Things you should always buy at the Dollar Tree

It is no surprise if you have been reading my blog for awhile, you know that I LOVE the Dollar Tree. I even recently became an affiliate because I spend so much time there, and love sharing about all the fun things I find.  While at the store recently, I realized how many every day items I always go to buy at the Dollar Tree, before I go anywhere else.  Here are the items I recommend you check out.

*This site contains affiliate links. I will be compensated a small commission if you buy anything through my links.

GIFT BAGS 

The Dollar Tree is the definite place to go if need a gift bag. They have an entire wall of amazing bags of all sizes, themes, and designs.  They have birthday bags, wedding bags, baby shower bags, holiday bags and more.  You can buy giant bags for only $1 that can cost several dollars at other stores.  

WRAPPING PAPER 

Instead of paying high prices on wrapping supplies, the Dollar Tree has big selection of wrapping paper, gift boxes, ribbon, tissue paper and bows. I would much rather only spend only a $1 on something that is going to be ripped and thrown away after opening. 

GREETING CARDS
 

Greeting cards is another item that I always look for at the Dollar Tree, especially if it is for a younger person who cares a lot more about the gift than the cards that come with it.  Dollar Tree carries Hallmark cards for all occasions. The heartline cards are 2 for $1.  There are some specialty cards and other cards that are $1 each, but even at $1, a lot cheaper than other stores. 

PARTY SUPPLIES 

I always go to the Dollar Tree for party supplies of all kinds.  There are two aisles dedicated to party supplies, not only to do that have many colors to choose from, they also have many themes. 

Recently the party aisle has expanded to include baby shower items, wedding/engagement party items, party favors, back drops, photo props, specialty balloons and more. (I have an upcoming post with a lot more info on the party supplies that will be posted shortly. 

CRAFT SUPPLIES 

Every Dollar Tree now has a crafter square with a variety of craft supplies.  While not all Dollar Trees have the same size Crafter Square aisle, you can find paint, paintbrushes, small canvases, wood to paint, yarn, and lots of miscellaneous items. I always check for craft supplies at Dollar Tree, before paying higher prices at the regular craft store. 

BOOKS

I check the book section on every single visit. I have found some amazing finds for only $1. I especially love their cookbooks. If you would like to see some of my book finds, I wrote about them in post about cookbooks here.  I have also recently found, best sellers, craft books, design books and celebrity biographies.

CLEANING SUPPLIES

You can save a lot of money buying cleaning supplies at the Dollar Tree.  I love their 6 pack of scrubbing sponges and dish brushes.  

TOILETRIES 

Cotton balls, Q-tips, and cotton rounds can really add up if you buy them at the big box store or drugstore. They don't have to though, because the Dollar Tree has large size packages of them for only $1.

I buy all of my toothbrushes and toothpaste at the Dollar Tree.  They carry brand names, often in multi-packs for a fraction of the cost.  If you are traveling, they also carry many travel appropriate toiletries and containers. 

MAKE UP

Did you know that the Dollar Tree carries brand name make up?  While you might not find everything you need, you can find Wet n Wild, and ELF all the time, and occasionally Maybelline, Flower and Hard Candy. I also really like the LA Colors brand that is the store's main brand. 

FACE MASKS

While I do not have a picture of the face mask section, I buy all of my faces masks at the Dollar Tree.  I am sharing this picture of the Oh K Hyaluronic Acid with Vitamin B3 and Sea Kelp Hyrogel Mask because I am very excited about this find.  After I bought this mask and loved it when using it, I found out it is sold at Meijer for $6.99. Score! I got mine for only $1.

HAIR ACCESSORIES 

If you have longer hair or girls, you must stop by the hair accessory aisle.  I get everything I need for my hair for a low price, and they are frequently name brands like Goody and Scuncii 

Here is a closer pic of some of the name brands that are a much higher price at big box stores. 

CONTACT PAPER

Dollar Tree has a large selection of contact in several different styles. I like to use it as drawer liner or in the fridge.  While I have not seen it in my store, they sold a chalkboard version not too long again. 

ORGANIZATION/STORAGE

You can't go wrong buying storage containers at the Dollar Tree.  They have many different styles, colors and sizes.  My store was a little low on stock in this picture, but the spring and summer storage lines are really good this year.  The spring colors are pink, peach and light gray, and the summer bright blue, teal, and bright pink.  You can see many of the options on DollarTree.com here

 

FLOWERS

The Dollar Tree has good quality florals cheaper than the craft stores that change throughout the seasons. I love the bright colors of the summer line this year.  

FOOD STORAGE

                

I have to pack my lunch to school every day, and there a food containers of all shapes and sizes in multipacks perfect for my lunchbox.  They even carry name brand products like Rubbermaid and Betty Crocker.  

GLASSWARE

If you ever need glassware, you can find what you need at the Dollar Tree. Stemware for a dinner party, they have it.  Margarita glasses for Cinco de Mayo, they have those those. (heavy duty amazing ones)  Decorative jars, or mason jars, they have them too.  

KITCHEN ITEMS AND GADGETS

Many items from their kitchen aisle are currently in my kitchen.  I love their strainers, and mixing bows with handle. I have serving and cooking tools like spatulas, tongs and scissors. I have their measuring cups and spoons.  I also use their cutting boards, paper towel holders and so much more.

CANDY 

I hit the candy aisle quite often.  I stop there when I want to have a variety of candy to decorate  cupcakes, gingerbread houses, or special treats.  I hit this aisle before movie night, road trips or just want a snack. The bags are a little smaller than the regular store, but that's okay because so is the price.

SNACKS 

I also hit the snack aisle.  They carry regular size chip cans,  Chex mixes and even brand name cookie mixes like Betty Crocker.  Do you like ice cream? If your Dollar Tree has a freezer section, you can find portion size containers of Snicker Twix and other brand name flavors of ice cream. 

SEASONAL

One of my favorite things to buy at the Dollar Tree are the seasonal items.  It is the perfect place to find basket fillers, stocking stuffers, and even holiday decor. 

This year I was missing a box of our ornaments when I wanted to decorate for Christmas.  Instead of worrying about where they were I decided to decorate our tree with Dollar Tree buffalo plaid and red truck ornaments.  I think it was one of my favorite trees to date. The missing ornaments did eventually turn up after I had already decorated the tree, so they stayed in the box this year.  

One last thing that I love about the Dollar Tree.  If you are trying to find something and you can't find it at your store, you can order it on the website and have it shipped to your local store for FREE.  I had a really good experience when I have ordered and currently ordering again because I need a certain item for a craft that I am making that recently sold out. 

What are you favorite things to buy at the Dollar Tree? 

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Dare to Share #462

It is Friday night, and you know what that means.. 

It is time to Dare to Share! 

Happy Easter weekend! I hope you are having a good one.  I do have to admit, this week has been a bit crazy, and I almost forgot today was Friday.  Since we have been on spring break all week, the days have kind of blended together.  

One of the biggest things that happened this week was my tired popped while I was driving.  But... things are not as bad as they seem.  I was just leaving to go visit my boyfriend. Less than a mile down the road is a tire place. One of my tires has been losing air recently. I decided to stop by the tire place before hitting the road to have them check the air pressure.  Just as I was pulling into the side street where the tire store is, is when I heard a loud pop. I immediately know my tire was flat. I was just a few feet away from the tire store and one of the workers saw what happened.  He told me to pull into a parking space and someone would be right with me.  I did have to wait a little more than an hour for them to work on my car because I did not have an appointment, but they were able to replace my tire. I was on the road in two hours.  Had this happened while I was on the highway far away from home, this would be a different story, but the timing was perfect and I was safe and sound.

Since I had the week off of work, I had the chance to write 3 blog posts.  

Easter Basket Ideas Dollar Tree Style

Amazon Programs You Might Not Know About

Easy Three Tiered Tray DIY

If would love it if you would follow me on Instagram. Over there I share all of the great deals I find, pics of crafts and decor, and even some of daily life and cute dogs. :) 

Well it looks like it is time to get this week's party started.  Link up and HAVE FUN! 

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Easy Three Tiered Tray DIY

Tiered trays are extremely trendy right now.  You can find them at many retail stores, but if you don't want to spend a lot of money, they are actually very easy to DIY. 

*This post contains affiliate links.  I will be compensated if you make a purchase after clinking one of my links. 

Depending on what supplies you use, you can make your trays as simple or as fancy as you would like.  I decided for this tray to keep it on the simple side.  At one point, I thought I might paint it a different color, but after putting it together, I liked the silver and glass look.   

I picked out 1 silver charger plate, 1 cake pan, 1 pie pan, and 2 glass candlesticks  from the Dollar Tree.  There are several different types of glues that would work, but I decided to try E6000 this time because of it's strong seal. 

I find it easier to attach the candlesticks to the pans first, and allowing them to set, before putting the tiers all together. 

I centered the middle tier to the the center of the charger plate, and let it set for a bit.  I then centered the top tier to the middle tier, and made sure the candlesticks looked even.  This process can be used to make tiered trays of all kinds.  I have seen some really cool ones made from rectangle trays,  decorated with beads, or even clothes pins.  I already plan on making a rose gold tiered tray with some chargers I found this week for an upcoming birthday party I am planning for a friends big birthday. 

I realized when I was decorating my tiered tray, I did not have a lot of stuff to put on it for Easter.  It will be fun to decorate for all the holidays throughout the year..

What kinds of things do you put on your tiered trays?  

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Amazon Programs You Might Not Know About

I have ordered from Amazon and have been part of their affiliate program for many years, but for some reason I have not been aware of the programs that I am about to share with you until today.  I have just been too busy to notice, or living under a rock.  Since I don't live under a rock, I will go with the former. :) 

Since I was not aware of these special programs for Prime members, many of you might not know about them either.  With everything going on with Covid right now, people are ordering online more than ever.  Now might be the perfect time to see if one of these programs might be a good fit for you.  I do need to disclose that these are affiliate links.

Prime Wardrobe

If  you are a Prime member and part of Prime Wardrobe,  you can try before you buy.  You can have up to 8 items delivered where you can try them on at home.  You only pay for the items you decide to keep.   There are several categories that you can select items from; women's, men's, kids, baby, shoes and accessories. 

Personal Shopper by Prime Wardrobe

Personal Shopper by Prime Wardrobe is a new styling service for Prime members. A personal shopper will give inspiration and personalized recommendations based on the customers preferences. After finding out the customers style, fit and budget they will curate pieces that they feel would be a good match. (similar to Stitch Fit etc..) If you are interested in trying this sign up using the link on your mobile phone and to visit the mobile experience. 

Prime Discounted Monthly Offering 

You can try Prime Discounted Monthly Offering if you are part if qualifying assistance programs.  You can enjoy all the benefits of being a Prime member for only $5.99 a month through the end of 2021. This is almost 50% off the monthly rate.   For those hit hard by Covid this year, this may be worth looking into. 

Create a Wedding Registry 

Are you getting married soon?  Since we are not able to have large get togethers and celebrations quite yet, creating an Amazon wedding registry might be a good way to go for friends and family to send you a gift for your special day. 

Create a Baby Registry 

If you are having a baby, creating an Amazon baby registry  for faraway family and friend may be a good option 

Amazon Student 

If you are a college student you can qualify for the Prime student 6 month trial..  You would receive special benefits, exclusive deals and promotions in addition to unlimited free 2 day shipping 

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Easter Basket Ideas Dollar Tree Style

I don't know about you, but I used to struggle coming up with ideas on what to put in my kids' Easter baskets. This year, that is not the case.  While my kids are mostly grown, I still love to give them gifts.  My youngest has very eclectic tastes, but this year I found so many things I knew she would enjoy getting as a gift.  Since she is older, I decided to use one of their baskets that come in pastel colors instead of a traditional Easter basket.  She will be able to use this basket all year, for many different reasons. 

*This post contains affiliate links. I will be compensated if you make a purchase after clicking my links

My daughter does not read my blog, so I am able to share what I am giving her without ruining the surprise. She loves animals, and there are so many things that are animal themed.  

• You Are Pawsome tote bag (the perfect size for pet supplies) 
• animal socks w/ ears (she loves fun socks, the sillier the better) 
• cat with glitter glasses pom pom pen 
• 3D wooden cat with light
• paw print pet bowl mat
• silly frog figurines        

I could not fit everything in one picture, so here is the rest. (sorry it is at a weird angle) She is also getting..

• a hanging shelf to put her goodies on 
• a multi color phone holder 
• 2 different hair masks 
• 2 different colors of LA Colors blush/glow sticks 
• 2 different colors of LA Colors Nail Diva nail tips
• a neon green mini squish pillow 
• chocolate bunnies and candy (not pictured) 

Today we went to visit a Dollar Tree in a neighboring town, and she picked out a few things that are not going to be in her basket, but definitely could be included. 

• unicorn make up brush 
• set of 3 different earrings 
• a glass bead bracelet 
• a 2021 date book 
• a spaced themed cosmetic (or pencil) bag 
• exfoliating glove 
• tri color baseball cap 

If you would like even more ideas here are so more items that we loved  

movie themed playing cards 

pack of 600 Lisa Frank stickers 

movie themed glitter pens 

There were more to choose from, but I picked Descendants, WW84, and Trolls World Tour for the colors of the pens

unicorn and rainbow LED lights 

One of my favorite finds 

1 lb bags of Sour Bears and Worms 

Trolli All Star Mix and Evil Twins 

If you need more ideas, be sure to check out Dollar Tree online. Did you know you can order from the website and get free shipping to your local store?  

A few weeks ago, I was searching everywhere for these adorable 13 inch Easter Bunnies.  I found out that were available online, and your could order in batches of four.  A few days after I ordered I received a notification that they had arrived, and all I had to bring was the confirmation email they sent me.  It was super simple, no mark up or shipping cost, and I had my bunnies for only $4.24    Last week I did find some bunnies in only one of my local stores, but I think that was only because I was there on the day they had arrived. (they sold out in stores FAST!)    Buying items online are great when you need a bigger quantity, or something that is hard to find. (think birthday parties, class parties, and those ever popular gnomes)   Sometimes you need to buy a case, but there are many items you can buy in small batches as well.  I had such a good experience doing an online order, I will definitely go it again.  

I hope I was able to give you some ideas and inspiration.  What is your favorite Easter Dollar Tree find? 

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Dare to Share #461

It is Friday night, and you know what that means.. 

It is time to Dare to Share! 

I made it to Spring Break..woohoo! While I am not going anywhere on vacation, I think everyone, teachers and students were ready for a week off. I plan on catching up on things that I normally do not have to do after school.   Are you going anywhere for Spring Break this year?  

 I also have a few fun things to share with you.   This week I have been tweeking some things on the blog that I have not updated in awhile.  I also added a small edition that I am very excited about. You may notice a couple new ads, and an update to a page at the top of the blog.  Starting this week, I am a new Dollar Tree affiliate. I truly LOVE the Dollar Tree, and often share my fun finds and crafts here and on my Instagram.  How often do you get the opportunity to promote your favorite store that you are constantly talking about already.  :) Dollar Tree truly is my happy place, and I am there a few times a week because they get so many new things in each time I visit. 

Another fun thing in the works will start the week after Easter.  This past week a teacher friend of mine recommended a home delivery meal service that I had not heard of before.  I have not used a meal delivery service before, because they seemed too expensive for the amount of food my kids eat. Well my kids are grown up now, and I talked it over with my daughter. We both agreed it would be a nice time to try one.  The price is very affordable, and the meals look interesting. So, starting the week after Easter I will be sharing my experience and meals with Every Plate. We will be trying meals three days a week at first.   Have you tried one of the meal delivery services before?  If you have, which one did you try?  

 Now that I am not subbing on Virtual Wednesdays anymore, I had time to share a blog post this week.  If you like to color Easter eggs, I shared some egg coloring ideas that we have used to make some unusual colored eggs.  Check them out if you want to try something new. 

Well it looks like it is time to get this part started.  Link up and HAVE FUN! 

You are invited to the Inlinkz link party!

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Fun Easter Egg Coloring Ideas

Over the years, my creative daughter has come up with some really easy beautiful Easter egg designs using things we have had around the house.  Here are a few of our favorite designs.  

If you try this technique you might get dye on your hands, so plastic gloves are suggested.  She held the egg halfway in the dye for a few seconds.  Then she turned the egg just a bit and dipped it back in the dye. She repeated the technique on the other side by turning it just a bit the other way. Dipping the egg this way, caused a layering effect with the color. 

We used paper reinforcement circle stickers to make some pretty designs.  

This egg was the result of putting the stickers really close together. 

This egg had the stickers with more space between them. 

Using a hole punch tool on label stickers, she was able to make polka dots.  She placed the dots on the egg where she wanted them before dipping it in the dye. 

Do you have rubber bands around the house? Then you have all you need to make these cool designs.  For the first design, we wrapped a thicker rubber band around the middle of the egg

When the egg was unwrapped after the dye had dried, there were white stripes around the middle. 

This has always been one of my favorite eggs that I have made. I used multiple thin rubber bands and wrapped them lengthwise around the egg.  I waited until the dye dried before removing the rubber bands. I reminds me of a tiny pink watermelon. 

This egg was made with a combination of a thicker and thinner rubber band. 

This marble looking egg was made with scotch tape. She randomly placed the tape all over the egg in a messy fashion.  Some of it was crinkled. It looked like a mess.  After the dye dried, she removed the tape, and what was left was this really cool effect. 

She spent a little more time placing the tape on this egg. She cut the tape into small pieces that resembled pieces of grass. 

Tie dye kits are available now, but these tie dye eggs were made by two of my kids using different techniques without a kit. My daughter made the egg on the left, and my son the one on the right. My daughter likes to make a mess, and just dipped her finger in different colors of dye and painted the egg in random places with her finger. My son didn't want to get dye all over himself. He dipped different parts of the egg in the color and quickly wiped off the excess dye.  Which type of eye dyer are you?  Messy or neat? 

This year we will probably only color a dozen eggs.  Everyone is too old for the Easter Bunny to come over and hide eggs, so there is not reason to make a lot.  I did find a golden egg kit at the Dollar Tree this year that I am excited to try.  I will let you know how it turns out.  

What are your favorite egg coloring techniques? 

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Dare to Share #460

It is Friday night, and you know what that means.. 

It is time to Dare to Share! 

Well my long term sub position is "technically" done today.  The reason why I say technically is even though the woman I am subbing for is coming back, there are plans for me to help out as she reacclimates back to school.  It will be good for both of us, because I am not quite ready to say goodbye to these kids just yet. Just a week after she comes back, we have Spring Break so hopefully it won't be too hard of transition.  This week at school was probably my busiest yet. We had state wide testing, a math test, and a progress benchmark test.  We also had a few more students come back to school, and join the caseload since it was the start of a new trimester.  With my crazy schedule this week, I just did not have enough time to do a blog post.   

Is anyone watching March Madness?  I have to admit, I am not a huge basketball fan, but I did have a team in the tournament.  Notice I say did. Ohio State is already out, so I'm not sure who I want to root for.  Is your team still in it? Which team are your hoping to win.  

Well it is about that time, so let's get this party started! 

Link up and HAVE FUN! 

You are invited to the Inlinkz link party!

Click here to enter

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Dare to Share #459

It's Friday night, and you know what that means.. 

It is time to Dare to Share!

Do you remember how last week I mentioned how busy March is for a teacher? Well this week was no exception. It was the last week of the trimester, which means I spent a lot of time helping the kids finish up on their assignments.  We also had state testing on one of the days.  We are actually off today for a three day weekend, to give the teachers time to work on  their grades. On top of all that, I also had my 2nd Covid shot yesterday. I decided to get the vaccine since I am in close contact with several kids a day, and as a building sub in multiple classrooms a week. (when I am not doing my long term position, which is ending soon) I have almost had to quarantine four times already this school year, but thankfully each time I was determined to be out of the close contact zone, or spent less than 15 minutes with the positive person.  Many of the my coworkers got vaccinated recently as well. I am grateful that I had the day off today to rest. When I had my first shot, I had just a sore arm for about a day and a half. This time I had a little bit more of a reaction. A sore arm, a headache, and tiredness.  I also had a low grade fever for about 3 hours. I just did not feel great.   I do feel pretty glad though that my reaction was relatively mild, and 30 hours out I pretty much am beginning to feel back to normal.  Now we have a few more weeks of school, and then we are off again for Spring Break.  We have had record high temps this past week, so the kids are already starting to have spring fever. We have 1/3 of the school year left of this crazy year.  

I did not have a chance to do a post this week, but hopefully I will be able to this weekend.  

Well it looks like it is time so let's get this party started.  Link up and HAVE FUN!! 

You are invited to the Inlinkz link party!

Click here to enter

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Dare to Share #458

It's Friday night, and you know what that means.. 

It is time to Dare to Share! 

Happy March! March is one of those months that always seems to have a lot going on. In this one month we have one sometimes two holidays.  We change from winter to spring (YEA!) which means, at least where I live, that the weather is going to be all over the place. We could have snow, or we could have 70 degrees.  At school, March is one of the busiest months of the year.  We have the end of the trimester, state testing, and Spring Break. We definitely look forward to having a week off after the craziness of the first few weeks.   My question to you this week is how busy is March for you? Do you go somewhere for Spring Break or just stay home?  

This week I only had the chance to share one post because of my busy days at school. With Easter just a few weeks away, I shared my Easter Bunny Nutter Butter Cookies. 

If you follow me on Instagram, you saw my amazing find at the thrift store, and my experience ordering from the Dollar Tree online for the first time. If you don't follow me there yet, I share a lot of fun shopping finds, crafts and recipes.   I would love to see you there. 

Well it looks like it is time to get the party started.  Link up and HAVE FUN! 

 

You are invited to the Inlinkz link party!

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Easter Bunny Nutter Butter Cookies

Easter is only a month away so I am going to re-share an oldie but a goodie.  Back in 2012, I first shared how to make these fun Easter cookies. You can see the original post here.

I had bought the Nutter Butter cookies on sale, and when I saw I had a few other supplies (flat marshmallows, white Wilton candies and heart sprinkles, I decided to surprise my kids with the bunny cookies. 

Hmm, my photos in 2012 were not the greatest.  I remember using a small digital camera. It was night, and without a lot of light in my kitchen, which is why these pictures are on the dark side.  While the photos are not high quality, you can see how I put together the ears.  I had experimented with a couple of different cookie cutters, and settled on this mini oval/egg shape for the ears. Once I cut out the shape, I pinched  together the marshmallow to make the ears a bit thinner. 

I melted the Wilton candy melts in the microwave, and covered each of the cookies in the chocolate. 

I placed the cookies on a cookie sheet covered in wax paper. I then attached the marshmallow ears, and heart nose before the candy melt hardened. Using a small squeeze bottle, I drew on the eyes and mouth. I had used a pink food marker for the inside of the ears. 

The peanut butter in the Nutter Butters, and the white chocolate covering on the bunny was a delicious combination.  I know my kids loved it, and these bunnies disappeared quickly. 

I may have to make some again soon.  

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