St. Patrick's Day Treats & DIYs... made using dollar store supplies (and a few freebies!)

I love a good bargain AND a holiday celebration, don't you?!? If you answered "yes", you are going to want to check out the fantastic easy and inexpensive St. Patrick's Day treat ideas I'm sharing today! (I have some freebies for you and a step-by-step video too.)

First... you are going to want to visit the dollar store and pick up your favourite green or rainbow themed goodies. I purchased: Lucky Charms, Froot Loops, Rainbow Eggies, chocolate coins and Mike & Ikes.

The Lucky Charms cereal can be easily transformed into leprechaun bait. Scoop some into a bag, add the free tag I designed (here), and enjoy. 

Or, you can pop some into a dollar store jar, add the words "leprechaun bait" with a Cricut or stickers, and use it as a piece of St. Patrick's Day decor.

It looks super cute on a tiered tray.

Another fun idea is to turn dollar store chocolate coins into unique treats to share. Print off the card I designed (for free) here. Then, use an X-acto knife to cut a small slit in the card and insert a coin. Cute, right?

A festive drink can also be made using dollar store supplies. Thread Froot Loops onto a straw, and insert the straw into a glass filled with a green drink. I like using 7UP with a few drops of green food colouring.

Finally... why not make a St. Patrick's Day basket OUT of candy and FULL of candy? Use hot glue to attach green candy boxes together and add a cupboard rectangle to the bottom. Then, thread Froot Loops onto a pipe cleaner and attach to the basket with hot glue. Finsh by filling the basket with green and rainbow-coloured treats. Easy peasy!

For a closer look at how I made ALL these treats, check out the video I made...

Which of these treats do YOU think is the cutest? Don' you just love how easy and inexpensive they all are? Happy St. Patrick's Day!

♥
Gina Bell (aka East Coast Mommy)

Make a Rainbow for St.Patrick's

I love an easy, inexpensive and fun holiday celebration idea... and this simple activity is PERFECT for St.Patrick's Day! Check out the instructions and 1-minute video below. You are going to LOVE this DIY Skittles Rainbow!

All you need is: a plate, a bag of Skittles and warm water.

Then: line a plate with Skittles, pour water into the middle of the plate, and watch the magic happen.

Seriously... how cute is this?!?

You can also grab a toothpick and play a bit with your rainbow.

Check out this video to see a demonstration of this cool experiment:

Have you ever made a Skittle's rainbow? If you haven't, grab a bag of candy and give it a try.

Happy St.Patrick's Day!

♥
Gina Bell (aka East Coast Mommy)

Find MORE St.Patrick's idea here.

FREE Easter Prints... large, budget-friendly artwork

Who doesn't love getting something for FREE? In my home, I have three 11x14 dollar store frames that I fill with different prints for the changing holidays and seasons. Today, I'm sharing the prints I designed for Easter, and you can download them for FREE below.

To get your own prints for free: click on a photo below, right-click, save it to your computer, and print it like a regular 11x14 picture.

 

Enjoy your free Easter prints... and let me know which one is your favourite!

♥
Gina Bell (aka East Coast Mommy)

Get a closer look here.

The BEST budget-friendly DIYs for Easter... high end looks with dollar store supplies

When looking for budget-friendly Easter decor, the dollar store is the first place to shop. The supplies are inexpensive, and it is super-easy to transform them into fantastic, high-end decor. Here are a few of my latest finds and DIYs.

1) This gorgeous bunny wreath is made using 100% dollar store supplies. It is soooo easy to make. Check out the full tutorial here.

2) The dollar store has many Easter basket options, but they look more high-end when you personalize them. I used my Cricut to add a name to the back, but you could easily using alphabet stickers. Get a closer look here.

3) The Easter eggs at the dollar store come in beautiful on trend colours. I love using them to decorate my little white (dollar store) tree. Cute, right? Check out my other ideas for these eggs here.

4) The wooden ornaments at the dollar store come is super-cute seasonal shapes. I love these bunnies for Easter. I used mine to make this wood bead garland, but I have other ideas you can check out here.

5) Dollar store window clings are inexpensive and perfect for DIYing. I like to create artwork by applying window clings to dollar store frames. Check out how easy it is to make your own here.

For a closer look at these products (and step by step instructions for the DIYs), check out the video below.

What do you think? Are you going to try any of these budget-friendly DIYs for Easter? I think the bunny wreath is my favourite, but they are all easy, inexpensive, and fun!

♥

Gina Bell (aka East Coast Mommy)

Find MORE fun Easter ideas here.

NEW Valentine's Day DIYs... made from recycled cardboard and dollar store supplies

What's more fun than Valentine's DIYs? What about DIYs made with FREE (or super cheap materials? I have some fantastic options for kids and adults... and they are all easy and inexpensive! (I even made a video with all the step by step instructions.)

First up is a Valentine's Day garland made from an old cardboard box. Cut hearts from cardboard, tape a piece of a paper straw to the back, and string the hearts and beads on a piece of twine.

You can also use the cardboard hearts to make framed Valentine's Day artwork with kids. Glue popsicle sticks together to make a frame, glue a string to the top, add buttons to the ends of the piece of string, and glue a piece of cardstock onto the middle of the frame.

Then, decorate hearts to put inside of the frames.

Scrunch up 1 inch squares of tissue paper and glue to a cardboard heart until it is entirely covered.

You can also wrap a heart in yarn (securing periodically with glue).

Or you can just use a paint marker or Sharpies to decorate the cardboard heart. 

Which one is your favourite? I suggest trying them all! :-)

Another simple DIY is this adorable floral canvas. I picked my favourite faux flowers at the dollar store, removed the stems, and used hot glue to attach them to the inside of a dollar store wooden canvas.

For a look at all these projects, check out the video here...

Thanks for checking out my latest easy and inexpensive Valentine's Day DIYs! Let me know which one is your favourite. Happy Valentine's Day!!!

♥
Gina Bell (aka East Coast Mommy)

If you are looking for more Valentine's Day inspiration, check out more than 30 Valentine's Day ideas here.

The BEST Dollar Store Cricut Blanks... and DIY gifts friends and family will LOVE

Did you get a Cricut for Christmas? Or have you had a Cricut for awhile, but need some inspiration? Today, I'm sharing some FANTASTIC Cricut craft ideas you are going to love. All the blanks come from the dollar store... and the DIYs create gifts friends and family will love. They are fun for your own home too!

1) These dollar store night lights are perfect for personalizing. The flat service is perfect for applying vinyl with your Cricut.

2) These dollar store LED lights come with a remote. You can change the colour and make it flash. I love the idea of adding some vinyl to make them custom. Cute, right?!?

3) The dollar store has many styles of water bottles, wine glasses, and mugs. They all make perfect Cricut blanks. 

4) Cookie jars make great gifts, and the dollar store has a couple of fun options. I love these ones I made with my Cricut. They say, "Mom's Cookies... hugs accepted as payment".

5) Dollar store jars can be used for other things too. I love this style. I made one into a memories jar and one into a cat treat jar. Which one is your fav?

6) The dollar store has many giftwrapping supplies, but I these plain brown bags are my favourite. They are easy to customize with a Cricut. Here are some I made for my son's hockey team.

You can take a closer look at all my finds in this video I made.

Seriously... aren't these fun ideas?!?!?

Which one of these is your favourite? I hope I've inspired you to head to the dollar store, grab some inexpensive supplies, and make something great!

♥
Gina Bell (aka East Coast Mommy)