I have always been the arts-and-crafts kid.

I was the one who made snowmen out of socks, Christmas bells out of egg cartons and of course, the classic paper snowflake.

I was never a talented artist or musician, but arts and crafts allowed me to express my creativity in a guided way. I often felt accomplished creating something new from a bunch of scraps.

As an adult, arts and crafts look very different. It’s less about making macaroni necklaces and more about creating functional, cute and budget friendly items for my home.

While specialty stores like Michaels and JOANN offer a variety of supplies for your DIY needs, they can be pricey depending on the project you’re trying to do.

In 2019, Dollar Tree introduced Crafter’s Square, a section dedicated entirely to arts and crafts. The aisle contains materials like chalkboards, paint, glitter and magnets, as well as tools like hot glue sticks and detailing knives. Honestly, I’m obsessed with it. I get to create as much as I want without breaking the bank.

Starting a craft project with a trip to the dollar store is budget friendly, of course — but it also lets me be a little more creative, working with what they have or springing for items even if I don’t know how I’ll use them. Here are a few of my favorite recent crafting projects, which you can pull off for $10 or less:

Decorative Rope Basket

Rope baskets are my favorite storage solution. They’re an easy way to organize chaos and look great on your shelves or in your living room.

What you need:

• Decorative Nautical Rope (6)
• Storage Basket
• Hot Glue Sticks
• Hot Glue Gun

What to do:

• Start at the base and glue the rope around the basket covering all of the plastic. That’s it!
• Tip: Be sure to keep your glue gun temp on low so you won’t melt through the basket!

Photo Canvas

Looking for an easy way to make a gallery wall? A group of DIY photo canvases can give you a great look for a low cost.

What you need: 

• 4×6 Stretched Canvas
• Mod Podge paste (small bottles are sold in Dollar Tree stores)
• Foam Brush
• 4×6 Photo Print

What to do:

• Using a foam brush, coat the canvas with a layer of Mod Podge.
• Place your photo on top of the canvas smoothing to make sure there are not any air bubbles.
• Coat the top of the photo with a thin layer of Mod Podge.
• Let dry overnight and display wherever you’d like!

Magnetic Chalkboard

Grocery shopping is a task I have to plan for and nothing is worse than forgetting something you absolutely need. 

This magnetic chalkboard is great for the refrigerator and even better for remembering the milk.

What you need:

• Wooden Chalkboard
• Magnetic Buttons
• Krazy Glue

What to do:

• Take four magnetic buttons and glue one to each corner of the chalkboard.
• If you want to include the kids in the craft, let them use paint or crayons to decorate the wood frame. 
• Tip: Do be careful handling Krazy Glue, it can be quite permanent.

This story is part of Detour’s winter survival series, with tips and activities to get you through a difficult season. Tell us how you’re surviving with the hashtag #letsdetourwinter or share ideas here. And find all our winter survival tips here.