Affordable DIY Christmas Crafts Ideas

DIY Christmas Crafts on a Budget: Upcycle and Sparkle this Holiday Season

Deck the halls without breaking the bank! Discover creative DIY Christmas crafts using repurposed items like slate tiles, microwave covers, and more. Transform your home into a festive wonderland with these budget-friendly ideas.

Who says you need expensive supplies to create stunning Christmas decor? With a little creativity and repurposed items, you can transform ordinary objects into extraordinary holiday treasures. 

This Christmas in July, I am sharing four DIY projects that will inspire you to get crafty. From repurposed slate tiles to upcycled Pringles cans, these items are not only budget friendly, but a unique touch to your home.  

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If you have been reading along with us since the beginning, you may recall when we pulled the slate flooring up from our entryway. My husband and I pulled each slate tile up one by one, and did it with such care that I now have a tub full of slate flooring tiles in our basement.

Are you now getting an idea how so much accumulates in this house?

So, here we are, creating a Christmas craft with slate tiles. 

Oh, don't worry if you do not have slate just laying around like I do, I also have a bit more up my Christmas sleeve so keep reading to learn more.

Craft 1: Christmas Slate Tile Sign

Materials:

1. Slate tile - flooring, or roof, whatever you can get your hands on for free or a fair price
2. 1 Christmas stencil
3. Apple Barrel White craft paint 
4. Stencil brush
5. Chisel 
6. Rubber Mallet 

Instructions:

• Clean the tile - I placed my tile in the sink with Dawn dish soap for 20 minutes to loosen up the grout and mortar on the back of the tile (there was still a bit left behind from when we removed it)
• Remove Grout - there was grout line on one side of my slate tile, and so I placed a chisel on the edge of the grout closest to the tile, and then used a rubber mallet to lightly tap the chisel with. This was so easy, and did not take any force at all. The tile remained in tack since I only hit it on the grout line, not the actual slate tile.
• Prep tile for paint - Clean the tile to remove any grout dust left behind from removing the grout, I do still have some mortar left on the back, but I plan to figure that out later, I am thinking cork, but I do not have any on hand at the moment
• Prep Stencil - I rubbed glue stick on the back of the stencil to prevent bleed through around the lettering (for the most part, this worked, but I did still have some bleed through. Be sure to press the stencil onto the slate tile firmly before stenciling 
• Apply Paint to Slate - I began to stipple white paint over the lettering and gingerbread men stencil, applying the design to the slate tile, once the stencil had been completely finished, I removed the stencil carefully using both sides to lift straight up

I was a bit disappointed about the few spots of bleed through I had, but I think the glue stick helped to prevent more on the project as a whole.  

Some of you may be crafting veterans, but I try to keep in mind what I had on hand before I began sharing my ideas here. At that time, I worked with what I had, but I have learned a few tricks since then so I like to keep the purchases to a minimum for my readers.

Up next, I went to the basement and went on an excursion. Last year I had picked up a few microwave splatter guards at Family Dollar. 

Yep, you know the ones, the plastic round covers you put over your food to prevent food splattering all over the inside of the microwave.

 

I thought hmm... how can I craft with these? I went ahead and picked them up and then forgot about them. When I went on a looksee in the basement to take stock of what I have, I found them, and decided no time like the present... let's create a new Christmas craft idea. 

Craft 2: Splatter Guard Christmas Craft

Materials:

1. 1 Microwave plastic splatter cover, I found mine at Family Dollar, but Dollar  Tree also carries them
2. 1 sanding disk 
3. Cleaner of your choice, I use Green Works 
4. White Chalk Paint
5. Chip Brush
6. Mod Podge
7. 1 Christmas stencil
8. Green Chalk Paint

Instructions:

• Sand the top of the plastic splatter guard, I began doing this to remove the raised parts of the top. Then went on to continue to rough up the plastic readying it for paint
• Clean the top of the splatter guard with cleaner and a cloth to remove any lingering plastic particles 
• Stipple chalk paint all around, covering it entirely, apply two coats, and allow for drying between coats
• Apply Mod Podge to the entire piece, this is a technique I am quickly beginning to love on all of my painted pieces
• Allow to dry
• Apply desired stencil to the top of the cover, dry, and then cover with another coat of Mod Podge

Craft 3: Tin Can Craft with a Twist

Materials: 

1. 1 large size tin can
2. Image of your choice, I chose a Flapper Christmas image, I love The Roaring 20's flappers! 
3. Paint
4. Bronze Rub-n-buff
5. Mod Podge
6. Drawer pull, I used one from our bathroom built in
7. Drill

Instructions: 

• Squeeze tin can top to form a pitcher, this is pretty easy to do with your hands, no tools necessary 
• Drill holes into side of tin can in place where handle will be added, I needed to enlarge the holes, and grabbed my husband's spider bit to tap through for a larger hole
• Place handle up to side of tin can
• Feed screws through holes in tin can and thread through to handle 
• Paint tin can, add bronze Rub-n-buff, and Mod Podge. For a how-to, see the link  What to do with Empty Tin Cans for more information
• Choose the image of your choice, if you were not aware, you can print free images from The Public Domain and use them for your crafting projects or whatever you choose 
• Cut image to fit tin can, add Mod Podge to back of image
• Stipple one coat of Mod Podge to can, add image, allow to dry
• Stipple second coat of Mod Podge to tin can, and then cover image with Mod Podge as well
• Style to your liking

Carft 4: Pringles Can Craft

 Materials:

1. Pringles Cans
2. Craft Paint of your choice, I used Waverly Chalk Paint 
3. Chip Brush
4. Christmas images, I cannot recall where I pulled these from, I have image finding days where I save so many to my files for later use.  
5. Mod Podge 
6. Cinnamon 

Instructions:

• Paint Pringles Can with chalk paint, I only needed to brush on one coat using chalk paint
• Apply Mod Podge to the top of the pringles can and then begin sprinkling cinnamon over the Mod Podge to create a rust like look, allow to dry, apply more Mod Podge over the cinnamon to seal it in
• Cut images, and apply Mod Podge to the pringles can, and to the image, then apply Mod Podge over the image, this will seal in the image, smooth the image out by using saran wrap and smoothing over the image if you do not like to get your fingers messy, I just used my fingers, and I had a mess on my hands, but sometimes that is the fun when crafting 

My Thoughts:

• Use what you already have at home, do not go out and buy new items, you may be surprised when you dig around your home what you can upcycle
• I never used chalk paint in the past, and had no idea why others did. I can say, it lasts a long time, and most times it completely covers what you are working on with one coat, it saves money in the long run
• When chalk paint begins to thicken, add about 1 t of water to the bottle, shake well, and it will rejuvenate the paint, I did this with both my white and ivory chalk paints which has prolonged the life of my paints too
• I have found adding Mod Podge to my painted crafts creates an almost cast iron look to it once finished, everyone seems to really like this technique and look, plus it protects your work

In a world where budgets are tight, I try to continue to come up with ideas to share so you can get your craft on. I know for so many years I leaned into crafting to help alleviate stress and keep my sanity, if you are in the same boat, I get it. 

Some people drink wine, I craft!

When I create new projects, I think back to my crafting days before I began sharing, and consider supplies I had on hand. I enjoy being challenged to create new home decor items to share each week with you, but I always keep a budget in mind. I mean, I am assuming it is why you visit each week, for new ideas and ways to decorate your own home, am I right?

For me, the tighter the budget, the more I enjoy a project once it is completed! Do you think you will give any one of these crafts a try, or perhaps all of them? I sure hope so! 

Have a wonderful week my friend.

Don't Forget to Pin for Later! 

Ciao,

Cara