Dollar stores are sometimes thought of as hokey places that sell rather hokey products. The talent of the crafter, however, is to take something — even something that’s somewhat cheap — and make it magnificent! Thus, we have some great crafting ideas here that all involve products that can be found at the dollar store. The great part about these crafts, of course, is that they’re affordable. Many are feeling the economic crunch these days, so affordable crafts are a great way to feed your creative need while not breaking the bank. Here are six dollar store craft ideas that aren’t too expensive to try out.

Mermaid Tiara

This first crafting idea would be great for Halloween, or for any day of the year when your little one wants to feel like a mermaid princess. The main component of this craft project — a plastic tiara — comes from the dollar store. Once you’ve got that, you’ll need some seashells and a starfish, which you may have from a vacation trip. First, paint the seashells to make them colorful and iridescent. Then add glitter to the shells and attach them to the tiara with hot glue. The finished product will be a great piece of costume jewelry!

For more information on this dollar store craft, visit Creative Green Living.

Glittered Mason Jars

Mason jars are all the rage these days, whether you’re drinking sweet tea from them or using them as home decor. This particular craft uses Mason jars and a bit of glitter to create some home decor pieces that can be used as candle holders, vases or anything else. Once you’ve got some mason jars from the dollar store, coat them in decoupage glue and then roll them in glitter. For some extra flair, you can tint the glass of the jars. Simply mix one part water, two parts decoupage glue and several drops of food coloring to create a thin paint to cover your jars in. Be sure to do this step before coating the jars in glitter!

For more information on this dollar store craft, visit Home Made Simple.

Wire-Wrapped Word Art

This creative bit of wall art would be a great way to decorate a dorm room, a kids’ room or even a home office. You can choose a word that describes you, that tells what goes on in the room, or describes something that you love. To create this word art, you’ll need some pliable craft wire and strips of stretch fabric about 1.5cm (just over half an inch) wide and roughly 40cm (16 inches) long — both of these supplies can be found at the dollar store. First print a template of the word that you want to have in your wall art. Bend the craft wire into the shape of the word and then wrap the wire in the stretch fabric. I can almost guarantee that no one else will have this kind of wall decoration.

For more information on this dollar store craft, visit Tuts Plus.

Perler Bead Earrings

Do you remember these beads that can be assembled into any shape and ironed together? It seemed like everyone had one of these bead designs hanging on their backpack in the 90s! Today these beads can be an adorable, nostalgic jewelry item! The main thing you’ll need, of course, is a perler bead set, which can be found at the dollar store. Simply arrange the beads in a shape that you’d like to have as earrings, then iron them together. Attach jewlery hooks to create your earrings and then you’re done!

For more information on this dollar store craft, visit The Thinking Closet.

Mod Podge Notebooks

Notebooks from the dollar store can sometimes be a bit bland and uninteresting. But you can jazz them up with nothing more than some mod podge and some scrapbook paper or scrap wallpaper. Cut your patterned paper into a design that you’d like on your notebook cover. Then simply use mod podge to attach the paper to the notebook, creating as you go. These notebooks are super cheap and incredibly customizable if you can find some that have absolutely nothing on the covers. You can even cut the paper into letters to personalize your children’s school supplies!

For more information on this dollar store craft, visit Mod Podge Rocks.

Shower Curtain Wall Art

I bet that you don’t think of shower curtains when you think of art you might hang on your wall. But this shower curtain wall art might change your mind about that. The great part about using a shower curtain to create this art is that you can hang it outside without worrying about it getting rained on. All you need is a shower curtain from the dollar store and an old wrapped frame. Wrap the frame in the shower curtain and attach with a staple gun. To hang the art on your wall, you can use command adhesive strips. 

For more information on this dollar store craft, visit Dollar Store Mom.

Credits: Creative Green Living, Home Made Simple, Tuts Plus, The Thinking Closet, Mod Podge Rocks, and Dollar Store Mom.