Five Dollars, Five Ways: Springtime Edition and Giveaway

Five Dollars, Five Ways is a series that explores a variety of activities for your kiddos based on a trip to the dollar store with a five dollar budget. We show you  how to maximize a few bucks for hours of fun and entertainment!

Spring has sprung, and it provides a lot of inspiration for crafts. So let’s get to it!

For this project, you will need glitter and foam eggs. Glitter can be found in the craft section and possibly the school supplies section. Eggs can be found in the seasonal section or the craft section.

You will also need floral wire and floral foam. These can both be found in the floral section. If you can’t find floral wire, you can use pipe cleaners from the craft section.

Finally, you will need a plastic bucket or tub, stickers, and decorative tape.

This is more than five items, but you might already have glitter, a plastic tub, or stickers. You can also easily substitute plain masking tape or electrical tape for the decorative kind.

You will also need glue, tooth picks, tissues or tissue paper, plastic Easter eggs, and dried beans/rice/beads. All of these items can be found at the dollar store, but I would check your house first. My guess is you already have most, if not all of them!

Activity 1: Glitter Eggs

Stick a toothpick into the broad end of a styrofoam egg. Coat the egg with glue. This is easiest using a paintbrush. Make sure to use a very thin layer of glue, or your glitter will drip as it dries. (See pic below.) Sprinkle glitter on all surfaces of the egg. Gently tap the egg to shake off excess glitter. Repeat sprinkling and tapping until the entire egg is covered. Stick toothpick into foam florist block. Let egg sit until glue is dry and then remove egg. You can also make a grid of toothpicks on the foam block and lay the egg on the grid to dry. I prefer the individual toothpick method. Your eggs can be decorative in a pretty bowl or hidden by the Easter bunny.

Activity 2: Tissue Paper Flowers

When I was in first grade, we made flowers out of tissues for Mother’s Day. I was obsessed and continued to make these flowers for a long time. Years later, I found out that some people make them from tissue paper. Making the flowers is simple and fun. Take several tissues or several sheets of tissue paper and accordion fold them. Staple the sheets in the middle and then spread out the layers until you have a full, rounded flower. You can secure a pipe cleaner or florist wire around the middle for a stem. You can experiment with colors of paper, rounding the edges of the paper, using different sizes of paper, and changing up the number of sheets. Here’s a tutorial if you are needing more instruction.

Activity 3: Flower Arranging and Sculpture

Using the floral foam block from Activity 1 and the flowers from Activity 2, encourage your child to make a flower arrangement. The dollar tree also has fake flowers and vases you could use for this activity. Of course, it is Spring, and you can use real flowers as well! Flowers not your kid’s thing? Use the florist block as a base for free form sculpture. Tooth picks, popsicle sticks, pipe cleaners—anything goes!

Activity 4: A Container for Kids

The dollar store has a great selection of small buckets, shoeboxes, and other plastic storage containers.  You may already have one at home. Give your child some stickers (seasonally themed or otherwise) and perhaps some decorative tape. Let them go wild decorating! Once they are finished, the container can be used for Easter morning treats, collecting Spring items from nature, or organizing small toys, hair accessories, etc.  It could also make a sweet gift for a sibling, friend, or teacher.

Activity 5: Egg Shakers

Put dried beans, rice, or beads in a plastic egg. Leave enough room for the items to move around when the egg is shaken. Seal the opening of the egg with masking tape, electrical tape, or decorative tape. Make a matching and listening game by making two eggs with dried beans, two with rice, and two with beads. Your child can match the eggs by sound!

Giveaway time! Enter to win a box FULL of art and craft supplies—all leftovers from the Five Dollars, Five Ways projects. Glitter, glue, pom poms, feathers, foam hearts, and so much more will be up for grabs. I’m going to keep adding things as well. Good luck!

**(You MUST be local to Nashville to enter this giveaway!)

To enter the giveaway:

(*You MUST be a Nashville area resident to enter!)

(1) Leave a comment below telling us which has been your favorite Five Dollars Five Ways craft.
(2) Follow us on Twitter — leave a separate comment letting us know that you do!
(3) Follow us on Pinterest — leave a separate comment letting us know that you do!
(4) Follow us on Instagram — leave a separate comment letting us know that you do!

Good Luck!

Winner will be chosen using random.org on Thursday, April 9, 2015.