Yesterday I used the larger stickers from my dollar spot container to make heart shaped cupcake toppers.  When I was finished I had a handful of the smaller stickers left over and knew I needed to do something with them!  A quick glance through the craft stash box yielded some red embroidery floss and I realized that a mini heart bunting could be really cute.

If you’d like to quickly make you own:

With my leftover stickers I was able to make over 6 feet of the bunting…which combined with the cupcake toppers is quite a bit of Valentine’s goodness for an expenditure of $1.07 (including tax)!   I’ve seen bags of rainbow foam heart stickers at my local dollar store this could be a fun birthday party decoration as well…one which your kiddos could help you assemble!

I’ve made these before…but when I ran across these cute heart stickers in the Target Dollar Spot I knew I had to repeat this Easter project.

In case you missed the Easter egg ones, the process is super cheap & easy.

And repeat until you end up with these cute little guys!

I picked up the container of stickers in the Target dollar section but I’ve also seen large bags of these in rainbow colors at my local dollar store in the craft section.  The fun thing about the Target container was that after making cupcake toppers with the larger stickers, I still had a large amount of the smaller ones left over.  This means I have another project lined up tomorrow with the leftovers and rumor has it I’ll give them both away next week

Anyone else out there throwing together last minute Valentines ideas?  I’d love to see them so share those links!

Since Easter is just around the corner, I decided to create a one-stop post featuring all my previous year’s related napkin wraps!  Also, I’ll be adding links to the new ones I plan to post here later this week.  To access the post with printable template simply click on the napkin wrap images below:

All templates above use Monterey BT font which is free to download from SoFontes.  New to Napkin Wraps?  No worries, visit this post for step-by-step instructions on how to use my napkin wrap templates!

Today I have a super quick, super inexpensive, yet fun way to add a bit of Easter sparkle to cakes, cupcakes, sandwiches, or any yummy treat!

Supplies Needed:

• Easter Egg Stickers – 2 for each topper to be made,  I picked up mine from the local dollar store. You can use other types of stickers just make sure they are symmetrical so they line up correctly when you reverse the one for the back.
• Toothpicks

Instructions:

1. Remove one sticker from the sheet and carefully adhere your toothpick to the stick back.  Make sure the toothpick is centered.
2. Remove a second, same sized sticker and carefully line up the edges with the back of the first sticker.
3. Press down around the edges to seal everything firmly.  Don’t worry if your edges don’t line up exactly, you can always trim with a pair of scissors if necessary.
4. Repeat and Enjoy decorating your yummy treats!
   

Cost Estimate: $1 & up

Stickers – $1.00 from local dollar store, but you could use stickers you already own just make sure they are symmetrical
Toothpicks – Free – On Hand

I love the little touch of shimmer these egg toppers add to even my breakfast doughnut, and for one measly dollar you can’t beat the price!  How will you dress up your yummy Easter treats?

I hope each of you is having a wonderful Valentines Day!  Things have been very busy in our household this year, so I really haven’t crafted as much as normal.  However, that means I took a look back through the archives at the crafts from years past…and thought you might enjoy reviving some of these oldies but goodies as well!  Just click the link below the image to visit that tutorial.

DIY Large Matchbox Style Valentines (with template)

Click to View Tutorial

DIY Valentine Napkin Wraps (with template)

Click to View Tutorial

Flower Power Decorated Dog Collar

Click to View Tutorial

Turn Dollar Store Candy into Cute Valentines

Click to View Tutorial

It’s been way too long since I posted a fun crafty treat and I’ve really missed it (and you guys)! Today’s Semi-DIY project is a quick and cheap way to dress up a simple box of candy.  It would be great for adults and the kiddos alike.  See…cute right?

Supplies Needed:

• Boxes of Conversation Hearts Candy – I picked mine up at the local Dollar Tree
• Double Sided Tape
• Scrapbook paper
• Stickers or other decorative items

Instructions:

1. Cut your scrapbook paper to the height and circumference of your candy boxes.  For the boxes I used the dimensions of the paper should be 3.5 inches wide by 7.5 inches long.
2. Add a piece of double-sided tape to one end of the paper, and attach it to the back of your box.
   
3. Next, you will wrap the paper around the box and attach to the box with an additional piece of double-sided tape.  Do this underneath the overlaid section of the paper.
   
4. Decorate with stickers and other assorted goodies.
5. Give to someone special!

Costs:

One of the great things about this project is that in additon to be simple, it’s also quite thrifty.  If you have a stash of scrapbook paper & stickers like I do then it’s virtually free since you just need to buy the candy.  My boxes of candy were purchased from the Dollar Tree in a package of 4 for $1 and you could also pick up fun Valentines stickers there as well.

$1.07 for 4, so 26 cents each!  Can’t beat that!

Earlier I posted some photos from my inspiration candy pieces…they were white, glittery, and peppermint-y.  The plant saucers I have are clear…so that meant I needed to try to make them work as well as buying new white ones.  These took a bit longer than those in the first post since they needed some drying time, but we used them to decorate our mailbox just a bit.

Supplies Needed:

• Transparent Cellophane  ($1 from dollar store)
• Plant Saucers (mine were $1 from local dollar store and are 6 inches in diameter)
• White Paint (I used some white spray paint from my stash)
• Paints for peppermint colors
• Ribbon ($1 from Big Lots)
• School Glue ($1 from dollar store)
• Glitter ($1 from Michael’s dollar bins)

Instructions:

1. If starting with clear saucers start by painting them white.  You could use acrylic paint and a brush, or spray paint works great for this project.  I used a can leftover from another project and gave the saucers a quick light spray, and then let them dry thoroughly.
   
2. Once dry, it’s time to decorate your candy pieces.  I start by lighting outlining the shapes of the areas to be painted on the top of each piece with a pencil.
   
3. For painted pieces use your acrylic paint & brush to fill in each of the candy sections.  Sit aside to let dry (I leave mine overnight).
4. For Glittery pieces fill in each of the candy sections with your school glue.  Use the paintbrush to fill in the spaces if necessary.  Then over a piece of paper apply your glitter.  Use the paper to reuse extra glitter until all glue is covered.  Sit aside and allow to dry (I leave mine overnight)
   
5. Cut your cellophane into pieces larger than your saucers.  I doubled the diameter of my saucer, so 12 inches square for each 6 inch saucer.  Don’t worry if you have too much on the sides you can trim that later.
6. Lay your first saucer in the middle of one of your pre-cut cellophane pieces, open side up.
7. Pull the bottom half of the cellophane up and over the top of the open saucer.  Secure it with tape.
8. Pull the top half of the cellophane down and hold closed with a tiny piece of tape.
9. Now carefully gather one of the ends and tie with a piece of ribbon.   Don’t worry if your ends are a bit long, you can always trim them when they are finished.
10. Repeat the gathering and tying process on the remaining side.
11. Now,  you are all ready to display your candy!

Want to add your candy pieces to garland?

Easy, just slip pieces of floral wire behind your ribbon ties on each side and use to secure to your garland!

Like these candy decorations?

Then stick around…hopefully I’ll have a fun reuse candy bunting project to post later this week!

How do you decorate your mailbox?  Have any fun mailbox inspiration links to share?

I’ve mentioned my love of Swap-Bot before, and today I’ll show off one of my latest projects that was shipped off several weeks ago to one of my swap partners.  The Yo-Yo Christmas Tree:

Isn’t it cute?  I love to make yo-yo’s, making them is quite soothing to me for some reason.   Typically I have a pile of them laying around with no clue how to use them and after seeing a yo-yo pumpkin this fall thought I should attempt to make a tree.  Then I saw this fun tutorial from Kiwi at Heart and she had made exactly what I was dreaming up in my head.  She does a great job explaining the process…I only did one thing differently.

Where she uses templates to cut her circles, I decided to try out this fun little gadget I picked up 50% off at Joann’s a while back.

The verdict?  I LOVE it!

PROS:
I was able to just adjust the setting to match her dimensions and cut the circles out with no templates.  It works much like using a string & pencil to draw a circle…only this bad boy has a sharp pin to hold it in place and a super shape rotary blade.  Such a time saver…especially when you love to make yo-yo’s as much as I do! I have a quilt I want to make this year that involves circles and I am thinking this little guy might be a life saver when I get to that point.  So if you cut out circles-o-plenty of like I do…it might be the best $15 you spend.

CONS:
It uses a really sharp rotary blade, so you absolutely must use a cutting mat underneath it.  It can also be a bit odd to hold and turn at first, but once you get the hang of it that isn’t really a problem.

Any other recommendations out there for yo-yo construction or quilting gadgets I might also find indispensable?  Please, share!!

Make sure you check out the yo-yo tree tutorial:  Yo-Yo Christmas Tree Tutorial from Kiwi at Heart

You might also check out Mummy Crafts to see her take on the same tutorial, which also includes a template for cutting the circles.

Can you believe it’s December already?  Wasn’t it just June?  I remember thinking the saying “time flies” was just one of those things older adults said. Much like walking to school in the snow, up hill both ways.  Sadly now I completely understand what they meant…this year has flown by!

Last year on a last minute, right before Christmas trip to Pike Nursery I noticed  their fun outdoor decorations.  They had these large peppermint patties.  It took me a minute but then it hit me…they made them.  So I snapped a photo thinking I should give it a try this year.

Supplies Needed:

• Tape
• Scissors
• Red (or any color)  cellophane wrap
• Ribbon or twine
• Clear Plastic Flower Pot Saucers (mine are 6 inch)

Instructions:

1. Cut your cellophane into pieces larger than your saucers.  I doubled the diameter of my saucer, so 12 inches square for each 6 inch saucer.  Don’t worry if you have too much on the sides you can trim that later.
2. Lay your first saucer in the middle of one of your pre-cut cellophane pieces, open side up.
3. Pull the bottom half of the cellophane up and over the top of the open saucer.  Secure it with tape.
4. Pull the top half of the cellophane down and hold closed with a tiny piece of tape.
5. Now carefully gather one of the ends and tie with a small piece of twine.  You could also just use your decorative ribbon but since they will be outside I wanted to tie them with something a bit stronger.  Don’t worry if your ends are a bit long, you can always trim them when they are finished.
   
6. Repeat the gathering and tying process on the remaining side.
7. Now, cut pieces of your decorative ribbon, and tie over the twine to decorate your candy.

Want to make your candy into an extra large bunting to hang along your front porch?

Easy, just add your bunting twine or robe in behind your ribbon ties, hang, and enjoy!

Total Cost:

All of the supplies listed above were found at my local dollar store!  I spent a total of $3.00 which would make over 6 of these large candy pieces which supplies left over for a couple other projects you’ll see very soon
$1 and up

Like these candy decorations?
Then stick around…I’ll have additional ones later this week & next!

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This post is linking up to the following sites:

Today I would like to dedicate some craftiness to one of my all-time favorite fall activities…football!  While I tend to gravitate towards college football, this craft could just as easily apply for the pros.  Regardless of what your favorite tailgate beverage might be, I can assure you it will look much more festive when sipped casually through one of these cuties.

Ready to make some of your very own?

Supplies Needed:

• Cardstock in your favorite team’s colors
• Straws, also in your favorite team’s colors
• Glue or Glue Stick
• Helmet Punch (or die cuts from your favorite machine, you will need two helmets for each straw)

Instructions:

1. Punch out your helmets.  For this version of this process I used my Silhouette to quickly cut out my helmets using some cardstock I had left over from another project.   You will need two helmets for each straw you want to make.
2. Using your glue cover the back of one helmet. I use a glue stick when I want to whip these up really quickly, but choose to use paper glue for the ones I sell in my store).



3. Carefully layer the second helmet onto the first, taking care to line up the edges all the way around. Make sure you press to seal the pieces together around the straw.



4. Repeat for the remainder of your straws

Wouldn’t these look fun for a sport themed birthday party as well?

Total Cost: $1 and up

See quick, easy…and cute! Will you decorate for your tailgate area this year? Can you guess who my team of choice is based on these colors?

War Eagle!

Like these but have no time to make your own?
Check out my shop and message me about creating a set custom for you!