Reader Mandi Shandi sent this great idea in for a decorative topiary tree, all made from stuff on hand and dollar store items! It looks great, is simple to make, and cost her $5! You can make topiaries to suit your seasons (wouldn’t a fall tree be pretty?), or make one and modify the decorations to suit the holidays, etc. [click here for the tutorial]
The …

Alexa, the SwellDesigner, is posting 24 craft projects in 24 hours tomorrow: all Halloween themed! Be sure to visit her blog and check out all her great ideas!
In the meantime, check out this week’s Terrorific Tuesday roundup of a ton of great Halloween crafting ideas from all over the web.

By Laura, Charcoal Designs
Turn dollar store Halloween vases into pretty calaveras, for a more colorful Dia de los Muertos-style fall decoration. Calavera is Spanish for “skull” and is a typical motif in celebration of Day of the Dead.
Project Estimate:

Spray paint, (Wal-m*rt has paint for .96 cents a can), $1
Ceramic Skull, $1
Foam Florist Square, $1
Glitter, on hand or $1
White Glue, on hand
Paint (to paint details on …

Halloween is such a fun time of year for decorating and crafting — and parties!   These little party favor buckets are so much fun to make, and sure to please little party guests or trick-or-treaters.  And, as always, they are super cheap!  [get instructions -- and a bonus project idea! -- here]
Project Estimate:

Wedding favor buckets, 3/$1
black electrical tape, on hand

Total:  3 for $1!
Caroline Sanchez (Care) has been sewing …

I love a good starburst, and especially love the mid-century look of the George Nelson Ball Clock, which inspired my entry in Craftster’s latest Craft Challenge: Drinking Straw Makeover. I used drinking straws along with recycled milk jug lids to make this playful decoration, which would be a cute addition to a kid’s room or playroom ( milk lids attached to the ends of the …

Quick & Easy Hand Sanitizer Teacher Gift by Moneywise Moms: $1
Dress up a bottle of hand sanitizer as a cute back-to-school gift for your child’s teacher (or other deserving giftee). Just add cute scrapbooking paper and ribbon. This is a good one to involve the kiddos in, too.

Embroidered Eyeglass Case by Lara from Frugal Foodie: $.25
Lara designed this eyeglass case with a very inexpensive craft …

Have extra jars on hand? I absolutely love these Jack-o’-Lanterns made from baby food containers by My Insanity – adorable! What’s even better is that they are super-simple, and you probably have almost everything you need on hand–that’s an award winning recipe for dollar store craftin’, in my book! They’d be a great activity for kiddos (with a little help, depending on their ages), and …

I found these “La Catrina” skeleton art dolls at Perpetualplum – she does a lot of great art with recycled materials. The skeletons in these dolls are from dollar store garlands. The bodies were made from recycled table legs, and the clothing and other adornments are repurposed materials of other sorts. I wasn’t previously familiar with La Catrina dolls, but they are based on a …

Fall is here, and with it, an abundance of oak leaves and branches in my yard! I love our old-growth oak trees, but they sprinkle me with more presents than I can handle! What to do with nature’s bounty? Craft with it! I spent a couple minutes gathering branches to transform into this spooky Halloween-themed tree. Secret ingredient? Dollar store erasers! Check out my guest-post …