Spring crafts for under $5

I challenged myself to see if I could create some springy decor for less than $5. To do that, I headed to one of my favorite sources for craft supplies: Dollar Tree. These two things seemed to have potential.

You may know that I have a collection of crosses, so when I saw this cross magnet I snatched it up, even though I didn't think its finish was very pretty. I spray-painted it with Oil-Rubbed Bronze paint and then sanded it a bit to highlight the raised parts. But what to do with it?

I looked in my craft closet for inspiration and found this plaque which I purchased on clearance for 99 cents. A craft board, a piece of wood, or even a piece of foam core would have worked just as well, but I used what I had.

Then I looked through a hymnal for hymns involving the cross. I chose one of my favorites, When I Survey the Wondrous Cross, which I photocopied onto a piece of scrapbook paper. Then I carefully cut out the paper to be the size of the plaque, and I ModPodged the hymn onto the plaque. (Tip: When you're waiting for your first application of ModPodge to dry, wrap your foam brush in a piece of plastic wrap. Your brush will stay nice and moist.)

The hymn didn't completely fill my plaque, so I left some blank space to the side. I added a springy blue ribbon to the blank space (I stuck it to the back of the plaque with double-sided tape). Then I hot-glued my dollar store craft right to the ribbon, and

voila!

I think it looks really pretty displayed with my other crosses. You could do the same thing with a cross ornament if you happen to have one. (I have lots of them, but they're packed away with my Christmas things.) Other great cross hymns include O Sacred Head Now Wounded, The Old Rugged Cross, and Beneath the Cross of Jesus. Or you could choose a glorious Easter hymn like Christ the Lord is Risen Today or a bit of Handel's Hallelujah Chorus.

And what about that tile from Dollar Tree? I simply gave it a coating of Heirloom White spray paint (looking better already!)

then used Valspar's translucent color glaze in Mocha to highlight the design. I simply wiped on the glaze with an old rag, let it set for a minute, then wiped most of the glaze off. I concentrated on getting the glaze into the indented parts of the tile, particularly the words. When I had the look I wanted, I put the tile out in the sun to dry.

I love the way it looks on a plate stand beside a little nest! Just another reminder of the power of God to make all things new.

My expenditures:

Dollar Tree tile: $1.00

Dollar Tree cross magnet: $1.00

plaque: 99 cents

scrapbook paper: 50 cents

foam brush: 25 cents

spray paint, glaze, Mod Podge: on hand (I used just a little)

Total spent $3.74

That's two crafts for less than $5.00! Yippee! Now to get the Easter things down from the attic so I can complete my spring decorating!

**I'm joining Kim at Savvy Southern Style for Wow Us Wednesday and The CSI Project for The $5 Challenge. and Wendy at The Shabby Nest for Frugal Friday at Check out all the great projects!**