dollar store spring vignette

25 March 2010

Lindsay is hosting her $5 dollar challenge and how could I not participate? You know I love finding the possibilities lurking at the dollar store! Here’s what I came back from the Dollar Tree with:
a bird:

march 2010 005


an unfinished 11X17 frame with 3 openings:


march 2010 047

and a 10” coconut basket liner:
march 2010 050

First, I tore off some of the coconut liner and shaped it into a (kind of) nest shape and added a few eggs I already had. You could also use some white jellybeans from the dollar store if you don’t have any around

march 2010 065


Next, I gave the sweet bird a light coat of some leftover heirloom white and let some of the blue show through (and, I just have to add…doesn’t this bird just look hopeful with her head raised like that? you’ll see what I’m talking about below)

march 2010 067

I put them together on some old books.
march 2010 077

Next, the frame! I got so excited when I saw this size, because it reminded me of something I’d been wanting to try with a favorite Emily Dickinson poem, and how can you beat a dollar even if you mess it all up? I painted the frame a yummy spring green color with some leftover craft paint


march 2010 058

Then, for the inside I played around in Microsoft Word with some different fonts and sizes. The word HOPE is in Perpetua Titling MT, size 100, and the lower script is in Palace Script MT, size 72.

I printed it off on an 8.5 X 11 sheet, and then blew it up 170% onto an 11X17 sheet of paper. If your printer doesn’t do bigger sizes, you can take your regular piece of paper down to the copy shop and have them enlarge it onto an 11X17 for around 25 cents.

march 2010 054


I just cut it down to fit in the frame
march 2010 055

Put it together,

march 2010 061 1

and we have a spring vignette for around $3!
march 2010 074

Breakdown:
Frame $1
Bird $1
Nest from basket liner $1 (you could make a jillion of these from one liner)
Cost of a copy if you have to run down to the copy shop: 25 cents
Eggs: Grab some from around your house or pick up some candy ones at the dollar store

Check out some more fabulous dollar store creations at Living with Lindsay!
 Happy Thursday~how are you?? Hope is one of my favorite words. What would we be without hope…



Hope is the thing with feathers
That perches in the soul,
And sings the tune-without the words,
And never stops at all,
And sweetest in the gale is heard;
And sore must be the storm
That could abash the little bird
That kept so many warm.
I've heard it in the chillest land,
And on the strangest sea;
Yet, never, in extremity,
It asked a crumb of me.
~Emily Dickinson

85 comments

  1. Wow such fabulous style at $3. Lovin the nest idea...

    ReplyDelete
  2. I bought 3 of those frames because I love the size too! Very pretty. :)

    ReplyDelete
  3. I love what you did! The framed poetry fits in perfectly with your bird and nest vignette.

    ReplyDelete
  4. You dollar store is WAY better than mine! haha Looks GREAT! :)

    ReplyDelete
  5. very creative. I love that poem and the green frame

    ReplyDelete
  6. Is that nest not the most darling thing ever? I love your creativity girl. Your little vignette is beautiful.

    ReplyDelete
  7. I love it...especially the poem! Simply beautiful!

    Blessings, Grace

    ReplyDelete
  8. Woohoo!!! I love this sort of thing! Dollar Tree her I come! Oh! and by the way! You did an awesome job with your $5! Beautiful! sO NICE TO MEET YOU!

    ReplyDelete
  9. Wow, that is great! I esp love the nest. I would never have thought of that. I'm glad comments are back on because I wanted to comment on your dressers you posted about the other day. I wanted to tell you that I LOVE the top one and I hope you leave the beautiful wood finish as is. Love the drawer pulls on that one too, I think it's really nice just how it is. Even though I love painted furniture too, I think it's nice to mix in some natural looking wood with all the painted stuff, esp when it's a pretty antiquey looking color like that. Anyway, just my two cents. Also, I wanted to tell you that I really love your entry benches. It was hard to imagine what it would look like and I did think you were a little crazy for cutting up that table because I would actually Love a coffee table like that with basket storage underneath. But then seeing it all finished, it looked awesome and I may copy your idea!
    Thanks for all the great ideas,
    Elisabeth

    ReplyDelete
  10. Oh this is tooooo tooo funny! You HAVE to come check out my $5 craft! The bird...the nest...the frame! Apparently our brains were vibing...except yours was more literary than mine :o)
    Great job!

    ReplyDelete
  11. I love it all ~ very creative. I've just got to start thinking outside the box more. I'm so task oriented that I just look and see what I see. I HOPE that I can learn to start looking at things a different ways. My blog friends are certainly helping with that. I now have an idea book. When I see something I might like to try, I print it out and put it in my book. Thanks for sharing.

    Diane
    The Library Lady
    "Take surprise and delight in the little things"

    ReplyDelete
  12. wow what a great transformation for 3 dollars! you rock! i am heading to dollar tree after work!

    ReplyDelete
  13. Wonderful job and such a lovely quote! Wish I could find cute birds like that. Lately the ones I see are so odd looking!
    ~anita

    ReplyDelete
  14. Simply beautiful and beautifully simple!
    - Suzanne
    justanotherhangup.blogspot.com

    ReplyDelete
  15. Beautiful!!!!
    Five dollars never looked soooo good!!!!!!

    ReplyDelete
  16. Melissa! This is wonderful! And I'm so glad to be able to comment on your blog again.

    I love, love, love Emily Dickinson, and this little hope vignette you've created really speaks to me. And you created it all with Dollar Tree ingredients?! How brilliant are you??

    ReplyDelete
  17. Melissa,
    This is Robyn (Bowman)here!
    Remember me? :) I've been following you for a couple months now-unsure of how to connect, and LOVE your blog. I didn't know we had so much in common! I live to create! I'd love to chat sometime-I told my mom to get your contact info. We don't live far from you! Sorry for such a personal note here!

    ReplyDelete
  18. Beautiful! Our Pastor's sermon on Sunday was about hope. He read a definition from Harper's Bible Dictionary: "the expectation of a favorable future" - I like it!

    ReplyDelete
  19. Yay! I am muted no more! I really hated not being able to talk. Clicking a little Yes box was so unfulfilling. This is adorable. Love the hope quote.

    ReplyDelete
  20. Such a lovely vignette. I love it all and so creative. Hugs, Marty

    ReplyDelete
  21. I absolutely love what you did with the dollar store materials. I want to copy it exactly!! I am not very good at figuring out how to change fonts and sizes. I will have to get my son to help me. Way to go! Can we be friends? ;-)
    LL

    ReplyDelete
  22. The Dollar Store ROCKS!!! AND SO DO YOU! love it all! GREAT JOB! JGG~ Larsenloves.blogspot.com

    ReplyDelete
  23. I swiped up them little birdies too. I was considering painting them...now I know I want to. Love what you did to the frame and the saying!

    ReplyDelete
  24. Love the poem and what you did with it too! Amazing how your brain works:) It really does open my eyes to things, however I find it easier to just copy you.

    ReplyDelete
  25. Wow! this is great and you just may have encouraged me to head to my dollar store.

    Great job!

    ReplyDelete
  26. Wonderful vignette, Melissa! I love how you used that frame ~ next time I'll try to remember that I can take the mat out before I by pass one of those frames.

    ReplyDelete
  27. Love the creativity with making that nest! The whole arrangement is lovely!!
    Blessings,
    Stacey

    ReplyDelete
  28. Love that you have the comments back on...love this frame...love everything you do, though!

    ReplyDelete
  29. Love this look! I wondered how you were going to tie the frame and the nest together and wow! it looks great!

    ReplyDelete
  30. Great job, I love the quote you brought into the grouping.
    I'm Joy and new to blogging I've been following you for a while, I'm really enjoying your blog. I'd love to have you come and check out my new blog. Have a great day!
    Joy

    ReplyDelete
  31. What an excellent idea . . . good shopping! Really enjoy your posting.
    Have a great day!

    ReplyDelete
  32. Sooooooo happy to see you are taking comments again. So often when something was off-the-charts cool and I wanted to tell you so, clicking that little "yes" just wasn't quite the same! LOL

    Now this I LOVE! I can't believe the cost. Thank you for sharing down to the font name and size...can't wait to try this one!

    Love the quote you shared, as well.

    ReplyDelete
  33. I was eying those coconut bowl things trying to figure out how to use it. Everything is adorable.

    ReplyDelete
  34. Lovely! I'm so inspired by the way so many women are able to think outside of the box. It never would have occurred to me to use the frame for something different.
    Thanks for sharing.

    ReplyDelete
  35. What a darling project! You are a clever and crafty girl!

    Happy Spring!

    ReplyDelete
  36. Okay, seriously, your blog is killing me softly. What AWESOME ideas!! I always find really great stuff @ the Dollar Store that could really BE something, but then it just sits on my craft shelf forever rather than getting put to use. I'm a planner, not a doer sometimes! :) Anyway you've inspired me & I made several little projects from my stash last night! I'm so excited.

    ReplyDelete
  37. cute and simple. love the quote! the dollar store is a place of hidden treasures...

    ReplyDelete
  38. Melissa, you did an awesome job!! I will now be hunting down the best Dollar Tree stores in my area. Great job.....I'm now inspired to be creative. I'll try! LOL

    ReplyDelete
  39. What a great use of $3.00 :) I really like the quote (may have to find a way to use that).

    ReplyDelete
  40. VERY nice! I like your bird much better than mine...darnit! ;)

    ReplyDelete
  41. Great job! Love the way the bird turned out and pairing him with books was ingenious. (Books are my weakness.)

    ReplyDelete
  42. Yay!!!! Can I just tell you how many times I've wanted to leave you a comment (b/c I can't keep my mouth shut) and just settled for checking the box? ;) Love your vignette!

    ReplyDelete
  43. This is gorgeous! I LOVE that frame/final picture!!

    ReplyDelete
  44. Love it. I've always loved that Emily Dickinson quote. So glad comments are back on so we can all tell you how fabulous you are!

    ReplyDelete
  45. You are an incredible....really you are! I would have come home with totally weird stuff...which isn't hard to find at the dollar store.

    ReplyDelete
  46. It goes to show that it doesn't take a lot of money to create a beautiful vignette.

    ReplyDelete
  47. That is absolutely adorable, and AMAZING for such a cheap price! Thanks for sharing that! Oh, and i found you randomly through Denton Sanatorium blog! I'll be back!

    ReplyDelete
  48. Glad your comments are back on! I wanted to tell you thanks for getting me addicted to Cadbury Mini Eggs. I had never had them and decided to try them. I ate half the bag on the way home from the store today!

    ReplyDelete
  49. Just precious! Lovin' it to bits!!!

    ReplyDelete
  50. Okay, that is crazy good!!!

    ReplyDelete
  51. LOVE IT!

    CraftTeaLady
    www.crafttealady.xanga.com

    ReplyDelete
  52. You chose such a lovely quote, may I share one of my favorites?

    "We never know how good we are until we are called to rise" ~ Emily Dickinson

    It is inscribed on a sterling silver bird which I have hanging on a lamp in my master bedroom like a tassel!

    ReplyDelete
  53. I love the frame! I am so going to the dollar store for some of those!

    ReplyDelete
  54. Melissa - that is just so cute. I love it!

    XOOX
    Jen

    ReplyDelete
  55. LOVE IT!!! Off to the dollar store now! ;)

    ReplyDelete
  56. So cute and so affordable! I love it!

    ReplyDelete
  57. How creative! Amazing! I love that little birdie, he's so sweet. I found your blog through Jen at Tattertots and Jello and I am so glad I did!

    When I have more time, I can't wait to browse through more of your blog!

    Stacey

    ReplyDelete
  58. Wow you did a really incredible job for $3. Lovely.

    ReplyDelete
  59. LOve it! I am a super big fan of the dollar store! great job =)

    ReplyDelete
  60. I found you through Tatertots and Jello, and I just love your "hope" quote. I am *so* going back to dollar tree to make this! :)

    Follow my blog and post a comment I have a givaway going on right now and it ends tomorrow (Saturday) night! You could win 3 adorable hair ties.

    mommyoftwo247.blogspot.com :)

    ReplyDelete
  61. I love this poem and have it on my wall, unfortunately, I paid more for mine. Your's is very pretty.

    ReplyDelete
  62. Absolutely gorgeous...and $5???
    Love it!
    Beth

    ReplyDelete
  63. I love it, love it, love it!!! I might need to copy you :) Especially that little bird...soooo cute!

    ReplyDelete
  64. I LOVE the framed poetry. It came out perfectly and makes the vignette so much more meaningful. Absaolutely beautiful!

    ReplyDelete
  65. I just went to the dollar tree 2 weeks ago in search of a bird and they didn't have any so I'll have to go again and try and find the bird you got. Very cute!

    ReplyDelete
  66. Love what you made. It looks so fabulous. What great ideas for so little.

    Ruth

    ReplyDelete
  67. Okay, this is just amazing. I mean it. LOVE it!!!

    ReplyDelete
  68. Ack! So good to talk to you again! :) I know I can just email you, but this is nice too.

    Again...you are brilliant!!

    ReplyDelete
  69. Thank you for sharing its really interesting and not that hard to make.

    ReplyDelete
  70. LOVE IT!! So cute and so CHIC for so LITTLE!! I painted my bird aqua w/ polka dots!! Makes me smile!!

    ReplyDelete
  71. Hello sweet Melissa - so happy I can leave comments again! heehee. I love your little spring vignette! Esp what you did with the frame and saying. That celery green shade is fab!

    Blessings,
    Marie
    http://emmacallsmemama.com

    ReplyDelete
  72. This is so adorable! It looks like fancy boutique, not Dollar Tree!

    ReplyDelete
  73. i love it! i found the birds at the dollar store and painted a frame and bird this morning. i hope you'll stop by and see how it turned out!

    thanks for the inspiration! I hope you don't mind me sharing your idea on my blog.

    blessings!

    ReplyDelete
  74. Wow, I just found you!!! Can I say that this post is pure brillance!!! Can't wait to get acquainted with your site.

    ReplyDelete
  75. That is really lovely how you put that together.

    This is exactly the type of tutorial that our readers love. So, do link your article up at our blog, and more people can find you.

    Every week (Wednesday) we open a new DIY Craft Tutorial Linky party.
    The current one is here:
    http://www.finecraftguild.com/diy-tutorial-linky-party-3/

    ReplyDelete
  76. Wow how crafty and creative

    ReplyDelete

Thank you for taking the time to leave me a note!