I got to sneak away to the dollar store without toddlers in tow, so I managed to snap some pictures of the things that caught my eye. First thing that caught my eye were these packs of plain paper crowns. They’re ready to be embellished, say if you’re hosting a princess party, but the thing that intrigued me was the shape of the scrolls on the crown. What could you do with those? I was thinking maybe make a faux ornate frame for a mirror. Could work in a little girl’s room, or maybe if you used this cool hot glue embossing technique on the crowns they’d look more realistic. (Here’s another version of the hot glue embossing project – such a great technique!)
Next cool thing I saw was this pack of 25 small envelopes. They’re with the teaching supplies, but you could use them for scrapbooking elements, or maybe to make a cool chore chart for your kiddos. Any other ideas? There were several different bright colors in the pack.
A few months ago, I scoured every dollar store in a 50 mile stretch to find more than one package of these magnetic wooden letters, and I failed. So, I’m happy to report that they are back in stock! Back when I was looking for them, I wanted to glue them onto frames with my sons’ names on them and paint over the whole shebang. What would you do with them?
The dollar store has SO many options for wedding favor packaging on a budget, but I haven’t noticed these until now. I like the simple classic shape (you can kind of see it on the hangtag top right corner).
Then there were these little cuties. They are about 2 inches square (about the size of a ring box) and are baby blue (or baby pink, or white). The blue reminded me of a Tiffany box, which I thought was kinda cool. These would probably go nicely with your wedding if this color of blue was in your color scheme. What would you fill them with?
Finally, these colored vases that are darker colored at the bottom (kind of an ombre effect). They look kinda cheesy in the photo, but individually they are pretty cool. They had several different colors (blue, green, pale pinkish), but I liked the blue because it reminded me of this really pretty floral arrangement on a recent cover of Family Circle magazine:
I super LOVE the clear blue vase with the bright pink flowers in this arrangement. Nice. I think the colored vases would be fab for wedding table decorations. I would group them with a couple other vases of different height and shape. (If you wanted to go with the look in this photo, you could use the tapestry-ish place mats they sell at the dollar store to put under your grouping).
Guess what! My dollar store had their last year’s leftover Christmas stuff on clearance! About one aisle’s worth of stuff was marked from a quarter to fifty cents. Definitely worth looking over as you are planning your holiday decorations. Speaking of which, have you decided on your color scheme for this year? I’m dreaming of chocolate and mint.
While we’re talking about the holidays, now is the time to snap up the Halloween decorations that are starting to appear in stores. These tend to sell out fast. This year, there are LOTS of different skeleton and bones options, as well as the feathered black crows, which are a spooky take on the popular bird decor trend.
A few projects using dollar store Halloween decor items:
- Bird Mobile (make a spooky version for your porch for Halloween)
- La Catrina Skeleton Dolls
- Creepy Hand Frame
- Reader Halloween Roundup
More Halloween stuff: big skulls, little skulls, tombstones and signs. I didn’t take pictures of the fake body parts and innards. You’re welcome!
We are also starting to see harvest decor items. These ceramic pumpkins are new this year, and I really like the interesting finishes on them and the colors (especially all grouped together). Would you use these as-is, craft them into something new, or pass on them?
23 Comments
Anne
I love those pumpkins! They already match the colors in my house, so I would probably leave them as is and group a couple. I should go get those soon, I have a feeling they’ll run out quickly!
Nikki
Oooooooooooh, I love those pumpkins!!!!! And those crowns…I have fabulous ideas for both! Too bad my Dollar Store is CLOSED due to flooding for the next 5 WEEKS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I’m starting to get a nervous tic…seriously, I’m going crazy without my dollar store!!!!!!
AmyLynn
Love love love that white ceramic pumpkin! Because of the shiny finish, I’d probably use them as-is. Other option might be to use the white ones as a dry erase surface (table numbers, food labels, etc.).
The Answer Is Chocolate
I saw those skeletons when I was in recently and am going back to get them, and glitter them!
Anne in NC
Those body parts at Dollar Tree are beyond grotesque — I was really surprised and disappointed that they decided to carry something that disgusting. Thankfully I did not have my young daughters with me.
Angie @ The Country Chic Cottage
Great finds! And thanks so much for linking to me!! :) You are the best!
McKell
great finds! i ? dollar tree!! i use those wedding favor boxes to ship my Etsy jewelry in. they work great & you get 6 for a buck :)
http://www.flapperfashions.etsy.com
that creepy hand frame is too cute! i need to do that for sure.
and don’t you love those pumpkins? i saw those last time & need to grab them when i go back again! they sell those at Tai Pan actually.
….sounds like i need to make a trip back to my Dollar Tree!!
Holly Day
These Halloween decorations are fantastic! And those pumpkins are terrific! They would work wonders on my Halloween table but could stay there forever or till the end of Fall as they definitely are gorgeous!
Jen
Being a Halloween devotee and organizer for a non profit spooktacular, I personally think the body parts are a hoot (and a real bargin as well)! They were at my dollar store last year too, but this year the fingers were a nice addition. Not for everybody, but I didn’t think they were that gross. The pumpkins and birds are just fantastic and classy though!
Cristina
Oh my god! Here in Spain our “euro stores” are not so good! There are a lot of interesting things!
Andrea
I really want to get some of those pumpkins! Since we live in the same city, do you mind me asking which store you’re shopping at? I tend to go for the one on the North end of Lancaster, and once in a while I stop into the one on the south end. I’d rather not go hunting for them if you don’t mind sharing! Thanks!
heather
@Andrea, I saw these at Woodburn, but they should start getting them at the other stores too. The South Lancaster store tends to be one of the nicest stores in the area.
Valencia
I have those pumpkins from last year and they look so pretty with the glass finish!! I will put them under cloches this year to play up the shine.
Barbie
I’m bummed that I’m not seeing the sparkly skulls that they had last year. Did anyone pick those up a year ago? I got one of each color and love em ;)
linda
I love the pumpkins and bought about 6 and display them in the fall on a table in my front hall. Some fall leaves scattered inbetween the pumpkins and a fall scented candle complete the table top.
ErinK
I love the pumpkins! I think they look cute all together like that…but I also saw someone in blog land spray paint something similar…she sprayed them in a white with black stems and then grouped them on a black spider web type table runner for halloween and then a gold sheer for thanksgiving.
Love the favor boxes….will have to run by and get some of those for my boys for advent calender!
Thanks for sharing.
nataluna
the envelopes might be good in an interactive altered book.
i wonder about using the crowns in home deco. maybe as stencils?
plus, part of my brain keeps saying “crown molding” and another part keeps saying “i don’t think that means what you think it means” (like in the PrincessBride movie).
Kim Vahle
Love the pumpkins, but never thought about the wedding favor boxes for my jewelry. Will have to get there soonest.
carrie
I actually have the pumpkins. I picked some up last year and LOVE them! I will have to check out my local DT to see if I can grab a few more. I really love them and they are so great to carry me through from October to November. YAY Fall!!! I also have some of the the black crows that I snagged the other day to use on my mantle. I plan on using them in an urn with willow branches for Halloween. Super excited!
Rachel S.
I am really liking the pumpkins! I would have a hard time deciding on if I would spray paint them variations of white and ivory or leave them as is.
Allison
Heather! Saw your comment on my platinum pumpkins post. My apologies! I’ll fix that post right up as soon as I’m back to my pc! Thanks for all your inspiring ideas!
Best-allison
Krystal
I don’t know if anyone’s said this, but the envelopes could make a cool advent calendar, and 25 is the perfect number!