.99 Cent Craft Challenge

My super crafty Aunt Mary created a craft challenge event on Facebook recently and I love a good craft challenge.  This challenge involved purchasing something from the dollar store or clearance aisle and using materials from home to create something new.  I am always looking for ways to use up scraps and other leftovers.

I ended up making two projects for the challenge:

Project #1  Summer Passport

Our family has been sharing the tradition of making a summer wish list on the first day of summer for a few years now.  I don't want the boys to get bored, so I decided to change it up and make these passports.  I picked up mini composition books from the Dollar Tree and used scrap paper, leftover alphabet stickers, ribbon, stamps and a file punch.  I listed some of our favorite summer places/foods/things to do on each page in the section labeled, "Travels," leaving a few in the back blank for unplanned activities.  The second section is labeled, "Notes."  This is a place where the boys can draw pictures or write about their trips.  They are very excited for summer and for getting started on filling up the pages of their passports with stamps or stickers!

Project #2  Family Initial Decor

Mary gave me a thin wooden letter "u" from a dollar store to help me get inspired for this challenge.  Of course, our family initial is "N," so turn it over and Ta-Da!  You've got "n."

I spent some time looking on Pinterest looking for fun paint techniques and decided to go with an easy crackle effect.  

1.  I painted a coat of dark green acrylic paint on the letter.  It must dry completely.

2.  I brushed on a coat of Elmer's School Glue mixed with a tiny amount of water.  I read the more water you add, the smaller the cracks.  I wanted bigger cracks for this project.  Let this layer dry for about 45 seconds, so it's tacky to the touch.

3.  I brushed on a thick layer of a mixture of yellow acrylic paint and white acrylic paint.  The cracks start appearing immediately.  

I read a post suggesting using Mod Podge to seal the project, but I think I will skip that step for now.  I added a flower from my stash.

The finished product:

I was surprised how easy this technique was!  Here is a closer view of the crackle effect:

Home Sweet Home!

What have you created from dollar store or clearance buys?