About

DollarStoreCrafts.com is a daily crafting blog with an emphasis on projects that are cheap, chic, and easy to do. Most of the materials in our projects can be purchased at your local dollar store.

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Here’s everything you’ve ever wanted to know about Dollar Store Crafts. There’s a lot of info on this page, so here’s a table of contents with links so you can skip to the sections you’re interested in.

About The Site:

Dollar Store Crafts is a daily blog devoted to hip crafts using dollar store stuff.

Heather Mann started Dollar Store Crafts in October 2008, and the site has since developed into a successful daily crafting blog with an emphasis on projects that are cheap, chic, and easy to do. Over 600,000 unique readers visit Dollar Store Crafts each month, and over 1 million pages are viewed each month.

This blog is dedicated to bringing you crafts that feature materials purchased

  • at dollar stores
  • at dollar sections in stores
  • at discount stores for $1 or less

Projects will assume you have some supplies available, including supplies that nearly everyone has on hand like:

  • scissors
  • glue
  • tape
  • paint brushes
  • general office and home supplies

Crafts focus on projects that are $10 or less. Emphasis is made on clear, simple directions, and projects that anyone can do!

Heather MannAbout the Author:

Contact me: heather AT dollarstorecrafts dot com

Heather Mann: I’m the founder of Dollar Store Crafts; I’ve been a crafter, writer and entrepreneur since I was a little girl selling polymer clay beads and scrunchies door to door. I’m the co-host of webshow Get a Little Creative, and a mid-century design fan at my home decor blog, Decor Hacks. I live in Oregon, where lots of rainy days make for great crafty afternoons with my three little boys, ages 4, 6, and 7.

Things that thrill me: innovative crafts that are clever and simple to make, spending less money, teaching people what I know, making connections with people, collaborating, and using up what I have (stashbusting!). My top three craft tools are: sewing machine, hot glue gun, and googly eyes.

I am an expert in frugal crafting, and I love to deconstruct readymade items into new objects. I’ve been blogging since 2000 (I hand-coded my first blog in HTML), and have been writing craft tutorials since 2003.

Other Projects:

  • CraftFail, a blog where crafters can share their not-so-successful crafting attempts
  • Decor Hacks, quick tips for home decorating
  • Crafterminds, the art of craft blogging
  • Dollar Store Mom, all the info you need to be the best mom ever (on a budget)

Our Team

Rhonda Greene: Editor

Rhonda Greene is a lifelong resident of West Michigan. She participated in her first craft show at the age of 10, selling jewelry made from found objects. She lives with her husband, Adam, and two cats, Merlin and Abracadabra. Top 3 supplies: Mod Podge, duct tape, and grommets. Read more from Rhonda.


Samantha Baldwin: Contributor

Samantha Baldwin is an award-winning journalist with aspirational tastes on a dollar store budget. She covers DIY fashion and DIY home design for examiner.com and posts inspiration and tutorials at her personal blog Bromeliad Living. Her favorite craft supplies are thread, hot glue, and anything wrongly discarded by her neighbors.

Mikeasaurus: Contributor
Mike Warren made his own toys as a kid, a few decades later not much has changed. A strong believer in DIY, getting messy and of course the Dollar Store, Mike can be found collecting stuff for his next project around the rainy streets of Vancouver, BC. He has had projects featured on Make, Hack-a-Day, Gizmodo, Betty Crocker,  Lifehacker, and Craftzine. Aside from making Man Crafts he also creates wacky things over at Instructables.com.

the sisters 4The Sisters 4 Say More is More: ContributorsSister#1, Selina; Sister#2, Sophie; Sister#3, Olivia; and Sister#4, Elise

We are four real life sisters who share a love of creativity, clothes, and fabulous finds. We are separated by miles and miles (and maybe a couple of states)  We were raised on a meager budget so we learned to make the best of what we had. Thrifting, repurposing and sister swaps helped us make the most of our wardrobes then and we are sticking to it now. We love putting together stylish looks for less and by less we mean less than 5 dollars. Check out our daily blog: The Sisters 4 Say More is More.

Contact Info:

Submit your Dollar Store Crafts at our Submission Page

Email: Heather [at] dollarstorecrafts -dot- com

Twitter: @dollarcraft

Facebook: Dollar Store Crafts Fan Page

YouTube: DollarCraft Youtube Channel

Weekly Newsletter: Sign Up for Email Newsletter

Flickr Group: Dollar Store Crafts Pool

Press:

Awards & Ranking

Published Work

  • Clothespin Angel Ornaments (CrafTown, November 2010)
  • $2 Apothecary Jars, Guest Post (Someday Crafts, October 2010)
  • Wool Tree Ornaments (CrafTown, October 2010)
  • Star, Crafting With the Stars (Sew Dang Cute, October 2010)
  • 5 No-Sew Costumes (Kaboose.com, September 2010)
  • No-Sew Netbook Case (According to Kelly, July 2010)
  • Make a Peg Doll Family (Skip to My Lou’s Craft Camp, June 2010)
  • Guest Judge, Dollar Store Challenge (The CSI Project, June 2010)
  • Waffled Monte Cristo Sandwich (Foodwhirl, May 2010)
  • Judge, Threadless.com Threadknits Challenge (Threadknits.com, March 2010)
  • Regular Craft Contributor at AmazingMoms (Amazingmoms.com 2010)
  • How to Get Your Toddler’s Teeth Brushed (Ohdeedoh, February 2010)
  • How to Make a Reusable Babysitting Board (Ohdeedoh, February 2010)
  • How to Cook With Toddlers – Painting Toast (Ohdeedoh, February 2010)
  • How to Make Chocolate-Dipped Twinkie Bon-Bons (Ohdeedoh, February 2010)
  • How to Make a Pirate Ship Sandwich (Ohdeedoh, February 2010)
  • Cocktail Umbrella Lamp (Ohdeedoh, January 2010)
  • Porcelain Village Fixer-Upper (Ohdeedoh, December 2009)

Interviews

  • Getting to Know Anna & Heather – Crafting with the Stars (Sew Dang Cute, October 2010)
  • Meet Heather Mann of Dollar Store Crafts (Ohdeedoh, October 2009)
  • Zines Get All Crafty (CraftyPod #7 Podcast, Aug 18, 2005)
  • Interview With Heather (CraftyPod #48 Podcast, April 6, 2007)
  • Story of Heather’s First Zine, (HelloCraft #3 Podcast, Nov 19, 2008)

Thanks to everyone who has linked to Dollar Store Crafts, including:

oneprettything

Disclosure Policy

This policy is valid from 22 December 2009

This blog is a personal blog written and edited by me. For questions about this blog, please contact  Heather Mann (heather at dollarstorecrafts dot com).

This blog accepts forms of cash advertising, sponsorship, paid insertions or other forms of compensation.

This blog abides by word of mouth marketing standards. We believe in honesty of relationship, opinion and identity. The compensation received may influence the advertising content, topics or posts made in this blog. That content, advertising space or post may or may not be clearly identified as paid or sponsored content.

The owner(s) of this blog is not compensated to provide opinion on products, services, websites and various other topics. The views and opinions expressed on this blog are purely the blog owner’s. If we claim or appear to be experts on a certain topic or product or service area, we will only endorse products or services that we believe, based on our expertise, are worthy of such endorsement. Any product claim, statistic, quote or other representation about a product or service should be verified with the manufacturer or provider.

The owner(s) of this blog would like to disclose the following existing relationships. These are companies, organizations or individuals that may have a significant impact on the content of this blog. We are employed by or consult with: AmazingMoms.com, Kaboose.com, CraftFail.com, MakeandTakes.com, CROQzine.com.

To get your own policy, go to http://www.disclosurepolicy.org

Affiliates:

Dollar Store Crafts selects certain vendors to be affiliates, and provides links directly to their stores in exchange for a small percentage of the sale, should you choose to buy. We hand-pick companies who we link to because we think their products might be of interest to you, or they sell products that can be used in our dollar store crafts. Our first allegiance is always to you, the reader!

WHY I am an affiliate: Because I love making dollar store crafts, and writing this blog, and I want to keep improving this site and the original content I bring you! I don’t want you to buy anything you wouldn’t otherwise be buying, but if you ARE buying, then you might as well help support your favorite blog, right? :)

Affiliates include (but are not limited to):

  • Amazon.com
  • Dollar Tree! (I’m excited about that because I am pretty sure I’m responsible for a TON of yearly business for DT!)
  • Blick Art Materials
  • Fabric.com
  • Joann.com
  • CreateForLess.com
  • Discounted Designer Fabrics

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DISCLAIMER:

This blog is dedicated to bringing you fun ideas. While we would never knowingly promote a project that is flat-out dangerous, some materials and techniques are not appropriate for all ages and stages. Some materials can be toxic (glue, etc.) Please use your own good judgment when taking part in these crafts. We make no claims about the safety of any of the projects featured on our blogs, or the techniques or supplies used. We take no responsibility for what you choose to do with the information and ideas represented on Dollar Store Crafts!

Questions and Answers:

Question: You have a lot of great ideas! Where do you get them all?

Answer: I get inspiration from other blogs, other art and design projects I see around, and of course, the dollar store itself! Also, many of the ideas featured on this blog are from other blogs! Check for links in the stories to visit them.

Question: Can you give me more instruction on how <insert project here> was done? I don’t quite get it!

Answer: If a tutorial is located at someone else’s page (as approximately 90% of the projects featured on Dollar Store Crafts are), I make a point of not including ALL the info (the complete tutorial instructions) for the project in my blog entry, because I want to encourage people to visit the original project to see how to do it.  I don’t like it when people copy my tutorials in entirety and post them on their own blogs, so I don’t do that to others. For more info, check the link at the end of the first paragraph in the blog post you are interested in. It’s enclosed in brackets and [it looks like this.]

Question: Can I submit my ideas?

Answer: YES! If you have already made your own dollar store craft, please send me a link to your blog or website (where you originally posted it), OR send me details and a photo, or post on the Facebook page. While I can’t promise all ideas submitted will be featured on the site, I try hard to showcase as many reader submissions as I can! My email address is heather <at> dollarstorecrafts *dot* com. Note about photos: Please don’t send ginormous photos! And, the clearer and prettier the photo is, the more likely I am to use your idea as a feature.

Question: Hey! That craft looks an awful lot like something I already posted on my own blog! Did you steal it?

Answer: Nope! I (and my contributors) make efforts to credit all the people involved in blog posts. Sometimes DSC will feature a project that strongly resembles others available on the web; chances are, we weren’t aware of yours when we wrote our post. The web is wide, my friends, and lots of ideas have been done before. Sometimes I come up with something all on my own that someone else (usually Martha Stewart!!) has already done. This is part of the mystery of the collective unconscious. But for real, I said I don’t like it when people steal my tutorials, so I don’t do that to others. If something I write strongly resembles yours, let’s just chalk it up to being kindred spirits/of the same mind, okay? ‘Cause I don’t plagiarize. But feel free to write me a friendly comment or email and point out your own awesome tutorial. If you’re nice, I’ll probably link to it. If you’re mean, I probably won’t. I believe the web is at its best when we are kind and friendly and generous. If you’ve posted a tute for free on your blog, then let the tute be free. I’ll set the example and provide all the tutorials I write for Dollar Store Crafts to you for free!

Question: Why do you have advertising and affiliate marketing links on your site?

Answer: I love making dollar store crafts, and writing this blog, and I want to keep improving this site and the original content I bring you.  I can keep bringing you awesome content for free by selling advertising (through my advertising network, BlogHer, and Google ads, or directly to advertisers), or by sharing deals I find on sites like Amazon.com, DollarTree.com or Oriental Trading Company. I am dedicated to bringing you good ideas and helping you SAVE money. I don’t want you to buy anything you wouldn’t otherwise be buying, but if you ARE buying, then you might as well help support your favorite blog, right? Every time you click on an ad or affiliate link, I am able to bring you better content. My promise to you is that I LOVE THIS SITE and I LOVE DOLLAR STORE CRAFTING and all I want to do is craft and share my projects for free!



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17 Comments

  • kellie

    HOW EXCITING!!! I can’t wait to see what you come up with!!!

  • jessi

    Hey, I love this blog. I’ve tried several of the crafts posted here. I’m not a big fan of the new layout, though; it’s harder to see what’s new.
    Good work!

  • ai

    oo..this is soo cool! ill be makin’ tons of stuff now ^^

  • Wendy

    I’m so glad someone thought of this. Its exactly what I need during these tight financial times. You can still have fun, get messy and make memories for a buck!

  • ginnie

    what a cool website!
    i love it!
    thanks for having me

  • Lyn

    woohoo this is awesome!!!

  • ginger

    What a great blog! Iam going to re-link your ideas on my blog.
    Great job on it!!
    Thank you so much for all your great posts.

  • Melissa

    Sweet site! I’m already planning holiday gifts with the awesome crafts you have here. Cheers!

  • John

    Awesome. I love to do these crafts. Me and my mom actually have a little bit of a bonding time – at least for a 16 year old and a 45 year old mother. lol

  • Jennifer Clark

    I love finding inexpensive ways to create something useful and beautiful. Great site!

  • Erik Homemade

    What a wonderful site! We love to craft with dollar store items as well (we even have our own category for it!) It is always a great place to start! And everything is at a reasonable price! Although our website is growing, we think the dollar store is one great place! Keep your great ideas coming! An keep up all of your great work!
    –Erik@erikhomemade

  • CJ from Article Writing News

    What an awesome blog! I am a Dollar Store Addict and now, you’ve just given me an even better excuse for my addiction! LOL! Thank you for creating this blog! I’ve bookmarked it and I’ll be back!

  • Miss Jay Hart

    Very cute, interesting and inspiring projects.

  • Miranda Johnson

    So glad I found this!

  • 4littlepilgrims

    I just found your site and am looking forward to trying some of these myself! Check out the gingham dish towel that I got for $1 and appliqued.

  • katinutt101 :)

    <3 ur blog!!! my bff and i just love your crafts! will be back soon!!!

  • Deb

    Great site. I’m sure I’ll get lots of new ideas here. I’m always looking for more “green” projects.