• Gift Idea - Craft Bucket (For Craft Lovers!)

    My 10 year old daughter loves crafts. She comes by it honestly, as I have always loved crafts myself. But I have realized she is far from alone. When asked what we should get for a friends birthday, almost always the answer is, craft stuff.

    For awhile, we would purchase ready made craft kits. Mostly from Michael’s or Chapters. These kits are fun, but certainly can limit creativity as most have instructions on how they are to be completed. These kits are also expensive.

    I suggested customizing a craft bin from the dollar store - and what a success that was! My daughter loves choosing things especially for her friends, and I adore dollar store craft supplies. I find them to be of good quality, quantity, and of course - price.

    Each bin she gives is a little different, but they usually have these things inside.

    Clay or Dough

    The modeling clay from the dollar store is actually quite a good buy for older children. Play-Doh is a great idea for little ones.

    Dollar Store Modelling Clay

    Tools for attaching

    We also put in some neat tape, glue, or velcro. It’s great for children to experiment with different materials while creating, so we try to add in some fun, different ways to hold two things together.

    Thread, Ribbon, or String

    I was amazed that we purchased a package of 8 embroidery threads for only $1. Fancy ribbon in different widths is also a great idea. These are great for tying, or making jewelry.

    Sewing Kit

    We try to add at least one personalized craft item for the birthday child. A sewing kit was a great buy for $2 at Dollarama - with thread, buttons, needles, and safety pins - for the budding seamstress.

    Craft Supplies

    We always end up putting in some good old fashioned craft supplies: googly eyes, feathers, buttons, and pipe cleaners are a must for any crafter!

    We put a $15 limit on filling the birthday bin, but truthfully, $10 would be plenty because the cost of these items are so fantastic when shopping at dollar stores. And much to my delight - these bins are always such a hit!

    It’s important to keep the real reason of buying birthday gifts at heart - especially for children. I encourage my daughter to think about the birthday friend, likes/talents/interests, and customize a gift that is just right for them.

    Do you like purchasing craft supplies at dollar stores?

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  • DIY Flower Pot (Great Gift Idea for Teachers!)

    With the end of the school year quickly approaching, you may be looking for a thoughtful gift idea for your child’s teacher. This one is a great one - it is quick, easy, inexpensive, and easily personalized. Older kids can even do it themselves!

    You will need:

    • Approximately 20-30 Pencils
    • Small Jar or Can
    • Hot Glue
    • Ribbons (optional)

    Please Note: I planted my flower after gluing on the pencils, which did not work very well. I would strongly suggest planting your flower in the jar first!

    First, we hot glued each pencil bottom to the jar, being sure to keep the erasers flat on the work surface.

    Then, we weaved the red ribbon in and out of each pencil.

    After that, we hot glued the top of each pencil to the jar.

    Finally, we planted our flower. We put a few rocks in the bottom of the jar to help with drainage.

    This would make a very cute pencil holder as well. After the flowers have wilted, they can be removed, the jar can be rinsed, and it can be used to hold pencils, markers, scissors, and so on.

    This could be personalized with different things attached to the ribbon, or with what is used to wrap the jar. Pencil crayons would look very cute for a primary teacher. Crayons on a small jar would be adorable for a kindergarten teacher.

    These jars can also be personalized by what is put in them. Pencils or flowers are very cute, but they could also be filled with chocolate kisses or candy.

    What gifts do you usually give teachers?

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  • Dollarama Paintbrush Review

    As I have mentioned previously, we are doing a lot of fixing up in our home. One of the least expensive ways we have spruced up is by painting. And we have done a ton of it! From ceilings to walls - very little has been left untouched.

    I have seen the paintbrushes at Dollarama, but I was hesitant to try them. I have painted with “cheap” brushes before and they would leave bristles in my wet paint, which I would then have to pick out (or sand out if I missed them) and re-paint. Not at all worth the few dollars I saved.

    But I was willing to give the brushes from Dollarama a try.

    I was refinishing the base of my kitchen table. It is a rather inconspicuous place to paint, so I thought I would give the dollar store brushes a try. I bought two brushes at Dollarama. The ProPainter Brush was $2 and the Duramax Brush was $1.

    I chose to review three specific areas with these brushes:

    1. Loss of bristles
    2. Paint coverage
    3. Clean up of the brushes

    Before I began painting, I gave a light pull on the bristles, to see if any loose ones would fall out, and to give me a heads up for what I may be in for! To my surprise, not a single bristle was loosened from the ProPainter brush. The Duramax brush was a different story. I easily pulled out many bristles:

    I continued to gently pull out any loose bristle, until my pulling resulted in no more bristles coming out of the brush.

    Then I began painting. Both brushes provided good paint coverage. I was impressed with the lack of streaks. Both brushes provided even strokes and a nice layer of paint evenly to my table.

    The Duramax brush did lose a few bristles throughout the paint job. I caught about 3 while painting, and have noticed 1 more now that the paint has dried. Not too bad for the small area I was doing, but could be problematic if doing a large area.

    I was very impressed with the ProPainter Brush. It did not lose a single bristle.

    The ProPainter brush also washed clean very quickly and easily. The Duramax brush was a bit more challenging to clean. I could not seem to get all of the paint out of it, and ended up tossing it in the trash.

    My personal thoughts:

    The Duramax Brush

    • Lost a lot of bristles, both before I began painting and throughout the painting process. It reminded me of other “cheap” brushes I had used in the past.
    • Painted evenly and did provide good paint coverage.
    • Did not clean up very well. The paint was very difficult to wash out of the brush.

    The ProPainter Brush:

    • Did not lose a single bristle, either before or during painting.
    • Provided good paint coverage and an even coat of paint.
    • Cleaned up quickly and easily.

    I would highly recommend spending the extra dollar and purchasing the Pro Painter brush. You will still be saving a bundle from avoiding the hardware stores. I truly wish I had tried these brushes sooner!

    Do you buy paintbrushes from the dollar store?

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  • Dollar Store Finger Painting

    Buying paint for children from the dollar store is a good idea for three reasons. It is a great size of bottle, the colours are nice and bright, and it is cheap. However, usually it does not come out of clothing that easily, and is not often the best for finger painting.

    With a few minor adjustments, this paint will last even longer - making it cheaper. It will also be easier to come out of clothing, and will make better finger paint.

    Mix together the following:

    • 2 Tablespoons or so of Paint,
    • 1 Tablespoon of Cornstarch
    • 1 Tablespoon of Water
    • 1 Squirt of Dish Soap


    This will more than double the amount of paint you have and save your clothing (and couches, and carpets - or are those just my kids?).

    This is how we finger paint at my house - and how I attempt to manage the mess.

    We put the paint into muffin tins or ice cube trays and use a different spoon for each colour. For my toddler, I do the spooning out of the colours that he wishes onto his paper. He tells me the colours, the amount of the colours, and where on his paper he would like them.

    I need him to think HE is in control - or we have temper tantrums. And let me tell you, finger painting and temper tantrums? Scary. Very scary.

    Now that you have your wonderful finger paints, here are some fun projects to consider:

    Handprint Art

    I originally made similar cute animals in my kindergarten classroom as an extension to a story. But these little animals will be finding frames as they are my littlest boy’s hands and deserve a place in his nursery.

    Symmetry Art

    Be it a butterfly or a heart - this one is a classic!

    Sticker/Tape Art

    This one can look very neat! Using masking or painters tape, tape a word, name or quote on your paper. Next, have your little one finger paint over top. When the paint dries, peel off the tape. This can also be done with stickers. Make sure to use thick paper, such as card stock (sold at Dollarama), to prevent rips.

    Dropper Art

    Using a dropper and finger paint (the paint may need to be thinned a bit with water), suck up the paint and squirt it out on the paper. This is a great time to experiment with mixing colours.

    Straw-Blown Art

    Water your finger paint down with 50% paint and 50% water. Put a few spoonfuls onto the paper and blow it with the straw. To make this tree, put a big drop of brown or black paint at the bottom of the page. Blow a straight line up, and then blow lines to the side for branches. Use a Q-tip dipped in red or pink to make the blossoms.

    Mess-Free Art

    Pop a piece of paper (card stock is best) in a zip-top bag. Add in your paint and let your little one paint away. All the mess stays in the bag and off of your little ones’ hands.

    It’s also fun to experiment with textures, such as using bubble wrap or sand paper to paint on. Consider painting with a toothbrush, small rag, spoons and forks, or your toes.

    With the nice weather right now, it is a great time to go outside and get messy!

    Do your kids love to finger paint?

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  • How to Spruce Up a Metal Toy Bin With Fabric

    If you have kids, you likely feel you can never have enough storage. Thankfully, the dollar store can help. It’s a wonderful place to find bins and buckets galore. I found these adorable galvanized metal buckets for $2.50 and thought they would be ideal for storing some little toy cars.

    Well, they looked adorable, but the noise they made? Not ideal! Every time a car was dropped into the bin it made me jump. And my son loves noise, so banging things into the pail became his new favourite game.

    The solution? A Dollarama cushion cover. I found these heavy tweed cushion covers by the tablecloths for $2. They are the perfect size to line the bucket, and heavy enough to muffle the noise.

    Instructions

    • Cut the zipper off of the cushion cover.
    • Fold the edge of the cover over about 3 inches – like this:

    • Place the folded cover into the pail and line up the seams with the handle holes.
    • Hot glue along the edge and glue the folded edge to the pail, like this:

    • I kept the fabric seam lined up with the handle holes, and at the end I simply glued down the extra fabric left.

    This little trick worked like a charm. Toys can be banged, dropped, and thrown into the pail with barely a sound – perhaps to the despair of my toddler, but to the relief of my head!

    I love toy storage solution that is fun and cute. For quite sometime I will be living in a home consumed with little cars and trucks, crayons and dolls, and I truly wouldn’t want it any other way - but it is nice to have an organized home.

    Ensuring everything has it’s place will allow your little one to help with tidying up, too – which is a very important skill to have!

    What type of toy storage do you have in your home?

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  • DIY Fabric-Covered Bin

    I love the look of rustic home decor items. I especially love baskets, but unfortunately, Dollarama now only carries a very slim selection. Thankfully, I have discovered a way to make a cute basket from dollar store materials.

    You will need:

    • Bin
    • Woven Cushion Cover
    • Glue Gun

    Choose a bin that is no longer than the cushion cover. If you want your bin to be completely covered (inside and out), opt for a bin that is about 2/3 the size of the cushion cover, or smaller. I knew my basket was going to be concealed on the inside, so I chose a larger bin.

    Cut the zipper off of the cushion cover and cut down both side seams. Leave the bottom seam intact.

    Place your basket in the middle and pull the bottom seam up both sides of the bin, center, and hot glue it in place - like this:

    Hot glue along both long edges of the bin, pulling the material snug as you stick it on. As long as you hot glue completely, you will not have to worry about fraying.

    Trim the fabric along the short ends, leaving enough to just cover the short sides of the bin. Hot glue these sides on as well.

    You are now left with your four corners. Simply put hot glue on the inside corner in a vertical line (to the bottom), and stick the fabric corner down inside your bin.

    Repeat with all four corners - and that is it!

    These baskets are very easy to make, and look really nice too. You could choose to cover the inside with fabric as well, and use the bin on a hall table to put keys or sunglasses in, or on a shelf with greenery.

    It could be used for mail, or bills waiting to be filed. There are so many options!

    Do you purchase baskets/bins from the dollar store?

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  • Organizing the Linen Closet

    My linen closet was long overdo for some organizing. I had done a thorough organizing job last year, but it seemed to take no time at all to be made into a mess again.

    I decided it time to organize the linen closet when my husband was sick and claimed we were out of certain medicines he needed. I knew they were “somewhere” but couldn’t find them, resulting in buying more medicine. We don’t use a lot of medicine and usually throw out a lot that has expired - so buying duplicates was simply wasting money.

    The last time I organized the linen closet, I used a few bins, thinking this would solve the problem of closet messes. This time, I decided to use a few more dollar store bins, and also some white sticky labels that I found at the dollar store. My thinking is this - if everything is clearly labelled, I, and those I live with, will be more likely to simply put things where they belong.

    Here is how I organized the linen closet:

    Top shelf: Since we have young children in the house, I used the top shelf to organize our medicines. I opted for one large bin, and labelled one half of the bin for kids medicine and the other half for adult medicine.

    Second shelf: On the second shelf, I used two containers. The first container is for rubbing alcohol, hydrogen peroxide, calamine lotions, and some oils. I decided to label each item, as these are often the items that certain someone’s cannot find. In the second container, I put samples and sunscreen.

    Third shelf: For the third shelf, I decided to not use any containers. These are items infrequently used and therefore lining them up neatly should suffice (should, being the key word there!). They are labelled beneath with their appropriate titles: soap, bubble bath, lotion. I also dedicated a spot for face cloths (though my cloths are currently in the laundry, so they’re not in the photo)

    Fourth shelf: The fourth shelf is for our towels. I opted to roll my towels as my folded towels always end up looking messy. I separated hand towels and bath towels with labels, and decided to put my beach towels on the floor, rolled up.

    Floor: The floor now holds our paper products - toilet paper, paper towels, and facial tissues. For the time being, I simply have them lined up, though I may end up using 3 large bins for each of the products. I am not sure which is more appealing, lining them up neatly or putting them in bins. What would you do?

    So, that is how I organized our linen closet. Once I began, it wasn’t that bad, and in the end, I found it to be very worthwhile. I discovered things I had misplaced, purged a lot of almost empty and expired items, and realized we were low on a few items (so now I know to watch for sales).

    I am eager to see if we are able to maintain the closet this time. I am very hopeful that the labels will make a difference!

    Do you use dollar store bins & labels to organize your linen closet?

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  • How to Change the Straps on Your Sandals

    Every year we buy flip flops at Dollarama. And every year we wear them a time or two, get awful blisters from the straps, and shove them back in the closet.

    This summer, instead of buying yet another pair, hoping somehow they will not give me blisters, I decided to try to fix a pair from last year. Thankfully, it worked!

    This is a simple, very inexpensive, and quick way to make those dollar store flip flops soft and comfy.

    You will need:

    • Flip Flops
    • Leggings (I like the Wonderbra jean-look leggings)
    • Scissors

    Instructions:

    1. Cut off the plastic straps of your flip flops.

    2. Cut one leg off of your leggings.

    3. Cut the ankle hem off, too.

    4. Cut the pant leg into thin strips.

    5. Choose 6 strips, place them on top of one another, and shove them through the top flip flop hole.

    6. Tie a tight double knot (ensure it won’t pull back through the hole) and trim off your ends.

    7. Divide the strips into 3 groups of 2 and begin braiding.

    8. After about an inch or so, stop. Take 3 single strips and braid just those 3 down to the left hole.

    9. The fabric is nice and stretchy, so you don’t need to leave much extra room. Push those 3 straps through the hole and knot tightly (this may take 3 knots - ensure it won’t pull through to the other side). Trim the excess. Repeat on the other side of the flip flop.

    10. Repeat on the other flip flop.

    I love the look and feel of this fabric. It curls naturally, so it hides any edges that are not straight. It is also very soft to the touch, and it has the perfect amount of stretch. It also comes in many different colours and textures to match any flip flop you may have!

    This can also be done to the back of the dollar store “crocs” to avoid blisters.

    Reusing dollar store flip flops - now that’s a frugal idea your wallet, and poor little toes, will appreciate!

    Do you buy sandals from the dollar store?

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  • Centerpiece Idea for Only $3!

    If you visit Pinterest often, you have likely seen these decorative green grassy globes at some point.

    I think they are quite pretty and really ideal for on a fireplace mantel, island, or as a table centerpiece. You can purchase them for around $20 from Homesense – or you can make one yourself for only $3.

    To make this decoration, you will need one square of decorative green foliage (from the dollar store), safety pins, and a pot. I bought my little green pot from Dollarama for $1.

    This craft really could not be easier. Simply turn your foliage square upside down and pin the 2 opposing corners together with a safety pin like this:

    Then pin the other 2 corners together the same way.

    Now, simply gather in a little of one side and a little of the other, pinning to those main two safety pins. Keep pinning until you achieved a globe-like shape.

    Place this globe onto your pot, bowl, or jar with the safety pinned side down - and that’s it, you’re done!

    These little decorations look beautiful inside the home or outside. They would even make a lovely centerpiece for wedding tables.

    With just a bit of time, and some creativity, you can save yourself $17 by making these grassy globes yourself!

    What’s the latest home decor item you bought (or made) from the dollar store?

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  • Dollarama Stick Tile Review

    We bought a “fixer-upper” 3 years ago. I love the house, as it has a huge backyard, backs onto a park, and has a lot of potential. Well, as it turns out, it was a bit more of a fixer-upper than anticipated. We first needed new windows and a new roof before we could even think about tackling the cosmetic changes we wanted.

    So, we have had to be creative. A lot of the flooring in the house was in disrepair. And a lot was downright gross! So, given that we would be renovating, I did not want to replace the flooring with anything too expensive as it would just be removed in a year or two (or three, or ten… ahem).

    The solution? Dollarama stick tiles!

    I first put the flooring down in the kitchen, as I knew that the kitchen renovation was going to be done first. I was very impressed. It held up beautifully and was very simple to install. No fancy tools, simply a pair of scissors (that will get very sticky and likely ruined), a ruler, and a pencil.

    I then tackled our very, very yucky bathroom floor. I wasn’t sure how slippery the tiles would be, or how well the glue would hold up with the humidity and moisture, but guess what? Not one single problem - and it has been a full year!

    My latest project was the basement laundry room. This room, truthfully, I was just going to leave be. It has cement flooring and will remain unfinished. But it was just so icky, so I knew I had to do something.

    This tile was only 3/$1 at Dollarama. I used 26 tiles in our laundry toom, so my cost was only $9 to do the entire floor!

    I wondered how these stick tiles would hold up around the drain and thought I’d give them a try. Now, I know the floor is supposed to be level, so my plan was to lay down the tiles the best I could and then super glue any parts that wouldn’t stay down.

    I don’t think you will see this plan in very many home repair books, but for my purpose - it worked! This picture is from when the flooring is done, but before the super glue:

    The Dollarama stick tile is so easy to use. I started with the drain and easily cut out a hole in the middle of a tile simply by tracing the drain with a pencil onto the tile and cutting with scissors. The tiles stuck very well to the bare cement.

    I would highly recommend considering these tiles for many rooms. Home repair and renovation can be very costly, but with a little work, and smart purchases, you can save a bundle.

    Have you ever used these Dollarama tiles? What did you think of them?

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