Craft Ideas Archives - Page 9 of 12 - Cha-Ching on a Shoestring™

The Dollar Store Diva: Upcoming Surprises!

March 30th, 2013 By Kaley
This post may contain affiliate links, which means I will make a small commission if you click and make a purchase.

The Dollar Store Diva went on a little shopping spree and here’s a little teaser of an upcoming series! I love surprises, don’t you?

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I called my daughter Kaley today. The first words out of my mouth were, “Just to let you know, I’m hyper.” Kaley’s response was, “Thanks for the warning.”

She knows that I get “happy hyper” when I’m excited about a new idea, and I am indeed excited about my new idea.

But I’m not going to tell you what it is.

Yet.

As soon as we hung up from our highly energized “I could… and you could…and then we could even…” conversation, I grabbed my coat and headed–you bet–to the Dollar Store.

And what a blast I had shopping at my local Dollar Tree.

And this is what I came home with:

Actually, I’m still developing my plan for exactly what I am going to do with these six items. However, I have promised Kaley that I will have something in her inbox by Monday morning.

Yikes.

That way we can have the Grand Reveal of our “I could… and you could…and then we could even…” idea next week.

Guess I’d better get off the computer and get to work.

I wish you all a lovely Easter weekend with the blessed assurance that

He is risen indeed.

Craft Store Coupon Roundup: Michael’s, AC Moore, Hobby Lobby and More!

March 14th, 2013 By Kaley
This post may contain affiliate links, which means I will make a small commission if you click and make a purchase.

I’ve rounded up the best Craft Store Coupons for you at Michaels, AC Moore, Hobby Lobby and more. I even found a rare Lowe’s printable coupon for you!

Keep in mind that most craft stores accept competitor coupons too.

MICHAELS: (valid through 3/16)

Weekly Michaels sale ad

JOANN FABRIC & CRAFT: (valid through 3/16)

40% off any regular price item

Weekly JoAnn’s sale ad

HOBBY LOBBY: (valid through 3/16)

40% off any regular price item

Weekly Hobby Lobby sale ad

AC MOORE: (valid through 3/16)

Weekly AC Moore sale ad

HANCOCK FABRICS: (valid through 4/3):

Weekly Hancock Fabrics sale ad

LOWE’S HOME IMPROVEMENT:

$10 off $50 purchase coupon (valid through 5/18)

Weekly Lowe’s sale ad

The Dollar Store Diva: St. Patrick’s Day Gifts

March 9th, 2013 By Kaley
This post may contain affiliate links, which means I will make a small commission if you click and make a purchase.

Check out this whimsical gift idea and FREE printable from the Dollar Store Diva! Makes me want to say “Top o’ the Mornin’ to ya!”

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On March 17, we are having three friends over for Sunday dinner. Since it will be St. Patrick’s Day, and since Irish blood runs through my veins, I came up with an idea for some just-for-fun-St.-Patty’s-Day gifts for my dinner guests.

As usual, I looked around the house for supplies I already had on hand to put together a few gift bags.

The gift–surrounded by green shreds–in this bag is most definitely memorable and totally IRISH.

Are you wondering what it is?

Why, of course, what else but IRISH SPRING soap!

(Which I actually did already have around the house because I had bought it in a great sale some time before.)

I have included a FREE printable for the tag I used to decorate each bag: Hurrah for the Irish . (If you want to print four of the tags, just run the cardstock though the printer again, being careful to replace the paper in the tray so that it will print on the opposite half of the sheet.)

Cut out the Irish flag and the HURRAH FOR THE IRISH tag; adhere that tag to the flag cutout. Add any other colorful and creative touches you choose.

Maybe these will spark some St. Patrick’s Day gift ideas of your own.

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Hey, wait! Here’s another just-for-a-chuckle idea: why not spruce up a bottle of Bailey’s IRISH Creamer? Afterall, what could be more Irish than that? 🙂

And one can’t help but say:

Hurrah for the Irish!

***

For those of you who haven’t met her, the Dollar Store Diva happens to be my Mom, Nancy, who has a special power. She can transform Dollar Store and other inexpensive finds into super fun gifts that would brighten anyone’s day!

Check out more Dollar Store Diva Ideas.

The Dollar Store Diva: Proud to be Irish!

February 28th, 2013 By Kaley
This post may contain affiliate links, which means I will make a small commission if you click and make a purchase.

The Dollar Store Diva wants to help you celebrate St. Patrick’s Day!

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My maiden name was Gilmore; Gilmore is an Irish name. My great-grandfather, William Gilmore, emigrated from Dublin, Ireland, and settled with his wife Rebecca on 200+ acres on Morton Hill near Roscoe, NY. Their son Joesph and his wife, Margaret, raised five children on Morton Hill; one of those children was my beloved father, Arthur William Gilmore.

I am proud to be Irish!

I teach the students in my ESL class to be proud of their cultural heritage, so on March 17 I am going to show pride in my own roots by giving them each a little St. Patrick’s Day gift.

Whenever I am looking for a gift idea, I think to myself: What do I already have in my house? I had some green Hershey Kisses left over from Christmas. (I used the red ones for Valentines Day.) I also had plastic spoons (even some green ones from Sweet Frog!).

So you could join me in the fun, I created some free tags for you to print: Kiss Me I’m Irish and Proud to be Irish.

I wrapped a piece of plastic wrap around each Kiss and tied it to the spoon with green curly ribbon. I punched a hole in the the Kiss Me I’m Irish tag and used gold ribbon to tie it to the handle of the spoon. For the banner, I wrapped the white strip (see printable) around the handle of the spoon and attached it with good old fashioned scotch tape.

Give these as a gift or add a festive touch to the place settings at your St. Patrick’s Day table!

And there you have it: Proud to be Irish!

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But wait! There’s more!

Stay tuned for two more ways to make your friends smile on St. Patrick’s Day.

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See more Dollar Store Diva ideas here.

The Dollar Store Diva: Repurposed Mini-Valentines + Free Printables

February 2nd, 2013 By Kaley
This post may contain affiliate links, which means I will make a small commission if you click and make a purchase.

Get FREE & FUN updates in my email newsletter or on Facebook.

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Another Valentine Gift idea from the Dollar Store Diva! Who knew K-Cups could make more than just great coffee?!

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Just for fun, let’s do a little exercise that I use with my ESL class when teaching new vocabulary words. When you are thinking of making a Valentine gift, would you put a smiley face next to the words below or a frowny face?

1. frugal/money-saving

2. happy gift

3. yummy

4. easy

5. recycle/repurpose

6. creative

7. mini

Did you put a smiley face next to all seven? Good job! You get 100% on the pop quiz!

One of the ways I try to be frugal is to repurpose or recycle what I already have. When I was thinking of creative ways to say Happy Valentines Day, I wandered around my house to see what I already had that could be repurposed for Valentine containers. I was specifically thinking of mini (as in too, too cute).

And this is what I found:

Keurig cups, little take-out containers that held dressings/sour cream; pudding/applesause containers; votive candle holders.

Oh, the ideas that started flowing!

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First I created several sets of mini-tag printables to share with you for your own happy, frugal, too, too cute Valentine gifts.

Be My Valentine 8 Hearts printable

Then I combined the tags with the mini containers: applesauce containers filled with Lifesaver Wintergreen Mints and Hershey Kisses.

Keurig Cups: one wrapped in red cello and the other in pull-it-out-of-your-kitchen-drawer plastic wrap.

Lots of Kisses XOXO printable

Votive Candle holder turned Hugs and Kisses holder!

Don’t forget pink! Votive candle holders with pink striped candy sticks and a fat pink ribbon.

So there you have it. Why not wander through your house and see what containers you could recycle for a mini Valentine’s greeting.

And lots of kisses and sweet Valentine wishes to all of you!

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30 FREE Personalized Valentine’s (Just Pay Shipping)

January 28th, 2013 By Kaley
This post may contain affiliate links, which means I will make a small commission if you click and make a purchase.

I’m excited to see this offer is BACK!

Through 2/1/13, Vistaprint is again offering 10 FREE Note Cards (just pay shipping). Simply cut into 3’s to make 30 FREE Personalized Kid’s Valentines.

The Robot Valentine above is the one that I used last year for my three year old. It’s not easy for a 3 year old to write his name 20 times, so this saved a lot of time! You could even add a photo to make it even more special.

Shipping starts at $4.80.

Click here to get started and check out the other fun designs.

Note: It looks like you can even create multiple sets of free cards. You will just need to do separate transactions.

Be sure to check out the other fun Valentine’s freebies and offersI have posted.

The Dollar Store Diva: Mint to be Valentines!

January 23rd, 2013 By Kaley
This post may contain affiliate links, which means I will make a small commission if you click and make a purchase.

Here’s a FREE Valentine’s printable from the Dollar Store Diva! York Peppermint Patties are my favorite, so I’m secretly hoping she’s sending me one. 🙂 Don’t miss her fun Valentines-by-Mail ideas as well!

Here’s an easy way to create a sweet Valentine card for someone you want to make smile on February 14th.

Blue paper source here

Using these FREE Mint to be Valentines printables, print out the cards on cardstock, trim, and attach a York Patty. (They have them now in Valentine colors.) I attached mine with red and white paper clips from The Dollar Tree.

I also happened to have some CD sleeves that I had bought on a major sale. The card can be presented with or without the sleeve–as long as the chocolate is attached!

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And how about this idea? Trim a Tic Tacs Mint to be Valentines printable tag and wrap it over the top of a container of Tic Tacs. I adhered mine with double-sided tape. For more fun, I used a red plastic paper clip to attach some red, black, and white thin ribbons.

And look–on the back is a special surprise: XOXO

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But wait! There’s still more fun to come! Look around your house for any random containers you can part with. I have extra white ironstone cups, so I filled one with chocolate Kisses, added some red angel hair ribbon shreds (Dollar Store), and used the printable XOXO tag.

I also have an abundance of votive candle holders, so I filled one with peppermint sticks, wrapped some ribbon around it, and folded the Mint to Be Valentines in half to make a mini card. Then I punched a hole in the card to thread thin ribbon.

And there’s still that happy little Valentine message on the back of the card:

XOXO

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The Dollar Store Diva: Five Clever Valentines-By-Mail Ideas

January 20th, 2013 By Kaley
This post may contain affiliate links, which means I will make a small commission if you click and make a purchase.

Did you know that you can mail just about anything as long as it has a mailing address and the correct postage?

My Mom (a.k.a. the Dollar Store Diva) is the queen of sending out-of-the-ordinary mailings, from water bottles to cereal boxes to puzzles and more. Here are some clever ways to brighten the day of your Valentines who live far and wide.

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A Cereal-ously Cute Idea

When you can’t ‘Scrape’ Up Enough Dough

Go to Infinity and Beyond to send your Valentine some love

Gifts for the budding artist in a clever package

‘Puzzled’ about what to send your grandson? Here’s an idea.

A bottle of Sunshine to brighten anyone’s day!

Yes…for those of you who are counting, this was actually SIX clever Valentine’s-by-Mail ideas. I found the last one after I had already made the graphic. Ahem.

Love me anyway? 🙂

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See more Dollar Store Diva ideas here.