Dollar Store Diva #2 - Summer Wall Decor

Hello and welcome back. 

If you visited yesterday I promised that I would show two crafts made with items purchased from the dollar store. Yesterday I posted a tutorial on how to make a cake stand and an embellishment for the top. Today I will show you how to make a Summer Wall Decor. 

Items purchased from the dollar store:

1). Place mat

2). Floral Foam

3). Fabric Flowers

4). Ribbon

5). Raffia

(glue gun/stick on hand) 

Total Cost = $5

   

 

 The finished product....

Thanks for visiting,

Dollar Store Diva #1 - Cake Stand

I just love a deal which is why dollar stores are one of my favorite places to browse. I don't always buy but when I go in with the mission to create I look at things differently. Today and tomorrow I am going to share two tutorials, both made from items I purchased at the local Dollar Store. Below is a Cake Stand and embellished top. Enjoy!

Items purchased from the Dollar Store:

1). Plate, 2). Bowel, 3). Pink Craft Flower, 4). Yellow Craft Flower, 5). Ribbon

(I had the epoxy on hand)

So that's the cake stand. 

I wanted a top and in keeping with the dollar store theme I went back to the store in search of one. Unfortunately I was unsuccessful but remembered that I already had a glass cake stand with a top and it fit. 

A little boring though. Because I didn't want to make any permanent changes to the glass top I decided to embellish it and created a removable decor with the pink and yellow craft flowers and ribbon.

To make this removable embellishment I first measured and cut enough ribbon to wrap around the glass top. Next, I glued four of the flowers to the ribbon with a glue gun.

I tied the ribbon with flowers around the lower portion of the glass top and then added the last flower to the top with the wire that came attached to the flowers. Cute huh?

Thanks for visiting,

"Let's Vase It" Series - #3, Mother's Day Keepsake Vase

I know, I know, another vase. For some reason all of my craft ideas are for vases. I assume this will pass but for now I am just enjoying the ride. 

Here is my Mother's Day Keepsake Vase

This project was made with a;

• Dollar Store Vase
• Photographs printed on regular printer paper
• Spray glue
• Modpodge
• Clear satin spray paint

First I found pictures of my first three children when they were between the ages of 2 and 5. I had them just a few years apart so it was like having triplets. Those memories are priceless. Because these pictures were taken in the pre-digital camera era I had to actually take a picture of the photographs and then edit a bit to get out the graininess. During the edit process I was also able to crop them to the size I needed to fill the spaces on the vase. I also printed them all out as black and white. This helped to improve the quality a bit.

 

 Next step was to spray the dollar store vase with glue.

 

 Then I began to place the pictures on the vase in random patterns. I had to return to the printer a few times to tweak the sizes of some of the pictures so that they fit. As you can see there are still some areas of the vase that are not covered with pictures. The spray glue gave the glass a frosted look, which I liked and wanted to show through a bit so it worked out well. 

 

 Once all the pictures were stuck down I painted two layers of ModPodge over the entire vase followed by a coat of satin clear coat. 

 

Add flowers and you have a great gift for Mom!

Thanks for visiting,
 
 update: 4/26/13
This project was featured on Craftionary's Friday Link Party.

update: 4/29/13
This project was also featured on Huckleberry Love, Much Ado About Monday Linky Party.

Coastal Candle Decor

Good morning and Happy Friday! 

Tomorrow I am traveling to the West Coast for a visit with my son. He lives fairly close to the ocean and I try to go there at least once while I’m visiting. I am excited to see him and to feel a bit of warm weather (cold spring here on the East Coast). With that in mind what better time to share one of my home decors made almost entirely from items purchased from the Dollar Store. The total cost was $7 (plus tax of course). Enjoy my Coastal Candle Decor!

 

I played around a lot knotting the twine until I came up with this pattern. 

With the help of glue stick dots, especially inside the knots, it worked out well.

Next I dug out the shells I collected from our summer vacation and the bag of sand left over from the Jar Keepsake project. For this part I just filled the container half way with sand and laid the shells randomly. 

And then I place the knotted candle holder over the sand and shell holder....

  

.....and Voilà, done!

Thanks for visiting,

This project is linked to...