Throw A Fab Party With Dollar Store Supplies

Here’s how to throw a fabulous end-of-summer “arty party” with supplies from your friendly Dollar Giant.

DOLLAR STORE DAYS | I believe there’s an artist in everyone and I’m throwing an end-of-summer party to prove it. I’m inviting a close group of friends —many of whom have never picked up a paintbrush —to my first “arty party.” We’ll gather in a room with a raft of art supplies and let our imaginations take a walk on the wild side. We may unleash our inner Picassos, our native Carrs, our chaotic Pollocks (well, maybe paint-throwing Pollocks will get to create on the back lawn).

Since experimentation and fun are the goals and there’s no need for top-quality materials, a trip to Dollar Giant is in order. Headquartered in Vancouver and Canada’s premier operator of discount variety stores offering merchandise at a single price point, Dollar Giant is a go-to spot for everyday items from bowls to batteries (their fairly recent rejigging of the store’s tagline from “Nothing Over A Dollar” to “Nothing Over A Dollar.25” is an amusing “sign of the times”). Vancouver alone has five locations.

State Of The Art At The Dollar Giant

The arts and crafts aisle is chock-a-block with supplies, bringing out my kid-at-a-candy-store urges. For practical purposes, I’ve decided to stick mostly to painting for this bash.

The store carries a host of prepared canvasses and art boards ranging in size from 5 inches x 7 inches to 9 inches x 12 inches. I also found plastic palettes, camel hair paintbrushes, various paint sponges, watercolours and jars of acrylic paints in an array of hues, some with fun names like Espresso and Cotton Candy. To inject a bit of craft into the affair, I picked up some felt squares in various colours, clear glue and vials of decorative beads, plus a few adorable wooden boxes with small latches for anyone who wishes to make box art. A few plastic pails and cups in beachy colours completed my shopping spree.

In addition to my dollar store bonanza (pictured here), I’ll be putting out a stack of magazines, odd photos and old cards for use in collages.

When our masterpieces are complete, we’ll trade paints for pints, watercolours for wine and celebrate creativity. As Leonardo Da Vinci famously remarked, “Art is never finished, only abandoned.” —Belinda Bruce

Photos: Calvin Whitehurst, C. Phaisalakani