No matter how small your budget, this is a diamond necklace you will be able to afford!  It was designed by Clemence of Oh the lovely things, who also made a printable template you can use to make your own diamond shape!  The shape is cut from scrap leather; if you you don’t have any bits of leather laying around, look for cheap leather items …

Time to put that New Years resolution to lose weight to the test. Make your own diet belt  to track the inches you lose through dieting (or the inches you add through breaking that diet). For better or for worse this belt will tell you how your circumference is changing, the nylon belt won’t stretch like leather so you won’t need to worry about your measurements becoming …

Of all the recycled t-shirt ideas I have seen in the past year, this is my favorite! Over at delia creates, I found instructions for making an old t-shirt into a braided belt. I need to make a couple of these for my boys, who are just reaching the age where they can use belts (and need them). [how to make a braided t-shirt belt]
If …

We love hex nut projects.  Hardware bits are such fun as craft supplies!  Over at i try DIY, Mikko used hex nuts joined with jump rings to create a heart-shaped pendant that would make a great Valentine’s Day gift.  If hearts aren’t your thing, you could arrange the hex nuts in an endless number of other patterns instead.  For a different look, try using nuts …

I love old rotary phones.  I love their squat, curvy look, the clickity-click sound they make when you spin the dial, and even the loud, fire-alarm-like ringer.  But I’m a cell-phone-only girl, so my lack of a land line means I have no use for one.  That is, unless I were to tear one apart and make this awesome rotary phone purse from Chica and …

I love doilies as decor elements.  However in fashion, I’ve found that most doily garments and accessories I’ve seen lean a little too close to grandmotherly for my taste.  But these ain’t your grandma’s doilies!  Over at the CRAFT blog, DIY fashion guru Corinne Leigh (the former Threadbanger) used some pretty doilies left over from wedding decor to give a pair of plain wedges a …

Color blocking is all the rage these days, everywhere from interior design to fashion.  Even shoes!  You could shell out a bunch of money for designer color blocked shoes, like $215 at Saks Fifth Avenue for some Dolce Vita color blocked shoes, or you could take a cue from Elsie and Emma at A Beautiful Mess and makeover a pair of shoes you already have …

We know our readership has mixed feeling about Project Runway; some of you love to hate it, and some of you just can’t get enough.  No matter how you feel about the show, there is one thing that holds true: the best episode of every season is the unconventional challenge.  Especially on the occasions where that challenge involves the dollar store!  In case you missed …

If you’ve ever accidentally felted a wool sweater, you know that “uh-oh” feeling in the pit of your stomach when you pull the poor, shriveled thing out of the dryer.  Oops!  When Rena from The Cheese Thief shrunk a sweater, she found a great way to rescue it, recycling the misshapen garment into a matching hooded infinity scarf and leg warmers.  If you don’t have …

2011 was a tutorial-filled year at Dollar Store Crafts; we brought you more original tutorials than ever!  There were fashion tutorials, home decor tutorials, recycled crafts, and all kinds of other ideas.  Some of them were particularly popular, so to wrap up the year, we thought we would take a look back at our top 10 tutorials out of everything we made in 2011.  Which …