Dollar Store Craft – Garden Gazing Ball

I thought this would be a fun project to try and to add a little bit of sparkle to one of my gardens! It is a quick and easy project that you can change up by using different coloured glass beads from the dollar store!

NOTE: I decided while I was making it that I’m going to take apart a solar garden light to go under the ball to make it pop even more!

I took the picture with just a battery operated votive candle to show it lit up.

All you need to make this project is a few bags of the glass beads from the dollar store, the kind that is flat on one side, a glass “fish bowl” also from the dollar store, your glue gun and then some type of sealer.

To make the gazing ball, I turned the fish bowl upside down and started to glue the glass beads to the exterior, making sure to cover all of it, leaving only tiny spaces.

I filled in all the spaces but the glass beads with glue from my glue gun as a sort of “grout” to hold it all together and then gave the whole thing a coat or two of sealer.

See I told you it was easy…. now you have a sparkly gazing ball for the garden that looks beautiful, even when the sun hits it during the day!

Sandie

First Birthday – Dollar Store Centerpieces!

We had my granddaughter’s FIRST Birthday party on Saturday. It was a great day spent with family and friends with lots to eat and just enjoy each others company.

My granddaughter had a rough night Friday cutting teeth so she was very tired for her party and required a nap to recharge her little batteries part way through lol. I made her a cute little Smash Cake (post to follow this week) but it was just too much for her tired little mind to take and other than sticking her hands in it… and then wiping them all over Kim’s black shirt (I’m sure you can imagine the mess light pink Greek yogurt “icing” would make on it lol), she was not impressed with it. We got a few cute pictures of her with it to add to her photo memories so everything was fine.

These centerpieces were made with Styrofoam balls, ribbon and tissue paper from the dollar store. Other than waiting for paint to dry, they were pretty fast and easy to make!

Sandie

Reusable Swiffer Dusters

This is something I have been wanting to make for ages. I am sure everyone is well aware of how expensive it can be to replace the dusters on a Swiffer duster… and even worse is that we are spending the money on something we are going to throw out after one use!

It just makes sense to try to make your own. I bought a fleece blanket from the Dollar store to make these. It cost me $3 for the fleece blanket and I will be able to get at least 8 duster refills out of the blanket. A sight better than the cost of a box of refills AND I will be able to wash and reuse them, over and over!

Sandie

Mother’s Day Flower Pens

“I hope everyone had a great Mother’s day yesterday!  I wanted to share something  I made for my mother-in-law!  She loves funky pens and I remembered seeing pens made out of the heads of artificial flowers and thought what a great gift for her!  So…. I made a little “bouquet” of them for her for Mother’s Day!

This is  quick and easy project and sure to brighten up anyone’s day!

Sandie

Cuckoo Clock Birdhouse

I have been sitting on this idea since Chris got an authentic Cuckoo clock for his birthday. This week I decided I knew exactly who would appreciate this sort of thing so I made it as a gift for this person. I hope they enjoy it as much as I enjoyed making it and figuring out how to make it actually look like a Cuckoo clock lol!

This was a fun craft to try and I am glad it turned out as well as it did!

Oh, and Happy “May the 4th” Be With You to all of you fellow space geeks lol!!

Sandie

Mason Jar Craft – Nursery Décor

Here are some cute little mason jar storage jars for the nursery… again going with the Woodland babies theme. I saw a picture similar on Pinterest a while back and knew it was something I wanted to try to make to store little things in the nursery!

I was able to get a set of 3 little mason type jars from the dollar store, making this a craft that cost under $2.00 but would make a great gift for anyone that loves the Woodland babies theme!

Sandie

Tacky “Mom-To-Be” Badge

While I have been planning Kim’s Baby Shower, memories of all the showers I have attended have been popping up in my mind. I always remember the tacky hats and other items of “clothing” that people made from the bows on gifts. While they are fun to create and make the honoree wear I thought I would make something equally as tacky but on a smaller scale for Kim lol!

Sandie

Nursery Décor – Dollar Store Craft

Last time Dillon and I were walking through the dollar store I came across some “Woodland Baby” wooden items.  Since that is what Kim and Codey are using for a theme for the nursery I grabbed them… knowing full well that if I didn’t the chances of them being there next time would be slim.

Sandie

Mickey Mouse Cake Stand

I decided it would be fun to make a Disney fan on my Christmas list a Mickey Mouse Cake Stand. I figured I just needed a bowl, a plate and some buttons.  That and patience lol. I couldn’t find a black plate and red bowl at the dollar store so I bought white ones and painted them!

Sandie 

Here is what I started with 

Because they are shiny, I used a sanding sponge to rough them up a bit to help the paint adhere better. 

I started painting them.

I didn’t have yellow buttons so I had to paint them as well. 

Once dry I applied a few coats of sealer. 

I used a construction adhesive to attach the plate to the bottom of the bowl.
Glued on the painted/sealed buttons. 

And this is my completed Mickey Mouse Cake Stand! Another gift off my to do list all done!

Popsicle Stick Scarecrows

I wanted to make something today that was fairly quick to make, considering I am still not feeling up to par, and fitting with the season.  I ended up deciding on a popsicle stick craft I saw on Pinterest a while back. I am still hoping to do a bit of baking today for lunch snacks and then if possible, spend all day tomorrow at my sewing machine. Fingers crossed!

This project is easy enough that it would make a great kid’s seasonal craft as well!

Sandie