafts were featured in an article in another publication.  Perhaps you’ve heard of a little paper called The New York Times?   Yes, that’s right, we got a shout out in the Times!  The article begins, “Heather Mann writes a blog called Dollar Store Crafts, which evolved from her occasional trips to the extreme-discount dollar stores near her home in Salem, Ore.”  *pats Heather on back*

If you haven’t seen the article yet, make sure you check it out.  [Click here to go to the NYTimes article.]  The writer recounts a shopping trip with Heather at Dollar Tree that will make you wish you were there.  (Heather is such a funny gal!)  And next time you’re at the newsstand, don’t forget to pick up the new issue of FamilyFun!

The post Shameless DSC Promotion: A Big News Week! appeared first on Dollar Store Crafts.

Fancy finger nails are all the rage these days (just check Pinterest for tons of creative nail ideas). Here’s a fun fingernail art idea to do with your Sunday paper once you’re done clipping all your coupons. Megan at razberriez shared how in a great tutorial. [how to make newspaper nails]

Project Estimate:

• Colored and clear nail polish, on hand
• A strip of newspaper, on hand

Total: FREE

The post Make Newspaper Nails appeared first on Dollar Store Crafts.

Wow, amazing! This German Star wreath by Linaloo is made of recycled newspaper, and is oh-so-amazing! It might just unseat last year’s Origami Ball Wreath for folded paper holiday brilliance! I want to try it. Linaloo says each star takes about fifteen minutes to fold, and the entire wreath took her about two hours folding time. I’d say that’s a good investment for such a stunning end result! [click here for the german star wreath tutorial]

Project Estimate:

• Recycled newspaper or other paper, on hand

Total: FREE

p.s. Don’t forget to enter my giveaway and also enter your handmade wreath in the Handmade Wreath Contest!

The post Recycled Newspaper German Star Wreath appeared first on Dollar Store Crafts.