About five years ago, I began subscribing to decorating magazines and, around the same time, I had discovered dollar stores. As I flipped through the pages of these magazines, certain of the smaller projects, i.e. ones including vases, candles, dishware, etc., sort of jumped off the page at me as I realized that my local dollar store had similar items. So I determined to try to copy what I saw. Also, look carefully at the displays in stores carrying housewares to see if anything catches your eye.

Shopping for decor items at dollar stores is rather like antique hunting because you may know what you want but never know what you may find. Most of the time, there's no hurry so I will look through various stores until I see what I'm after. If you love the thrill of the hunt, this is an exciting way to shop