Crafts

DIY Rainbow Room Decor (from a Dollar Tree Napkin Holder!)

February 4, 2020 by Bre 2 Comments

Unfortunately for me, there aren’t many Dollar Tree stores near my new house. (I had five within a mile of my old house – see more of my love for Dollar Tree in my post sharing my favorite dollar store home decorating ideas!) I visited one nearby last week and didn’t find much except for some metal napkin holders.

I bought three and planned to use them to hold clutch purses in my closet, but then after looking at them, I knew I had to turn one into a rainbow craft instead. I mean, just look at them! They practically scream “make me into a rainbow!” (Right? You see that, don’t you?)

So . . . I got to work and created some adorable DIY Rainbow Room Decor with one of the napkin holders, and left one of my clutch purses alone on the shelf while the others got a new home in the remaining two napkin holders.

Supplies Needed to Make This Rainbow Decor Craft

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How to Make DIY Rainbow Room Decor

You’re going to love how quickly this colorful rainbow decor craft comes together!

Begin by cutting ribbon in rainbow colors to lengths that measure approximately 16″.

Next, tie the ribbon pieces together in rainbow color order to form one long length of ribbon.

Beginning with the red end of the ribbon length, tie the end to the back of the metal napkin holder.

Plug in the hot glue gun, and while it’s heating, begin wrapping the rainbow ribbon around the napkin holder. (Yikes, can I just say that my thumb looks really gross there?)

Continue wrapping the ribbon around the napkin holder, and fasten it in place as you go with the hot glue. Once the entire napkin holder is wrapped in ribbon, cut the ends of the ribbon where the pieces were attached to create the long string.

Finally, hot glue white yarn pom poms to the bottom of the rainbow sculpture to create adorable clouds on your rainbow room decor.

If you wanted to make this rainbow room decor a cute addition to your St. Patrick’s Day decor, you could easily swap the white pom poms for gold coins or a shamrock from the craft store. How cute would that be?

This adorable piece of rainbow decor sits nicely on a shelf and adds a colorful pop to any room (kids’ bedrooms, especially), or to any St. Patrick’s Day decorations! Make sure to PIN it or share it with any crafty friends who might enjoy making one of their own!

-Bre

Into Rainbow Crafts? Check Out These Rainbow Sand Art Terrariums!

DIY Decor Tags {A Versatile Christmas Decor Craft}

October 24, 2019 by Bre Leave a Comment

Before you get mad and tell me it’s not even Halloween yet, let me explain why I’m sharing a Christmas craft in October. I am moving (you can read more about that here), and as a result, a lot of my craft supplies are boxed up AND I can’t decorate my house for fall or Halloween because of showings, etc.

Because of that, I’m limited in what creative muscles I can flex right now, and this easy Christmas craft was just right! It’s a transformation of Dollar Tree printed chipboard tag ornaments into darling buffalo check decor tags that add a special touch to Christmas decorations!

Large scale decor tags have been popping up all over the stores, and this project gave me a chance to put my own twist on the trend. Everything I used can be purchased at Dollar Tree, so you know it’s also extremely budget-friendly!

Where To Use Large Decor Tags

Before I give you all the details on how to make your own decor tags, you might be wondering WHY you’d make these tags. What do you use decor tags for? The answer is – just about anything! They’re actually really versatile and add a pop of interest anywhere you put them. Some favorite uses for decor tags are:

added to wreaths for a seasonal touch
in a tiered tray (these are all the rage over on Instagram and Pinterest. I might be the only person who doesn’t have a tiered tray to decorate.)
hanging on a doorknob
hanging from a vase or planter
tied together as standalone door decor
grouped in a basket as part of a larger vignette

Hopefully those ideas spark an idea for you of where you could use similar decor tags in your own home!

Supplies Used to Make Large Decor Tags

Now, let’s get down to business! Here’s what you need to make these cute Christmas decor tags.

This post contains affiliate links. To read my full disclosure policy, please click here.

Decorative chipboard tag ornaments (not currently available online, but the large size chipboard tags are available online)
Buffalo check wrapping paper (not currently available online)
Matte Mod Podge
Scissors
Paint brush
Poster sticker letters
Red truck mini ornaments (4 pack) (not currently available online)
Jingle bells
Twine
Black and silver acrylic paint
Fine grain sandpaper

How to Make Christmas Tags for Decor

To help you find in store the exact tags I used for this project, here they are!

Flip them over to the flat backside (the fronts have some raised glitter on them), and cut wrapping paper to be slightly larger than the tags. Then, trace the tags onto the back of the wrapping paper.

Cut out the tag shapes from the wrapping paper. Then, place a thin coat of Mod Podge over the entire chipboard tag.

Carefully place the wrapping paper that you cut to the shape of a tag on top of the Mod Podge chipboard tag.

Carefully smooth out any wrinkles and make sure that the wrapping paper is flattened all over. Set the tag aside to dry. This will take about 20 minutes.

Once the tag seems dry, gently rub the edges of the wrapping paper with sandpaper. This will remove any wrapping paper that’s sticking over the edge of the chipboard tag.

Next, apply a thin layer of Mod Podge over the top of the wrapping paper. This will help seal the wrapping paper onto the tag, and it will remove the shiny finish of the wrapping paper.

Set it aside to dry. As it dries, you will notice that the hazy finish disappears. Yay!

Once it’s dry, gently brush a bit of black paint around the edges of the tag to give it an aged look.

Then, apply the poster stickers to write out words that fit on the tags. I think four letters are the max that will fit with these poster stickers on these tags.

Use a pencil to poke a hole through the wrapping paper at the top, and then, for an added touch of authenticity, paint a silver circle around the hole.

String twine through the hole, and add decorative elements to the twine. I used the cutest little red truck ornaments from Dollar Tree and silver jingle bells. But, you could get creative and add whatever embellishments you like!

See how easy it is to upgrade the look of these Dollar Tree tags with just a few simple tweaks? You get a totally adorable look for hardly any money at all. I just love when decor works out that way!

-Bre

Here’s Another Great Dollar Tree Christmas Craft! Check Out This Dollar Tree Christmas Cloche!

Pool Noodle Pumpkins: A Fun Fall Craft!

October 14, 2019 by Bre 2 Comments

Make an easy and adorable craft this fall: pool noodle pumpkins! This is a perfect large group activity or craft night idea!

While cleaning out my husband’s car this weekend, I found a pool noodle left behind after a trip to our local swimming pool this summer.

A jolt of inspiration hit and I grabbed the pool noodle, ran inside, and got to work making some adorable Pool Noodle Pumpkins for my fall decor!

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I wasn’t totally sure if pool noodles transformed into pumpkins would be cute, but I gave it a try anyway. And thankfully, they’re darling!

Pool noodle pumpkins are also extremely easy to make and very, very cheap.

These would be a perfect fall craft for large groups (I bet you could make ten pumpkins per pool noodle), and even for the least crafty people around. They are SO easy to make!

Pool Noodle Pumpkins Supplies

These are the supplies I used to create this fun fall craft or Halloween craft!

Foam pool noodle
Fabric (this buffalo check fabric is similar to the fabric I used)
Dollar Tree Tumbling Tower game block pieces
Raffia (twine or other ribbon would work, too)
Scissors
Knife

How to Make Pool Noodle Pumpkin Crafts

The first step is to cut the pool noodle into pieces. I used a serrated knife, and the noodle cut very easily.

If children will be making this craft, please make sure to cut the pool noodle ahead of time; do not give the children knives!

Next, lay the pool noodle piece on top of a piece of fabric. Cut the fabric so that there is enough fabric on all sides to wrap around the pool noodle and tuck into the hole.

Once the fabric is cut, begin pulling the fabric upwards toward the pool noodle hole, and then tucking the end of the fabric into the hole.

Continue wrapping, pulling, and tucking fabric until the pool noodle is completely covered with fabric.

Then, take the wood block from the Jenga game and stick it into the hole where the fabric is tucked. The wood block will hold the fabric in place, but if you want a more secure hold, you could hot glue the block into the hole, too.

Finally, tie some raffia around the wood block “stem” to create the look of a vine on the pumpkin. Wired twine that’s curled around the ends would be adorable with this, too!

And that is all it takes to make the cutest pool noodle pumpkins in the patch!

This craft was perfect for me right now since I can’t really decorate or work on large projects due to our move. And, pumpkin crafts are my favorite! (Check out this Dollar Tree Pumpkin Sign and this Dollar Tree Pumpkin Picture Frame craft, too!).

Let me know what you think about this project! And, sign up for my email list to get DIY delivered! Happy crafting!

10 More Must-Buy Dollar Tree Craft Supplies

October 9, 2019 by Bre 15 Comments

Almost four years ago I publicly proclaimed my love of Dollar Tree craft supplies when I wrote a post on 10 Craft Supplies You Should Buy at Dollar Tree. I had no idea how popular that post would be; it is the number one visited post on my blog of all time!

Since that time, Dollar Tree has stepped up their craft supply game even more, and I realized it is time to update that post. In most stores they’ve added an entire section called “Crafter’s Square,” and it’s filled with amazing buys on craft supplies!

So, here I am, adding to the list of craft supplies you should buy at Dollar Tree, and filling you in on ten more craft supplies you should definitely buy there!

This post contains affiliate links. To read my full disclosure policy, please click here.

If you haven’t read the first post about my favorite dollar store craft supplies, make sure to check it out after you read this post!

Don’t forget that all of these items cost just $1.25! If you’re not a regular Dollar Tree shopper, you might not know that unlike other dollar stores, everything in the store is actually $1.25!

1. Dollar Tree Wreath Forms

If you’ve ever made your own wreath, then you know that wreath forms are surprisingly expensive when you buy them at the craft store.

Dollar Tree sells both wire wreath forms and natural wreath forms in various sizes. And, at the holidays, you can find them in different shapes! For example, this fall they have a 3D pumpkin wire wreath form, and for Christmas they have a candy cane shape wreath form!

I have made so many projects using Dollar Tree wreath forms, like this Modern Metal Wreath (using the Dollar Tree heart wire wreath form), a Hanging Ribbon Chandelier (using the 4″ grapevine wreath from Dollar Tree), and countless seasonal wreaths (like this Fourth of July Tinsel Wreath).

I’ve saved so much money using their wreath forms instead of buying them at the craft store!

2. Dollar Tree Deco Mesh Ribbon

Since we just talked about wreaths, I think this second craft supply makes sense – deco mesh ribbon! If you haven’t used it before, deco mesh is a super flexible woven material that feels like a cross between fabric and plastic. It can be really pricey at the craft store, but lucky for us, Dollar Tree carries it, too!

They typically have decorative mesh in the colors shown in that picture, and then for holidays and seasons they have different colors, too!

I used deco mesh to make an adorable Easter bunny wreath, and I also love to use it to dress up wrapped packages or gift bags.

3. Mod Podge Decoupage Medium

I could hardly believe it when I saw that Dollar Tree carries Mod Podge – my favorite decoupage glue on the planet! It comes in small bottles, but that’s great because most of the time you don’t need thaaaat much of it when crafting!

Some of my favorite craft projects that use Mod Podge are Dollar Tree decor crafts! The decorative plates hanging over my kitchen sink and this adorable trinket dish are two that come to mind. I definitely wouldn’t have needed more than one of these small Mod Podge bottles for those crafts.

4. Dollar Tree Canvas Panels

Canvas panels and stretched canvases are among the newer additions to Dollar Tree’s craft aisle, and I couldn’t be happier about it!

Although the largest size they seem to carry is 8×10, the canvases are good quality (unless you’re a professional artist, in which case I’m sure you make your own canvases anyway!), and are perfect for crafters and kids projects!

The canvas panels fit into Dollar Tree’s wide selection of picture frames, too, which is great for finished projects! And the stretched canvases can be displayed or hung just as they are (kind of like I did with this Dollar Tree Pumpkins Sign I made recently).

5. Dollar Tree Hot Glue Sticks

One of my crafting mottos is that you can never have enough hot glue sticks! Who agrees? 🙂

Dollar Tree now carries regular hot glue sticks AND glitter hot glue sticks! How awesome is that? Now these aren’t hot glue sticks meant for industrial strength hot glue guns (like my Ryobi cordless that I use for big jobs!), but for those regular strength glue guns that most crafters use.

I hot glue just about everything, so I am always replenishing my hot glue stick stash. I haven’t tried the glitter hot glue sticks yet, but I think they look so fun!

This simple Glitter Word Art project from The Crafting Chicks looks like something you could easily do with the Dollar Tree glitter hot glue! (Don’t forget to pick up one of the artist’s canvases while you’re there, too!)

6. Dollar Tree Craft Wire or Floral Wire

Have you ever purchased wire at the craft store? It is SO expensive! Like jaw dropping expensive!

Dollar Tree sells floral wire that you can cut with scissors and use for so many different types of projects: wiring florals to wreath forms, making jewelry, adding embellishments, and more!

I’ve seen it in many colors, but this Dollar Tree where I took the picture only had it in purple and red. I used some of the red floral wire to make a cute hanger for a Valentine decoration I made.

7. Dollar Tree Craft Wood Shapes and Accessories

Craft wood at Dollar Tree is pretty much brand new – and from what I’ve been seeing in some Facebook Groups I’m in, the selection is only going to get larger!

It used to be that Dollar Tree carried a few wood cutouts around the holidays (like the wood heart I used in that Valentine Door Hanger video posted above), but they are BLOWING IT OUT of the water now with an extremely expanded selection of craft wood items!

Unfinished wood picture frames, wood bird houses, unfinished wood plaques, 3D wood figurines and more!

I even saw unfinished wood letters and numbers. These are crafting staples that cost so much more at the craft store!

Stock up on these items and you can make projects like these cute labeled picture frames or this little “hello” welcome sign!

8. Dollar Tree Craft Storage Containers

Anyone who crafts knows that you need a lot of storage for all of your STUFF! Am I right or am I right?

I absolutely love Dollar Tree’s craft storage items because they keep my stash in check and actually let me have some semblance of organization. Their plastic locker-style bins are perfect for holding larger items, their pencil cups are my go-to for paint brushes, pens, and scissors, and their tiny plastic containers with lids are what I store gems and beads in.

So while storage containers may not technically be craft supplies, they are essential to the crafting process, so I’m including them!

9. Decorative Ribbon

My favorite time to buy decorative ribbon at Dollar Tree is for holidays. The ribbon they have out for celebrations is usually cuter than the ribbon they have during the regular times of year.

Now, being perfectly honest, I haven’t found their wide wired ribbon to be the best in quality (sometimes the wired edge separates from the ribbon itself), but I do like their 5/8″ wide grosgrain ribbon and some of their other decorative ribbons (like their burlap and lace ribbon).

Ribbon like this typically runs $3.99 and up at the craft store, so these spools are a bargain at $1.25 a piece!

10. Dollar Tree Faux Flowers and Faux Greenery

OK, Dollar Tree’s faux flowers are not always the most realistic, and I do not advocate using them in your home decor in place of real flowers or greenery or in place of realistic-looking faux flowers. HOWEVER, there are many times that Dollar Tree’s flowers look great for decorative craft projects! Some of the flowers are much more realistic than others!

Take, for example, the faux flowers I used in my Dollar Tree Salt and Pepper Shaker Bud Vases. Those are very realistic! Or look at the fake sunflowers on my sunflower wreath, which are also from Dollar Tree. Those look great, too!

You just have to look at the fake flowers closely and take care to choose ones that don’t look totally unrealistic. When you do that, you get a great-looking end result and you save a lot of money because craft store fake flowers can cost a lot!

***

So there you have it – ten more must-buy Dollar Tree craft supplies. You’re going to be saving so much money on your projects – I can feel it! And, if you haven’t done so already, don’t forget to read the companion post to this post on Ten Craft Supplies You Should Buy at Dollar Tree!

-Bre

Halloween Skull Decoration: Make a Mini Halloween Cloche!

September 30, 2019 by Bre 2 Comments

The spookiest time of year is almost here again! Get ready to pull out those Halloween decorations and deck the halls for trick-or-treaters. And of course, don’t forget to make time for some Halloween crafting! This year, Halloween skull decorations are all the rage, and I’m going to show you how to make a mini Halloween cloche with Dollar Tree plastic skulls. It’s a piece of Halloween decor that’s cute and creepy all at the same time!

This Halloween skull decoration is pint sized, which makes it totally perfect for any little spot in your home or office that needs a tiny dash of Halloween. Think shelves, entryway tables, window sills, and more!

I need small and discreet Halloween decorations this year so I can easily stash them away for house showings. (We’re moving! Read up on our unexpected life change here.) This is just right!

Also, because this Halloween cloche is miniature (well, mini as compared to a regular-sized cloche, but not fairy garden mini!), you can make the whole thing in about 20 minutes. Not bad!

Supplies Needed to Make a Mini Skull Halloween Cloche

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Unfinished wood candle holder
Empty baby food jar or 4 oz. small mason jar
Acrylic craft paint in black and silver
Paint brush
Spanish moss (from Dollar Tree)
Mini skulls (from Dollar Tree)
High-temperature hot glue gun OR E6000 glue
Optional: small unfinished wood furniture buttons

How to Make a Mini Skull Cloche For Halloween Decor

Begin by getting your paints and paint brush ready! Paint the unfinished wood candle holder, the mason jar rim (or baby food jar lid), and the unfinished wood furniture button with the black acrylic paint.

Chances are that the black paint won’t cover the rim of the mason jar very well (even with multiple coats), but that is OK! Let some of that silver color underneath show through – it adds to the look!

Once the black paint dries on all of those pieces, lightly dab some silver metallic craft paint or acrylic paint onto the wooden pieces. You can also add some silver paint to the mason jar lid if it needs it. Mine did not.

Let the silver paint dry and then use hot glue (only with a high temperature hot glue gun) or use a glue made for plastic and wood (like E6000), to attach the mason jar lid to the wood candle holder.

Place a little Spanish moss inside the lid, and be careful not to put too much in. You can hot glue the moss to the lid if you like, or leave it loose. (You might like to see how I used this same Spanish moss to make my fake fiddle leaf fig tree look real!)

Then pop a miniature skull on top of the moss. You can also hot glue the skull onto the moss if you want a more stable skull. 🙂 (That sounds so funny.)

Now, screw the mason jar onto the lid and trim off any Spanish moss that sticks out the sides. If you choose to add the little wooden button to the top, go ahead and glue that on now.

Once that glue is hardened or set, your adorable mini Halloween cloche is complete!

This is one Halloween skull decoration that you definitely want to add to your haunted house this year!

-Bre

How to Press Flowers in a Book

September 13, 2019 by Bre 4 Comments

My sister got married in July and she had the most beautiful bouquets and flower centerpieces. I loved my matron-of-honor bouquet so much that I decided to create a wedding keepsake with some of the flowers in my bouquet. It turned out wonderfully, so I decided to show you how to press flowers in a book in case you have any flowers you want to preserve in the future!

Before I show you how I pressed and preserved flowers from my bouquet, let me show you what it looked like on the wedding day! Filled with peonies, roses, dahlia, eucalyptus, dusty miller, and other beautiful flowers I don’t know the names of (LOL!), my bouquet was really a stunner!

To get a perfectly preserved look, here’s what I did.

How to Press Flowers in a Book

First, I kept the bouquet in a vase of water for five days after the wedding. I wanted to enjoy the flowers as long as I could while they were still fresh-looking.

On the fifth day, I took them out of the vase and disassembled the bouquet. (Note: if you try this, five days may be too long to wait. It depends entirely on how fresh the flowers are that you’re working with. You don’t want to wait so long that they start to brown. Make sure to begin the flower pressing process before that happens.)

I selected several flowers that I liked best and that were freshest, and decided to use those for my flower pressing experiment.

Next, I cut up sheets of tissue paper – just regular tissue paper used to wrap gifts – and got them ready to go. I laid the flowers and pieces of greenery on each piece of tissue paper to make sure that none of the flowers or leaves were overlapping. I then laid the piece of tissue paper with the flowers or leaves in a book.

I covered the leaves or flowers with another piece of tissue paper of the same size. I did this to make sure not to let acids from the leaves or flowers destroy the book, or to let any print from the book transfer onto the flowers or leaves.

Now, here’s the part I completely forgot to photograph! (Unbelievable.) Once I had the flowers and leaves in their tissue paper layers, I closed the books and did two things to make sure they actually pressed.

First, I placed one of the books underneath two heavy vases so that the pressure from the vases really kept the book closed and the flowers pressing.

Second, I took four ponytail holders (or rubber bands) and stretched them around the other book to hold it closed tightly.

I waited about four weeks and when I opened the books to check on my flowers and leaves, I was excited to find that both methods of flower pressing worked perfectly! Both the “stacking heavy objects on top of the book” method and “closing the book with ponytail holders” method were successful!

The flowers were dry, maintained their colors, and were totally pressed.

How to Make Pressed Flower Art

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Since the flower pressing process went so great, I had to figure out what to do with my pressed and dried flowers. I ultimately decided to put them into small shadowboxes so that they could be displayed on a shelf or in another small spot. I could have done a larger artistic arrangement, but I didn’t really want that commitment of putting them on a large wall.

In order to get the flowers in the shadowboxes, I used rubber cement (yes, regular old rubber cement!), and a cotton swab to dab a tiny bit of rubber cement on the back of each flower or leaf. Remember what they taught your kids about glue in preschool: “dot, dot, not a lot”? Make that your mantra here!

Rubber cement is really cheap, so that’s awesome. If you don’t have rubber cement or don’t like the smell, you could try a different acid free glue. I’m sure there are lots of options at any craft store.

After the glue dried, the back of my first shadowbox looked like this:

I used the rest of the pressed flowers to fill up the other shadow box, and I’m happy to say that my pressed flower art looks lovely in my office.

The glare on the glass was pretty severe in this spot, so I snapped some photos of the dried flower art in a less sunny location as well.

I love how special and meaningful these dried and pressed flowers are – making them even more beautiful to me!

How to Make 3D Dried Flower Art

Now, I know that this post is all about how to press flowers, but I also want to tell you that there is a way to dry and preserve flowers in 3D form – including entire bouquets!

The company I used to work for, ACTÍVA Products, makes a product called Flower Drying Art, which is a silica gel that dries and preserves flowers over time or even in the microwave. It’s completely reusable because you can re-charge the silica gel crystals, so you can dry as many flowers as you want, all with one package. Plus, it helps the flowers retain their color instead of turning brown and crusty like they can when simply air dried.

I don’t have any photos of projects I made for this blog using the product, but I used it many times during the course of my work with ACTÍVA, and I promise that it’s easy to use and gives great results. Professional wedding bouquet preservationists (yes, there are such a thing!) even use Flower Drying Art to preserve bouquets for clients.

So, if a 3D flower art project or bouquet preservation is something you’re interested in, you might want to try Flower Drying Art.

Well, that’s all I’ve got for you on pressing flowers in a book. I hope it was helpful to you! Let me know if you’re going to try pressing and preserving some flowers. I hope they turn out beautifully!

-Bre