This is an entry in the Living With Lindsay Five Dollar Challenge! The challenge was to make a home decor item for $5 or less. My project is inspired by Lasse Klein’s conceptual Alien Abduction Lamp. The lamps are still being developed and are not available for sale yet.* (update 2010: oh yes, the lamp is now available) I thought it would be fun to …

My friend Susan Beal from West Coast Crafty has one of the cutest homes I’ve seen. She made some super quick no-sew cafe-style curtains for her place using some pretty tea towels and clip on curtain rings. What could be an easier way to update your kitchen in a hurry? Susan embellished her curtains with some buttons and spangles, but you can just clip and …

My son loves to cook (for real, and pretend), and I am so drawn to all those adorable mini kitchens that are way out of my price range (not to mention out of my storage capacity). We were playing with his toy pots and pans the other day when I saw an errant plastic storage bin (the ones that are about the size of a …

Another cute Easter idea: use baby socks turned inside out to make cute little chick finger puppets. These would be a fun addition to your Easter baskets (they’d be super cute stretched over a candy-filled plastic egg), or just a fun activity for a rainy Spring day. They’d also be cute baby shower decorations, or a good addition to an Easter tree. [project: Better Homes …

Craftster user ailurophile made a funky little purse (she calls it the “Shag Bag”) out of two microfiber car-washing mitts from the dollar store. The shaggy texture of the fabric and the bright color makes it a fun accent to your wardrobe. Craftster user penguinite made another version of the Shag Bag using a single mitt and plastic tubing and chain for the bag’s handle, …

Better Homes & Gardens posted this cute and simple idea for dressing up your Easter eggs: use terrycloth to make an adorable little egg cozy shaped like a baby chick. You can use the baby washcloths found 4 for $1 at the dollar store to make these, and use them to decorate candy-filled plastic eggs that you put in your Easter baskets (that is, if …

Use thrifted silk ties wrapped around eggs to dye them with beautiful and stunning patterns! Project from Martha.

Project Materials:

Raw eggs, on hand
Silk ties, blouses, or boxers, on hand or thrifted
Cheesecloth, old nylon stockings, or old cloth to cover silk-wrapped eggs, on hand or $1
Yarn, string, or another method for closing the wrap around the eggs, on hand
3 Tablespoons of vinegar, on hand

Total cost: $1 and …

Tanya at Trey and Lucy posted this ADORABLE bandanna dress for a toddler that only takes 15 minutes to make and costs less than $5. (You have to click on the link just to see her adorable daughter Lucy modeling it! So precious!) We haven’t done a lot with bandannas on Dollar Store Crafts,  but they are another one of my favorite instant-gratification materials to …

Claire from Poopscape does it again with this super-simple yet classy and modern memo wall project. As she says: “This is a really good project for people like me who like to pin a lot of crap on the wall- you only make 8 small holes in the wall instead of 200.”
This project is great for displaying family photos, memos to self (or others), or …

Perpetualplum posted a 3-part tutorial on making a natural-looking bird nest. You can find many of the materials needed at the dollar store. In her tutorial, she uses four materials all together to make a natural-looking nest, but she says you can make a nest using only a roll of grapevine and some wire. One of the materials she uses is bark-covered wire, which I …