Dollar Tree Challenge #3

Not a sponsor

Several years ago, my niece Cassandra started making Deco mesh wreaths and selling them on Facebook.  She offered to teach me how, but life happened and I moved away.  Over the years, I watched several YouTube videos to see if I could get a grasp of the concept.  They looked quite tedious (yeah, I know this is coming from someone who will paint on a 16 x 20 canvas with a brush with 4 hairs in it).

Anyway...

In the winter of 2018, I determined to make myself a mesh Christmas wreath and purchased what I needed, but later chickened out and returned it all to the store.

Yeah, I know. Leave me alone.

Fast forward to last month when my sister Clara and I decided to keep our tradition of starting Christmas crafting in July and planned a crafting day over video chat.  I decided I was going to tackle this project since I knew sis would be encouraging and honest all at the same time.  If it looked a hot mess, she would tell me.  So, this weekend, we got on video chat and had a good old hen party (what's with all the chicken imagery?).

And here it is...

Now, I didn't finish it one sitting.  I got all the mesh and ribbon rolled and attached, but I didn't paint the star and attach it until last night.  Honestly, all of the supplies did come from the Dollar Tree:

Supply List

• 8 rolls of Deco mesh (5 yards per roll) 4 of each color for a two color wreath.  Most tutorials said I'd only need 6 rolls, but I know me.  Good thing too.  I messed up some of the cuts and had to do them over, so I did use some of the 4th roll of each color.
• 3 rolls of ribbon (3 yards per roll).  I really should have bought four (I thought I didn't have enough up until the last cluster), but my Dollar Tree only had three of what I wanted. 
• One round 14-inch metal wreath form.
• One wooden star (or whatever shape you can find--this was the last star like this at my Dollar Tree) or whatever else you want to put in the middle.
• 1 pack of chenille stems pipe cleaners (I refuse to be that bougie). There will be some left over.
• Okay, so I already had acrylic paint, but some Dollar Tree stores do sell it.

This video from This Southern Girl Can is the tutorial I settled on to learn this technique.  Her instructions were simple and she's just a mess.

Now, I'm hooked and want to make another one.

Dollar Tree Challenge #2

Not a sponsor

One of the YouTube crafters my sister introduced me to is Amber Riley from This Southern Girl Can. She's an awesome creative from North Carolina.  Her specialty is Dollar Tree crafts.  This past week, she did a simple Independence Day craft that looked fun and I just had to try it.  Here's her video explaining the craft:

The only things I needed to buy were the picture frame and the bag of Styrofoam stars. I already had clothespins, craft paint, and hot glue. I haven't figured out an appropriate space outside my apartment complex where I can spray paint, so I hand painted the clothespins.  I liked the color of my picture frame, so I didn't paint it.  I also had some jewels and metal letters in a box of craft supplies I was given a while back that I used on the plaque.

 
The only things I would do differently if I made this again are 1) I'd paint the inside of the frame backing since the pins don't fit perfectly (she warned about that) and 2) I would have painted my stars differently.  All in all, I like it.  Maybe next year, I'll get ahead of the game and have more decorations for the holiday.