This weekend I was reminded that one of the best places to find some unique cheap craft supplies is right at the local dollar store!  I don’t have a dollar store that’s actually near where I normally shop, but I was able to stop into one of the larger chain dollar stores yesterday and I was shocked that they had an entire aisle dedicated to cheap arts and craft supplies.

I found a lot more discounted craft supplies that I expected to find.  They had a full collection of beads and jewelry supplies, they had lots of artificial flowers, plants and fruits, they had glass beads and marbles and flower vases and all sorts of craft supplies for making home decorations and decor.  And don’t forget to check out the cheap greeting card section and discount paper and party supplies.  The dollar store is actually a pretty good place to also find some uncommon and unique cheap scapbooking supplies.

It’s almost like buying wholesale craft supplies without having to worry about all the rules and regulations!

The chain dollarstores like Dollar General and Dollar Tree are probably your best place to get craft supplies on a regular basis, though some of the independent dollar stores in my area also carry a pretty good selection.  Some of the chain dollar stores now offer bulk ordering, so if you want a case of picture frames or a crate of scrapbooking supplies you might be able to buy them directly from the store and have them shipped to you!

And while it’s always a challenge to find really low-price craft supplies that are high quality, it’s even more of a challenge to find arts and crafts tools that are affordable and yet still functional.  Like most dollar stores, this one had a small selection of tools which are perfect for small arts and craft projects.  It had a few small pliers, hammers and wrenches all for a dollar a piece and all high quality enough to handle most hobbies and craft supplies projects that I had waiting for me at home.

They had a lot of crafty things like yarn and wooden placques and wooden boxes and they even had a small selection of off-brand craft paint.  Their selection of glass candleware and picture frames was absolutely amazing, but I did find that I had to be careful about picking ones out that were not broken or scratched in some way.

In fact, when you go to a dollar store for craft supplies you have to always be careful to make sure you’re buying items that strong enough to be used in larger projects.  Inspect every craft item in the store before you buy them because sometimes things are damaged or scratched in dollar stores.  Dollar stores are also great places to get seasonal craft supplies, but be aware that they often don’t stock seasonal items all year around, so if you’re making your Halloween crafts in July you probably won’t find much at the dollar store.

And even though all the items only cost $1.00, it’s still possible for you to overpay for your craft supplies there.  Don’t forget that sites like Amazon.com also have some great affordable craft supplies that can work out to cost less than you might pay for similar items in a dollar store.

That being said, if you find something you think you’ll use a lot of you might want to stock up while you’re there.  The arts and craft supply inventory of most dollar stores isn’t always predictable so one week you might find a basket full of craft supplies you can use and the next week you might walk out empty-handed.